Newspaper Page Text
Friday, March 22,2013
Tribune & Georgian
3B
Submitted photos
Jacob Jones (right, left photo) took a big lead in the current Nassau Sport Fishing Association Annual Drum Tournament with his 85.05-pound black drum. Also pictured is Jacob’s father,
John Jones.Targeting black drum, boats are pictured (right) anchored at the tip of the St. Marys south jetties.
Winning drum tournament is Jones family affair
Terry Lacoss
Special to the Tribune & Georgian
John and Jacob Jones may
well be the best drum fisher
men in the Southeast, con
sidering the local
father-and-son team has
taken first in the Nassau
Sport Fishing Association
Drum Tournament the past
few years.
Jacob Jones recounted his
latest catch, which may keep
the title in the family.
“The seas were running
from 3-5 feet with a fresh
wind out of the northeast at
15-18 knots,” he said. “After
my father and I anchored
our fishing boat just off from
Main Beach in some 18 feet
of water, the sharks moved
in and began eating our
drum baits. Finally, a big
drum began taking my bait,
indicated by light twitches
of my saltwater rod tip. As I
slowly reeled in the slack
fishing line, I felt a large fish
at the business end and set
the 7/0 drum hook deep in
the big drum’s mouth.”
Twenty minutes later,
John Jones gaffed his son’s
big drum and swung it onto
the deck of their boat. Both
seasoned anglers took one
look at the catch and knew
they may have just claimed
first place once again in the
annual NSFA Drum Tour
nament.
Jacob Jones’ catch
weighed 85.05 pounds the
next morning at the official
weigh-in station, Don
Whitman’s Bait House.
The Joneses’ success
began in 2009, when young
Jacob not only won big
drum overall honors, but
also the youth division. His
catch weighed 80.96
pounds. In 2011, he won
again with an 85.68-
pounder. John won in 2012
with an 81-pound catch, and
if Jacob’s big drum holds up
this year, the pair will have
captured the tournament
four out of the past five
years.
“The drum bite has been
unusual this season,” Whit
man said. “First of all, the
water temperature has been
cold, ranging from 57-59
degrees. Typically, the big
drum migration requires 60-
to 63-degree water tempera
tures. I am afraid that the
major spawn of black drum
may pass us by if the water
temperature does not warm
up soon.”
Currently, Jacob Jones is
leading the event with his
85.05-pound black drum.
Mike Foster is holding down
second with a 76.60-pound
haul, and Robert Haddock
third with his 71 -pounder.
Many black drum are
being caught either at the
tip of the St. Marys south
jetty rocks, or just off main
beach in water depths from
18-20 feet. Here, there is a
slight depression where a
deep slough harbors a hard
bottom where drum seem to
congregate during an in
coming tide.
Fishing is also very pro
ductive at Main Beach as
well when there is an incom
ing tide right at sundown.
Also, drum fishing around a
full moon seems to produce
the best action as well.
Black drum are also being
caught in Nassau Sound at
the first range marker, just
northwest of Fort Clinch.
Here, a hard bottom is lo
cated just south of the range
marker in water depths from
15-20 feet. The mouth of
Jolly River where the fishy
river flows into the St.
Marys River and the intra
coastal waterway is also pro
ducing black drum in water
depths from 20-30 feet.
Blue crabs continue to be
the best black drum bait
when the hard shell is re
moved and the crab is cut in
half. Barb the piece of crab
with a 7/0 Kahle hook right
through the body and leg,
then add a peeled fresh
shrimp, or clam.
Most drum fishermen
prefer 50-pound tackle with
a five-foot section of 100-
pound shock leader. A 6-8
ounce egg sinker is threaded
onto the fishing line to hold
the drum baits dead on the
bottom.
Placing the drum rod in
the rod holder and watching
the rod tip for any indication
of a bite avoids jerking the
bait away from the feeding
drum. Once a drum has
picked up the crab, slowly
reel in the slack fishing line,
feel if the drum is still there,
and set the hook hard and
hang on.
The current Florida drum
fishing regulations include a
five-fish-per-day bag limit,
with a minimum size limit of
14 inches and one black
drum more than 24 inches.
State turkey season opens this
Springtime is noisy! The
clucking, the strutting, the
yelping...and that’s just the
hunters preparing for the
opening of turkey hunting
season in Georgia.
The highly anticipated day
is Saturday, March 23, and
the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources’ Wildlife
Resources Division expects
that the 2013 season should
be a good one.
“Hunters will hear some
vocal 2-year-old birds in the
piedmont, ridge and valley,
and Blue Ridge regions of
the state thanks to good pro
duction in 2011. Coastal
plains hunters may need to
work a little harder to call in
some seasoned gobblers as
birds were not as productive
in this area in previous
years,” said Kevin Lowrey,
Wildlife Resources Division
wild turkey project coordina
tor. “Overall, statewide re
production declined by 30
percent last year and while
hunters won’t feel the effects
this year, it may be noticed in
2014.”
Georgia’s current turkey
population is estimated at
335,000 birds and turkey
hunters in this state are priv
ileged with one of the
longest turkey seasons na
tionwide. With a bag limit of
three gobblers per season,
hunters have from March 2 3
through May 15 to harvest
their bird(s). With many
pursuing wild turkeys on pri
vate land, hunters are re
minded to always obtain
landowner permission before
hunting.
Where can you get a li
cense? Buy it online, find a
list of retail license vendors
at the site www.georgiaw-
ildlife.com/licenses-permits-
passes or buy it by phone at
1-800-366-2661.
Conservation of the wild
turkey in Georgia
The restoration of the wild
turkey is one of Georgia’s
great conservation success
stories. Although the bird
population currently hovers
around 335,000 statewide, as
recently as 1973, the wild
turkey population was as low
as 17,000.
Intensive restoration ef
forts, such as the restocking
of wild birds and establish
ment of biologically sound
hunting seasons facilitated
the recovery of wild turkeys
in every county. This suc
cessful effort resulted from
cooperative partnerships be
tween private landowners,
hunters, conservation organ
izations like the National
Wild Turkey Federation and
the Wildlife Resources Divi
sion.
The Georgia Chapter of
the National Wild Turkey
Federation has donated
more than $3,434,478 since
1985 to projects that benefit
wild turkey and other
wildlife. The NWTF works
cooperatively in partnership
with the Wildlife Resources
Division and other land
management agencies with
the focus on habitat en
hancement, hunter access,
wild turkey research and ed
ucation. The NWTF has an
exciting new initiative called
Save the Habitat, Save the
Hunt focused on habitat
management, hunter access
and hunter recruitment.
For more information re
garding wild turkey and
hunting opportunities, visit
www.gohuntgeorgia.com.
Turkey hunting safety tips
As turkey season ap
proaches, the Georgia De
partment of Natural
Resources’ Wildlife Re
sources Division encourages
hunters to review important
turkey hunting safety tips be
fore hitting the woods.
“Hunters should be 110
percent certain of their target
and what is in front of and be
yond it before pulling the
trigger and should never
shoot at sound or move
ment,” advised Walter Lane,
hunter development program
manager for the Wildlife Re
sources Division. “Turkey
hunters have to utilize their
firearms safety knowledge
and remember ways to keep
themselves and others safe
while in the woods.”
Hunters are encouraged
to review the following
turkey hunting season
safety precautions before
the 2013 season opens Sat
urday, March 2 3:
• Never wear red, white,
blue or black clothing while
turkey hunting. Red is the
color most hunters look for
when distinguishing a gob
bler’s head from a hen’s
blue-colored head, but at
times it may appear white or
blue. Male turkey feathers
covering most of the body
are black in appearance.
Camouflage should be used
to cover everything, includ
ing the hunter’s face, hands
and firearm.
• Select a calling position
that provides at least a
shoulder-width back
ground, such as the base of
a tree. Be sure that at least a
180-degree range is visible.
• Do not stalk a gobbling
turkey. Due to their keen
eyesight and hearing, the
chances of getting close are
slim to none.
• When using a turkey
call, the sound and motion
may attract the interest of
other hunters. Do not
move, wave or make turkey
like sounds to alert another
hunter to your presence. In
stead, identify yourself in a
loud voice.
• Be careful when carry
ing a harvested turkey from
the woods. Do not allow the
wings to hang loosely or the
head to be displayed in such
a way that another hunter
may think it is a live bird. If
possible, conceal the turkey
in a blaze orange garment
or other material.
• Although it’s not re
quired, it is suggested that
hunters wear blaze orange
when moving between a ve
hicle and a hunting site.
When moving between
hunting sites, hunters
should wear blaze orange
on their upper bodies to fa
cilitate their identification
by other hunters.
Turkey hunters must pos
sess a valid hunting license
and a big game license to
legally hunt turkeys in
weekend
Georgia. If hunting on a
wildlife management area,
hunters must also possess a
WMA license.
Sportsmen and women
must always obtain permis
sion from a landowner be
fore hunting on private
land.
Only male turkeys may be
harvested, and the season
bag limit is three gobblers
per hunter.
Where can you get a li
cense? Buy it online, find a
list of retail license vendors
at the site www.georgiaw-
ildlife.com/licenses-per-
mits-passes or buy it by
phone at 1-800-366-2661.
For additional hunting
information, visit www.go- The Georgia Department of Natural Resources anticipates
huntgeorgia.com/hunting. the turkey season will be a good one.
Tribune & Georgian file photo
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