
Outdoor Fishing Life is Good
Weather is warming and the outdoors call! For fresh water enthusiasts who prefer to spend their time around rivers and lakes enjoying fishing, hiking and birdwatching, Bulloch County has a lot to offer! As a home base, you can grab a fishing pole, kayak, canoe, boat, camping gear or your hiking shoes. There are places to enjoy in and around Statesboro to help you experience beautiful and natural surroundings.
Before you go, you might want to stock up on your favorite gear. Locally owned TC Outdoors is home to outdoor supplies of all kinds including fresh fish bait, along with lures, rods and reels. Once you have what you need, choose from several destinations for a day of relaxation, quiet and sunshine.
Staying local, check out Williams Landing at the end of Macedonia Church Road, the US Hwy 301 Bridge and Highway 24 Landing. All of these are public places to launch boats and fish off the banks of the Ogeechee River. Known as one of Georgia’s least spoiled rivers to explore, it will delight anglers of all ages. A best kept secret, the river begins in Green County and is a great place for outdoor recreational activity. Home to an abundance of fresh water fish, the action on the Ogeechee picks up in the spring and lasts throughout the summer depending on the water flow and temperatures.
Blackwater Preserve is located in Register, Georgia, nearby Statesboro. This privately owned preserve offers fishing (host to almost every fish you will find in a river), kayaking, canoeing and camping on Lotts Creek with back water of 200 acres. With pristine wetlands to explore, these are just a few of the adventures you can have as a member of Blackwater Preserve. They have a biologist on staff who can give walking tours for members, students and bird watchers. Duck, deer and turkey are on the menu for any hunting experience. Miles of waterways and land trails await for hours of fun. You can go fishing or just paddle through the cypress swamp to take in the numerous birds and animals in this unspoiled back to nature get away. Blackwater Preserve offers daily, monthly and yearly memberships along with fishing boats, canoes and kayaks. It is available for birthday parties and meetings.
There are several state parks within an easy drive from Statesboro. Magnolia Springs State Park is in Millen, Georgia. It has a fishing dock on Magnolia Spring Lake. Magnolia Springs is known for its crystal clear springs flowing 7 million gallons per day. A boardwalk spans the cool water, allowing visitors to look for alligators, turtles and other wildlife near the springs.
George L. Smith State Park in Twin City has a mill pond that beckons anglers and paddlers to explore thick stands of cypress and tupelo trees draped with Spanish moss. Canoeists and kayakers can join the Park Paddlers Club. While on the water, nature enthusiasts can look for beaver dams, blue heron, white ibis and other wading birds.
If you are seeking fresh air and outdoor activity that might possibly put dinner on your table, consider visiting Statesboro as your starting point. Remember that permission from a private landowner is always required in order to fish on private property, but there are great public and private places to meet your freshwater fishing needs.
For more information, visit any of these helpful sites:
http://gastateparks.org/find/
http://gadnr.org
http://www.georgiawildlife.com
http://www.blackwaterpreserve.com/home.html