catfish at Clark's Hill 8-12-2006

[Ronnie Garrison]

Saturday I went to the farm at noon and waited on Javin to go to Clark's Hill to put out jugs and trotlines for catfish. Went to the lower pond and caught 17 of the big shiners to use - Javin had a tank full of bluegill from a creek.

We got to my place at the lake at about 7:15 PM and unloaded, then put the boat in the water. Windy, cloudy and cool - a real suprised and not the best weather for running jugs. We put out a 25 hook trotline on a rocky point where the creek channel makes a big bend and a ditch enters the water. Shallow hook was in a foot of water, the deepest in 20 feet.

We put out a line of jugs - everything from 2 liter Diet Rite bottles, 1/2 gal orange juice jugs, 16 ounce coke bottles and some foam ones, too. Had 39 total.

Went in and ate supper at about 9, waited till midnight to check them. The wind had blown most up in the hydrilla around the edges - when I used to run jugs and lines here 25 years ago there was no hydrilla. Caused a problem. We took them in, carried them back to the middle and put them out again.

First run we had one cat, a five pound channel, and five big gar. Expected to catch some gar but five were more than expected.

Got in bed at 2 AM then got up at 6 AM to check them. Most had blown up into the hydrilla again. We had three more channel cats, about 3 to 4 pounds each, and another six gar. Also had blue heron - had got the hook in its wing. We saw it fly out of a tree but did not notice the jug, heron hit the water and started swimming and pulling a 2 liter coke bottle. When Javin grabbed the jug the hook pulled lose - stupid bird was swimming toward the bank when we left it.

Trotline did not have a single fish - real disappointing.

Note - a 20 foot Skeeter is not the best trotline and jug boat around!

We came in, ate some breakfast and went bed at 9 AM, slept untill 3 PM.

Will finish Sunday night and Monday morning later, gotta get some sleep.

 

[fisherpal2k]

Well it sounded fun anyway Ronnie. I have tried to trot line out of a bass boat and it just don't work as well as an old alum. rig would. Thanks for the report.

 

[jon the fisherman]

good report Ronnie. Clarks hill is one of my favorite lakes. I spent about three weeks there a couple years ago. We stayed at little river marina in there small cabins and fished that area. That lake is so big we never made it to the Savannah River, we just fished the Little River as much as we could. Caught some really nice bass down there, and shell crackers as big as dinner plates. I need to go back down there, it was alot of fun.

 

[Ronnie Garrison]

I grew up there and have a trailer at Raysville Boat Club - about 12 miles up Little River from where you stayed. I hardly ever get as far downstream as Little River Marina - lots of great fishing from there up to where I usually stay.

I have fished for shellcracker only once there but have an uncle that catches lots of big ones, mostly in May when they are bedding.

 

[Ronnie Garrison]

8/13 - Sunday

After grilling a steak we tied up a few more jugs - went out and put out 60 and baited up the trotline. We decided we needed some weight on the jugs so we tied a spark plug about a foot above each hook. That would stop them when they got into 5 to 7 feet of water - there was very little wind.

Went back and sat under the dock catching little bluegill from 9 PM to 11:30 - we were running low on bait. Had fun catching them on a tiny piece of worm on a #8 hook.

Went out at 11:30 and a bright half moon was rising - really lit up the lake. When we checked the jugs one was in real shallow water and when he reached for it Javin almost jumped out of the boat on the other side. A huge gar, one of the biggest I have seen, took off right on top of the water and really churned it up. Took me a while to quit laughing at him. That gar was fat as my thigh and about 5 feet long.

We had another big gar like that, not quite as big, and five more gar. Only one cat, a three pound channel.

Got in bed at 2:30 and the clock did not go off so I slept to 6:45. Went out and started checking the jugs out in open water. Had about five more gar and two more 3 to four pound channel cats. One jug, a liter coke bottle, kept going under when we got near it. We chased it a while and finally Javin saw it was a gar. We decided to get the rest and come back to this one. Later, we could not find it. I guess the gar took it under something under the water and got it hung up.

We found all the jugs but that one and took up the trotline - again not a single fish on it. Won't try that point again! And will probaby take a different boat next time.

Lots of fun doing something I have not done in many years. Learned some things - like weighting the lines. Also should have fished deeper this time of year, probaby. Wanted to go up the river and put them out but with the lake five feet low we did not want to run along way in the dark. Probably will try the river next time - more flatheads there I think and that is what we really wanted.

 

[Guest]

"If you use a sparkplug for a fishing weight, you might be a redneck"emoUpsmile
Good one there Ronnie,I haven't heard of anyone doing that in years.

Last year Georgia Outdoor News magazine had an article about the trophy catfish on Clark's Hill. They said it was one of the best kept secrets in the state. I don't remember many particulars other than there were 2 older gentlemen that regularly caught 30 to 50 pound cats. I have thought about coming down ther ever since the article came out. Now that ya'll have talked about the big shellcrackers I might have to get more serious about making the trip.
Trophy cats and big shellys is right down my alley. Thanks for the report.

Cheez

 

[Ronnie Garrison]

We had hoped to catch some flatheads but the lake was five feet low so we stayed in Germany Creek - I know it better. Wanted to run up Little River - I think the flatheads are better up there but with the lake down it would have been a bad run.

Strange thing - I grew up on that lake, never saw a flathead all the years I ran jugs, limblines and trotlines there with live bream as bait - did that a lot in the 70s and early 1980s. Quit doing that in the mid 80s and a few years later big flatheads started showing up. Now they catch 50 pounders there often. Gotta figure out how to get on them.

Funny about the sparkplugs - I actually learned that trick fishing for flounder off the bridge going out to Ocean City, MD while up visting my inlaws years ago. There was an old guy that fished there every day and he showed me how to tie them on and told me I could get all I wanted at any garage. With all the sharp stuff in the water, a spark plug was a good weight since you lost so many.

Guy that went with me has a lawn mower repair shop so we had plenty for sinkers!