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Tolleson remains in first in Junior League
Bt CART BAXTER
the ffOlfE JOURNAL
After 15 regular season
games, Tolleson Supply' has
claim to first place in the
Perry Junior League Major
League for 11-12 boys.
Tolleson has a 4-2
record.
Pitchers with the best
Lake Blackshear offers excellent
fishing for middle Georgia residents
Bass anglers in south
central Georgia don't have
to drive far to find excellent
fishing. In fact 8,515-acre
Lake Blackshear is within
an hour’s drive for a large
number of eager anglers.
Within the region howev
er for one angler, Jim
Murray, the lake is literally
out his back door, as he’s
lived on the bank of the
lake for 27 years. A sales
man for the Dawson
Tarpolum Co.. Murray is on
the lake every chance he
gets, fishing for bass.
When asked for the most
important fishing advice he
could give readers, Murray
did not hesitate to answer.
"Many years ago I fished
with a Mr. Wiggins who was
a very knowledgeable Lake
Blackshear fisherman, and
I found his advice worked
for me," Murray said.
“He said in the spring
time or in the dead of win
ter, fish shallow in Lake
Blackshear and you’ll
always catch fish. I have
found that to be excellent
advice for this lake and it
has worked for me," Murray
continued.
“In the springtime 1
might be fishing for bedding
bass in the back of Cannon
Branch with a slow moving
jerk bait or spinner bait. I
might also try working a
Texas rig worked through
the cypress roots; but
rarely will 1 fish water over
five feet deep," he
explained.
“That's because my theo
ry is that on Lake
Blackshear, a shallow run
ning bass is looking for
something to eat, aggres
sively cruising the water A
deeper suspended bass on
the other hand is restful
and not interested in feed
ing and it’s tough to make
him bite." Murray said.
When pressed to name
his favorite lure, Murray
said he really didn’t have
one, but normally he uses a
white or chartreuse spinner
bait, which he makes him
self.
For year round action, a
Texas rigged worm is hard
to beat, he said.
“These are good shallow
water lures and that’s all 1
normally need," he added.
On a recent bass club
tournament, Murray pulled
out a chrome rattle trap
that caught bunches of 12 -
13 inch bass, but only
pulled in two keepers over
the 14 inch limit.
“That’s typical of the
majority of bass caught on
the lake right now, but
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HHHi • MHRH
records are Michael Deibert
of Tolleson, 2-0, and Daniel
Peak of MMM, CPA, 3-1.
Kiwanis pitcher Shane
Ashley leads the league in
strikeouts with 34 in just
18 innings.
Jordy Stokes of Alltel and
Ashley are the home run
leaders with three each.
Pj jjppj
John
Trussed
Home
Journal
Outdoors
some larger bass are pre
sent. In fact, I hung into
one large bass that I could
n’t turn at all and it soon
broke off." said Murray.
Interestingly the bass
tournament Murray was
participating in was won
with a limit of shoal bass
caught above the Ga. 27
bridge in the Flint River.
According to Wildlife
Resources Division
Fisheries Biologist Paul
Loska. anglers can expect
to find Blackshear’s bass in
robust condition, like fat
footballs.
Loska said recent creel
and stocking surveys on
Blackshear found the bass
in very good condition and
averaging one to one and a
quarter pound.
The “new lake effect"
resulting from enriched
nutrients in the lake and a
low fish population when
the lake was refilled after
the 1994 flood has led to
several great fish spawns
and rapid growth of the
expanding fish population,
said Loska.
As the Blackshear bass
population grows and
expands, the fishing will be
very good for many years in
the future.
Anyone who fished
Blackshear prior to the
flood was very familiar with
the algae problem. It was
primarily of the Lyngbya
variety a blue green algae,
Loska said.
The WRD took advantage
of the down time at the lake
to establish native plants in
the lake. Approximately 80
percent of the noxious
plants have been removed
and those native plants
were planted at the mouths
of several well known coves
to create a natural fence of
sorts to keep out invading
plants.
That plan has worked
but some unwanted plant
varieties are creeping back
into the lake, so the prob
lem has not disappeared.
Loska said while the lake
was down fisheries biolo
gists examined the lake bed
for locations for new fish
attractor sites. The WRD
placed wooden pallets, old
Daniel Peake and Dusty
Denton are tied for the best
batting average, hitting
.500 each.
Casey Hillstrom is hitting
.462 while Stephen James
is batting .462. Jordy
Stokes rounds out the top
five batters with a .421
average.
auto tires, and concrete
chunks around fishing
piers in Veterans State
Park.
Pallets and concrete rub
ble were also dropped near
the Wolf Thick boat ramp,
at the north and south
sides of the entrance to
Cedar Creek, on the south
side of the mouth of Boy
Scout Slough, and at the
north entrance point to
Spring Creek.
This type of man made
cover is also planted along
the river channel between
the U.S. 280 bridge on the
north and the railroad
bridge just to the south.
A dozen new fish attrac
tors, composed of 56 PVC
and plastic Geo-web struc
tures, were placed in the
lake. They were sunk along
ledges which drop off into
the old river channel from
Smoak Bridge bn Swift
Creek up to the mouth of
Spring Creek. Each is
marked with a buoy.
These sites are ideal for
anglers to work over with a
shad colored crankbait, rat
tletrap or Texas rigged dark
blue worm. In the deeper
water, especially around
the Geo - Web structures, a
Carolina rig with a 3 - 5 foot
leader would probably
bring more success.
For the abundant smaller
bass, a two-hook worm will
increase your percentage of
hook ups.
'* Both Murray and-Loska
say effectively fishing
around cypress trees and
their tangled root systems
is the key to catching
Blackshear’s spring bass.
Cypress threes are common
all over Blackshear, but
Loska picks Cannon
Branch, Gum, Limestone,
and Spring Creeks as prime
places to narrow your
search.
Because of its shallow
nature, Blackshear warms
up early in the spring and
top water- baits such as
buzz baits, trick worms or
floating frogs will draw a
strike early in the morning
or late in the day around
the cypress trees.
Generally, it's best to
cast the bait right up next
to the trunk of the tree and
let it rest long enough for
the ripples to fade away
before a very slow and
erratic retrieve is begun.
Often those short jerky
movements of the bait imi
tate a wounded prey that
can draw a vicious strike
from a hungry bass.
(continued in two weeks)
The GcorghStriwbary Festival
Night in the Park 7:00 p.m.
_Jtr Band concert
SBf Band concert
May 8 - Saturday Downtown 9:45a.m.
JjfF • Gospel Fest W
(o o _ 1
■ • Games & Kj m
11 “Live Entertainment & Jazz Bands M
Fun Stage
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• Grand Parade JpF
V •Trash toi&easures Market fffir
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m fl •StrawberryCook-O^fiP^
•flfce Parking and Shuff!| Patch
i May 8 -
-8,1999
Sponsored in Strawberry Growers Association
for moOTnformation call 912-847-2663
Here are results of games
during the past week:
Kiwanis 7, Baxter, CPA,
6. Shane Ashley had the
game winning, 3-run home
run.
Alltel 7, MMM, CPA, 1.
Josh O'Neal, Alltel pitcher,
had a complete game win.
Casey Hillstrom and
Stephen James each hit
home runs for Alltel.
MMM. CPA 7, Baxter.
CPA 6. Daniel Peake of
MMM was the winning
pitcher. He also hit a dou
ble and two home runs
while driving home six
runs.
Alitel 18, Tolleson 14.
Stephen James had a two
run home run for Alltel
while Bruce Vance had a
two-run home run for
Tolleson.
Tolleson 10, Kiwanis 8.
Brett Hill of Kiwanis went
4-4 including two doubles.
Ryan Sims of Tolleson was
3-3 including a triple.
Clark
Continued from page 6A
meters into the race and
took a hard fall onto the
asphalt track, skidding
then rolling over on the
track.
After getting medical
attention and several small
bandages from trainer
Mike Edgar, Katie went on
to run the 200- meter race,
and anchor her 4 by 400
meter relay team.
Katie is one of my
favorite young folks, any
way, and her courage and
dedication swelled my
heart with even more pride
for this outstanding young
freshman.
Baseball
From page 6A
the team, hit .292 and led
the team with 12 runs bat
ted in. Jones also had eight
doubles to lead in that cat
egory.
Walker and Trevor Jones
had the team’s only home
runs of the season, with
Jones leading in runs
scored with 13, followed by
Virden with 11 and Shell
with 10.
Coach Billy Sellers loses
seven seniors off this year’s
team, including Ron
Marshall, Matt Hardy, Tate
Parker and Chad Ekey,
along with Shell, Walker
and Trevor Jones.
Home Journal sports cov
erage each week features
coverage of local high school
teams.
Follow the Panthers and
the Hornets with sports
writers Phil Clark and
Alline Kent.
Subscribe today. Call 987-
1823.
■a ir t : f | A
bristle lErrsr
sss
ntors in leading the
re of 308. Deerfield
fion 3-AAA champi
won the title on the
>.' t *
The Westfield Hornets, region 1-AAA champions,
came up short in their bid for a third state champi
onship over the past four years.
The GISA champions in 1996 and 1997 finished
third with a team score of 311. Freshman Jon David
Kennedy shot a one-under 71 to lead the Hornets.
Joe Todd shot 75 for the day while R.G. Lamar
scored an 82. Matt Moore was in at 83 while Mitch
Greerrecorded anß7.
The four top scores count toward the team total.
Christie, a junior at Stratford, is among the top
young female golfers hi the south. Her 70 placed her
on the GISA all-state team along with Kennedy. Todd,
Drew Bowen of George Walton and Michael Monahan
of Deerfield.
Pre-tourney favorite Southland finished well of the
pace with a team 341, good for ninth in the 15-team
field. Augusta Prep was fourth at 315.
Felton cops top SUU honor
SnciAL TO the Home Journal
CEDAR CITY, Utah
Former Perry High School
basketball standout
Tarvish Felton brought his
college career to an end
with the top Southern Utah
University award.
Felton was named co-
Male Athlete of the Year
with Mark Wright, a mem
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/T\
\ Henderson /
\ village J
\ Country Retreat /
\and Restaurant/
Come visit Langston House Restaurant
at Henderson Village where
every meal Is an experience to treasure.
« a neat...
Three course prix fixe menu at $25 per person. Our
unique a la carte menu is also available, priced
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You are also invited to experience our exquisite
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Call for Reservations: 912-988-8696
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Wcd., May 5. 1999. Houston Home joumai
ber of the SUU track team.
Alex Herzog, spokesman
for SUU, said Felton is a
physical education major
and a senior.
Felton was a member of
the Southern Utah basket
ball team.
The award was presented
during the recent annual
Thunderbird Awards Night.
that
dfeecia/
Occasion?
£Then wait no nwt*e !
Page 7A