Featured Story Archives - Carolina Sportsman

Bottom fishing heats up out of Southport

The Yeah Right swung into position on the anchor rope, and the screen on the fish finder lit up with a mound of fish just above the small ledge. […]

Slot-sized reds schooled up and biting around Hilton Head Island

Brian Cope

Bull redfish have been a willing target of many anglers for the past few months along the South Carolina coast, but if it’s slot-sized redfish you’re after, the backwaters of Hilton Head Island are the place to be.

Capt. Charlie Beadon of Hilton Head Fishing Adventures and his clients have been regularly boating keeper redfish on the mud flats over the past few weeks. […]

Speckled trout bite great in Bulls Bay

Brian Cope

Last year’s mild winter was a nice reprieve for South Carolina’s speckled trout after cold-water kills in back-to-back brutal winters wiped out a lot of specks. This spells good news for Palmetto State anglers, and one place the trout are healthy and biting is Bulls Bay near Awendaw.

Gary McElwain of Awendaw has been having a lot of success lately catching Bulls Bay specks, and the majority of his fish have been keeper sized. […]

Woodcock season opens in South Carolina today

Pete Rogers

South Carolina has extended its season on woodcock by 14 days again this season, so hunters can take to the field for timberdoodles beginning today, Dec. 18.
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources agreed last year to move up the traditional Jan. 1 season opening by two weeks, and it was such a success with hunters, the season is opening early again this year.
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Spots, stripers warm up Lake Norman December fishing

Craig Holt

Spotted bass and stripers are the main targets at Lake Norman this month for guide Craig Price of Denver.

“I’m primarily fishing for spotted bass and finding most of them at the mouth of creeks such as Mountain and Davidson creeks,” said Price, who said the junction of the creek and river channels are particular productive areas.
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Speckled trout bite hanging on in Charleston’s Stono River

Phillip Gentry

For late fall anglers, speckled trout represent a highly prized target. but they can be especially fickle as the weather starts to turn colder. Capt. John Koonce of Shoal Bandit Charters on Johns Island claims the weather may be hard to predict, but the hot trout bite this fall in Charleston-area waters, especially the Stono River, is still hanging on.

“One day we’ll be out here in jeans and t-shirts, and the next day we’ll be wearing heavy jackets and toboggans,” he said. “But the water temperatures are still pretty decent, and the trout bite has stayed with us.”
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Inshore fishing continued to be excellent around Wilmington

Jerry Dilsaver

The varied action that has made this fall such a great time to fish along the Cape Fear coast continues even as cooler weather moves in. Speckled trout, red drum and flounder are biting in most inshore waters, and they are joined by stripers in the rivers around downtown Wilmington.

“This really has been an exceptional fall,” said Tex Grissom of Tex’s Tackle in Wilmington. “After the mild winter last year, we were expecting a good trout bite, but I don’t think anyone thought it would be as good as it has been. Redfish are still biting, too, and they add a little bit of fight to the finesse. When you throw in some late flounder, stripers and black drum, it creates a lot of opportunities. Only people who aren’t fishing aren’t catching this fall.”
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Catfish action picking up on Lake Wylie, might get better

Terry Madewell

The winter catfish bite on Lake Wylie has turned on, and a lot of chunky fish are being caught. According to guide Rodger Taylor of Rock Hill’s Catfish On Guide Service, the excellent action should continue and perhaps improve over the next few weeks.

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