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2B THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1990 * f The Houston Home I Journal in-iii-,—, * forecast —— w*<- —' The following fishing report is compiled each Friday morning by the Houston Home Journal. Lake, weather and fishing conditions are reported by tele phone from contacts listed at the end of each report. If you would like additional lakes or rivers listed, please call the newspaper at 987-1823. If you would like a free picture of a catch you are proud of printed In the paper, we will be happy to shoot and publish the photo. I Jackson- The lake is down 9 1/2 feet. Access is limited be cause of low water level, but fishing has been good at lately. Largemouth bass fishing is fair with Edge Pro series spinnerbait in the new pearl color skirt and brown jigs with orange and black trail ers along rocky points. - Reported by Van Kersey, Kersey's Fish Camp Seminole- The lake is down one foot. Largemouth bass fish ing is good with most coming by flipping purple Paddle Tail worms in 4-6 feet of water near edge of grass. Crappie fishing is good with minnows and jigs along Chattahoochee and Flint River channels - Reported by Jack Wingate, Wingate's Lunker Lodge Sinclair- The lake is down almost two feet. Largemouth bass fishing is good along points and secondary points in 10-12 feet of water with jigs and pigs and worms. Hybrid bass fishing is pick ing up along Rudy Creek, Nancy Branch and Little River Arm, trolling White Model A Bomber trailing Hal-Fly jigs. Catfish is plen tiful - Reported by Dean Durham, Little River Park Oconee- The lake is down three feet. Bass fishing is fair with most action coming on slowly worked dark-colored jig and pig around ledges of creek channels in 14-18 feet of water, Crappie fishing is fair as well, with fish holding in standing timber in 12-18 feet of water. - Reported by Todd Cronic, Blue Springs Marina West Point- The lake is down 12 feet, Bass fishing has slowed down in the past week due to a cold front. The fish have backed out to the secondary points and channel ledges of the major creeks Fish a slow rolled spinnerbait or jig and pig for best re sults Hybrid action is stilt good with bucktail Gotcha jig in white or chartreuse - Reported by Tommy Mike, Highland Ma rina Eufuala- The lake is three feet low. Most of the activity is from midlake to South. Bass is 10 feet deep and Crappie is 15 feet. Biting on crankbaits and dark-colored worms. If anything it's fair as to the fish biting. Cool and fogged in is the weather and this could be a reason for the fish not biting that well. Right now it's about 52 degrees. - Reported by Art Cunningham, Lake Point State Park Resort Blackshear- The lake is normal level. The bass are biting. Cat fish are doing good. White perch are also doing good. Water is a little stained, they are using shiners for catfish and minnows for White perch. Weather looks like it’ll be foggy and a chance of rain. - Reported by Mark Gooden, Camper's Haven Please see FORECAST, Page 4B Hannon's moon times for hunting & fishing DECEMBER EXCELLENT TIMES II GOOD TIMES a nnn for fishing & hunting for fishing & hunting 1990 A.M. P.M. AM. P.M. SAT, 29 8:50-10:50 9:10- 11:10 2:50 - 4:20 3:10- 4:40 SUN 30 9:35-11:35 9:55- 11:55 3:40- 5:10 4:00- 5:30 IQmON. If 10:25- 12:25 10:45- 12^4511 4:30 - 6:00| 4:50 - 6:20 f JANUARY"] EXCELLENT TIMES GOOD TIMES _ for fishing & hunting for fishing & hunting 1991 AM PM AM PM TUTU 11:30-1:30 11:50-1:50 5:30 - 7:00 ~5:50-6:20 WED. 2 12:15- 2:15 12:40-2:40 6:20 -7:50 6:45-8:15 THU 3 1:05- 3:05 1:30-3:30 7:15 -8:45 7:30-9:00 FRf 4 2:00- 4:00 2:15-4:15 8:00-9:30 8:20-9:50 SAT 5 2:45- 4:45 3:05-5:05 8:50-10:20 9:10-10:40 SUN. 6 3:30- 5:30 3:55-5:55 9:40- 11:10 10J0-113C MON. 7 4:20-6:20 4:45-6:45 10:30 - 12:00 10:50 - 12:2C TUE 8 5:05-7:05 5:30-7:30 11:15 - 12:45 11:40 -1:10 WED. 9 5:55 - 7:55 6:20 - 8:20 12:00 - 1:30 12:25-1:55 THU. 10 6:45-8:45 7:10-9:10 12:50-2:20 1:15-2:45 FRL_ 11 7:35-9:35 8:00 - 10:00 1:40 -3:10 205-3:35 SAT. 12 8:25-10:25 8:50-10:50~ 2:30-400 2:55 -4:25 SUN. 13 9:15-11:15 9:30- 11:30 3:15-4:45 3:40-5:10 M0N.14 10:00- 12:00 10:20- 12:20 4:10-5:40 4:30 6:00 TUE. 15 10:50-12:50 11:10-1:10 500 - 6:30 5:20 ■ 6:50 WED.I6 11:40-1:40 12:00-2:00 5:40-7:10 6:00-7:30 THU. 17 12:30 - 2:30 12:50 - 2:50 6:30 - 8:00 6:50 - 8:20 FRI. 18 1:20 - 3:20 1:40-3:40 7:20-8:50 7:40 -9:10 SAT. 19 2:10-4:10 2:30-4:30 8:10-9:40 8:30-10:00 SUN. 20 3:00 - 5:00 3:20 - 5:20 9:10-10:40 9:30-11:00 M0N.21 3:50 - 5:50 4:10 - 6:10 9:50-11:20 10:10-11:40 TUE. 22 4:40-6:40 5:00-7:00 10:45-12:15 11:00-12:3( WED. 23 5:30 - 7:30 5:50 • 7:50 11:30- IDQ 11:50-1:20 THU. 24 6:20 - 8:20 6:40 • 8:40 12:20-1:50 12:40-2:10 FRI. 25 7:10-9:10 7:30-9:30 1:10-2:40 1:30-300 SAT. 26 7:55-9:55 8:15-10:15 2:00-3:30 2:20-3:50 SUN 27 8:40-10:40 9:00-11:00 2:40 - 4:10 3:00 - 4:30 M0N. 28 9:30-11:30 9:50-11:50 3:30 - 5:00 3:50 - 5:20 TUE. 29 10:20-12:20 10:45-12:45 4:20 - 5:50 4:40 - 6:10 WED. 3O 11:10-1:10 11:20-1:20 5:10 6:40 5:30 - 7.-00 THU.TnII 12:00 - 2:00 12:30 - 2:30] |6:00 ■ 7:30 6:20 -7:50 New nesting program for bats has started in Georgia for the bird lovers All bird lovers arc familiar with the bluebird nesting box program which has done so much to restore the bluebird population in Georgia. Waterfowlers and people inter ested in ducks are familiar with the thousands of Wood duck nesting boxes which have been placed around the state. The loss of suit able nesting cavities in hollow trees had seriously affected the popula tion of both of these birds. The nesting boxes have replaced some of this habitat loss and have slowed the decline in the Bluebird and Wood Duck numbers. We now have a new nesting box program in Georgia which is being promoted by the Department of natural Resources' Non-game Wildlife Program. This nesting program is for- of all things - the bat! You heard it Mike Robert tells all about his fishing tales By MARK BLUMEN Sports Writer Mike Robert loves to fish. He has many fishing stories to tell. It was the thing to do as he was growing up in Louisiana and he has continued to fish since he has moved to the Perry area three years ago. "We used to go fishing on the levy when we were children. My dad used to work in the oil field and he brought us out there," Robert explained. "It wasn't very often we did family type things because he was gone all the lime. Every now and then we would go fishing about three limes. We'd go out on the levy and everybody would gel a chance to throw an old cane pole." Robert is originally from Louisiana and now that he has moved to Perry with his occupation loves to continue his hobby. "We never did catch a lot. We had more fun crawfishing than we did fishing. 1 never did catcha whole lot. Never really cared about fishing until I met Monica (his wife)," he added. "She loved to go fishing. I started catching and said 'Wow this is fun.' The thrill of pulling one in. Ever since than I've been hooked on it (pardon the pun)." Robert fishes at Roy Blood worth's pond about three miles past Hayncville. "Everywhere we've lived we lived near a fishing hole. Like on the Bayou or something like that. 1 guess it was one of the necessities why we picked out where we were going to live," Robert said. "In Louisiana the Bayou was in the back yard. It had plenty of fish in it too." Robert moved to Perry when he was employed by Northrop but now is a carpenter. "People around here didn’t want to tell me where to go (fishing) be cause I was from Louisiana and un til we moved into this house and one guy that 1 worked with in Hen derson brought me up to Blood worth's pond and we had been here just a few months, but we went out and had a good lime. Until 1 moved Ocmulgee boat ramp finally in the works The new proposed Houston County Boat Ramp on the Ocmul gee River came a little closer to re ality last Tuesday night when the Houston County Commissioners voted to condemn two acres of property at the river and Highway 96. Newly elected stale representative Jay Walker is finishing out his term as County Commissioner Chairman and one of his projects has been to obtain a new boat ramp for Houston County. For many years, area fishermen, hunters, boaters and nature lovers have complained about the poor condition of the Ocmulgee River boat ramp, but nothing was done about it until recently. Upon learn ing that the old ramp was unser viceable, Jay obtained maps of the area and determined through the ad vice of local Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Supervisor Les Agen that a site just 25 yards or so down river from the present ramp would be appropriate for the new ramp. The problem was that while the old ramp was on department of ~~~~~ “ \ Woods n water News and features about outdoors activities in the area j I Bobby right, we arc now furnishing nest ing boxes for our only flying mammal, the much feared bat. The bat is actually a very gentle, sophisticated mammal and is not the blind evil creature of legend that suck blood, tangle in women's hair, attack people after dark and carry disease. Many of the species of bats found in the Southeastern United Stales arc threatened or endangered due to loss of suitable nesting habitat. There arc sixteen species of bats found in the Southeast and the one Sportsman's spotlight Mike Robert pulls in a large catfish on a recent outing. Robert loves to go fishing every chance that he gets. out of Hayncville No one told me where the fishing holes were. They would say 'Oh they're all around. All you have to do is look.' When I moved out, they said, 'All the fish ing holes are over there in Hayneville.'" Now, Robert docs the majority of his fishing at the ponds and loves to fish for catfish. "Sure enough that's where they arc. I like fishing period," Robert added. "If you're going to catch it, cook it. One recipe is what I do with catfish is get the fishy taste out or you could do it with any salt water fish. I just filet them right down to the tail. You leave the skin on them and then you soak them Trussell transportation right of way, the new site was on private property. Jay communicated the counties desires to purchase approximately two acres of land just south of the pre sent ramp to the owner, but they were unwilling to sell the properly, even though the area is used now almost on a daily basis by the pub lic. At the commission meeting, Jay discussed the boat ramp with fellow commissioners and Charlie Stewart made the motion to ask County Attorney Mike Long to begin con demnation proceedings on the two acres of property for a public boat ramp and surrounding park. The motion was seconded by Sam Buzzell and won the unanimous wc most commonly sec are the lit tle brown bat and the big brown bat. Bats arc very beneficial to man. They feed on night flying insects. They arc the only predator to fill this ecological niche. Studies have shown that a single little brown bat will catch up to 600 mosquitoes per hour. Wc often hear stories about the bats carrying rabies. Like other mammals the bat can contract ra bies. In fifty years of record keeping with the meat side down. Use salt pepper or whatever seasonings you like. Soak them in that for an hour or hour and a half." From there, he added that you could broil them or smoke them. "I take them and put them on the smoker. You don't bum them. No hassle in cleaning them," he added. "It's something I've tried on my own. I heard you could do that with Speckle trout when we went Trout fishing but you could do that with a scaly type fish also.' Robert does not enjoy any other type of hunting such as deer and claims he'll stick with fishing. "It's my favorite hobby. Some people think that in winter time it's not good fishing," he explained. "I approval of the entire board. Charlie Stewart commented earlier that rarely does the commission have the opportunity to act on a matter which benefits all the citizens of the county and he was pleased to make the motion. Tentative plans call for the ramp to be constructed with state funds and the adjacent property will be maintained as a natural park area, equipped with concrete park tables. The concrete tables should with stand the harsh natural environment and won't get washed away when the river floods. Sources with close contacts with the state probation office tell me that probationers or dered to perform community service can clean the area of underbursh and only ten people have contracted ra bies form bats and these people were handling the bats. The bat nesting box is a rectan gular shaped wooden box approxi mately eight inches by eight inches by fourteen inches high. The box is open at the bottom so that the house will be dark inside and the bats gain access from the bottom. Plans for these boxes are avail able from the Department of Natu ral Resources and I also have some copies in my office. Many of the gardening catalogs arc also selling commercially built nesting boxes. If you can forget all of the horror movies and old wives talcs about bats, get some nesting boxes. You will help control the mosquito population without deadly chemi cals and also add an interesting conservation piece to your yard. disagree with that. You can go year round. Where I’m from in Louisiana, we go fishing for sacalay (Crappic), but year round it's good fishing if you know where to go." He feels weather is not a factor but docs make a difference in how many that arc caught. "If you're truly a fisherman, you'll catch them," he said. "Once I got older and left home 1 didn't fish. But when I met Monica I started back. It's a heritage. You got to know how to fish. Know how to crawfish. It's a living for many people down there. They run there traps. They make dip nets and you lie your bait to it. Set it in the wa ter with a long pole. You run about two or three dozen of them. When you lift on them they collapse be cause it's a weak wire. They fold up. Crawfish will be on the bot tom. That's the family way. We used to go out for family enter tainment." Crawfish are not the same size in Georgia arc not the same size as in Louisiana but they arc here in the state. "Breaux Bridge, the town we're from in Louisiana, is the crawfish capital of the world," he noted. "There is a festival every year. The first full weekend in May. It's a town of maybe 7,000. For this one weekend, they'll have maybe 150,000 people. Dancing in the streets. There's a band every 100 yards. You can get crawfish any where you want. Crawfish pies, crawfish comdogs, fried crawfish, any way you want it, you can get it." He is not a member of any clubs but gels together with friends to do most of his fishing. "Fishing is one on one where you and your buddy go fishing," he said. He added that he does not dco any of his shopping for his equipment out of magazines. "I do most of my shopping at Sports Center where Please see ROBERT, Page 4B keep it clean through regularly scheduled work details. Probationers perform this "Community Service" instead of going to jail and they perform many useful functions in Houston County, rather than being a drain on the taxpayers. Probation officer Gerald Warren and sheriffs deputy Danny Jones do the neces sary job of supervising the com munity service work unit every Saturday. Normally the 20-30 probationers who comprise the community ser vice crew have committed crimes such as DUI and pose no risk to the community while performing the work. The community service crew is strongly supported by State Court Judge Bob Richardson sup ported and supervisor Court Judges L.A. McConnell and George Nunn. Costs of the program are very low with funds being provided through the support of the Houston County Commissioners. Have a safe holiday season, and from my family to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!