Inshore Fishing
What’s a “puppy” drum?
Along the North Carolina coast, extending north to Virginia Beach, Va. and south to Myrtle Beach, S.C., red drum that measure roughly between 16 and 32 inches are affectionately called “puppy drum.” […]
Fishing
Inshore Fishing
Go oystering for fish
With the lower Neuse River basically void of much fish-attracting structure, the Neuse River Oyster Reef is an oasis in a relative desert. […]
Fishing Tournaments
Thrift third in FLW finale
Three North Carolina pros took home some of the big prize money at the Aug. 9-12 FLW Forrest Wood Cup on Georgia’s Lake Lanier. […]
Content
Lake of the Month: Clarks Hill
At almost 71,000 acres, Clarks Hill Reservoir, the largest manmade body of water east of the Mississippi River, is still surprisingly undeveloped compared to many of the other impoundments across South Carolina.
Clarks Hill, or Lake Thurmond if you prefer, was built between 1946 and 1954, just a few years before Lake Hartwell and some 30 years before Lake Russell, the other two impoundments upstream on the Savannah River system.
As a fishery, Clarks Hill has a reputation as a better-than-average destination for a number of species. Professional bass tours frequently make stops there, and a growing number of crappie and catfish tournament circuits are also becoming regular visitors. One of the more sought-after species, at least as far as recreational anglers are concerned, are striped bass. Stripers and their test-tube cousins, hybrid striped bass, were first introduced into Clarks Hill during the late 1960s. The fishery was to their liking, and the lake produced a state-record striper in 1993 that wasn’t topped for eight years. […]
Inshore Fishing
Preparing crab baits
Thankfully, blue crabs top out in the 6- to 8-inch range and rarely exceed a pound or so in weight. If they got any bigger, you could forget going near the water during the summertime, because there is no meaner animal that lives in saltwater. […]
Inshore Fishing
Chatterbait redfish
Not many lures in recent memory have had such a profound impact on bass fishing as the Chatterbait. […]
Inshore Fishing
Setting the hook
There have been volumes written about how long to wait before setting the hook after a flounder’s initial bite. […]
Inshore Fishing
Drift or troll with 3-way swivel rig
For active drifting and trolling, there’s nothing better, according to guides David Cutler and Mark Dickson, than a rig featuring a three-way swivel, a short leader and weight tied to one eye of the swivel and a longer leader and hook tied to the other eye. […]
Bass Fishing
Let’s go live
Guide Greg Griffin of Holly Sprints is a live-bait specialist who dangles natural baits in front of fish instead of artificial replicas. […]
Fishing Tournaments
Cobb wins at Greenwood
Brandon Cobb of Greenwood won the ABA Division 96 championship tournament on Lake Greenwood Aug. 26, weighing in a 5-fish limit that pushed the scales to 15.72 pounds. […]