Panfish of various species are among the most-common fish found throughout South Carolina’s rivers, and for many anglers, one is held in the highest regard. The redbreast sunfish is a hearty fighter and so brightly colored that its name leaves no one wondering where it came from.
Shellcracker spawning time in Lake Marion depends on water temperature and other physical factors, but anglers can gauge the peak bedding season by the myriad of boat trailers lining roads leading to launching ramps. Long walks are expected, even welcomed by many, because it means shellcrackers are bedding.
It’s cobia season, and while this year’s will be a shortened version thanks to new federal regulations, plenty of anglers will be lining up in St. Helena Sound fishing for “the man in the brown suit.”
April showers may bring May flowers, but too much rain means muddy water, and South Carolina has had more than its muddy water over the past year. That’s just one reason that inshore fishermen in the Charleston area are dreaming of settled, stable weather on the horizon.
One of the two gobblers that had been responding to Karl Helmkamp’s calls since daylight had gone silent for a while, presumably paired up with a hen, but the other kept gobbling even when he switched tactics and only answered its calls. […]
Bream season is here, and there’s no limit to the options. So get on the water and fill a stringer. […]
Hidden in North Carolina’s coastal plain, Contentnea Creek is unknown to most fishermen, but locals know it well and consider it a treasure. After all, the name Contentnea is derived from a Native American phrase meaning “fish passing by.”
The Lumber River forms the boundary between Robeson and Columbus counties and cuts across the North Carolina-South Carolina border. While geographically important, the true value of the river is that it is the lifeblood of local anglers because its floodplain creates habitats that support many fish species.
After a battle with largemouth bass virus that infected about 40 percent of its population before running its course, John H. Kerr Reservoir’s largemouth bass have recovered, as fishermen discovered the past couple of years. And while the spawn ends for most North Carolina chub chasers on most lakes by the end of April, there’s still plenty of reason to visit John H. Kerr Reservoir, aka Buggs Island, in May.
It’s a warm, early morning in the middle of spring, with a slight breeze out of the southwest. Stephen Hunter keeps his Cape Horn center console in Holden Beach, but he often chooses to use the Cape Fear River channel when leaving before dawn, for no other reason than the reliability of its water. Picking his way behind Oak Island and Southport, he makes a starboard turn into the channel, slips into the ocean, then pushes the throttle down and heads offshore.
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