Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, December 26,2013
Tribune & Georgian
3B
Submitted photos
Keith Williams (above) fly-casts for redfish in the flooded spartina marshes. Dr. Jim McCully
(left) has traveled throughout North America fly-fishing, and claims catching redfish on the
fly is his favorite.
When enjoying the outdoors, friends are what matter
Terry Lacoss
Special to the Tribune & Georgian
Some people go fishing
and because the fish do not
cooperate, a good time is
not experienced. However,
during a recent trip with
local fly fishermen Dr. Jim
McCully and Keith
Williams, we had a good
time on the water, even
though only a handful of
saltwater game fish were
caught.
A few days prior, McCully
and I had experienced ex
cellent low-tide red fishing
while sight-fishing for reds
feeding close to exposed
oyster beds. However, that
great day on the water
found a low tide early in the
morning with a light east
erly wind. Saturday, the
low tide arrived late in the
afternoon and there was a
northwest wind.
Keeping this in mind
more than likely prompted
McCully to pen his book,
“Beyond the Moon,” a must
read if you wish to be a bet
ter outdoorsman.
An entire chapter in Jim’s
book explains how fish react
to the different phases of
moon and tides. In fact, I
could not resist asking him
when was the very best time
to go saltwater fishing ac
cording to the tides and the
moon.
“I have done a lot of re
search on this very same
matter,” he said. “If you
would divide a six-hour tide
into six portions from one
to six, the middle two por
tions, No. 3 and No. 4,
would produce the best
fishing action. This is when
the tide is running the
strongest, keeping in mind
that currents move baitfish
that game fish feed on.
Also, the new and full moon
phases produce the hardest
running tides and the best
fishing as well.”
McCully writes in his
book how fiddler crabs were
relocated into an artificially
lighted laboratory. Interest
ingly, the fiddler crabs
maintained their same feed
ing pattern of coming out of
their holes just as though
they were still living in the
marsh, which was not af
fected by artificial lighting,
or moisture added to the
mud. Their feeding pattern
was totally linked to the cy
cles of the tide back at their
original home.
Once again, having a good
time on the water doesn’t
require hooking up to a
good fish. Instead, it fre
quently entails fishing with
good friends and enjoying
good fishing equipment.
“Fly casting with a new
fly rod, or fly line is much
like playing golf with new
golf clubs,” McCully said
while fly-casting to the shal
low side of an oyster bar. “It
simply takes time to adjust
to the new equipment.”
A perfect example of hav
ing a good time in the out
doors while not having to
harvest game fish or wild
game was a 2012 wild Africa
experience McCully and
Williams enjoyed.
“We had an absolute fan
tastic time,” Williams said.
“You could actually reach
out of our open safari vehi
cle and touch a nearby lion
on its back, they were so
close. Amazingly, the lions
never showed any aggres
sion as long as we were in
the vehicle. We certainly
witnessed some real adven
turous happenings, includ
ing a pack of wild dogs that
killed an antelope, then
were chased away by lions.”
Williams is also an excel
lent photographer and an
accomplished outdoorsman.
This past summer, he and
McCully were fly-fishing on
a wild Alaska trout river
when a grizzly bear walked
from the nearby woods into
the river.
It was an amazing experi
ence, McCully said, as their
guide fired a high-powered
round into the water right
next to that grizzly bear,
and scared it away. At that
same split-second, Williams
captured the bullet hitting
the water with his new dig
ital camera.
An excellent point both
McCully and Williams
make is when enjoying the
great outdoors, friendships
are what truly matter.
Submitted photo
Randall Hollis will lead a
photo workshop at
Crooked River State Park.
Photo
course
Change of watch
planned
at park
Join Randall Hollis for a
three-weekend course Jan.
4, 11 and 18 at Crooked
River State Park for begin
ning and intermediate
photographers.
The workshops, which
run from 2:30-6:30 p.m.
all three Saturdays, com
bine classroom lectures
and discussions, handouts,
image presentation, field
experiences and student
work critiques to cover the
basics of photography,
from seeing the light to
the mechanics of camera
control and techniques of
involving the viewer in the
final image.
Topics covered include
creating mood through ex
posure, building dynamic
compositions, and finding
the hidden image through
working the subject. Each
class will build on the pre
vious one, participants
should plan to attend all
three dates. Don’t forget
to bring your digital cam
era, and if able, please
bring a laptop.
The workshops are for
adults only; costs are $75
per person plus $5 Park-
Pass. Space is limited and
pre-registration is re
quired. Call (912) 882-
5256 for more
information.
Submitted photo
The Golden Isles Sail and Power Squadron’s eighth annual change of watch was Nov. 16 at Straton Hall in Brunswick. From left are John Vann, Denise
Schultze,Teresa Wilsdorf, Charles Wilsdorf, Emil Hoffman, Skip Roeder, Lisa Noetzel, Sandra Boynton and Tim Lars.GISPS was chartered in 2005 as a unit
of the United States Power Squadron and is dedicated to safe boating through education, community service and member camaraderie.
State taking comments on shark regulation changes
The Georgia Department
of Natural Resources has an
nounced a written public
comment period for pro
posed changes to the Rules
of the Georgia Department
of Natural Resources, Salt
water Fishing Regula
tions. The proposed
amended rule, if adopted by
the Board of Natural Re
sources, will prohibit the
harvest of three species of
hammerhead sharks (great,
scalloped and smooth) less
than 78 inches, fork length.
This proposed amended
rule will modify fishing reg
ulations for state waters to
be consistent with require
ments of the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commis
sion’s Interstate Fishery
Management Plan for At
lantic Coastal Sharks. This
interstate plan was recently
updated based on changes to
shark fishing regulations for
federal waters.
“Like many saltwater fish,
the three species of hammer
head sharks covered by this
proposed change can easily
move between state and fed
eral waters. Thus, it’s imper
ative that fishing regulations
be consistent between state
and federal management ju
risdictions,” said Spud
Woodward, director of the
Coastal Resources Division
and one of Georgia’s three
representatives on the At
lantic States Marine Fish
eries Commission. “This
proposed change will not im
pact fishing regulations for
the bonnethead shark, which
has a hammer-shaped head
and is commonly caught in
Georgia’s coastal waters.”
Written public comments
will be received through
Tuesday, Dec. 31. Mailed
comments must be post
marked by Dec. 31. E-
mailed comments will be
accepted through close of
business (4:30 p.m.) on Dec.
31. Comments should be
legible, concise and limited
to the proposed rule
change.
Following this comment
period, the Board of Natural
Resources will consider the
proposed rules on Jan. 31, at
9 a.m. at the College of
Coastal Georgia, Southeast
Georgia Conference Center,
One Mariner Way,
Brunswick.
Mail or email comments
to Doug Haymans, Coastal
Resources Division, One
Conservation Way,
Brunswick, GA 31520, or
doug.haymans@gadnr.org.
Submitted photo
Written public comments will be received through Tuesday, Dec. 31, on a proposed state
amendment concerning hammerhead sharks.
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