LAKE OCONEE —
National Hunting and Fishing Day (NHFD) is Saturday, Sept. 22 and Georgia will celebrate that day along with the rest of the country in recognizing the truly American traditions of hunting and fishing. This year's honorary chair for the NHFD is NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.
This annual celebration creates a better public awareness of the important role that outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen have played in conservation and improvement of our national resources. President Theodore Roosevelt was one of those early conservationists who influenced many of our current fish and game laws.
During the 1960s, hunters and anglers began to see and embrace the new environmental awareness in the United States that indicated a need to protect vital resources but many people continued to misunderstand the role that sportsmen and sportswomen then played and continue to play in the conservation movement.
It took decades for populations of white-tailed deer, elk, wild turkey, wood ducks and many other species to recover from decades of unregulated exploitation. Sportsmen and sportswomen have worked countless hours to protect and improve millions of acres of vital habitat which includes lands and waters that everyone can enjoy.
The preservation of the nation's precious natural resources and the great American traditions of hunting and fishing are being challenged everyday by the changing world in which we live. Even natural disasters like hurricane Katrina and most recently hurricane Isaac have done damage to the Gulf Coast Region's vast and fragile ecosystem, and it will take many years and much money to recover.
Millions of America's hunters and anglers work each day to conserve, repair and improve our country's great natural resources. The U.S. Congress and President Nixon established NHFD thirty-four years ago to recognize hunters and anglers for the time and money they donate to wildlife conservation programs. Those contributions total more than a billion dollars annually.
More than 38 million Americans participate in hunting and fishing activities. Across our nation, anglers fish 557 million days each year. One quarter of all anglers are female. Anglers alone spend almost $300 million on ice and over $1 billion on bait!
Hunters spend 228 million days per year hunting and an average hunter spends over $1,600 each year on hunting. One of the growing activities is sport shooting and teenage girls are the fastest growing market for sport shooting. According to research, 72 percent more women are hunting with firearms today than just five years ago. Also 50 percent more women are now target shooting.
All these figures are quite amazing and they go to show the love for the outdoors tradition that anglers and hunters have in the United States. NHFD events are held each year with the idea of not only insuring a bright future for hunting, fishing and other outdoor events but to also recognize the past conservation efforts and achievements of American outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen.
In addition to special events all around the state of Georgia, a free fishing day is offered to all Georgia residents on Saturday, Sept. 22. On that day, residents do not need a fishing license or a trout license to fish on any public waters in the state including lakes, rivers, streams, ponds and Public Fishing Areas (PFA). NHFD is also a great day to get children involved in the outdoors.
For additional information about NHFD and all NHFD scheduled events in Georgia, visit the NHFD website at www.nhfd.org and select “events”. Take advantage of all the events on this year's NHFD and join with other Americans in celebrating the great American outdoors and the traditions of hunting and fishing. See you next week.
Outdoors
Hunting and Fishing — American Traditions
- Outdoors
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Do area lakes like Sinclair have poisonous snakes?
All snakes pose very little threat to humans but NOTHING frightens us more than coming into contact with a snake.
Every year about this time of the year, I begin receiving e-mails from people who read my column about what they perceive to be poisonous snakes in Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee.
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What the fish are eating determines angling success
Game fish like largemouth bass, crappie, striped/hybrid bass and some catfish depend on baitfish for the majority of their food. Baitfish in Lakes Oconee and Sinclair are comprised primarily of minnows, bluegill and shad.
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Crappie: post-spawn locales and depths for angling
Crappie are one of the first lake species to normally spawn. The spawning cycle for crappie is very much related to the weather and its impact on water temperature. This year’s crappie spawn was spread out over a longer period than I can remember in several years.
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Largemouth bass: post-spawn summer transition
The resting phase that females go through could certainly reduce bites but likely another factor also plays into the equation. That factor is migration or movement of the largemouth bass after the spawn.
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Barry's Tournament Trail season nearly complete
The sixth tournament of the season was held on Saturday, April 13 at Lake Oconee under beautiful weather conditions. One hundred and forty-five two-man teams competed for the tournament that was held at Sugar Creek Marina.
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If the grass is greener why use seawall and rip-rap?
I would like to discuss native grasses as they relate to Lakes Oconee and Sinclair. No one wants an invasion of non-native grasses in either lake and individuals from Georgia Power who owns the lakes and the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division (GWRD) who manage the lakes’ fisheries keep a watchful eye out for any indication that a non-native grass has been spotted. Any non-native grass would and should be quickly eradicated.
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Lake Oconee fishery seeks to reintroduce natives
Currently Lake Oconee has a slot limit on largemouth bass that requires all bass in the 11-14 inch slot to be released. Largemouth less than 11 inches and greater than 14 inches can be currently be kept by anglers.
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Good bite and a day of remembrance for anglers
In one of the closest finishes in tournament fishing I have witnessed in recent years, the top three teams were separated by less than half of a pound.
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An update on the Lake Oconee fishery's efforts
The WRD is working in two areas to improve the fishery within Lake Oconee. Those two areas are monitoring the existing fishery and the second activity entails aquatic habitat improvement.
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The anticipated turkey season begins this Saturday
The spring turkey season in Georgia begins this Saturday, March 23 and runs through May 15 statewide.
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Do area lakes like Sinclair have poisonous snakes?
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