Freshwater Fishing Archives - Page 135 of 290

May 6, 2026

Low water conditions have plagued fishermen on the Tuckasegee River most of the summer.

Hot + dry = tough fishing

A successful trout-fishing outing during hot and dry summer conditions depends on three factors: when you fish, where you fish and how you fish. […]

Katie Lamb and Jessica Bowne show off a handful of Santee panfish, which are biting well around Hamburger and Hot Dog Islands.

Bream biting hot at Santee’s flooded islands

Brian Cope

Just off the banks of Elliot’s Landing, and not very far from Pack’s Landing and a few other landings, two “islands” are popular with panfish anglers. Hamburger and Hot Dog Islands are easy to get to, and hold large populations of bluegill and shellcracker, especially this time of year. […]

Brett Meager poses with her personal best, 88-pound catfish, that she recently caught on Kerr Lake.

Creedmoor female angler catches 88-pound Kerr Lake catfish

Dusty Wilson

As the owner of NC Marine Fabrication, Austin Sartin of Burlington has placed ample thought into the kind of rod holding systems that help people catch fish – including his own. […]

Enormous blue catfish are being regularly caught at Lake Gaston, where multiple state-record fish have been caught in the last nine months.

Summer cats, top to bottom – Catch Lake Gaston’s summer catfish

Dusty Wilson

Zakk Royce became a household name in the fishing community this past December when he broke North Carolina’s state record for blue catfish, not once, but twice in a period of less than 24 hours at Lake Gaston — first with a 91-pound fish and then a 105-pounder he connected with soon after shuttling the first fish back to its original location to be released. […]

A beautiful, wild brook trout is one of the real joys of fishing on tiny, isolated wild-trout streams in the mountains of western North Carolina.

The wild, wild west – Wild trout are many a fisherman’s ultimate target, especially in western North Carolina

Tim Mead

For most residents of North Carolina, the summer’s heat and humidity are givens. Fishing one of the state’s trout steams designed as “wild trout” is a great way to make an end run around the elements. […]

Catch more Kerr Lake summer catfish on mussel beds

Dusty Wilson

Kerr Lake’s catfish feast on mussel beds during late July and early August, when they are hungry after the spawning season. […]

Lake Russell channel cats from 1 to 5 pounds are suckers for catalpa worms fished on the bottom.

Russell’s hot cats

Pat Robertson

For some folks, there are few things better to eat than a mess of fried catfish, and August is the perfect time on Lake Russell to fill a cooler with enough frying-sized cats for several fish fries. […]

Guide William Sasser dredges standing timber with live
minnows and jigs for Clarks Hill crappie
in August.

Tree a Clarks Hill slab this month

Pat Robertson

Spring and fall are generally considered prime times to fish for crappie on most lakes, but the sweltering month of August might well be the best time of year to specifically target a 3-pounder on Clarks Hill Lake, according to guide William Sasser of Evans, Ga. […]

Crappie make up one part of Capt. David Hilton's one-two punch on Santee in the summer.

Anglers catching catfish and crappie at Santee with these tips

Brian Cope

While some folks think the summer heat has given the fish lockjaw at Santee, the opposite is actually the case. It’s tough to find a species that isn’t biting on either the upper or lower lake right now, but it certainly helps to go at the right time, to fish in the right places, and to use the proper baits. […]

Smallmouths are at home under New River’s foam

Craig Holt

What’s the best way to approach raft, canoe or kayak fishing for smallmouth bass in a mountain river with moving current, as opposed to a reservoir. […]