"The Blackshear tailrace has been a popular hybrid fishing location for a long time now," Weller said. "It is becoming more popular now because of the increase in stripers there. A few years ago, we started stocking Gulf striped bass in Lake Blackshear, and they have started showing up in the tailwaters with more regularity. We're not seeing a lot of really big stripers here as yet, but we're hoping that the fish are finding and using the cool-water springs in the lake to their advantage and thriving accordingly. Some extended high-water periods on the lake might help ensure this."

Most of the stripers caught in the Blackshear tailrace are coming from the lake itself, after being washed over the spillway during high water. The big fish below the Chehaw dam cannot get past that structure to continue migrating upstream. Despite this, several 12- to 18-pounders have been caught here in recent years. Overall, the fishery looks promising.

"Tailrace conditions at Blackshear are similar to those in Albany, only more widespread," said Weller. "On the powerhouse side of the dam, there's a catwalk that provides bank access, and there's a boat ramp as well. There's also plenty of bank access right below the powerhouse and for 300 to 400 yards downstream. It isn't unusual for anglers to catch stripers and hybrids right at the boat ramp."

For boaters, ramping is easy during high water. During low-water periods, it can be difficult. But according to Weller, water too low for boat launching generally means the striper run is over anyhow. As at Albany, an abundance of shoals and rocks can be found downstream, but when the water is up, there are seldom any serious boating problems. Just as the bank-fishing access accommodates more shore-casters, the tailrace itself has room for more boats.

The biggest striper taken thus far from the Blackshear tailwaters weighed 18 pounds. It is hoped this may improve with time, but the greater abundance of cool-water refuges below Albany and their relative scarcity in Lake Blackshear make it unlikely that these fish will ever consistently reach the sizes of the stripers in the Chehaw tailrace.

"In general," Weller said, "the same fishing methods and equipment apply at the Blackshear Dam as at the Albany facility. Large crankbaits, jigs or live shad will do the job."

Traveling up the Chattahoochee River this time of year, the stripers are impeded by the George W. Andrews Lock and Dam on the Alabama/Georgia border near Columbia, Ala. At this U.S. Army Corps of Engineers site, the rule of "Bigger river, bigger tailrace" applies.

This area features a wide expanse of flowing water running through the floodgates of the dam, making for a far-reaching tailwater that can accommodate a good number of boats and good access to the tailrace for bank anglers on the Alabama side of the river. On the Georgia side, upstream from the boat ramp to the wing wall of the dam, a long expanse of shoreline riprap and sandbars hold large numbers of stripers and hybrids every season. The Andrews tailrace is a popular destination each spring for both southwest Georgia and southeast Alabama anglers.

"As larger fish go, you're looking at about an even chance of catching a really big striper when you compare Andrews to the Albany power dam," Weller explained. "In fact, if you have a spring run when the water is generally low throughout the entire region, the bigger stripers will often choose to migrate up the Chattahoochee in greater numbers than up the Flint. Sometimes it's almost impossible to fish here during really high-water periods, but during low-water years, Andrews is your best bet."