The Angler Magazine | July 2024 | Greater Atlanta Edition

LAKE-RUN TROUT

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PUBLISH YOUR OWN FISHING MAGAZINE

By Nick Carter

Trout don’t grow huge on a diet of insects alone, so Budkey fshes 2- to 3-inch-long bait lures to take advantage of the carnivorous tendencies of big fsh. Tese fsh have good eyesight, so he fshes 4-pound-test and said light line can be the diference between catching dozens of fsh or nothing at all.

Now… battling 10-pound trout in current with light line is tricky, to say the least.

“You really have to wear them out. you all the way down the creek and back up it, jumping and thrashing,” Budkey said. “If you try to muscle them, they’ll break you o

SIT THERE AND FOR GIANT TROUT

Part-time guide Stephen Budkey catches a lot of outsized trout fshing the streams of western Pennsylvania. Much of his success with giant 6- to 15-pound rainbows and browns has to do with location, but he also uses some interesting tactics that specifcally appeal to large fsh.

Te setting is on Lake Erie tributaries. Tese streams vary in size, but generally Pennsylvania is known for smaller fows. Te key to their productivity is the lake. Lake Erie feeder streams experience steelhead runs a lot like the rivers of the Pacifc Northwest. Fish grow large gorging on baitfsh in open water before pushing into tributaries in early fall to spawn. Te lakerun rainbow trout in this migration are called steelheads, and there are bruiser brown trout that run up out of the lake, as well. Budkey also has access to a stretch of privately managed tailwater, which is an obvious target-rich environment for very large trout. Regardless of where he’s fshing, he uses tactics and gear that might seem odd to

trout anglers in other regions.

If you’re a snooty fy fsher, set your tweed hat aside for a minute. Tis might not convince you to pick up a spinning rod, but Budkey has an undeniable knack for catching giant trout, and you might just learn or adapt something from his style of fshing.

Reading water in western Pennsylvania is the same as it is anywhere. Trout like the cold, welloxygenated water of broken water and rifes. When targeting large trout, Budkey said he looks for the deepest runs or waterfall holes in the creek he’s fshing.

“I’m talking about creeks that are sometimes just the width of your car, and these fsh will just stack up in there,” he said. “And when they stack up, they really stack up. It’s wild.”

Budkey said clients who are decent anglers can have 25-fsh days that include trout that might weigh 6 to 10 pounds. Most of these trout were originally stocked by the state, but there is some reproduction, and holdover fsh that have been in

To even the odds, Budkey fshes a 10-footlong noodle rod, which is extremely absorb shock during the fght and protect that light line. Another important factor is a big net for landing fsh, and it doesn’t hurt to have someone else to serve as net-man. Sometimes it’s not possible to bring big fsh to hand, and a net man can wade out to get them.

When trout are aggressive, they are super aggressive, Budkey said. He likes a good-old foating Rapala when the trout are actively chasing and fshes a 2-inch F05 or a 2.75-inch F07 tied on with a loop knot. He just throws it into the current, gives it a jerk to get it wobbling and lets it sit there until a fsh crashes it.

If fsh want something on or near the bottom, Budkey fshes jigs. Trout Magnet jigheads in 1/32 and 1/64 ounce—the lightest you can get away with—paired with Gulp! sof plastics are deadly. Trout are suckers for these scented plastics, and he likes the 2.5- and 3-inch minnows as well as Killer Crawlers and Pinched Crawlers.

Te technique with the jigs is slow. Budkey said he just wiggles the rod tip to give the lure some action.

“It’s almost like I don’t want to move the jig toward me very much, at all. I just want it to sit there and wiggle,” he said. “It’s like shaking a donut in someone’s face at the gym. Tey can’t handle it. Tey’ll run out and grab it.”

Afer the take, it’s time to start worrying about how to battle that fsh to the net on super-light line. Budkey said that is the most fun part of trout fshing, and he loves nothing more than showing other people how to experience it.

See some of Budkey’s tactics on YouTube @FishFightsPA.

NOAA PROCLAIMS RIDICULOUS ONE-DAY SNAPPER SEASON

In mid-June, NOAA Fisheries announced a one-day recreational season for red snapper in the South Atlantic. Although there was widespread grumbling and gnashing of teeth by recreational anglers, it did not come as a surprise to pretty much anyone.

First the season: Red snapper harvest will be open for recreational anglers in the South Atlantic, from North Carolina through Florida, on July 12. Te limit is one fsh per angler.

Te date is subject to change in case a small craf weather advisory is projected. Any change in the date of the recreational season will be announced in the Federal Register, Fishery Bulletin, and an announcement via NOAA Weather Radio.

Now the reasoning: In 2008, NOAA’s stock assessment indicated red snapper in the South Atlantic were in bad shape and devastatingly overfshed. Over the last 16 years, NOAA has essentially shut down recreational fshing for the species, and catch limits for commercial fshing have been kept very low. Not surprisingly, it worked! Populations rebounded to the point where data indicates red snapper are now more plentiful in the South Atlantic than at any time since such data existed. What’s more, the fshery continues to improve ahead of the projected recovery timeline.

Tis year, instead of allowing greater access to the fshery, NOAA decided to tighten already draconian restrictions. Te overall quota for red snapper was cut by 25 percent for 2024. As the fshery has improved, recreational anglers have gone from a ridiculously short fve-day season in 2019 to an absurd one day of fshing in 2024.

According to NOAA Fisheries, the red snapper fshery is in a “recovery trap.” Abundant red snapper have led to increased incidental catches by anglers, and NOAA extrapolates that data into a formula for catch-and-release mortality. Basically, they’re telling us that there are so many red snapper that anglers are killing too many of them by catching and releasing them.

Te result is tighter regulations in an infexible system, where highly questionable data is used to shut down access to a public resource. We’re not even going into numerous occasions in recent years when NOAA has been forced to admit its data is shockingly fawed.

According to the American Sportfshing Association, work is underway to improve data collection for the South Atlantic red snapper fshery.

In the meantime, try not to get in a boat wreck during the one-day mad dash to catch your one red snapper from the Atlantic. Or you can just trailer your boat to the Gulf of Mexico, where the states fnally managed to bludgeon some sense into federal fsheries managers a few years ago.

For more information, go to coastalanglermag.com.

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TO IMPROVE YOUR OFFSHORE GAMEPLAN READ WATER

Welcome to the best day of the week—the day before your next fshing trip! If you’re going ofshore tomorrow, it’s time to make a game plan, and a look at current Sea Surface Temperature (SST) charts is the frst step. With knowledge of accurate surface temps, chlorophyll imagery and other environmental factors, you can home in on areas that are likely to hold baitfsh and feeding predators.

By Mark Ambert

to consider when targeting gamefsh. It provides shelter and feeding opportunities for all marine life. While you can stumble upon fsh just about anywhere in the ocean, you’ll locate more on and around structure.

Large underwater structure defects current and pushes nutrient-rich water toward the surface, creating areas where bait concentrates and holds. Also remember that weed lines are a key form of structure on the edges of the Gulf Stream.

A reasonably priced satellite service is a small price to pay when compared to rising fuel prices and time spent running in search of gamefsh. Here are a few of the factors SST charts can help you decipher and improve the odds of fnding fsh.

Color Breaks: Te boundary areas between blue and green water, ofen referred to as color breaks, will typically stack up bait and hold above-average numbers of gamefsh.

Chlorophyll is the beginning of the food chain for marine life. Find it and you have a good chance at locating bait and fsh. Temperature and chlorophyll breaks ofen correspond with color changes. So, once you’ve reviewed the images and located the general area of a color break, this becomes an area of interest.

Structure & Current: Structure is critical

If you can fnd a color change that corresponds with structure, this is where you want to begin fshing. If everything lines up, there’s a good chance upon arrival that you’ll see marine life including birds, porpoise, fying fsh and other bait. Tis doesn’t mean you won’t catch fsh in of-colored water, but there’s a much better chance you’ll fnd concentrations of bait in or around the edges of areas where green and blue water interact.

Tides from inlets also play a role in water clarity, creating rips and weed-line formation. Bait will concentrate along the edge, especially where this water pushes up against the waters of the Gulf Stream. Look for these demarcation lines on incoming and outgoing tides.

Learn to read these vital signs both on and of the water using charts. If you can consistently

fnd areas that hold bait, you’ll always have a shot at your quarry. You will have become a top predator!

Mark Ambert, IG @marksgonefshing_™

ENTER TO WIN

THE GUIDE’S ANGLE

Contributed By: Chris Scalley River Through Atlanta Guide Service

The coolest place to fish in Georgia this summer!!! The annual average water temperature exiting at the base of Buford Dam penstocks is 56F at depths of 125ft.

Did you know it takes on average 2 ½ years for a drop of water to cycle through Lake Lanier? The impressive size of the Lanier impoundment (38,000 surface acres) and with the deepest depths at 200 feet are key for our tremendous water storage capacity supplying the greater metro with drinking water. Did you know Atlanta is the second

highest city of its size next to Denver, Colorado? The combination of our latitude and elevation, our winters are cooler, and our summers are relatively mild causing what scientists call “winter stored water columns” on a massive scale in Lake Lanier. If you’re looking for a cool place to fish, this summer look no further than the Chattahoochee River below Buford Dam!

SUMMER COLORS

By Jeff Durniak | Unicoi Outfitters

Savvy trouters around these parts know that their summer options are limited to icy tailwaters and high elevation headwaters. Today we’ll help you on those headwaters with the top colors for your blueline trout bugs. First, it’s important to remember that fly pattern ranks a distant third to the importance of a) stealth and b) a drag-free drift in catching wild headwater trout. Spooked fish don’t eat, so stalk them slowly and make sure your fly drifts naturally. Then we can worry about your fly pattern and colors. And those summer colors are tan, yellow, black, and green. Here are our favorite patterns when slinking through rhododendron tunnels for native specks and wild bows. We carry these flies in sizes 14 and 16. The 16’s will catch all fish in the stream, while the 14’s will cull out most of the tiny trout and let you focus on the adults.

First is tan. We love a tan elk hair caddis because it’s buggy, floats high through broken waters, and is easily seen. Dope it up with floatant to start and revive it between catches with a good desiccant. Next up is yellow. There are plenty of summer insects showing off that color. Think of yellow jackets, little stoneflies, and even a few sulfur mayflies. Unicoi Outfitters’ blueline expert, Wes McElroy, loves tossing a 409 Yeager in yellow for his Smokies specks. Its fluffy wing is highly visible, and the foam body makes this bug nearly unsinkable. Third on our color list is black. Carry some ant and beetle imitations to mimic the most common summer groceries in headwater streams. I like a parachute black ant because the white wing post is easy to spot in

LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING

the shade. On deeper pools, drop a small black fur ant (wet fly) a foot off the back of your dry to entice bigger, spooky fish from the depths. Lastly, hedge your bet with one more color, green. The inchworm “hatch” fires up summer salmonids, so toss a couple of green weenies or short, bright green squirmy worms in your fly box for those few selective fish that pass on your caddis and ant.

If you need a trout fix this summer, go high with these flies and enjoy nature’s colorful, finned gifts to our sport. Just take care of those fish during their most stressful season.

Hit the streams in the morning when their temperatures are below 66 degrees and keep the fish wet while unhooking them. Hopefully this color palette will pay off with abundant summer smiles for your high elevation hikes!

LAKE SEMINOLE

Forecast By: Captain Paul Tyre

The bass fishing on Lake Seminole last month was excellent! As predicted, the big bass were biting, and we expect it to continue through July! If planning a trip to Lake Seminole in July, there are some baits that you will want to have in your tackle box. Topwater lures like a buzzbait and a Rebel Pop R fished along the edges of the grass lines on the main lake are great choices and both can generate explosive strikes!

For a slower presentation, soft plastics are a must in June on Seminole. A 5” Yum Dinger in June Bug is an excellent choice rigged on a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook fished slow.

For a bigger presentation, I prefer a 10” Yum ribbon tail worm with a light weight, also rigged on a Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG hook, again fished slow along the outside edge of the grass lines.

Oh July. Home of the great Independence Day, the first moon walk, the month Amazon was founded, and of course fireworks. Not to mention mosquitos, crowds, heat, and the dreaded wake boat parades. July can be a challenging month for fishing. With water temperatures nearly at their peak, the fish can be very lethargic. The golden key to Nottely is getting out very early and late in the day. These low light hours are when bass tend to feed in the summertime. As such, I try and cover a lot of water with lures such as a buzz bait, Pop-R, shallow running crankbaits, and other moving presentations. When searching for the elusive largemouth, I’m targeting the very backs of creeks. As far back in these shady shallows as I can get. Some of the biggest fish spend the mornings way up there in search of a yummy bluegill. If you just want to catch fish, dragging a shaky head on any of the main

LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST

Putting the Fun back in Fishing

By Capt. Cefus McRae | Nuts & Bolts Fishing Series Hartwell, GA

are bedding on the

in 3 to 6 feet of water and will continue to bed through July and into August.

For a Lake Seminole Fishing Adventure this July for bass or bream, email us at lakeseminolefishingadventures@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram and Facebook @capt. paultyrefishing

LAKE NOTTELY

lakes points is a surefire way to get bit. Anywhere from 10-25 feet of water is the most likely depth for the summertime spotted bass. As always, get out there, take the family, enjoy the summer, stay safe, and Get Fishing!

Lake Nottely: Lake Level: Full pool. Temp: 80 degrees | Clarity: Clear

As the host of a weekly television series, I get to go to some really cool destinations and fish with some really cool people. It’s probably the best job anyone could ever have. But it’s also a lot of work. Before we ever get on the water there’s a lot of planning, scheduling, scripting, and prepping… usually months in advance. Filming an episode takes a few days, and editing usually takes about a week. Filming 20-plus episodes per year pretty much eats up the calendar.

These stories have the same kind of joy you’d expect to hear from a small child telling you what Santa left them under the tree.

But every now and then I get to just go fishing. There’s something deeply therapeutic about sitting under a shade tree next to a farm pond and waiting for the bobber to disappear beneath the surface. As you watch it dance on the ripples, your mind can sift through memories of fishing with your grandfather, or your dad. At the end of the day, a smile comes across your face, and all is right with the world.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard similar stories from other people.

Fishing is truly a unique sport. Unlike many other endeavors, you don’t have to win to have fun. To prove my theory, just walk down any dock or fishing pier, and although you may not see a lot of fish in the coolers, you will see a lot of smiles on the faces of the people those coolers belong to. They have learned what fishing is all about. It’s the experience, and the fun that comes with it.

So let me challenge you to re-ignite your passion by going on a fishing adventure with no expectations. Get your grandparents, your parents, your kids, or your buddy and find a shade tree beside a farm pond, or the shade of an oil platform 50 miles offshore. Forget the pressures of the work week and enjoy the day…together. Make some new memories. And most importantly… have fun.

Tight Lines and Calm Seas.

The bream

sand bars

WEST POINT LAKE

Forecast By: Capt. Keith Hudson Keith Hudson Guide Service | hudsonprobass@gmail.com www.LakeWestPointFishing.com | 706-844-1483

Bass: FAIR - The lake is pretty much at full pool and this has kept our largemouth bass still surprisingly shallow for the most part. Top water baits such as Whopper Ploppers, buzz baits and Zoom Horny Toads can be extremely effective for shallow fish, especially around bream beds and shallow wood or grass. Another productive pattern during hot weather is to concentrate on docks and blowdowns. The fish like shade just like we do and many of the docks have brushpiles under or near them. Try an unweighted, wacky rigged Zoom Trick worm or an unweighted ZLINKY or Senko type bait or a pig-n-jig around or under this type of cover. Water generation can play a factor in improving the deep-water bite as the water warms up, especially if the lake level drops & some really hot dry weather sets in later in the month. If you have the option, base your trips to the lake around the generation schedule. Some fish will still be caught deeper on old roadbeds or in brush piles, especially later in the month. Big crankbaits, Old Monster worms and drop shot rigs will work on these deeper fish at times.

Linesides: GOOD - The Linesides have started schooling on the main lake and can be caught casting Roostertails, Pop n Cork

LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST

rigs and Gotcha Swim Shad lures. July is usually really good for this type of fishing, especially on cloudy, balmy mornings. Also, fish can be caught trolling with the Flash Mob Jr or trolling mid depth diving crankbaits. Downlining with live bait like shad or shiners will continue to produce some fish throughout July.

The lake is currently very close to full pool. Water temps are in the 80’s. Water is clear over most of the lake.

LANIER STRIPERS

The striper fishing on Lanier has simply been great the last few weeks and July looks to be just as good as June. The stripers have moved deep, and the schools are getting larger and larger each week. The water temperature is in the low eighties and the lake is clear and full. The water quality so far looks to be better than the last several years and it shows with the success anglers are having on the lake. Plus, we are seeing bigger fish than the past five years.

With the schools of stripers being deep, good electronics and great bait are the essential ingredients to success. With the new graphs like the Humminbird Solix units, you can see your baitfish get devoured by stripers as they feed deep. The best depth so far this summer has been 40-70 feet of water in the larger bays. After picking up blueback herring at the local bait stores

Hammonds and Oakwood Bait & Tackle you just need a few key items. The key set up is a Shakespeare striper Rod, a Penn Fathom II Linecounter reel, Captain Mack swivel sinkers, and Gamakatsu 2/0 red Octopus hooks. You should be able to see your sinker drop into the schools of stripers. If you want to try Artificials, spool up another Penn Fathom Linecounter with fifteen-pound Trilene 100% flourocarbon line and tie on a Belen Parker spoon or a 2-ounce Capt. Mack bucktail. Use the Linecounter to drop to the correct depth and reel the spoon up past the stripers. Many times, they will try to rip the rod out of your hands. This is the first time in five years that the spoon is showing good success this early in the summer. July should be even better. Give it a try and you will be hooked as well. See you on the water, the time is now.

Lake Lanier is 38,000 acres of prime fishing and home to some of the best spotted bass and striped bass in the world. There are dozens of hotels within minutes of the lake, professional fishing guides to increase your odds of catching the “big ones” and plenty of action in Gainesville, Georgia to keep the family entertained! Check us out at ExploreGainesville.org to find out more.

OCONEE ON THE FLY

Hybrids / Stripers – July used to be a tough month for hybrids and stripers here on Lake Oconee but that changed when Georgia Power installed supplemental oxygen lines at the dam. When oxygen drops below 4 parts per million, liquid oxygen flows through the pipes to a diffuser that converts it into gas and the bubbles flow to the top of the water. You can see this easily and trolling Mini Macks, flat lining shad or bass minnows, and casting spoons can all be highly effective.

Last year in the third week of July there was a strong topwater bite mid lake at first light and lasting for an hour and a half most mornings. Sometimes Georgia Power pumps water back up into Oconee and that creates a substantial top water bite.

Be sure to get out there early (6:00 to 6:30 AM) to enjoy this opportunity and plan to get off the water by 10:00 to avoid the recreational boaters.

Forecast for July Crappie –Structure and brush pile fishing can

be excellent in July. The fish will be tight on submerged structure. My friend, Captain Doug Nelms, pointed out recently that even if you do not have Live Scope or Mega Live you can use down scan and side scan to locate fish on submerged structure and mark it with a buoy.

Fly Fishing – The top water bite at first light when Georgia Power is still pumping up from Sinclair is great for the fly fisherman. If you see other boats throwing popping corks, break out an 8-weight and put on a wiggle minnow or a Cowen’s “Somethin Else” fly and get ready for some fun!

The key to good fishing in July is to get out there early. As they say, “The early bird gets the worm” (in our case the fish!).

Final Words

Contact me at wmoore1700@ outlook.com or call 404-317-9556 to book your trip. I provide everything you need including light snacks and soft drinks.

Tight Lines, and God Bless.

Teddy Vance and Leslie Turner Vance getting catfish for a fish fry - Lake Eufaula Alabama. Bud

McRae (Nuts and Bolts of fishing on Lake Hartwell 404-402-8329).

Hunter & Greg Connley from Florida with a

nice Lake Eufaula Bass fishing with Capt. Joe Dudewicz from Hawks Guide Service.

CATCHING MAHI FOR PRIZES

By Capt. Quinlyn Haddon

For the past two years, I’ve had the pleasure of taking Coastal Conservation Association’s Leiza Fitzgerald out on the water to assist in tagging dolphinfsh for the CCA STAR competition. As if going fshing wasn’t enough of a prize, recreational anglers can sign up for this competition, with a donation to a good cause, and participate in this fshing side quest for all sorts of epic prizes.

Tagging trips with Leiza are some of my favorite mahi trips. She is more excited about catching throw-backs than anything we put in the box. Each undersized mahi, and most of the keepers, are handled with care and released with some fancy new jewelry.

With her tagging gun locked and loaded and a towel to lay over the fsh’s eyes to calm them, Leiza carefully and quickly turns peanuts into prizes, and sends them on their way.

CCA Florida STAR presented by Yamaha is a summer-long event that invites anglers and non-anglers to participate and win prizes valued at almost $500,000, including boats, motors, scholarships and more. Te competition is currently live, and registration is open until Sept. 2.

“In the past nine years, it’s been amazing to see STAR participants support conservation and embrace the catch-photo format,” Fitzgerald

said. “Awarding nearly $4 million in prizes, with $900,000 specifcally awarded in youth scholarships to the thousands of statewide STAR registrants is exciting, but even more exciting is the awareness STAR has created for the conservation of our marine fsheries.”

Te 2024 STAR competition is comprised of eight divisions targeting inshore and ofshore species along with trash cleanup. Wherever your home waters are, there is a way to get involved.

Te most notable of the STAR competitions is for tagged redfsh. Te best opportunity to catch this year’s tagged redfsh will be in Citrus and Charlotte counties, STAR’s 2024 Destination Counties, which each have eight tagged redfsh in their coastal waters.

Six years ago, STAR initiated a tagged fsh division for ofshore anglers, the Tigress Outriggers and Gear Tagged Dolphin Division. Tis division ofers one winner a $10,000 cash prize or scholarship. Te frst STAR registrant who catches a STAR tagged dolphin wins.

Te tagged dolphinfsh were caught and released of the Florida Keys. Tese fsh will migrate up the east and west coasts, providing anglers a shot at recapturing one. Tere have only been two tagged dolphin recaptured in six years, and neither angler was registered in the competition. You have to be in it to win it!

Make sure to report any tagged fsh you catch, whether you are registered or not. Take photos, measurements, tag numbers and information, and note the location of recapture. You do not need to remove the tag if you are releasing the fsh.

Fish are very mysterious, and there is so much we don’t know about them. Te more data we collect, the better conservation we can provide.

Capt. Quinlyn Haddon; Sweet E’nuf Charters, Marathon, Florida Keys; @captainquinlyn; captainquinlyn.com; (504) 920-6342.

- $80 Entry (includes one year CCA membership)

- $40 Entry for current CCA members

- FREE for Youth

- Over 100 Days of Fishing

- $500,000 in Prizes & Scholarships

- Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day

CAST LURES IN A MITZI TOURNAMENT 17

FIND BLUEGILLS TO FIND GIANT SUMMER BASS

Fishing during the hot stale days of summer is ofen thought to be the toughest and slowest fshing there is. I am here to help with that.

Not only are the next few months an amazing time to catch fsh, they can also be the easiest time to pin-point patterns for big bass. Spawning bluegills are the key. Bass will set up around bluegill beds and feed heavily on an easy meal of bluegills that congregate in the shallows to spawn.

Whether you are an experienced tournament fsherman or someone who just gets out every once in a while to stretch a line, this pattern is easily found if you know what to look and listen for.

You heard me right, listen! Tere are many ways to locate bluegill beds, and my favorite way is to use my ears. When you get around bluegills feeding in grass or lily pads, you will hear distinct little popping sounds of small fsh sucking prey from the surface. When you hear this, you know you are in a productive area, and the big bass should be close by.

Another way to locate these areas is to use your eyes in shallow water. Bluegill fan

TYLER WOOLCOTT

out an area on the bottom just like a bass when they spawn, but they do it in big groups and create a pattern on sand and hard bottom that looks like the surface of the moon.

If the water is even a little clear, you should be able to spot a bunch of odd craters and divots on the bottom even from a distance. Tis is typically in very shallow water, and bass use this shallow water to their advantage. Spawning bream make easy pickings.

If all else fails, or in murky water, I fnd these beds with my electronics. I idle around with side scan in 2 to 5 feet of water to locate crater patterns on my units and mark them with waypoints to come back and fsh later. Tis is a good way to locate beds that are less pressured, because they are harder for other anglers to fnd.

Tere are a few diferent baits I use to catch bass around these beds. Te most important thing is to stay as far away from these areas as you can, while still being able to get a cast into them. Be stealthy because shallow-water bass are skittish.

I like a bluegill-colored popping frog and also a bluegill-colored swim jig with a trailer to match. I’ll also throw a weightless wacky-rigged Senko and will put a little nail weight in the Senko when fshing deeper beds. A lightweight Carolina-rigged Trick Worm or a shallow-diving squarebill crankbait are two other good options. Hopefully this summertime bass tip helps you have a fun and productive day on your waters!

Tyler Woolcott is a professional tournament angler and guide. Check out his website at www.tylerwoolcottfshing.com.

THE FORGOTTEN FISH

When we inshore anglers gather around the dock, you can count on one or more of these being the topic of conversation: trout, redfsh, founder or snook. Seldom is it the sheepshead. Although they are not a species frequently targeted with lures, they can provide an aggressive bite and a worthy fght. Keeping them out of the structure they love is the real challenge.

By Capt. Michael Okruhlik

depending on the current, were all it took to place his shrimp in the strike zone. Te strike zone is typically as close to the structure as possible. If you notice the sheepshead swimming around, they always have their noses to the structure.

Te sheepshead is a fsh that my son had never caught until a few weeks ago. We took a trip to South Texas to view our second of four Starship launches at the SpaceX facility. Afer the excitement and rumble of the launch, we picked up some live shrimp, and he was soon rumbling with many sheepshead.

We set our sights on the Queen Isabella Memorial Causeway, as it has a nearly unlimited amount of structure ideal for attracting sheepshead. Using the anchor mode on our trolling motor made it easy to stay close to the bridge pilings where the sheepshead were congregated. My son especially liked targeting them because we were under the causeway and in the shade, as opposed to being out on the open fats where we typically fsh.

A small sharp hook and a split-shot or two,

I fnd that keeping your bait small helps attract the bite. It is benefcial to keep a tight line, as the bites can be very light. One tactic that served my son well was to walk toward the back of the boat and away from the structure once a fsh was hooked. Tis assisted in pulling it away from the structure. Trying to manhandle the fsh out on light tackle would certainly have led to some break-ofs.

Stay vigilant in checking your line for frays afer several casts and defnitely afer each fsh. Keeping a sharp hook will also help in landing more fsh because of their boney, teeth-flled mouths. Tis turned out to be an extra memorable fshing trip. We witnessed another historic space launch, and his catch landed him in second place for the Texas CCA Star Tournament with his sheepshead.

Tis is why I always say, take a kid fshing! Tey might win a college scholarship.

Capt. Michael Okruhlik is the inventor of Knockin Tail Lures®, and the owner of www.MyCoastOutdoors.com.

BALLYHOOD TOP GUN LURES

WORLD RECORD BLACKFIN CAUGHT AT MIAMI TOURNEY

Amonster blackfn tuna caught during Te Miami Dolphins Fins Weekend tournament is an unofcial world record. Te 50.1-pound blackfn was certifed by an IGFA biologist, and it outweighs the existing IGFA all-tackle world record by a little less than three-quarters of a pound.

Angler Robert (Bob) Kowalski landed the huge blackfn aboard the 34’ Express Sportfsher Miss Britt, which was captained by Gareth Haddam and chartered by Pete Sinnick and his family. In addition to being a potential new world record, the fsh won the largest tuna division at the tournament and earned the team a $30,000 payout.

Te existing IGFA all-tackle world record blackfn tuna weighed 49 pounds, 6 ounces. It was caught in 2006 of Marathon, Florida Keys by Capt. Mathew Pullen. Fins Weekend is an annual fundraiser hosted by the Miami Dolphins. It is a two-day tournament with proceeds going to support the Baptist Health Orthopedic Institute Youth Athletic Outreach Program. For more information, go to bluewatermovements.com.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KNOCKIN TAIL LURES®

IN TEXAS, GIANT FISH BREED GIANT FISH

When it comes to growing giant largemouth bass, Texas has fgured some things out. Since 1986, the state’s Toyota ShareLunker program has conducted a breeding program using huge largemouths caught and donated alive by anglers. Tese donated bass, called Legacy Class, must be heavier than 13 pounds. Tey spawn in a facility before being released, along

with their ofspring, to spread big-fsh genetics across the state.

Te results of the program are apparent in the giant Texas bass caught each year. Many of them go right back into the breeding program, and the spring of 2024 was the fourth ShareLunker season in a row that the program has deemed exceptional.

Tis spring, anglers contributed 19 Legacy Class, 13-plus-pound bass from seven diferent Texas lakes. O.H. Ivie in west Texas is the best big-bass fshery in the country right now. It produced 12 bass heavier than 13 pounds this season, continuing a hot streak that goes back to the 2021.

Highlights from the 2024 Toyota ShareLunker collection season:

• Angler Kyle Hall’s 15.82-pounder was the 37th heaviest all-time Texas largemouth bass.

• Angler Kyle Hall has recorded a Legacy Lunker in three consecutive seasons.

• Six out-of-state anglers etched their name into the program’s record book. Te anglers hailed from Kansas, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Washington.

• Angler Larry R. Walker reeled in two Legacy Class Lunkers in 2024. State biologists did genetic analysis of this year’s Legacy Lunkers and made some incredible discoveries:

• ShareLunker 666, reeled in by Larry R. Walker from O.H. Ivie, was a recapture of ShareLunker 646 originally caught by Mechelda Criswell in 2023.

• A 13.2-pound fsh from Lake Athens was the ofspring of ShareLunker 552, which was caught by Randall E. Claybourne in 2014 at Lake Fork. Tis is the frst time a Legacy Class descendant from this family tree was discovered in the program.

• Of the 19 Legacy Class ShareLunkers, 13 had secondary relationships to either previous Legacy Class fsh or other ShareLunkers from which anglers submitted scale samples for genetic analyses.

• In the last fve years, the program has achieved an excellent overall fsh survival success rate of 94 percent.

The Return of a

Tat’s a lot of big-fsh genetics going back into Texas fsheries.

For more information, go to TexasSharelunker.com.

See the Forest Through the Trees

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