New Bear Limit Rolled Out at Regs Meetings

A doubling of the bear limit, banning dog training on Chattahoochee National Forest and the plan to charge fees for WMA users not hunting or fishing were all presented to the public at eight WRD regulations meetings Jan. 3-6. However, public comment was geared toward perennial concerns like baiting and deer populations. The meetings opened…

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Three Legs And 169 Inches Of Antler

Need an example of how antler production can be affected by injuries, look no further than the crazy non-typical rack on this three-legged Clay County buck killed by David Herold, of Crawfordville, Fla., on Nov. 21. It’s going to be interesting to see how a scorer will stretch and bend the tape to come up…

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Remote-Operated Shotgun Firing System Found In Georgia Woods

In early November, utility company contractors inspecting a right-of-way on private property in southwest Georgia stumbled upon two systems aimed at food plots and designed to fire shotguns unmanned. According to a bulletin from the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center, the systems were linked to a web-accessible camera system that would allow the weapons…

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13-Year-Old Girl Drops 750-Pound Hog

At first glance, Kristen Sharpe, 13, of Uvalda, thought she was looking at a cow when she peeked out the window into the 10-acre field behind her house. The home-schooler was at home watching “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman” on the television on Dec. 3 when her Beagle-Rottweiler mix Herby started barking. Kristen said Herby had…

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Toccoa Tailrace Trout Fishery Decimated By Warm Water

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) deep drawdown of Blue Ridge Lake to more than 60 feet below full pool for dam repairs this summer has all but wiped out the trout population in the Toccoa River tailrace below the dam, rendering one of the state’s premier trout fisheries almost barren. An electrofishing survey was taken…

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Bear Populations, Harvest On The Rise

Kill a Georgia Mountain Bear Since the late 70s, when WRD began managing the bear harvest, the idea has been to grow the state’s bear populations to sustainable levels. Mission accomplished — especially in the north Georgia mountains, where nuisance bear complaints were at record levels last year, according to Adam Hammond, WRD’s Bear Committee…

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Trail-Cam Catches Cat Taking Down Heard County Deer

At the first glance, we thought we had the undeniable proof of cougars we have been looking for in our year-long cougar quest, but DNR officials have since pointed out a couple elements in these photos that leave species identification open for doubt. This series of photos was captured by Drew Atkins, of Franklin, on…

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New Georgia State Gator Record!

Randy Hand, of Decatur, now holds the Georgia state record for the longest hunter-taken alligator after killing this 13-foot, 9-inch monster at Lake Seminole on Sept. 19. The gator weighed 692 pounds. Randy’s gator is just 2 inches longer than the old record, a 13-foot, 7-inch Blackshear gator taken in 2008.

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5-Foot Rattler Latches Onto Man’s Boot

Rattlesnakes can be frightening critters. But striking out and hitting a guy by surprise earned this Emanuel County rattler a hot spot on a Weber. John Vescuso, of Swainsboro, was by himself penning some cattle on a friend’s farm the evening of Aug. 11 when a silent, but ornery, eastern diamondback apparently took offense to…

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