Below, Mike Womble, Director of Outdoor Pursuits at The Ford, shares some of our members’ favorite ways to stay cool (or embrace the heat) and create summer memories that will last a lifetime.

Crabbing

“All summer long, crabbing for Georgia Blue Crabs is in full swing at the flood gates along Lake Clara,” says Mike. “Huge 6- to 9-inch crabs can be caught at these ‘pinch points’ along the Lake Clara Dike Trail. You can throw out a trap and wait, but the most fun is to take crab lines with chicken necks tied to them and lure the crabs to the surface to net them. Expect hours of fun for the kids and the kids-at-heart in your family.”

Sea Trout & Redfish

“Just a short boat ride from The Ford is Ossabaw Sound, which offers the angler numerous fishing opportunities,” says Mike. “Spotted sea trout and redfish are schooling around nearly any small creek mouth or oyster shell bar in the sound—and while live shrimp is the go-to bait to catch these scrappy fighters, they will also greedily take shrimp or crab pattern flies.”

Triple Tail

As June arrives, so does the Triple Tail. “A fly fishers dream—these fish have the habit of floating on their side and can be sight-casted to by the fly angler,” notes Mike. “They will also take many different artificial and live baits for the conventional angler. The average size of these little monsters is 5-20 pounds. The great thing about Triple Tails is that they are amazing table fare. Let your Ford guide filet your catch and take it up to our chef at the Clubhouse for an amazingly fresh and tasty meal—prepared to your liking.”

Tarpon

“Late June brings the king of all game fish to our coastal waters—including the Tarpon. These giants migrate here and stay around till late September,” says Mike. “Usually caught on live bait like mullet or menhaden, these fish range in size from 50-150+ pounds and will test any angler lucky enough to hook one. Once hooked, these fish make incredibly acrobatic jumps—sometimes reaching 10 feet in the air!  They are the holy grail of sport fishing, for sure. We typically take a picture and release them to fight another day.”

Largemouth Bass

“If you would like to stay on property, the Ford offers almost 300 acres of freshwater lakes and ponds to delight the Largemouth Bass angler,” says Mike. “Summer is the best time to catch these fish using topwater lures and flies. During early mornings and late evenings, these tough fish will greedily take a frog pattern, lure or a wounded baitfish lure from the surface and show off when hooked with some amazing acrobatic moves. The average size Largemouth Bass caught at The Ford is between 2-6 pounds, with a few bruisers in the 7-10 pound class caught every summer.”