Lake Marion anglers are fascinated by shellcrackers, aka redear sunfish, for a variety of reasons, size being one. For a species lumped in with a variety of sunfish collectively called “bream”, the shellcracker is a giant.
Cherokee Reservation Enterprise Waters are well known as some of the best catch-and-keep trout fisheries in North Carolina’s mountains, offering generous creel limits and heavily stocked streams.
May is a tough month if you’re just trying to catch one fish species. Both water and air temperatures are pleasantly warm, and most fish are still relatively shallow. […]
A Youth Fishing Rodeo will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 14 at Cohen Campbell Fish Hatchery at 2726 Fish Hatchery Road in West Columbia. This free event is for all youth 15 and younger.
Anglers eager to feel the pull of some good fish can find just what they’re looking for on Lake Hartwell, where the striper bite is heating up with the weather. Smaller pockets of schools are scattered throughout the lake, and Capt. Seth Owens said that means anglers can catch them in a variety of ways, and in a variety of spots on the lake.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
“Watch my cork this time,” Josh Devlin said as he threaded a fresh cricket onto a small hook while fishing on the Little Pee Dee River.
Devlin, who hails from Florence, lobbed out an easy catch with his ultralight spinning outfit, smiling from ear to ear with anticipation. The cork hit the water, and without so much as a hesitation on the surface, it went straight under as though it was a weight instead of a float. The bream bite was hot.
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