Fishing with Magnets

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

On the rare occasion when this blog drifts over into the fine art (or is it a "life skill"?) of fishing, it usually involves something penned by Ranger Bob. the consummate angler who has a special affinity for trout-fishing and tying his own flies.  This past week my personal knowledge of the diverse nature of fishing expanded greatly when I came across an article on an internet news site (CBS.com) which highlighted a true crime - a double murder - that is now closer to being resolved because of a recent discovery made by a fisherman who was fishing a backwoods river in rural Georgia.

(Cue the soundtrack to "Dueling Banjos!")

The fishing enthusiast wasn't trolling the river depths with baited hooks or even hand-tied flies, rather he was using what was undoubtedly a very stout line that was dragging a magnet through the water and across the river bottom.  He was magnet-fishing and pulling in objects containing metal.

The fisherman, whose name was not given in the news story, was fishing Horse Creek in very rural Telfair County, Georgia, on April 14th,  when he pulled up a .22-caliber rifle and a bag containing a cell phone and some personal identification belonging to a couple who had been shot and killed in the area - with .22-caliber ammunition - in 2015.

The couple, who had lived more than three hours from Telfair County, had advertised trying to find a classic Ford Mustang to restore, and a local man from Telfair County answered the ad stating that he had a 1966 Mustang for sale - which he actually did not.   The man and wife drove to the remote county to look at the car, and their bodies were found in two separate locations a couple of days later.  A local man was arrested a few days after that, but due to a legal issue and the pandemic, he is still awaiting trial.  It is now anticipated that he will go on trial in August of this year, and prosecutors say that the new evidence provided by the magnet fisherman will be very useful in the trial.  Georgia is seeking the death penalty for the defendant.

The article at CBS.com also talked doubt some other catches by magnet fishermen in other areas of the United States, everything from unexploded ordinance to knives to historical artifacts.   One magnet fisherman even caught a motorcycle!

I find the concept of fishing with magnets instead of baited hooks appealing for several reasons.  First, perhaps most obviously, is the fact that, regardless of your level of success, you don't have to mess with gutting and cleaning fish.  Second, you might actually catch evidence and help to solve a crime like the fisherman in Telfair County, Georgia, did,  Third, you might come up with something of value which you could then peddle on eBay or at a local flea market.  And, finally, just removing metal from the rivers and lakes is of environmental benefit and makes the waterways safer for public and wildlife use.

This tired old typist would like to know more about the mechanics of the process and how it actually works.

(A practical challenge:  Randy Wayne Leach of Linwood, Kansas, disappeared on April 16th, 1988, after a party during his senior year of high school in an area known for deep rivers, big lakes, and large farm ponds. His mother's car, which Randy had driven to the party, also went missing that night and has never been found.  Could a few ambitious magnet fishermen finally put that mystery and family tragedy to rest?)