Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2B
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008
Outdoors With Skipper
Morning of fishing was just the right call
I t has been a while since I
have had an opportunity to do
some fishing with Christmas,
New Year’s, and family activities
taking over.
This past Saturday, I decided to
head up to Clarkesville as soon
as the morning warmed up a bit. I
figured the recent rain would have
raised the water levels some, and
that enough time had passed so
the water wouldn’t be muddy or
cloudy.
Arriving at my first spot, it was
still quite chilly in the shade. I
moved over to an area where the
sun was shining, and the instant
warmth felt good. I started my pat
tern of casting and had a bite.
I cast out further and further, and
it wasn’t too long before I had a
trout. It was a stocker size around
10 inches. It is rare to catch them
that small, at this location where
I normally catch the two to six
pounders.
After about 30 minutes, I decided
to vacate that spot and head to
Moccasin Creek. I had the camp
ground all to myself. The herring
The
Great
Outdoors
By Skipper Smith
706-677-1520
were still there in the creek, along
with around six trout or so.
The water was crystal clear with
the noontime sun brightly shining
into the water. I soon caught one
fish as I watched him take the bait.
Then it became more difficult. The
fish would come to my bait, exam
ine it, and then slowly move away.
I could see the hook reflect
ing in the sunlight myself along
with the six pound line. I spent
an hour or so just watching and
observing what would happen, as I
could clearly see each trout. I tried
threading a worm completely on
the hook to cover it, but that didn’t
work either.
I noticed the predatory nature of
the trout, as I tried moving the bait
away from them, and they would
follow till they noticed something
wasn’t right and then back away.
One key would be to fish when
the sun is not overhead, but either
early in the morning or later in the
afternoon. Of course, a ripple on
the surface would help some too.
It was like fishing in a fish bowl,
but enjoyable as I tried to outsmart
them. I reckon that’s why those
few trout are remaining and haven’t
been caught. They have kept their
mouth’s closed.
Maybe a lot of us adults would
be better off, if we kept our
mouth’s closed also. We wouldn’t
get caught, and end up in a heap
of trouble. Well, I think I will try
two-pound test line, and find some
hooks that are dull in color. I’ll let
you know if I come up with any
success. If you have an outdoors
story, be sure and give me a call.
Skipper Smith is an outdoors
columnist for The Banks County
News. Let him know about your
hunting or fishing adventure at
706-677-1520.
First and Ten... continued from page 1B
In almost 15 years a community
newspaper journalist, I have been
fortunate to work side-by-side with
some talented people.
Unfortunately, the time often comes
when I have to say goodbye to those
talented co-workers. Such is the case
at the end of this week as Allen Luton
is leaving the confines of MainStreet
Newspapers to begin a new chapter
in his professional career.
Allen, for those who aren’t familiar
with our entire family of newspapers,
has handled the sports coverage for
the past several years for The Jackson
Herald.
His loss will be a great one to our
newspaper family as Allen is without
a doubt one of the most talented writ
ers, photographers and page design
ers I’ve been associated with. The
awards he has won more than back
up that statement.
I knew Allen somewhat before I
arrived at MainStreet Newspapers in
2005. The sports journalism circle
is a tight one, especially at commu
nity papers, and Allen and I would
exchange stories and information to
help each other with our respec
tive sports sections. Even if I only
needed a little information on a team
in Jackson County, Allen would go
the extra mile and send a complete
story along with photos. That’s just
the way he is.
I’ll miss working with Allen and
hated to hear that he is leaving the
nest so to speak. However, I under-
stand the time has come for him
to move on as he looks to plan his
future both at the professonal and
personal levels.
I’ll miss our sports talks, our cut
ting up between putting out the next
paper and his photo advice which
certainly helped me as a true amatuer
in that department. Perhaps most of
all, I know the readers of his sports
section will miss his award-winning
work. Like the person who one day
replaces Larry Munson, the next per
son to sit at Allen’s desk has some
big shoes to fill.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of
The Banks County News. Contact him
at 706-367-2745 or e-mail comments
to chris@mainstreetnews.com.
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u
High School Basketball
Leopards run into buzzsaw at Rabun County
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
Veteran Banks County High School
basketball coach Mike Ruth has
thought about last Friday’s contest
at Rabun County and has concluded
there simply wasn’t much positive to
take away from the contest.
The Leopards took it on the chin
by a 91-62 count as host Rabun
County used a three-point shooting
arsenal to pound the Leopards into
submission. A 28-point night from
senior Dustin Worley was one of the
few bright spots for BCHS who fell
to 0-2 in subregion play.
“We went up there and they wore
us out,” Ruth said. “We tried to use
our press on them but we weren’t
getting good rotation in terms of get
ting out on their shooters.”
The BCHS coach said even after
breaking the game down on tape it
was tough to watch Rabun County
successfully convert 12 baskets from
3-point range.
The Wildcats jumped out to a
21-7 lead after the first quarter and
continued to hold a 32-21 advantage
at halftime.
Ruth said some might wonder why
he didn’t call off his press since it
wasn’t effective, but the coach said
he wanted his team to learn from the
experience rather than simply drop
ping back into a zone defense.
“We are working on our rotations
and game situations,” the coach said.
“It was a night where we weren’t
ready to play when we got there.”
Things didn’t go well for the
Leopards at the free throw line in
the contest as they were 15-of-29
overall. In the first half, BCHS was
just 4-of-19.
Trying to make baskets from the
field was also a struggle for Ruth’s
team as the Leopards were only
7-of-22 from the paint in the game’s
first 16 minutes.
Kane Duncan added 11 points for
Ruth’s team but nine came in the
final quarter.
BCHS went back to work with a
Sunday afternoon practice to pre
pare for its two subregion contests
this week.
“We will keep working and mak
ing some adjustments,” Ruth said.
“Defensively, we have been falling
back in a man-to-man defense, but
we aren’t getting the job done.”
The coach said he is concerned
with how his team’s last two oppo
nents have converted so many bas
kets from beyond the 3-point line.
Rabun County made 12 Friday night
while Dawson County was success
ful on 10 3-pointers in the game
before that against the Leopards.
BCHS will host Fannin County
Friday in another subregion contest
at 8:30 p.m.
Recreation dept. hosting baseball, softball registration
The Banks County Parks and Recreation Department
will host baseball and softball registration beginning
Monday and continuing through Friday, Feb. 15.
Registration fee for both sports is $40. Age control is
May 1 for baseball and Jan. 1 for softball.
For additonal information, contact the recreation
department office on Thompson Street in Homer at
706-677-4407.
Information is also available at www.bankscounty.
recware.com.
BCHS girls... continued from page 1B
“I felt we should have had an advantage on the
boards,” King said.
BCHS also hurt itself with a poor night at the free
throw line.
“You have to be able to make your layups and free
throws,” the coach said. “Those two areas were weak
nesses for us Friday.”
The Lady Leopards are scheduled to host Fannin
County High School in another subregion contest Friday
beginning at 7 p.m.
Appeal... continued from page 1B
The BCHS principal said members
of Region 8-AA argued that the
GHSA set up standards and rules
and members should follow them.
“We felt the committees did a
good job in establishing the regions
and didn’t see a need for them
to change,” Wheaton said. “Adding
more teams to 8-AA would have
prevented us from playing a com
plete region schedule.”
While last week’s appeal by
Buford ends the ordeal for the next
two years, Wheaton said he predicts
the Gwinnett County school will try
again in two years.
Members of Region 8-AA were
scheduled to meet Tuesday morning
to finalize the 2008 football sched
ules now that Buford’s appeal was
denied.
The BCHS varsity Leopards are
scheduled to play one non-region
football game next fall against
Washington-Wilkes with the remain
ing nine contests against Region
8-AA opponents.
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