Black Creek

After leaving Green Cove Springs, you will arrive at Black Creek (on the west side of the river) in about 1 to 1 ½  hours.   You will pass under the highway bridge on the creek and you may continue in the creek until you approach the railroad bridge.  You MAY NOT go under the railroad bridge and it would be wise not to approach too closely as there are low power lines near the bridge.  If you are renting one of our skiffs or kayaks, or you are towing your own boat or jet ski, you can go on up into the creek .  There are little beach areas and some rope swings out over the water that are great fun!! The area between the highway bridge and the railroad bridge is a good place to anchor for the night.  You will not want to anchor in the middle, but stay off to the side.  Check your chart for depths.  

3 Day/ 2 Night               

South

You can combine the itineraries from the 2 day/1 night section or choose from some of the following:  

Silver Glenn Springs

     Heading right out of Crystal Cove and cruising 4½ to 5 hours up river will take you to a well-known local favorite—Silver Glenn Springs.  Follow the channel to Lake George then head toward the springs.  Check the chart to familiarize yourself with the depths and sandbars at the entrance to the springs.  As you go farther back into the springs, the water becomes crystal clear and you will be able to see fish swimming about.  In cool weather, there are manatees in the springs.  What a place for playing in the water—swimming, water sliding, kayaking, or just floating and relaxing.  

3 Days/ 2 Nights               

North:

You may combine the itineraries for the 2 days/1 night or choose from the following:

  Doctors Inlet/Lake

Doctors Inlet/Lake is located about 1 hour north of Black Creek.  After going under the highway bridge, you will be in Doctors Lake.  This lake is good for swimming or water sliding and you may easily anchor in most places, taking care to watch the depth.  There is a restaurant at Whiteys Fish Camp which is in the canal connecting Doctors Lake to Lake Asbury.  You will not be able to get the houseboat into this canal, but if you have a smaller boat in tow, you will be able to visit Whiteys—a casual but fun fish camp type restaurant.    

Jacksonville—The Landing, South Bank, Metropolitan Park

About 7 ½ hours  after leaving Crystal Cove you will arrive in downtown Jacksonville.  After passing through the railroad bridge, ( you will need to call the bridge tender) you will have several choices for docking.  The best is the Landing which is an area of shopping and dinning.  There is also docking at the South Bank and Metropolitan Park—a particularly good place to dock if you are attending a football game at Alltel Stadium.  There are numerous restaurants available in the area by walking, utilizing a boat that you are towing, or by the Water Taxi.

Click here for Jacksonville Information

  If you are staying for more than 3 days/2 nights you may combine any of the itineraries we have previously mentioned.  You will simply have longer to stay or more time to explore the different locations.  All of the boats are equipped with charts of the river so that you will have the exact locations and be able to navigate the waters successfully.

 St. John's River is known for the
BEST BASS FISHING in the Southern US!
 

This 46,000-acre natural impoundment of the St. Johns River has been touted as the premier bass fishing lake in Central Florida. It has extensive vegetation that provides excellent habitat for bass and bream. Jetties located on the south end of the lake where the St. Johns River enters the lake is a hot spot for sunshine bass fishing in the spring and fall. Wooden structure bombing targets in the east side of Lake George produce good striped bass catches from October through April. Little Lake George, downstream of Lake George, is the site of a sub-surface spring called the Croaker Hole that provides fast and furious striper fishing from May through September.

The river connects a series of relatively small lakes in this area. Lakes Beresford (800 acres), Woodruff(2,200 acres) and Dexter (1,902 acres) periodically produce excellent catches of bass, crappie, bream, sunshine bass and stripers, depending upon water levels and season. The St. Johns River proper between the lakes provides a well protected area with good success for bass, crappie, and bream along the edges of vegetation and near structure such as channel markers. Striped bass and sunshine bass also can be caught from areas where small streams or creeks such as Spring Run and Get-Out Creek meet the river.

Lake George is the second-largest freshwater lake (only Lake Okeechobee is bigger) in the Sunshine State and the largest along the trace of the St. Johns River. Covering some 46,000 acres (14 miles by 6 miles), George lies approximately half-way between the headwaters of the St. Johns River (the Melbourne/Palm Bay area) and the river's closure with the mighty Atlantic Ocean at Jacksonville.

As with most Florida lakes and rivers, Lake George has a number of very specific `personal' traits and characteristics which give it a distinctiveness all its own.

First, it has possibly the most consistent bottom structure possible. Once you have moved across the shallow areas bordering the shorelines and out past the sloping drop-off, from six into 10 feet of water, the bottom topography of `Big George' has hardly any variation in its entire length and width. We cruised a large portion of the lake with an Eagle graph recorder and found virtually no variations, save the normal drop-line that follows the shoreline.

Second, George has a significant salt content. In fact, the saline level is high enough that numerous salt water fish and plant species thrive in its waters. There is a large blue crab fishery that forms a significant part of the local economy. The St. Johns River waters, entering the lake at the South end, contain a good amount of salt from the run-off waters and springs which enter between Lake Harney and George. In addition, three feeder creeks (Juniper, Silver Glen Spring Run, and Salt Springs) on the West side of George add a salty water influx. Salt Springs Creek, as the name would imply, is particularly salty. The waters gradually dilute as the river flows to the North, particularly when the clean, fresh waters of the Oklawaha River enter.

The sources of the salt are the massive, underground marine deposits left from eons ago when the St. Johns basin, and the lands to the East, were still a part of the Atlantic Ocean floor.

The third trait of Lake George is the lack of vegetation, except along the shallow shorelines. Within the areas of open water, there is virtually no natural cover or growth.

And, finally, the fourth item is the active Armed Forces bombing range which lies along the East-central portion of the lake. This is an approximate nine mile by two mile rectangle used for the training and certification of pilots and bombardiers.

For our tour, let's start mid-way along the eastern shore, at Pine Island camp grounds and fish camp. Exiting from the small, short canal that leads from the ramp to the lake, we turn North, up along the eastern shoreline. As we start this turn, we note the large, wooden pilings far out into the foggy mist that shrouds the main lake.

The area in near the shoreline is very shallow and generally bordered by reeds and some standing grasses. To the outside of the reeds, we find significant amounts of eel grass, mixed with some pepper grass. The eel grass usually thins out and disappears when the depth gets to 4-5 feet. From that point, out to the gentle, rolling main drop-off, there appears to be no vegetation to speak of. It is generally 100-400 yards from the natural shoreline, out across this flat, to the main drop-off into the main lake. Once past the drop (into 10-12 feet)and in the deep water, we found no vegetation, either. This shoreline and vegetation pattern seems to hold constant all around the main lake body.

You will note old pilings scattered along the shoreline flats, with some extending out to the edge of the deep water. Those which reach close to the deeper area have potential for bass. We found a plastic worm to work well. Obviously, a Spring-time lure would also be a spinner bait.

These pilings also indicate that for each one we can see, there are possibly 10 underwater hidden from view. A `word to the wise' says to confine your high-speed motoring to the deep water areas and only idle in the flats.

On the North-east shoreline, marked on the map accompanying this article, is an area of special interest to bass anglers. The Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission (FG&FWFC) has designated this stretch of water as off-limits to fishing during the prime bass spawning season. It is well marked with large poles and brightly-colored signs. Approximately mid-way of the restricted area are the remains of an old target ship. Lying on its side in the shallow waters, this relic of a war era gone by spends the remainder of its days rusting away and serving as a curiosity to the visitors.

The intent of this restricted area effort is prohibit the taking of bedding bass and insure a maximum spawn. The hatched fry are then sampled to determine a density count in the area. The FG&FWFC biologists compare this count to counts taken in other parts of Lake George to determine if the taking of bedding bass has any significant effect on the results of the spawn. So far, the answer is no, it appears to have no appreciable effect. Apparently, two factors strongly influence this finding. First, few large, bedding female bass are actually taken. Most are very reluctant to strike any live bait or artificial. Second, these trophy-size bass constitute only a small portion of the overall spawning population.

At the North end of Lake George, we find Drayton Island. The main river channel and lake exit passes to the East of the island, with numerous marinas and camp areas along the East shoreline. To the West of the island, another passage exists. This one is not a main passage, but most boaters can navigate it easily if they follow the deeper water. The area around Drayton Island is Conquina stone, a form of compressed small stones, sand and shells. This provides some very hard and clean bottom structure and has some nice drop-offs and deep bank areas.

The West side of Drayton Island, in-between Kinsley and Rocky Points, was found to have a very sharp drop from 6 into approximately 12 feet of water. A medium-depth crank plug (we used a Bagley DB II and a Rebel Deep Wee-R, as examples) produced good, chunky largemouths all along the West drop-line. The drop on the East side was not as steep and a plastic worm seemed to work better there. As a suggestion, this area would appear to be best on windy days, when strong southerly or northerly winds would push induced water currents through the channel. We suspect that the bass gather to feed on this artificial current flow.

As we start down the West shore, we first come to Salt Cove. This is fed by the influx of the already-mentioned Salt Springs Creek. This section of Lake George is usually the first to experience a spawn of both bass and speckled perch (crappie). This is primarily because the entering spring waters run a constant 72 degrees (F) year-round. Also, the northern portion of a lake always gets more of the warming late-Winter/early-Spring sun and the northerly winds of Spring have less effect in this area.

At the lower corner of Salt Cove is a small feature known as Lisk Point. There is a good amount of eel grass in this area and it produces some fine bass angling.

Just below Lisk Point, there is a shallow flat that extends far out into the main body of the lake. There are some pilings out on the edge of the deep water, which nearly always seem to hold bass. If the bass are not in against the pilings, move out on the drop and try a very deep crank plug (such as a DB III or Magnum Hellbender) and a plastic worm. There are some remains of an old pier or some structure that collapsed and slid off into the deep water, right at the base of the drop-off. These remains have rotted away significantly, but can still hang up a lure. Hunt for them and you should also find a bass or two. In the Summer, crappie will also hang out on this deep cover.

Approximately two-thirds of the way down the West shoreline, we come to Silver Glen Spring Run. About two miles further South, we find Juniper Point, just above the entrance of Juniper Creek. From Silver Glen Spring Run to Juniper Point is another of those FG&FWFC off-limits areas to fishing during the bass spawning season. Again, it will be well marked and easily detectable.

All three creeks on this side of the lake are very good bass fishing, especially when heavy rains have made the creeks run strongly. Try the areas around the mouth first and then move into the creeks for a distance. Since all three run at the constant 72 degrees (F), the cover and flats near their mouths are good for spawning bass. Striped bass also make good spawning runs into the creeks (although they do not actually reproduce in these waters), particularly the more-saline Salt Creek. We were told that this Striper migration usually occurs in the Spring.

From the mouth area of Juniper Creek to Volusia Bar, there is a line of submerged pilings. Some are visible, especially when the water levels are low. Bass and crappie are regular inhabitants. We suggest you motor carefully in this area and place a few marker buoys to reference the piling line.

Juniper Cove is rated as very good for drift-fishing for crappie.

At the extreme South end of Lake George is the entrance of the St. Johns River. Through years of river flow, a very large and shallow slit area, called Volusia Bar, built up across this entrance. In order to retain navigational freedom, a channel is maintained. A portion of this man-made entrance point is lined with rock and some timbers and is locally referred to as the `Cow Pen'. Many different species of fish gather at this moving-water location to feed. Largemouth and striped bass are the two most commonly found. Watch for surface feeding action in and around the Cow Pen and use spoons, top-water lures and Shad-A-Lac (vibrating, free-running crank plug) style lures. Also, be sure to toss crank plugs and plastic worms near the obstructions present.

In the South-east corner of the lake is Jones Cove.

Surface schooling bass use this location well during the May/June and September/October periods. Some of the lake's larger crappie are taken drifting live minnows and small jigs a few hundred yards out from the shoreline.

Ninemile Point is the next feature and lies just up the lower East shoreline. On the bank, you will note a bombing range control tower and a microwave communications tower. Directly in front of this complex, a line of old pilings runs from the shore out to the drop into deep water. At the end of these pilings, some 250 yards into the lake, there are the remains of a deteriorated dock. While the squared-off set of dock pilings are mostly still visible, the platform materials have long since rotted and sunk. Some of the old boards and timbers are in amongst the remaining pilings, while other slid off into the deeper zones.

Ninemile Point is bordered by an outer growth ring of eel grass and an inner ring of reeds and small pads. Some pepper grass is mixed in. This entire point is rated excellent bass fishing by all the local anglers we talked to. We were told to work the eel grass using spinner baits (in the Spring and Fall) and plastic worms (year-round.) A slowly-fished, weedless Johnson Spoon, with a plastic trailer, was recommended for hot weather.

Willow Cove was indicated as a good spawning location for bass and crappie.

Willow Point has a large stand of isolated reeds out in the open water. This was the only place in Lake George that we noted this condition, although there may be others. The water in the reeds is 4-6 feet deep and there is no grass or other hindering growth. A spinner bait or worm can be cast far into the reeds and retrieved back with no far of hanging up.

When we started this tour of Lake George, we noted a cluster of pilings out in the lake. There are actually three of them and they are laid out in a circular pattern and serve as `targets' for the bombing range. The center cluster is the largest and is significant because it has a ship sunk in the middle of the piling circle. Local angler, who know the ship is there, find it a fine place to take crappie year-round.

In the months of May through July, the lake's striped bass population often provided great surface action in the bombing range area, particularly near the pilings. Watch for them and you can get the kinks out of your line in a hurry

Lake Oconee was impounded in 1979 by the construction of Wallace Dam, in Greene County near the towns of Madison and Greensboro. The 19,050-acre reservoir is operated in conjunction with Lake Sinclair as a pump-storage (pumpback) hydropower generation facility.

This operation and the lake's long, narrow shape produce noticeable water current throughout the lake during both power generation and pumpback. Crappie tend to be more active and feed more aggressively when water is moving through the dam.

Fifty plots of timber topped off below water level and 1,250 acres of standing timber were left along creek and river channels to serve as fish attractors and provide fish habitat. Public access is readily available through eight Georgia Power and U.S. Forest Service boat ramps. Several lakeside marinas also offer lodging, food, bait, tackle and other fishing-related services

Good numbers of harvestable-sized crappie should be available again this year, according to WRD fisheries biologists. About 40 percent should be more than 10 inches long.

Fishing around standing timber in Sugar Creek on the west side of the Oconee River arm of the lake or the upper end of the reservoir above the mouth of the Apalachee River is a good bet for crappie in the spring. So is fishing the upper end of Richland Creek and its feeder, Sandy Creek.

Lake Oconee is building a reputation as one of the best crappie lakes in Georgia, according to both Jimmy Shelnut and Robert Esco, a pair of anglers who have many top-10 crappie tournament finishes to their credit. They have some strong preferences with regard to how they target the fish.

"We feel like long poles help us not to spook the fish," says Shelnut. "The crappie are shallow during the spawning period, and our goal is to catch them before they know we're here. That's why we use the long poles, especially on the front of the boat.

"With the jigs 20 feet out in front of the boat, the noise of the trolling motor really doesn't get a chance to spook the fish, especially when we use the bump-and-coast method. This is where we turn the motor on briefly and then off as we coast for a while. Then the boat is very quiet as it moves across the water," he added.

Normally these anglers use a 1/16-ounce Hal Fly on each line and hook a minnow on the jig. The hook is run through the minnow's lower lip, so both baits can run straight through the water while being trolled.

They have a good reason for using this tandem rig.

"We tried it just to see what would happen, and we've kept using the setup. We feel that the minnow on the jig gives the fish a natural scent to follow, and if he happens to miss the bait the first time, he's more likely to strike the natural minnow again than just a jig alone," Shelnut explains.

"Another reason we like the combo rig," adds Esco, "is that we catch bigger fish. If you believe in the theory that bigger bait catches bigger fish, then this rig is for you. It takes a nice-sized crappie to swallow both the minnow and jig together. Over the course of all the many tournaments we have fished, we have found that we caught and culled fewer fish than most of the other teams.

"But more importantly," he continues, "our fish were bigger, on average, and that was our winning edge. It's not how many fish you catch, but the size and weight of your best 20 fish that count."

The trolling method used by these anglers is primarily designed to catch pre-spawn crappie, which move up the points and ledges of the feeder streams. On Oconee, they prefer the upper arms of the Oconee and Apalachee rivers for spring fishing. They also like to troll in Richland, Rocky and Lick creeks on the other major arm of the reservoir.

Usually these fishermen locate the crappie on the edge of a creek channel and troll parallel to it, often crossing the old channel numerous times as they move up and down the stream.

Georgia Sportsman Magazine Our Home-Grown Woodies Wood ducks are the Peach State's most numerous quackers and most dependable target for wingshooting. So how are our native ducks faring? Let's have a look.       Photo by Eric Dressier By Jeff Samsel Royal in appearance, with a green-crested crown, white highlights, burgundy chest, golden flanks and blue wings, the wood duck reigns as king of Georgia's ducks. More than half the ducks killed in the Peach State every winter are woodies, and some years the figure soars upward of 60 percent. These small, colorful ducks abound in wooded wetlands throughout the state. Wood ducks carry an added appeal for many Georgia hunters, because a lot of woodies are home-grown. Large numbers of wood ducks breed in Georgia wetlands and spend the entire year here. In fact, the wood duck's common Southern moniker of "summer duck" comes from the fact that they are commonly seen throughout the summer, when ducks of other species have migrated north. However, not all wood ducks killed in Georgia are locally reared birds. According to Greg Balkcom, statewide waterfowl biologist for the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division (WRD), that is a common misconception. In fact, the overwhelming majority of our wood ducks are not home grown. Banding research indicates that Georgia birds make up only 17 percent of the annual wood duck harvest.   "Most folks think the wood ducks are all raised here," Balkcom said. "The truth is that most of our wood ducks come from other parts of the Atlantic Flyway. Georgia hunters have killed wood ducks that were banded in every state in the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways." Balkcom noted that virtually all of the wood ducks on the Atlantic Flyway spend their winters in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina or Florida. Add in Georgia-bred birds that stay home, and the Peach State woodie population is always quite large during duck season. Band returns reveal that of Georgia-bred birds that hatch below the Fall Line, almost all stay in Georgia. Of those hatched farther north in the Peach State, roughly two-thirds stay home. Interestingly, the rest migrate west and only slightly south, crossing flyways to spend their winters in the southern part of the Central Flyway. Actual wood-duck numbers are very difficult to quantify, which is a big part of why the wood duck limit remains only two birds, despite consistently abundant numbers in Georgia wetlands. Traditional waterfowl surveys are conducted by airplane, and woodies are virtually impossible to count from the air because they spend most of their time in wooded wetlands, where they cannot be seen. Other types of population assessments, based on band-return data, Christmas bird counts, breeding duck counts, harvest numbers throughout the flyway, and other types of work do offer some indication of wood duck numbers, and those assessments point toward a slight general increase in wood duck numbers. Waterfowl biologists within the Atlantic Flyway are seeking to increase the amount of data they have available on wood duck numbers, partly with the hope of being able to have variable wood duck limits, according to population trends. "We have to be very careful with limits, however, when we have the entire flyway's wood duck population in one area during the season," Balkcom said. Various factors certainly have contributed to increases in wood duck numbers. One likely key among them has been an increase in beaver numbers in several states. Over the years, Balkcom has observed that beaver ponds offer ideal wood duck habitat, and local increases in beaver numbers seem to go hand in hand with increases in the wood duck population. Beaver numbers have increased throughout the eastern United States in recent years due both to work done by wildlife agencies and to a decrease in fur market prices and, consequently, trapping interest. Wood duck boxes, rectangular wooden boxes that provide nesting cavities for wood ducks, also have proved to be a real boon to woodies in recent years. The WRD maintains more than 2,300 such boxes on wildlife management areas (WMAs) throughout the state, and those boxes produced an estimated 9,000 ducklings this spring. "Add in the boxes put up by private land owners or conservation organizations, and you are looking at the possibility of tens of thousands of wood ducks being produced," Balkcom said. The Georgia Waterfowl Association has a wood duck box project that has a stated goal of building, installing and maintaining 7,000 of the structures in Georgia wetlands. More than 3,000 boxes are already in place from the project, which began in 2000. Outside Georgia's borders, similar programs are carried out by game departments, private landowners and various organizations throughout the wood ducks' breeding range. Wood ducks are cavity nesters, meaning they establish their nests in holes in trees. Even areas that offer very good habitat for adult wood ducks won't support breeding activity if there are no trees with large enough holes in them for the nests. Where timber has been cut around a wetland at one time, for example, most trees are not likely to have any suitable sized cavities in them. "Wood duck boxes can be put up for two main reasons," Balkcom said. "The first is to add nesting cavities in an area where natural cavities might be lacking. The second reason is to provide safer nesting cavities. A wood duck box put up over water with a predator guard on the post is a far safer place for a nest, providing protection against rat snakes and other predators." WOOD DUCK HUNTING Wood ducks, as their name suggests, prefer woody habitat. In fact, they rarely stray far from wooded wetlands associated with creeks and rivers. Dabbling ducks - so called because they tilt down in the water to feed instead of diving - feed primarily on acorns during fall and winter. Acorns provide the fat that woodies need through the cool months. During the spring, when breeding activity takes place and higher protein levels are needed, they switch primarily to a diet of insects.   In order to provide good wood duck habitat, an area must have plenty of acorn-producing hardwoods. In addition, wood ducks require plenty of brush or other cover close to the water for protection. Reclusive birds, wood ducks spend their days in sloughs, along river edges or in beaver ponds, typically under cover or quite close to it. Except to flee a threat, wood ducks seldom fly much during the day. The best wingshooting, therefore, typically takes place early in the morning, when the woodies leave their roost sites and fly to feeding areas. Later in the day, most wood duck hunting is done by jump-shooting birds while wading or floating streams. Balkcom pointed toward beaver ponds throughout Georgia as prime areas for wood duck hunting. He suggested that hunters get set up while it's still dark and be prepared for pass-shooting opportunities when the woodies fly from roost sites to feeding sites first thing in the morning. Many hunters get their wood duck shots early and then hang out awhile longer, just in case any mallards or other ducks make an appearance. In addition to beaver ponds, backwater sloughs around lowland rivers provide similar habitat and very good shooting opportunities. Balkcom suggested that hunters look for cover that wood ducks would be able to hide in and for oak trees over the water or very near to it. "Water oaks are good to look for because they are common in those types of areas and they have fairly small acorns, which are easy for wood ducks to eat," he said. Balkcom pointed out that wood ducks don't tend to respond to calls or come in to spreads of decoys like most other ducks. "I have found that if a hunter is set up with a small set of decoys and does just a little bit of calling, wood ducks sometimes alter their path a bit just to check out what's over there," he said. "Sometimes that gets them just close enough to provide good shots." In addition to setting up in beaver ponds or other wooded wetlands, another effective way to hunt wood ducks is to wade up a fairly small stream, jumping birds from cover along the edges. Creek hunters must learn to wade with a great deal of stealth in order to keep birds from flying while they are still out of shooting range. That means moving slowly and quietly. In addition, it means dressing in a good woodsy camouflage pattern and using banks and shoreline obstructions for concealment. Creek hunters must learn to be stalkers and be ready for ducks to pop up at all times. For slightly larger streams, especially those that have water that is too deep to wade through, an alternative approach is to float hunt with a canoe or other small boat. Hunters may not shoot from a boat if the boat is moving under the propulsion of any type of motor, but movement from paddle power or current is fine. Float hunters typically do best by working in teams, with the person in the back of the boat handling the paddling while the person in the front remains ready to shoot. They can then alternate positions after each shot taken or duck killed. Again, a quiet approach is absolutely essential, and the paddler should keep the boat tight to the bank. Also, the shooter must always be ready, especially when cover lies just downstream or when the boat slips around a bend. Related Resources WHERE TO HUNT Balkcom said that largest percentage of Georgia wood duck hunting probably takes place on private lands. This does not mean, however, that public-land opportunities are minimal. In fact, waterfowl hunters probably enjoy widespread opportunity to target woodies on public property more than they do any other duck species.   "I'd say that just about every wildlife management area in the state of Georgia has at least one place on it where someone can hunt wood ducks," Balkcom opined. "It might be a beaver pond or other small wetland, or it might be a creek that runs through the property." Hunters who want to target woodies need to spend some time looking at maps of WMAs close to home or in the area they want to hunt, and then scout out the ponds and creeks to see what they look like. You need to look for oak trees and for the cover that wood ducks require, then consider how and where to set up or formulate a plan for working a creek. Maps provide good starting points, but they only paint part of the picture. Spending some time scouting close to the season might also provide clues to where the birds roost and to flight patterns to feeding areas. However, as Balkcom noted, flight patterns are apt to change often - at times daily - based on food supplies and other factors like wind direction and water levels. In backwaters along river bottoms, for example, the ducks are apt to find the best feeding conditions in different locations when the river is high and goes way back into the trees than when the flooded area is much smaller. Some of the most popular and traditionally productive public areas for wood duck hunting are those WMAs that border major rivers within the Coastal Plain, Balkcom noted. Woodies make heavy use of wooded backwaters along these rivers, and several Coastal Plain WMAs offer plenty of room for duck hunters to spread out in. Along the Savannah River, Balkcom pointed toward Tuckahoe WMA as a traditionally productive wood duck hunting area. Tuckahoe covers more than 15,000 acres near Sylvania, including swamps, Savannah River oxbows and a handful of tributary creeks. A network of dirt roads provides access to several parts of the WMA. Some wood duck hunting areas, however, are better accessed by boat. Along the Ocmulgee River, Balkcom suggested Bullard Creek WMA and Horse Creek WMA, which are located east and west of Hazlehurst, respectively. Bullard Creek spreads over 13,993 acres and includes extensive backwaters, plus the namesake Bullard Creek. One tract is accessible only by boat or foot. Horse Creek adds another 8,392 acres on the north side of the Ocmulgee. Boats probably provide the best access to most wood-duck hunting areas on both WMAs along the Ocmulgee River. Moving downstream in the same watershed, hunters find extensive opportunity to hunt wood ducks along the Altamaha River. This large coastal river has a broad flood plain and four major WMAs spread along it. Big Hammock, Griffin Ridge, Sansavilla and Altamaha WMAs encompass a combined 62,301 acres, of which a good percentage offers quality wood duck habitat. Hunters who spend some time scouting and get into good spots early are apt to enjoy very good shooting along the Altamaha. Altamaha WMA is the largest of the four areas along its namesake river, covering 29,278 acres at the far lower end of the river. One of the state's most popular waterfowl hunting areas, Altamaha is open on a limited number of days of the week for waterfowl hunting and quotas apply to some areas. Hunters should check this year's regulations for details before planning outings. All four WMAs offer extensive backwater areas, tributary creeks and main-river hunting opportunities. Big Hammock and Griffin Ridge, which cover 6,946 and 5,616 acres, respectively, are made up almost completely of lowland areas that are sometimes flooded, depending on the river level. Similar prospects can be found on WMAs along several other coastal rivers, including the Flint, Ohoopee and Satilla, plus various creeks that have broad backwaters. Wood duck populations are good throughout Georgia, so hunters simply need to spend some time exploring and then try out potentially productive areas. BEFORE YOU GO In addition to a hunting license, duck hunters need state and federal duck stamps, plus a free Migratory Bird Hunting License (H.I.P. permit). A WMA license is also needed for hunting on WMA lands. Migratory bird hunting regulations and bag limits are available on the Web at www.georgiawildlife.com.

Escape on Highway 98

Pack up the truckster for a family fishing roadtrip across the Florida Panhandle.

By Rick Farren

From Port St. Joe to Pensacola, U.S. Highway 98 parallels the Gulf coast through a cross-section of Florida Panhandle communities and habitats. It passes through military bases, quaint fishing villages, sprouting condo cities and towering pine forests. And it runs along some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, backed by lofty sand dunes and decorated with waving patches of sea oats.

For the roadside angler, this 150-mile stretch of highway connects a wealth of great fishing opportunities--some at the end of short side trips, and some just a few steps away from the highway.

Our virtual journey begins in the small town of Port St. Joe. Once largely dependant upon a local paper mill, this coastal village is beginning to re-invent itself as an eco-tourism economy.

One popular local fishing hole is the Low Docks, located at the end of First Street in the middle of the small downtown district. Drive past the Port St. Joe Marina and the road will end on a small spit of land. This spot was once used for loading paper mill products, but is now only used for fishing. Almost year-round, the deep, clear water next to the long seawall holds a collection of sea bass, sheepshead, mangrove snapper and flounder.

The next stop is less than a mile to the north under the George G. Tapper Bridge over the Gulf County Canal. Follow the paved road under the north side of the bridge, then turn onto a sandy road leading back under the bridge to the mouth of the canal. The canal connects St. Joe Bay to the Intracoastal Waterway five miles inland. During the colder months fish from the bay (mostly flounder, speckled trout and redfish) move into the deeper, warmer waters of the canal. During the summer the mouth of the canal is popular for seatrout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel. Livebait anglers typically fish in the deeper part of the canal, letting their bait drift slowly with the tidal current. The flats just north of the canal entrance are good for wading and casting plastic grubs or live shrimp.

Leaving Port St. Joe behind, Highway 98 breaks out of a patch of forest and slides right up next to beaches of the Emerald Coast (obviously named for the color of the water bordering the bright white sand). A line of vintage single-story homes along the road across from the beach gives the area an old Florida feel.

There are plenty of spots along the beach side of the road to pull off, with paths or boardwalks leading across the dunes. The best fishing is during the spring, summer and early fall for seatrout, Spanish mackerel, pompano (especially in the spring), whiting and redfish.

The Mexico Beach Public Pier is in the middle of Mexico Beach at the end of 37th Street. It's a great place to catch redfish and seatrout in the spring, summer and fall, black drum in the winter, and whiting year-round. Because of the pier's relatively short length, and the nearshore sandbars, it doesn't produce many Spanish mackerel or pompano.

Back on the highway, most of the land along the coast between Mexico Beach and Panama City is part of Tyndall Air Force Base, so there's no place to stop, for anything.

The next convenient spot is the out-of-commission bridge over East Bay just east of Panama City. There is walk-on access from both ends, and the bridge, which is known as a place to catch reds, trout and sheepshead, provides access to the deeper waters of the Intracoastal Waterway.

For a great side trip, turn south on Thomas Drive (State Road 3031) just west of the Hathaway Bridge on Highway 98 and follow the signs to the St. Andrews State Recreation Area. There you'll find both a Gulf and a bay pier, and some pretty good jetty fishing in St. Andrews Pass. The bay pier juts into the Grand Lagoon and puts anglers within reach of redfish, seatrout and Spanish mackerel in the summer. The Gulf pier is well-known for its pompano and Spanish mackerel fishing in the spring and summer.

A few miles northwest, on Alt. Highway 98 (also called State Road 30), are two excellent fishing piers, the MB Miller County Pier, and the Dan Russell City Pier. Both are known for Spanish mackerel, pompano and cobia fishing in the spring and summer. The County Pier is located two miles west of Panama City Beach, and the Dan Russell City Pier is four miles farther down the beach.

Beyond Panama City, Highway 98 swings inland, while County Road 30A continues along the coast through developments like Seaside and WaterColor, which share the shoreline with a remarkable system of sand dunes and freshwater lakes. A string of state and county coastal parks have preserved some excellent examples of this unique habitat.

The sand dune lakes, which include Eastern Lake, Western Lake and Deer Lake, are so named because they’re tucked right behind the beach dunes. The lakes contain the usual mix of bass and bluegill, along with an occasional saltwater species blown in by the rare hurricane. The lakes lend themselves mostly to wade fishing but some have boat ramps for small outboards.

The main attraction for the coastal parks—such as Deer Lake State Park--are the incredibly beautiful beaches, which are backed by a line of tall sand dunes. The standard beach fishing approach applies (lawn chairs, cooler, sand spikes, etc.) for whiting, redfish, seatrout, bluefish and pompano. Keep in mind that getting to the beach may involve a long trek across the dunes through some very soft sand.

Grayton Beach State Recreation Area provide easier access to the beach, but consequently attracts more of the sunbathing/swimming/frisbee crowds. September and October are excellent fishing months at the parks, when you’ll find more elbow room and plenty of fish.

If you take the Highway 98 route instead of diverting to 30A, you can visit the old Highway 331 bridge and causeway. When the new bridge was built the old bridge was turned into a pair of fishing piers. This is a great place to cast for redfish and seatrout, and the nearby pilings of the new bridge provide excellent sheepshead habitat.

Five miles beyond the point where County Road 30A rejoins Highway 98, State Road 2378 splits back to the coast. It passes two more beach parks, Miramar Beach and Silver Beach Wayside Park, which offer easy access to the beach for equipment-carrying anglers.

If you stay on Highway 98, you can take a short side trip north on State Road 293 to see the Wyland Whaling Wall mural on the Legendary Marina building at the south side of the bridge over Choctawhatchee Bay.

Back on Highway 98, the next town is Destin—home to one of the state’s biggest charterboat fleets, as well as a hodge-podge of T-shirt shops, malls, bumper boats, condos, golf courses and souvenir shops. On the west side of Destin, cross over the East Pass Bridge and turn south off the road and back to the water. East Pass connects Choctawhatchee Bay with the Gulf. This is a popular spot in the summer for redfish, Spanish mackerel and flounder.

Highway 98 next enters the Gulf Islands National Seashore (Okaloosa Area) where you'll find designated entrance points on the Gulf side of the road, but with a pretty good walk to the beach. John Beasley Wayside Park is on the bay side of the barrier island, just east of the Okaloosa Island Pier. There's a large parking area and easy access to the bay for anyone wishing to do a little fishing in search of trout and reds.

The Okaloosa Island Pier, just east of the bridge over Santa Rosa Sound to Fort Walton Beach, is worth a stop just to see the fish gathered around the pilings. In the spring, summer and fall, pier anglers scan the clear water for schools of Spanish mackerel and bluefish. They also catch pompano in the spring and kingfish in the fall.

Back on Highway 98 and headed west, the next side trip begins in the town of Navarre. Take State Road 399 back across Santa Rosa Sound and onto Santa Rosa Island. You can turn west to the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier or east to Shoreline Park. Both are new state facilities. The most impressive claim the pier can make, in addition to the standard fare of Spanish mackerel, pompano and bluefish, is some fantastic fall kingfish action.

From Navarre Pier, continue west to the entrance of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. There you'll find a number of small, paved parking areas, some with covered pavilions, that offer easy access to the beach. Last fall from one of these spots I watched kingfish rocketing out of the water just offshore. It's also a popular pompano fishing beach during the spring and fall runs. The next stop is the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier, said to be the longest pier on the Gulf. It's easy to find—just look for the huge Pensacola Beach water tower. As on the Okaloosa Pier, here you’ll have a shot at everything from pompano to cobia to kingfish.

At the very western end of the island is Pensacola Pass and Fort Pickens. Ask at the entrance booth for directions to the rock jetties where everyone fishes. There's also a short fishing pier on the property.

The pass is home to some fine fishing, from bull reds to doormat flounder, depending on the season. On one brief evening trip I watched a family fishing along one of the jetties catch Spanish mackerel, flounder, croaker, snapper and even small grouper.

A return to Pensacola Beach, and then back over Santa Rosa Sound, is where you rejoin Highway 98 for the grand finale. That would be the Gulf Breeze Municipal Pier and the Pensacola Bay Fishing Bridge, which were created out of the old Pensacola Bay Bridge. This pair of angling facilities shows what a little innovation can do for family fishing. On a typical Friday or Saturday evening you'll see folks setting up tables, chairs, camp stoves and lanterns in anticipation of a night fishing under the stars. There's even a truck that sells snacks and bait. (Web anglers might check out www.fishthebridge.com for reports and a lively bulletin board.)

From flounder to sheepshead and black drum, the bridge provides access to every gamefish that swims in Pensacola Bay. In the fall, even kingfish invade the inshore waters, turning the two piers into a hot bed of angling action, and frustrating dreams for those unprepared for one of the big fish.

Hybird Fishing and Birds

Some folks say fishing is for the birds. That may be true to them, but for us fishermen, birds can lead us to fish.

I discovered this first-hand in the 1970s while fishing at Clark's Hill. I had heard stories of how sea gulls would gather over schools of white bass, so when I saw gulls circling and diving in Big Creek I headed over to them. Casting a Shyster with a Doll Fly tied 18 inches behind it, I caught several of the 2 pound fish before they quit feeding.

When hybrids and stripers were introduced in lakes in Georgia, fishermen quickly found out the gulls would point the way to them, too. One afternoon I was heading in about an hour before dark and I saw gulls diving. When I stopped, I saw some big swirls. Casting a crankbait, I quickly hooked up with a six pound hybird. I caught six of them, all weighing 5 or 6 pounds, before it got dark and they quit feeding.

Gulls can fool you, though. They will circle and dive on groups of loons, too. I have seen dozens of gulls following a single loon as it fed on shad. So if you see loons in the water where the gulls are diving, and no swirls of fish, make a few casts anyway but don't expect too much action!

Fish like bass, hybrids, stripers and white bass, as well as loons, will chase schools of shad near the surface and make the gulls dive to catch them. The birds will also pick up injured and dead shad the fish leave after hitting them, but most of those hurt shad will be eaten by the fish before the birds can get them.

Ambush points like long shallow points, humps and shoals are good spots to watch for gulls. Fish will lurk on these spots and wait on shad to approach. When they attack the school of shad, the baitfish will head to the surface, attracting the birds.  Drop a shad shaped plug in the area and you should get bit.

During the winter lots of gulls move inland in the south to escape the bad weather on the coast. That is the prime time to fish the birds in Georgia - from November through March. A few birds may stick around during warm weather, but you are more likely to see them in cold weather.

We also have a lot of terns on our lakes - often called Judas gulls by area fishermen. Terns will dive and pick individual shad off the surface, even when there are no game fish nearby. Hence the name - they betray the fishermen trying to follow them. If you see single birds diving, especially if they are smaller than seagulls, they are probably terns. They will dive on schools of fish like gulls do, but they will often mislead you.

Go fishing and watch the birds. They might help you catch more fish!

WILD TURKEYS IN GEORGIA

Historically, the wild turkey was abundant in Georgia. It was a staple in the diet of American Indians and Colonial settlers who were dependent on wildlife as a source of meat. Market hunting and habitat loss gradually depleted the wild turkey population.

Populations in Georgia reached their lowest levels between 1900 and 1930. The Georgia DNR's Game and Fish Division initiated an intensive wild turkey restoration program in 1972. This effort included a county by county inventory of turkey populations, the amount of habitat present, and identification of factors limiting population expansion. Wild turkeys were then trapped and moved to suitable vacant habitat. Turkey numbers have increased dramatically since the inception of this program. The following statistics indicate the extent of this increase statewide and the success of this program:

TURKEY STOCKING: More than 4,000 wild turkeys have been trapped and relocated to over 300 sites since 1973.

POPULATION ESTIMATES: In 1973, the wild turkey population in Georgia was estimated at only 14,700 to 17,400 birds. In 1999, the turkey population is well over 400,000. Georgia is second only to Texas in the total number of wild turkeys!

HUNTING SEASONS: In 1973, only 41 counties and 6 wildlife management areas had a spring gobbler season. In 1999, all 159 counties are open for turkey hunting, plus dozens of WMAs!

ANNUAL HARVEST: In 1971, an estimated 675 birds were harvested in Georgia. In 1998, the number of birds taken exceeded 70,000!

ECONOMICS: The minimum economic value of turkey hunting in Georgia has been conservatively estimated at over $30 million. The restoration of the wild turkey in Georgia has been largely funded by hunters through hunting license revenue and Pittman-Robertson funds, which is an excise tax on firearms and ammunition.

FUTURE: In Georgia, the wild turkey population is near the point where increases from expansion of existing populations will be offset by population losses resulting from reduced quality or elimination of habitat. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division is committed to working with landowners and sportsmen to improve and protect wild turkey populations and their habitat. If you desire assistance on managing wild turkeys on your property contact your local DNR Wildlife Biologist. The main telephone number for DNR is 770-918-6416.

2001 GEORGIA TURKEY HUNTER SURVEY RESULTS

as reported by DNR Wildlife Biologist W.S. Nicholson, Sr.

The annual telephone survey was funded by SuperFund dollars generated through our NWTF Banquet program.   The survey yielded the following results:

>  97% of the hunters were male.

>  The average age is 44 years.

>  Average turkey hunting experience is 9 years.

>  Average hunter hunted for 10.6 days and killed .59 turkeys.

>  Estimated statewide harvest was 20,196 turkeys.

>  Jake turkeys comprised 17.4% of the harvest.

>  71.8% of turkey hunters rated their hunt quality as good.

>  10.3% of turkey hunters rated their hunt quality as poor.

>  Public land accounted for 17.0% of the statewide harvest.

>  Private land hunters averaged .53 birds per hunter.

>  Private land hunters were 26.2% more successful than public land hunters.

Cleaning Crappies Made Easy...

Ever struggled with cleaning crappies? I have. Well, I'm going to share with you, what my friend Fred W. Hill shared with me.

A few years ago my buddy Fred bet me that he could fillet a Crappie in less than 20 seconds. Having cleaned literally thousands of the little buggers myself I could not resist the bet. I knew that it would take me a minimum of one minute to clean a Crappie even with a very good fillet knife. So we wagered a traditional bottle of 12 year old George Dickel. Give ya' one guess what happened. You got it, he cleaned that fish in about 15 seconds flat wasting no meat. Can you believe he had the nerve to go for double or nothing? - He said he could fillet a minnow. After watching him go at that Crappie I figured it was a sucker bet.

Needless to say I have been cleaning Crappies his way ever since.

First catch some crappies. No easy task, I know. But like cleaning 'em, catchin' 'em requires some practice too.

Actually, this technique will work on most fish, so experiment. Go in the kitchen and get your electric knife. If it's not one with a trigger on the bottom, put it back where you found it. The beating you will take for using the wrong kind of knife will not be worth it, trust me. Go to Wal Mart and get yourself a brand X electric carving knife. Just make sure it has a trigger on the bottom, not a push button operated by your thumb. The knife I use cost me a whopping $9. No need to get the best one. I do not recommend the DC powered fillet knives. We all keep one in the boat for shore lunches. But when you are going to clean a bunch of fish you will appreciate the power of the AC knife. Besides, the DC knives are big and hard to handle.

Ok here goes. Follow along with the photo's...

1) Do not scale the Crappie! This is not necessary when using this technique. Start the knife in just behind the gill plate and fin. Cut in until you feel the backbone.

3) Run the blade along the backbone, being careful to keep the blade as close to the backbone as you can. You don't want to waste any of the meat. Stop! Just before you get to the tail of the fish, stop the blade of the knife. Flip the fillet, skin, scales and all, over.