Freshwater Fishing Archives - Page 230 of 293

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August 31, 2026

Chunks of chicken treated with garlic powder make a great winter catfish bait around Lake Norman.

Try the garlic chicken

Fishermen who target catfish are no strangers to unusual concoctions, but catfish recipes typically border on rancid — not make the angler hungry for lunch. […]

Nice striped bass like this one caught by the author are becoming more common in the Cape Fear River as efforts to rebuild stocks show some success.

The Striper Watch — Learn how this striper fishery is being rebuilt

Jerry Dilsaver

Jot Owens put his bay boat on plane for a couple of minutes after leaving the Dram Tree Park Ramp in Wilmington. He crossed under the Thomas Rhodes Bridge, pulled the throttle back to just above idle and announced it was time to fish. […]

Stripers caught in the Cape Fear Riverwatch Striper Tournament help biologists with their research through examination and tagging.

CFRW and its striper tournament

Jerry Dilsaver

The first Cape Fear Riverwatch Striper Tournament was held in December 2008, but the annual events are now held in mid-January, with this year’s set for Saturday, Jan. 19, as part of Striperfest 2013. […]

Striper fishing is once again productive on the Santee Cooper lakes; this fish is a great example of the kind of striped bass that’s swimming in Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie.

Sacking Santee Stripers — January is the start of some great winter striper fishing on the Santee Cooper Lakes

Terry Madewell

Santee Cooper was once world famous as THE place to go for freshwater striped bass, but the historic highs of Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie fell to unprecedented lows for years. […]

The rock-arch rapids, a ‘fish ladder’ at Lock and Dam No. 1 on the Cape Fear near Riegelwood, is under construction.

Cape Fear locks, dams and stripers

Jerry Dilsaver

Striped bass were once so plentiful in the Cape Fear region that they were classified as one of the nine major striper populations on the Atlantic Seaboard, but this was prior to locks and dams being built along the river to help with commerce between Wilmington and Fayetteville. […]

Santee Cooper striper fishermen are releasing most of the fish they’re catching these days, but some guides wish creel restrictions would loosen.

Should Santee Cooper striper plan run its course or change now?

Terry Madewell

The increase in the number of stripers in the Santee Cooper lakes is welcome news to fishermen and biologists alike, but there are differences of opinions on what the next step in management should be. […]

Chunky blue catfish like this one netted by guide Russell Rush, are typical of December on the Santee Cooper lakes.

Cold? So what, fish bite!

Terry Madewell

The shift to colder water temperatures and colder weather this month doesn’t put an end to fishing on Santee Cooper. For some species, the action is really heating up as the water temperature drops. […]

Nice smallmouth bass inhabit the Tuckaseegee River along much of its length.

Not ‘Tuck-ed’ away

Robert Satterwhite

A multifaceted stream, the Tuckasegee River begins at the junction of Panthertown and Greenland creeks in southeastern Jackson County and flows northwest through Jackson into Swain County, where it eventually flows into Fontana Reservoir. […]

Darryl Smith of Rock Hill has put his clients on 17 world record fish — most of them line-class, youth or age-group — since he started concentrating on catching big flathead, blue and channel catfish.

Bitten by the Catfish Bug

Jim Casada

There was a time when Rock Hill’s Darryl Smith was a true sportsman and guide for all seasons. He guided deer and turkey hunters, bass and striper fishermen, and he was about as versatile a guide as you could find. […]

Former national champion crappie fisherman Mike Parrott sets his sights on boat docks for catching some slab crappie at Lake Wylie on the North Carolina-South Carolina border.

Take a shot at Wylie’s early winter crappie

Phillip Gentry

Seasonal patterns dictate the movements of crappie, no matter which lake you are fishing. However, on many clear lakes such as Lake Wylie on the North Carolina-South Carolina border, crappie movements may be more vertical than horizontal as the seasons change. […]