Features from August 2018
From a biological standpoint, not a whole lot is known about one of the most-abundant, subtropical saltwater species as it relates to South Carolina.
- If you haven’t started thinking about deer hunting yet, you’re already way behind.
- Don't let the summer heat get you down. You can still catch plenty of bass on topwater lures in these blackwater rivers.
- There’s a good reason why more anglers aren’t catching crappie on crankbaits: they haven’t tried yet.
- It's a common myth that the summer sun and heat puts a stop to the speckled trout bite in the Sneads Ferry area. But it's just that -- a myth.
- South Carolina’s Lake Wateree has been a put-and-take striper fishery since the 1980s, and for most of that time, it has been a prime striped bass destination. But fishing success moderated for several years, but over the past several years the lake has again revived into a strong striper fishery.
- Sure, most anglers who land king mackerel big enough to win tournaments use live menhaden or mullet as bait, but the typical weekend warriors can make fishing more fun by concentrating on efficiency and, who knows, still might catch a citation king or Spanish mackerel. All that is necessary is switching to lures and frozen squid.
Columns - August 2018
- I’m not going to kid you; August is a tough month to fish, just about the toughest of the year if you’re a bass fisherman, but you’ve got to fish tough.
- August may be hot, but there is plenty happening for sportsmen in the Carolinas. Saltwater fishing has been good all summer, and some freshwater species are beginning to become active again. Deer hunters in parts of South Carolina get a head start in mid-August, and a lot of migratory bird seasons open Sept. 1.
- No roads lead to one of the most-celebrated trout streams in the East. Isolated, remote, accessible only by boat or foot, Hazel Creek lives up to its reputation as a trout-fishing Mecca. It’s all that everyone says it is, and more.
- Bow hunting season is right around the corner, so now is the time to check out your bow and make sure it is ready for it.
- Glen Freeman of Zwolle has a new weapon in his bass fishing arsenal. So does Zack Hughes of Quitman, Texas, who boated a 10-plus-pounder on the first day he fished with it at Lake Fork.
- Do we need a bigger boat? No way! Kayaks are great craft to land huge fish from, and it's even a safer craft to catch them out of in some circumstances.
Bobby Winters is a 23-year-old catfish and striper guide on the Santee Cooper lakes who has a youthful passion for catching fish. We were fishing on a hot, summer day, and he’d targeted an area with undulating bottom contours for drift-fishing. We had been drifting only a short while when one of his nine rods bowed over.
- Food-plot productivity and success is mostly a factor of pure science. Growing a hearty food plot is a product of complex chemical reactions through a laundry list of catalysts required to make the engine roar. While growers can plan everything out down to the number of seeds and the pounds of fertilizer, Mother Nature is still in the driver’s seat.
- When using circle hooks, make sure you know the difference between straight circle hooks and offset circle hooks.
Outdoor Updates - August 2018
- Jay Garner killed a nice 8-point buck last Sept. 17, 2017, but he didn’t really think he was anything special.
- A Dare County man was sentenced last week to seven days in jail and fined more than $2,500 after pleading guilty to 10 misdemeanors relating to two incidents over a period of 11 days last December in which he confronted and threatened four hunters in a lake in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in Hyde County.
- Offshore anglers used to catch plenty of yellowfin tuna off the coast of the Palmetto State, but that has changed so dramatically that very few have been caught in the past decade. So it was a big surprise to a group of lowcountry anglers at the end of June when they hooked and landed a 110-pound yellowfin while trolling in about 200 feet of water.
Hot Spots - August 2018
- Grand Strand anglers will find better quality flounder just off the beaches where the fish hang out due to the cooler water temperatures.
- While many anglers hate August’s heat, it brings periods of calm seas and good fishing along the beaches of South Carolina’s Grand Strand. For anglers aspiring to wrestle with a billfish — but lacking an offshore vessel — August is the time to target sailfish, often well within sight of land.
- The summer heat hasn't stopped Lake Norman anglers from catching plenty of catfish.
- Summer does not have to mean a decline in fishing potential — especially for blue catfish. According to guide Wes Jordan of Creedmoor, N.C., blues will be actively feeding throughout Kerr Lake, aka Buggs Island, but their depth range will run the gamut, and an angler wanting to load up will have to cover the water column.
- With deer season cranking up in South Carolina’s Lowcountry in mid-August, many outdoorsmen are trading in their fishing rods for a shot at a velvet buck, but for those who stay on the water, they’re in for some hot redfish action that many anglers overlook.
- While the 16-to 20-inch slot limit on North Carolina’s Shearon Harris Lake may be an obstacle for some tournament anglers, it is a boon for the casual angler.
- Anglers can catch plenty of stripers in August on Lake Russell, and the fish are pretty east to find this time of year.
Red drum don’t react to August’s steamy heat by swimming through inlets to reach the ocean’s deeper, cooler waters.
- North Carolina’s Cape Fear is unique in several ways, among them, it’s the only place in the Tarheel State where a large river, the Cape Fear, flows directly to the ocean. Second, it features several species that are incidental catches at most other places, including tarpon, which arrive each summer and have a devoted local following.
- Fishing at night for flathead catfish on Lake Wylie is a great way to beat the heat and the summer crowds while reeling in some quality cats.