Fishing Archives - Page 354 of 1072

July 11, 2026

He was expecting a shark to take his bait, but Ian Sands (right) caught this big tarpon instead while surf fishing Aug. 20.

Oak Island angler lands big tarpon in surf

Ian Sands of Oak Island went fishing on the afternoon of Aug. 20. The Oak Island resident and his son set up on the beach with a pair of surf fishing outfits hoping to catch a bonnethead or Atlantic sharpnose shark. The were both surprised when they caught a six-foot plus tarpon instead. […]

Jim Brown caught and released this small sailfish from the Avon Fishing Pier.

Angler catches sailfish from Avon Fishing Pier

Brian Cope

It’s tough to beat pier fishing for a number of reasons. It gives anglers access to so many species of fish, some of which the could reach from the beach, but some that would be outside of casting range for the majority of anglers. […]

Deep Creek holds a lot of nice brown trout, plus some fish that often approach 15 to 20 inches long.

A park you can count on

Robert Satterwhite

If you like getting away from the crowds, enjoy beautiful surroundings and don’t mind working for your trout, consider heading for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park has some great wild-trout streams, and the best ones are in the North Carolina section of the park. […]

Beds of freshwater mussels will attract plenty of catfish, especially during summer months after the spawn.

Mussel up for better catfish trips

Dusty Wilson

It’s safe to say that any species of fish won’t be far from what it’s eating. While many anglers will look for summer catfish around schools of gizzard shad or white perch, guide Wes Jordan of Creedmoor, N.C., concentrates on a staple of postspawn blues that’s prevalent in many Carolina lakes — freshwater mussels. […]

Topwater bass action at Harris is hot this month

Craig Holt

Anglers are catching plenty of bass on topwater lures in the August heat at Shearon Harris. […]

Bass pro Martha Goodfellow said that heading well up into Lake Hartwell’s two tributary rivers, the Seneca and Tugaloo, will greatly inhance your chances of catching more and better August bass.

Head to the rivers for Lake Hartwell summer bass

Phillip Gentry

Pro bass angler Martha Goodfellow of Greenville, S.C., said that August isn’t her favorite month to head for the lake, but when she does, she usually heads to Lake Hartwell. […]

A Double Uni is a great line-to-line knot. Overlap the ends of line and leader, tie a loose Uni at both ends (pictured), tighten each knot and cinch both knots and trim.

Maintain a strong, line-to-line connection when tarpon fishing

Jeff Burleson

Tarpon are the strongest fish that live inshore, so an angler’s terminal tackle must be constructed to endure the initial shock of the bite and the potentially long-lasting battle. […]

In North Carolina, think like a crabber to find tarpon

Jeff Burleson

In North Carolina waters, the No. 1 commercial seafood crop is the blue crab, and the greater Pamlico Sound produces the majority of the state’s 30 million-pound harvest. […]

Be sure to pay attention to the lunar feeding periods.

With tarpon around, never miss a lunar feed

Jeff Burleson

Diehard deer hunters know that lunar feeding periods are keys to bringing home venison. For consistently successful tarpon anglers, these feeding periods are nothing to ignore. […]

Rock jetties harness the current coming through an inlet on an incoming tide and often create great places to target gamefish in spots they’re set up to ambush bait.

Fish current seams, inlet eddies on an incoming tide

Jeff Burleson

The armaments that prevent many of the nation’s inlets from closing in always provide great fishing opportunities due to the very nature of how jetties are built and where they are located, and anglers in the Carolinas are lucky to have plenty of those structures: Oregon Inlet, Masonboro Inlet, Little River Inlet, Murrells Inlet and Winyah Bay, to name a few. […]