Get ready for a foot - stompin', hand- clappin' good time at Elijah Clark State Park in Lincolnton, Georgia when the annual Blue Grass Festival kicks of on Friday, September 14th.  There will be three fun-fill days of food and bluegrass.  Join the action and bring your lounge chairs and three dollars for parking.  For more information, click on the links below.

http://gastateparks.org/net/calendar/details.aspx?calendarid=26920&s=65830.0.1.5

http://gastateparks.org/net/go/parks.aspx?LocationID=87&s=0.0.1.5

The fishing report is really just a repeat of the last few weeks.  The weather has been almost unbearable; but again, for those who are willilng to be on the lake by 5:00 AM, the rewards have been pretty good.  Trolling for stripers and hybrids has been the most productive method.  Again, use deep diving plugs in red and white, silver and black,  or white and blue.  You can also use a variety of bucktails and grubs with a three way swivel and use a combination of the two. They will  get a little deeper and attract more attention.  For a real big attaraction , use an umbrella rig.  You can buy  plenty of them alaready rigged or you can buy the bar and make them yourself.  I recommend buying a lure retriever to save on the expense when you hang up.  Some people use lead core lines to get the lures deeper; others opt to use downriggers.  I have seen guys at times using downriggers when they were the only ones catching fish.  Play around and change what you are using to fish something that will work.  Once you catch a fish, loop back around that area and you may be able to catch fish in that spot all day.

Black bass are also schooling in the secondary coves.  I stay more towards the bigger areas for the stipers, but in smaller water for the schooling bass.  When crappie fishing in the fall, I always take some topwater stuff for schooling bass.  Speaking of crappie, expect them to begin moving into the secondary coves in a few weeks to fatten up for the winter.

  Remember,  with 1200 miles of shoreline, catching fish is a lot like finding the perfect waterfront property to buy, you gotta know where to go....

.....And we know, Turner Realty is your Lakefront Property and Lifestyle Resource.   Hey' we'll see ya on the lake!

Put on your hiking shoes  and come on down to Mistletoe State Park for a walk at Cliatt Creek on Saturday, August 18 from 11:00 am -2:00 pm. 
  You can net some critters and learn about aquatic macro-invertebrates that call the creek home.  The kids with love these animals that call the creek home. 

http://gastateparks.org/net/go/parks.aspx?locationid=33&s=0.0.1.5 

This is the easiest time of the year for a beginner to catch fish.  All you need is a couple of rod holders and the right lures. These are a few of the lures I use. 

I would use a stiff rod with a bait casting reel capable of holding a couple of hundred yards of 15 to 20# test line.  You can vary the speed you troll but idle speed is close to being right on most larger engines.  You can also vary how far back you put lures.  These two factors will determine the depth they will troll.  Using the larger redfin lures to troll, you'll have to go slow enough so they don't turn on you.  If one runs to one side, try bending the eye with a pair of needle nose pilers to get it  turned to run straight. You basically need some trolling plugs and bucktails to use.  You can ad curly tail grubs, flukes, etc to the bucktails as well.  Some people use large roadrunners which work just as good.  For the lures, you want red and white blue back and white belly or black and silvers.  On the bucktails, you want yellow, white and chartreuse.  Play with the colors, some days they want one color over another.  For the more experienced crowd, you can use umbrella rigs or a double rig using a three way swivel.  You can use two bucktails or a redfin lure with a bucktail.  These will get deeper but are harder to use than a rig and more expensive when you lose one.  Keeping  it simple is better for you beginners. 

  Remember, with 1200 miles of shoreline, catching fish is a lot like finding the perfect waterfront property to buy, you gotta know where to go....And WE know!  Turner Realty IS your waterfront property and lifestyle resource.  And hey, we'll see ya' on the lake!