Newspaper Page Text
^Reporter
^ p June 15, 2016
Rec Spring Sports Page 2B-4B
Monroe Reads Page 5B-6B
The best
coverage
for Monroe
County sports
10U, 12U All-Stars
finish as runner- up
The Monroe County
12U baseball All-Stars
placed second in the five-
team USSSA Sub State
Championships at the
Hwy. 49 South Sports
Complex in Macon over
the weekend.
The Monroe County
12U All-Stars lost 11-3 to
North Macon in the cham
pionship game on Sunday
afternoon. However,
Monroe County posted a
3-2 overall record, advanc
ing to the title game out
of the winners’ bracket
before being defeated in
back-to-back contests by
North Macon on Sunday.
Monroe County opened
play on Friday by defeat
ing North Macon 12-11.
Then on Saturday, Monroe
County beat the JCAL
All-Star Grounders 35-5
and the Bloomfield All-
Star Pride 10-7 to advance
to the championship
series on Sunday. Monroe
County lost Game 1 to
North Macon 7-5 before
falling 11-3 in a winner-
take-all title contest.
Meanwhile, the Monroe
County 10U baseball All-
Stars also reached the
title game of their divi
sion. However, the 10U
All-Stars also finished
second out of five teams,
losing 12-4 in a champi
onship contest to North
Macon All-Stars Union
on Sunday at East Macon
Park.
The Monroe County 10U
All-Stars finished with a
5-2 overall record. Monroe
County beat the North
Macon All-Stars Weiche
12-11 in its first contest
on Friday. Then, Monroe
County defeated the
Bloomfield All-Star Pride
8- 6 on Saturday before
falling 16-10 to the North
Macon All-Stars Union
to slip into the losers’
bracket. Monroe County
then escaped elimination
by defeating Butts County
10-5 on Sunday before
winning a rematch with
Bloomfield All-Star Pride
9- 6 to reach the champion
ship series.
After Monroe County
beat the North Macon
All-Stars Union 16-14
in a Game 1 thriller,
the two teams battled
in a winner-take-
all Game 2, where
Monroe County fell
short 12-4.
Also, the Monroe
County 8U baseball
All-Stars finished
with a 1-2 overall
record in the 8U
Coach Pitch Sub-State
Tournament at the
Hwy. 49 South Sports
Complex in Macon
over the weekend.
Monroe County 8U
dropped its opener
to the Bloomfield
All-Star Pride 14-12
on Friday to fall into
the losers’ bracket.
Monroe County then
regrouped with a 12-2
victory over the JCAL
All-Star 49ers before
being eliminated later on
Saturday in a 19-11 loss to
the East Macon All-Stars.
North Macon eventu
ally won the 8U title on
Sunday with a 13-12 win
The Monroe County 10U baseball All-Stars finished with a 5
State South Tournament in Macon on Sunday. (Photo/Keith
over the Bloomfield All-
Star Pride.
Lastly, the Monroe
County 6U baseball All-
Stars finished with a 1-2
overall record in the 6U
Sub-State Tournament at
East Macon Park over the
weekend.
Monroe County 6U lost
its opening game 13-6 to
the Bloomfield All-Star
Pride on Friday to drop
into the losers’ bracket.
Monroe County then
rebounded with a 1-0
shutout victory over the
JCAL All-Star Showtime
-2 record at the USSSA Sub-
Edge)
on Saturday before being
eliminated later in the day
with an 11-6 loss to the
East Macon All-Stars. The
North Macon All-Stars
eventually captured the
6U title on Sunday with a
12-4 championship game
victory over East Macon.
Monroe Outdoors
It’s a great time to go fishing for bluegills
BY TERRY W.
JOHNSON
tjwoodduck@bellsouth.
net
Nowadays, the blue-
gill, commonly referred
to as brim, just doesn’t
get the notoriety of the
largemouth
bass. However,
day in and day
out, it remains
one of the fish
favored by
Monroe County
anglers.
There is a
host of reasons
why it is so
popular. One is
that you don’t
have to have
hundreds of dol
lars worth of equipment
to fish for it. All that is
needed to catch a mess of
brim is a cane pole, a few
feet of line, a hook, bob
ber and a can of
worms
Also, you don’t
necessarily need
a boat to fish for
bluegills. This is
one fish that you
can usually catch
from the shore.
It is also abun
dant and can be
easily caught
by youngsters,
oldsters and
folks that are not
familiar with the
fine arts of cast
ing, lure selection
or the proper way
to retrieve an
artificial bait.
On top of that,
you would be
hard pressed to
find a more delicious fish
to eat. Fried bluegills
served up with hush
puppies, slaw, fries and
washed down with cold
ice tea is a meal fit for a
king.
The bluegill swims in
all of Georgia’s 159 coun
ties. It can be found in
rivers, streams, reservoirs
as well as beaver and
farm ponds. However,
it much prefers shallow,
warm, still water over the
fast moving, cold waters
of North Georgia’s trout
streams.
Although it can be
caught at any time of
the year, the warmer
months offer some of the
year’s best brim fishing.
Bluegills eat a variety of
aquatic animals. Adult
bluegills are particularly
fond of the larvae of drag
onflies, mayflies and cad-
disflies. However, they
don’t shy away from small
fish, crayfish, snails and
even leeches.
Although bluegills look
much like redears, red
breasts and other sunfish,
it is really
quite simple
to tell them
apart, from
other panfish.
All you need
to remember
is that it has a
dark ear flap
and dark spot
in the rear of
its dorsal fin.
Adult blue
gills range
from seven to
10 inches in length. A big
bluegill weighs anywhere
from eight ounces to a
pound.
The world record blue
gill was caught some
67 years ago in Ketona
Lake, Ala. This behemoth
weighed four pounds, 12
ounces. Now that is one
fish I would like to see!
The Georgia state record
bluegill was landed in
1977 from Shamrock
Lake. This fish weighed
3 lbs., 5 ounces. In case
you are wondering how
our state record compares
with the state records
for our sister states, the
Georgia record is topped
only by the world record
fish caught in Alabama
and a whopping 4 lbs., 5
oz, brim landed in North
Carolina. The largest
bluegills taken in Florida
(2 lbs., 15 oz), Tennessee
(3 lbs. 0 oz.) and South
Carolina (3 lbs., 4 oz.)
were smaller.
Two of the most popular
live baits for bluegills are
worms and crickets. Some
folks also like to fish with
catalpa worms. However,
as anyone that has done
much fishing knows, they
will also take minnows.
As a boy, I enjoyed great
success catching bluegills
on grasshoppers and
perch bugs (dragonfly
larvae).
If you prefer to fish for
bluegills with artificial
baits, you have a wide
range to choose from. I
enjoy fishing for bluegills
with a fly rod. I particu
larly like fishing for blue
gills with a fly rod in bea
ver ponds. Here one of the
best lures I have used is a
fly called the black ant.
Another great way to
fish for bluegills is floating
down the Ocmulgee River
while tossing popping and
sponge bugs close to trees
that have fallen into the
water. One thing I like
about fishing with pop
ping bugs is that when
you miss a strike, if you
immediately toss the bug
back to the same spot, the
bluegill will often try to
engulf it again.
if you are an ultralight
fan, try tossing small jigs,
or spinner baits such as
Beetle Spins and Mepps
spinners. In case you
have never hooked a
half-pound bream on an
ultralight, you are in for a
real thrill.
Want to try something
different? Try fishing
for bluegills with more
unorthodox baits. Believe
it not, you can actually
catch bluegills on cheese,
bread, wasp larvae and
bits of hotdogs.
If you are like me, you
have caught far more
bluegills in your lifetime
than bass. In fact, I am
convinced when I was a
boy it was the steady tug
of bluegills on my line
that hooked me on fish
ing. Decades later I am
still hooked and enjoy it
every bit as much as was
when I was a youngster.
Since school is out, there
is no better time to take
a young girl or boy brim
fishing. If you do, I am
certain they will have
a great time and, if you
are lucky, they too will
be hooked on a sport that
they can enjoy for a fife
time.
Terry Johnson is the
retired Program Manager
of the Georgia Nongame-
Endangered Wildlife
Program. Pie has written
an informative column
for the Reporter for many
years.
Terry W. Johnson
The steady tug of bluegills on your line can hook you on fishing
for life (PhotoTTerry Johnson)