Double Delight Fish Catches

 

“Double!” my buddy Jeff called out while I was reeling in a Bartram’s bass. I looked over and saw that indeed, he too was fighting a fish. Soon after, we had our only double of the day in hand. After a couple of quick photos, we slipped them back the water.

Neither was the biggest fish of the day, and they were two of quite a few. Jeff had even caught and released a more significant bass, which would count as his Bartram’s bass for the Georgia Bass Slam.

There’s something about doubling up with a fishing buddy that’s extra fun. From my perspective, it’s even more fun than catching two fish at once on a tandem rig or a YUMbrella.

I cannot say it quote beats doubling up by catching two fish at once on the same lure - something I’ve managed only a few times over the years. My favorite of those was a pair of peacock bass in the Amazon River basin that got hooked on opposite ends of a big topwater lure.

While crappie and white bass fishing, I’ve also been a part of a few double doubles, with a buddy and I both catching fish on both jigs of a tandem rig.

I’ve also been on a pier or boat when three or more anglers were hooked up at once — several, on a couple of occasions, on party boats. That’s getting away from doubles, though, and might be another story for another time.

A Spot I Wish I Could Have Fished

This spot remains in my mind  a few years after having taken this photo. It looked so good for fishing and like a reasonable amount of water could be reached by wading. My buddy and I hadn’t toted our rods, though and going back for them just didn’t quite make sense.

It was a video filming trip for work, and we were both in unfamiliar country. We’d stopped at a river access listed on a map, and had started following a footpath toward the river. The path turned into and a fire road/trail and continued much farther than expected. A creek paralleled the trail, so we knew we were walking toward the river. It was simply farther than expected or we probably would have carried at least some basic gear in the first place (or passed on the spot completely).

We’d committed enough to want to make it to the river, so we continued walking for somewhere around 20 minutes, I’d guess..

When we finally reach the river, we found a spot that was beautiful and that looked like a great place to fish but that looked like challenging wading to be done with expensive camera gear - and in truth it wasn’t a great fit what we wanted to film.

As much as we were both intrigued by the fishing potential, it really didn’t make sense to add 20 minutes to walk to his truck, 20 minutes to walk back to the river and 20 minutes back out just to sample rhe fishing, especially when we still needed to find our next filming spot. 

So we left the river behind, and for me at least it left a bit of a hole and a curiosity that remains today.

The area is a solid four hours from where I live, so it isn’t just a handy return trip, and I haven’t found myself back in the area since that trip.That said, there is a lot of cool stuff in the general area of the spot, and I could easily see planning a fishing trip in the area rhat includes a hike in to that spot.

If that happens it seems likely I’ll end up with a story to tell, but I suppose I’m getting ahead of myself with that notion!

Trash Day by the Lake

Thursday morning found me walking the bank of a small lake not far from home. That’s not unusual. What was vastly different for me was that I was not there to fish. Instead I spent the morning and the first part of the afternoon picking up trash left by other anglers.

I’d like to claim that was just an idea I had and how I chose to spent my day. It was actually my job that day because the company I work for — PRADCO-Fishing — chose to support and participate in a national fishing-industry-wide waterway cleanup effort that took place throughout National Boating & Fishing Week.

The Million-Pound Challenge, established by the American Sportfishing Association, brought together fishing tackle manufacturers, retailers, fisheries and land management agencies and individuals to pick up trash along waterways all over the United States.

PRADCO, which owns and operates top fishing lure brands like YUM, Rebel, Heddon and Bobby Garland, made it every employee’s job to pick up trash around a waterway last Thursday. Most folks participated in coordinated group clean-ups at sites scattered around Fort Smith, Arkansas, where the company is based. Remote employees (which includes me) selected a local site to clean.

I picked Nancytown Lake and Lake Russell on the Chattahoochee National Forest. Nancytown is a small lake where trout get stocked early in the season. It gets a lot of bank fishing use and some canoe and kayak access. Lake Russell, which just down the creek from Nancytown is 100-acre lake that gets some bank fishing use but also has a ramp for small boats.

I figured key areas around both could use some cleanup, and I was correct. My total trash haul was just a little more than 14 pounds, but that was 14 pounds of small, light stuff like snack wrappers, lure packaging, worm cups, drink cans and cigarettes, and it ended up forming a bulging bag.

I was talking with a friend about the nationwide effort, and as important as the actual total of trash picked up last week might be the added awareness for participants and observers. I know it made me think more. I always take away my own trash, and literally don’t recall ever consciously littering. However, I’m not so good about picking up other stuff I when I’m out fishing - even when doing so would be easy. I’ll try to work on that!

Bait?

Bass bait! I won’t claim the thought didn’t go through my mind. When I caught a little shiner while bream fishing with my son at his pond, I naturally wondered what might happen if I re-hooked the shiner on a larger hook and pitched it back by the dock or near a shoreline bush.

I used to do that with other golden shiners at a creek near my house while I was growing up. It was fun, and I recall a bit of extra pride that came from catching fish on another fish I had also caught by rod and reel.

As luck would have it for the shiner, I only had the one light rod, which was rigged with a 1/48-ounce jig that had a No. 8 hook. It wasn’t worth hanging onto the baitfish and tying on a bigger hook — and my rod wouldn’t really have been suited for the job. 

So the shiner, which was a new species for me in 2026, got away with just smiling for a single photo before being tossed back into the pond. 

I really need to check some notes and write out my whole list, but with the shiner and some kind of chub or sucker I caught on another recent trip, I think the ‘26 species tally is at 22.

Georgia Largemouth Elusive

It’s somewhat comical to me that with only one species remaining to achieve the Georgia Bass Slam in 2026, one of the species that would get me there is the most common of all — the largemouth bass. 

It takes qualifying fish of five different black bass species (out of 10 possible) to earn the slam, the way the program is set up. I’m confident I’ll get there with more than half a year remaining. Beyond largemouth, Chattahoochee bass live in my part of the state, and I sometimes spend time in waters where other species can be found. Last year I caught qualifying fish of seven species.

It’s just funny to me that I have four of five needed, but no largemouths. I have caught several largemouth bass this year. In fact, I caught some last week. They just haven’t been in Georgia. Last week’s bass came from Lake Guntersville in Alabama. I’ve actually caught bass in three states this year. Just not Georgia.

Qualifying bass I have caught in 2026 include Bartram’s bass, shoal bass, spotted bass and Coosa (redeye) bass. 

Company Fishing Day

My job last Thursday was to go fishing. Simple as that. And the same was true for every other employee of PRADCO-Fishing, which owns and operates Rebel Lures, YUM Bait Company, Bobby Garland Crappie Baits, Heddon Lure and a host of other great fishing lure companies — all found at Lurenet.com

Quite a few people get to tie in fishing with work, whether regularly as a guide or tournament angler or on occasion for entertainment, gear testing or maybe some as aspect of marketing in the fishing industry. 

I’m one of those folks, as a content producer. Part of my job is to get photos and video of fish, fishermen and fishing lures and to write about the same subjects. Consequently I get to spend a reasonable amount of time in a stream or someone’s boat, “researching” and gathering content.

Thursday was different, though, as is one day around this time every year. It wasn’t about gathering content or trying new lures. It was all about enjoying a day of fishing. 

Every year, the company has “PRADCO Fishing Day,” and everyone in the company, whether they work on accounting, manufacturing, sales, marketing or somewhere else, leaves the regular job behind and goes fishing. For some, a couple of hours is enough. Others fish all day. Either works. The only requirement is for everyone to send in a photo of themselves fishing.

Fishing day is always scheduled near a holiday weekend to allow for a nice long break. For PRADCO, this day is inortant for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a gift to employees that shows appreciation. Second, it makes sure that everyone has a least a little exposure to what we do as a company.

I had spent the first half of the week out, doing some of the kind of on-water stuff that’s more common to me, and had spent time in a few different creeks and small rivers and on Lake Guntersville. In short, I had already gotten to fish quite a bit and had been away from home for three days. Therefore I chose a simple and close-to-home plan, wading a section of the Chattahoochee River and fishing for whatever bit. 

I caught a handful of fish of four different species and had a delightful time. Sincere thanks to PRADCO for offering a fishing day!

If you want to see how I spent my morning, visit Fishing on Foot on YouTube and check out “My ONE JOB was to go Fishing.”

Georgia Bass Slam & 2026 Fish Species Tally

Spotted bass/Alabama bass almost feel like freebies for Georgia Bass Slam. These highly similar species, which are treated as one for the Slam, are ultra plentiful in waterways through much of the state, including many places where they aren’t supposed to be and mess up a lot of stuff with native black bass species.

Nevertheless, I had not caught a spot from Georgia waters yet in 2026, so I was delighted to land a pretty 14-inch fish on Monday and to get it properly measured and photographed to meet Georgia Bass Slam requirements.

Today, while filming a different North Georgia stream, I was delighted to see the tail of a Coosa redeye bass cross the 8-inch line in my measuring board. The spot and Coosa were species three and four toward this year’s Slam for me. The minimum for earning the Slam is five of ten possible qualifying black bass species caught during a calendar year. 

Something nice for me is that largemouth bass renain on the list of species that could get me to five. If can’t catch am 8-inch-plus largemouth bass from Georgia waters before the end of the year, I should just give up my fishing license. I also haven’t yet tallied a Chattahoochee bass, and those live in waters close to me. I hadn’t targeted these bass prior to last year, but I feel like I should be able to accomplish that one if I’m intentional about it.

Unrelated to the Georgia Bass Slam, I am keeping a running tally of fish species I catch this year and I was able to grow that year’s list this week. 

Coosa bass, which I actually caught a few of from a couple of streams this week, were additions. I was also able to add redear sunfish and rock bass. I need to go back and look at a few things and do some documenting, but I think that brings this tally to 20 species caught.

I might have written this blog prematurely. I’m fishing again today and could add another species to the Slam and/or my 2025 species list!