Does Santa Claus Fish?

Hmm, let’s think about this. Well for one, Santa has stuffed many a stocking over the years with the latest technologically advanced products. If it was designed to land a fish he probably stuffed it under a tree before you ever got it hung in one. From rods to reels to lures to fish finding electronics, you can bet he’s had every gadget and every gizmo loaded on his sleigh. And, somehow over the years he seems to always come through with the best gifts. Okay, aside from that year or maybe a few when you got that deserving bag of coal, thanks to Santa you scored big time with at least one amazing gift to unwrap on Christmas morn. And, yeah, we all have experienced receiving that not so high on the wish list gift, too. The one that immediately upon opening your suddenly wishing you would have at least once, auditioned for the school play. With only half the wrapping paper pulled back, you uncontrollably put on your Santa face as all your blood rushes to your cheeks. And, while you tactfully attempt to choreograph a smile and execute your enthusiasm, your only wish now is you don’t execute your friendship at the same time. These “it’s the thought that counts” gifts are given via the hands of an amateur. Unless Uncle Bob, Grandma, your closest friend, or worse yet a loving spouse reside at the North Pole you can bet these memorable gifts weren’t wrapped there. Santa’s gifts, they rock. No acting lessons needed here. He must spend countless hours first hand with the aid of his spirited elves testing out every innovation, every hook, every line, and every sinker. How else could he achieve this flawless gift giving expertise? Could it be that he must fish?
Speaking of spirited, Santa couldn’t pull off this massive event without the aid of his all green geeks of gift giving. Somehow, smiling all the time, he successfully manages an infinite number of high strung, high pitched, high energy elves. Reality check here, either the red cheeked guy GETS HIGH, or he must wet a line to save sanity from time to time.
Tis the time to believe. Santa works and resides at the North Pole, a chunk of shifting ice floating in the Arctic Ocean. The water there is 13,980 feet deep (fish live in water). The nearest dry land is said to be off the northern coast of Greenland about 430 miles away. We already covered the “green thing”. Even if Greenland was only four blocks away, when Santa needs a break he’s not going there. The North Pole is the northernmost point on Earth where all directions point south. Santa can’t go farther north. Santa can’t go east and Santa can’t go west. It appears that he has two choices. When Santa’s only wish is to escape from it all, he either goes south or he goes fishing. The spirit of Christmas and the magic of Santa have never gone south on any of us. HO HO HO… Santa’s Gone Fishin’! Merry Christmas to All, and to All a good BITE.

1600 miles south of the North Pole is Lake Talquin. With the water temperature running around 55 to 60 degrees you’re not likely to sight any floating ice. But, you are likely to see a few anglers trying out those new Christmas toys. And you are equally likely to see a few fish being landed, too. The holidays are a “Speck-tacular” time of year to be on Talquin. So far this season trolling for specks in 16 – 24’ of water has been like opening a gift from Santa. The fish have been holding along the drops of the main river channel between Freeman Creek and the Jackson Bluff dam. As the water temps continue to drop the fish will ease a little deeper into the river channel. A very slow approach is usually needed then. Another good winter time spot for specks is in the upper Ochlockonee River from Coe’s Landing and above. It’s a great place to get out of the way of those north winds, too. Bubble gum colored jigs worked last year and appear to be doing it again. Night time anglers with their boats decorated in lights have been landing good quality specks on live minnows. Just bundle up…no bug spray needed now. Winter time is trophy time! If a big bass is on your wish list, fishing in late December through January just might be the ticket. Pre-spawn bass have been feasting on shad. Fishin' in 8-12' of water around docks may very well result in full filling that wish. If you happen to see Santa on Talquin, keep it to yourself. It just might be your only way to stay off the naughty list.

Fish Talquin: Visitors From OZ

Fish Talquin: Visitors From OZ: "Sometimes we just don’t realize how lucky we are. Several years ago I met a quite unique gentlemen down here on the lake. We meet a lot of..."

Visitors From OZ

Sometimes we just don’t realize how lucky we are. Several years ago I met a quite unique gentlemen down here on the lake. We meet a lot of unique people down here on the lake, but that’s another story. Dave Howell was his name but we all called him “Doc”. Doc was from Australia and he was a consultant that through his job traveled all over the world. After meeting him a few times and listening to his amazing stories I asked Doc how many countries he had been to in his life. He rather quickly responded 136. At the time I did not even realize there were 136 countries on this planet. However, through the magic of the internet I have since learned that we actually have 195. What I found even more amazing that a man literally from the other side of the world, one that traveled to more countries than I even imagined we had, chose to live right here on Lake Talquin. We lost Doc a few months back and some of his family chose to travel half way around the world just to see why Doc loved it here. Some were from Australia and some were from Vietnam. While they we here they went to all of Doc’s favorite places, they hung out here at The Whip, met many of his friends, and yes they got a little fishing time in, too. Tim and Mike, Doc’s nephews “from the OZ” (Australia) as they called it, set out one morning with David Heflin. David had been on to some pretty good speckled perch fishing and that was their plan for the day. They trolled for specks and had been doing pretty good when they noticed some fish schooling about 100 meters away. That’s about 90 yards or so, mates. Casting the same small jigs tied on to 4lb test line with light crappie rigs the three boated several nice stripers, the largest weighed over 11 pounds. They had a great time here on Talquin and took some wonderful memories with them back to the OZ. Sometimes we just don’t stop and realize how lucky we are.

After an unusually long and enjoyable spring, no bones about it, summer has officially announced that it is here! With day-time highs tipping the 100 degree mark in early June, the surface water temps on Lake Talquin have reached the low 90’s. Luckily for the fish the water down a little deeper is a bit cooler and the conditions are quite pleasant. While it may be true that a rocket scientist designed your bass boat, it doesn’t take one to figure out that the fish are going to hang out where it’s cool. The highest percentage of success for hooking bass and crappie will come to those anglers keeping their baits in the cooler climate range of 10-16 feet. Carolina rigged worms and deep running crank-baits are effective throughout the summer on largemouth fished over the reservoir’s river channel ledges and main lake points. Tommy Pipkin from Coral Springs and his friend Apollo from Atlanta used this pattern to land over 20 nice bass while fishing recently with local guide Mike Mecuri. Tommy is a financial adviser by trade, very comfortable offering his guidance on investments. Thanks to his time on the water and investment in Mike as his guide, Carolina rigging for Talquin bass has been added to his June fishing portfolio.

School may be out for the kids. But, for bass it is just getting started. Keep a rod ready at all times rigged with a rooster tail, casting spoon, or Little George. At any given moment a school of bass, maybe largemouth, maybe white bass, or maybe stripers may pop up. And, if you don’t want to miss the bell you better be ready.

Shell cracker and bluegill like it hot and they will hang a little tighter to the shallows. Red worms fished just off the bottom in 6 to 8 foot of are hard to resist for the hard pulling shell cracker. Bluegills like the shade from low hanging tree limbs and boat docks. Pitch a cricket their way and who knows you might be lucky, too.