Fishing

Striper fishing on Lake Murray in South Carolina has turned hot. The stripers have moved&bsp; up Lake Murray and into the rivers and large creeks. The stripers can be seen chasing and crashing bait along the shores. &bsp;

Flocks of birds are a sign where the fish can be targeted.&bsp; Throw buck tails or set up to intersect the stripers by using live bait like herring. Usually, you will have the fish crashing all lines at once on buck tails and live bait. Im planning a fishing trip there for the MSC Individual Tournament on January 16, 2010. For more information on this tournament and Striper fishing, on Lake Murray go to: www.midlandsstriperclub.org.

Bicycling

Each week, I will be featuring a different mountain bike trail for you to ride, most of which I have personally ridden. This weeks trail is Cedar Rock trail which has a lot of everything, it is a single track and unlike the last two trails this one does not have any gravel roads. You start out on smooth single track which starts to grow to large exposed granite. You continue to ride on slabs of granite you might start to wonder where is the dirt? But it turns back to your loose rock and roots. Total miles are 11.3, the elevation gain is minimal and I would say the skill level is moderate. It should take you about 2-3.5 hours to ride. As with any sport, cycling is dangerous, trails contains wet rocks, logs, loose sand and other things that could be harmful. Always wear a helmet and other protected gear.

The directions for the Dupont State Forest are: Take I-26 to Exit 53 (Upward Road). Turn left on Upward Rd. to US-176. Upward Road now becomes N. Highland Lake Rd. Continue to traffic light at US-225S (Greenville Hwy.). Turn left to first traffic light (Little River Road/sign for Carl Sandburg Home). Turn right on Little River Road and go to end. Turn left at flashing traffic light on Crab Creek Road and continue for 7.1 miles to DuPont Road. Turn left for 3.1 miles.~ Great Outdoors written by Gary W. Clark