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Watch water release schedules on river
Most anglers are aware that the
Chattahoochee River below
Buford Dam has become a popu
lar trout-fishing stream.
This year the regulation was
changed to make the river below
the dam, which had been restrict
ed to only seasonal fishing, open
year-round for trout fishing. The
change opens up the entire river
in Gwinnett, Forsyth and Fulton
counties for year-round fishing,
according to the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources.
By the time the change became
official it was too late to be
included in the 1995-1996 Fishing
Regulations.
The stream flow of the
Chattahoochee River below
Buford Dam, unlike natural, free
flowing trout streams, is regulated
by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers for the purpose of flood
control, power generation, water
quality and downstream naviga
tion.
Periodic water releases cause a
rapid rise in river levels and river
volume. Between the dam and the
Ga. Hwy. 20 bridge, the river can
rise up to 11 feet within a matter
of minutes with a flow level of
8,000 cubic feet per second. As
Wednesday’s Fishing Tips
Crappie can be caught in cold weather
Lots of schools of Crappie are
already under deep docks and the
fish can be caught by a patient
angler. We are very fortunate to
have lots of places to fish all the
lake and fall and winter fishing is
really great.
Most of the lake will be deserted
because many people winterize
their boats and fishermen have
the lake to themselves. But best
of all is the fact the the crappie
school up tightly and it’s a lot
easier to find and catch lots of
fish under cold water conditions.
This time of year the crappie are
already moving to the deeper
waters and will be feeding as the
the water temperate starts drop
ping off. But colder months does
not mean they cannot be caught.
In November and December,
anglers can catch schools of crap
pie under the docks as well as
some of the larger spotted bass.
The spots and the crappie in
Lanier, bunch up in schools and
when located with a quality
Eowrance depth finder, these fish
are easy to catch. And the trick is
to use tiny lures and a slow pre
sentation.
The Creme Lure Company
makes a small mini tube jig and
anglers use these small jigs on
light 4 pound test line. Also an
ultra light rod and reel and the
vertical jigging technique is the
best winter time method for these
fish.
By slowly doodling these lures
in a variety of colors in deep
water, these tiny baits look like
candy to the fish. The strikes are
almost always light and you have
to pay attention to the line and the
feel of the rod. But once you
learn to fish these lures deep and
very slowly, the fish will bite
V' -,r ■ W^ZRUb
Dr. Mike Purpura, B.S. D.C.
BROWN CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC
1330 Atlanta Highway
Cumming, Ga. 30130
887-7234
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the river widens further down
stream, the rise in water level
decreases, but is still substantial.
Combined with year-round aver
age water temperatures hovering
around 50 degrees, these water
releases pose obvious dangers to
those fishing downstream of the
dam, especially on the 2.6 mile
section down to the Hwy. 20
bridge.
The Corps of Engineers has in
place a safety plan to warn the
public of these dangers. The most
recent addition to this plan is a
regulation adopted by DNR, the
National Park Service, and the
Corps of Engineers, which
requires all persons on the river
between the dam and the Hwy. 20
bridge to wear a U.S. Coast Guard
approved personal flotation
device.
In 1995, the first year this regu
lation was in effect, no river res
cues were required on this section
of the river by the Gwinnett Co.
Dive and Rescue Team or the
Corps of Engineers. Other safety
systems in place are warning
signs, warning horns strategically
located along the river between
the dam and the Hwy. 20 bridge,
and water release schedules avail
even in the coldest months.
If the water gets too cold for the
usual fishing techniques, try this
trick with the mini tube jigs. The
fish are almost always under the
deeper docks, so when you find
them all you have to do is make
them bite.
y y
Southern N
Fishing Schools
with
Or* OnN* t Initruetor
Ken Sturdivant J
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(404) SB9-2654
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5410 Chattahoochee Industrial Park
Hwy. 369 - one mile from Hammond's Crossing ■/£
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9450 Knox Bridge Hwy. 20W
Canton Ga.
Mlt 404-479-3340
Visit our Cumming Location
for all your Agricultural needs.
Give us a call to refill your liquid
supplement tanks.
Call IJs For Your Fall And Spring
Fertilizer Spreading
able to the public 24 hours per
day.
Water release schedules, which
are subject to change, may be
obtained by calling 770-945-
1466. In addition, AM radio sta
tion 1610 can be monitored when
in the vicinity of Buford Dam for
water release information.
Visitors who desire to access the
river immediately below the dam
this winter may use the
Powerhouse access just east of
Buford Dam.
Anglers on or along the river
between the dam and the Hwy. 20
bridge should seek higher ground
on shore immediately after they
hear the warning horns. South of
the Hwy. 20 bridge the warning
horns cannot be heard by river
users.
Visitors are urged to be extreme
ly observant of rising water levels
and seek higher ground on shore
as well.
Also, additional general infor
mation on trout fishing on the
river may be obtained by contact
ing the Corps, the Department of
Natural Resources or the National
Park Service headquarters for the
Chattahoochee National
Recreation Area.
Sturdivant
Lake Lanier is one of the top fishing lakes
in the Southeast Now you can learn
how to fish this fantastic lake for Bass,
Stripers, & Crappie. Spend a day with
Ken & hell help you learn to find & catch
these gamefish from Lake Lanier. Learn
to read & use the latest in electronic
equipment how to use maps, & how to
use the tackle that the Pros use to catch
fish from this lake. Classroom & on-the
water Instruction is available. Prices are
reasonable & we can save you as
much as SI,OOO in tackle that you
have bought & not needed.
5000 Spot Rd.
Cumming, GA
887-2245
North Georgia Hunting
Consider hunting with a fixed-power scope
Like many hunters east of the
Mississippi, I grew up hunting
without a scope, feeling that it
was both an unnecessary luxury
and just plain not needed.
Besides, the areas that I hunted
were so thick that some shots
were measured in feet, not in
yards.
So why would I ever need a
rifle, chambered for a flat-shoot
ing cartridge with a scope to reach
out to over 150 yards, when I
would never use that capability?
I changed my mind about scopes
and flat-shooting rifles when my
youngest brother and 1 went on a
hunting trip the last day of the
season a few years ago.
We had stumbled upon a very
large year-old clcarcut the week
before in Rabun County.
The ground was littered with lit
erally hundreds of fresh tracks
and I felt that this was an ideal
place for an afternoon hunt. One
thing working in our favor was
that there was a very poor acorn
crop that year and the mast crop
had about played out this late in
the season.
Therefore, I felt that was the rea
son that the feeding activity was
concentrated so heavily on this
mountain clearcut.
Due to wind direction, 1 was
forced to set up on a rise over
looking the clearcut approximate
ly 400 yards from where I expect
ed the deer were bedding and
would go to feed.
My brother set up in a recently
burned area over the hill and
about 150 yards to my left.
I heard a doe bleating loudly in
Christmas trees
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Go North on GA 400/19 thru
Dahlonega, continue on USI9
North-pass Vogel Park 4
miles--turn right on GA 180
East go one mile to the
intersection of Richard
Russell Hwy, (GA34B)
pass this intersection 100
yards to Wolfstake Road.
You’re there!
Tree Farm 706-745-1753
Roswell 770-993-0882
889-2998
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Camming, GA 30130 * | oft 01 * '
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, November 26,1995
the approximate direction of my
brother. 1 was still pondering the
bleating when the largest 6-point
buck I have even seen walked out
of a thicket and started feeding
directly in front of me, about 200
yards away.
Due to the fading light, and this
being the final day of a deerless
season for me, I decided to make
a very foolish decision and try the
shot.
The rifle I was holding was a
Marlin 1970 Commemorative edi
tion, .444 Marlin lever action with
iron sights. I had spent quite a bit
of time at the range shooting at
long-range silhouette targets with
this rifle and felt confident that I
could make the shot.
I got into the prone position and
held over approximately 18-inch
es before I made the shot. What 1
didn’t figure was that at the range
I had shot at targets at a known
distance.
My estimated 200 yards turned
into 230 yards when I stepped it
off after the shot. That was all the
rainbow-trajectoried .444 needed
to harmlessly drop between the
deer’s legs and send him headed
for cover.
Also, I failed to take into
account the heavy crosswind. The
round-nose 240-grain slug sheds
velocity and energy quickly. This
is an advantage on short shots, but
a great disadvantage on shots like
I attempted. I was aiming at the
deer’s well muscled shoulder.
However, the wind buffeted the
bullet until it struck underneath
the hind legs.
After I messed up this hunting
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trip royally, I went scope shop
ping and decided from reading the
gun magazines that what I needed
was the largest objective multi
power variable that I could afford
as well as a rifle with a bit
more reach than any of my lever
actions could offer.
I still agree with the idea otV
large objective. The larger-thje!
objective end is, the more light is
gathered by the scope and the
brighter the image is. However, F
no longer feel that a variable
scope is wise. My scope stays on
3.5 X all of the time, because I am
afraid I will miss a close shot
because my scope is turned up too
high.
Seriously, I feel that most
hunters who are convinced that
they need a variable scope would
be much better served by a high
quality fixed power scope. If you
hunt open country, a 6X is for
you. If like me, you do a lot of
woods hunting, a 4X scope is for
you.
Remember that with the money
you save by not buying a variable,
you can buy a much higher quali
ty scope: One that is truly water
proof and will not fog up. This is
much more effective than having
a 9, 10 or 12X capability.
PAGE 3C
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