Sidebars Archives - Page 123 of 194

June 22, 2026

A pair of needlenose pliers is invaluable when removing tiny treble hooks from the mouth of a toothy critter like a pickerel.

Pliers can save your skin

When fishing at White Lake, anglers should have a mechanical means of safely removing small, sharp treble hooks from fish. […]

Sidebars

Wildlife Habitat Improvement Series: Beaver Creek Trophy Club

Jeff Burleson

Nestled in the heart of South Carolina’s Piedmont lies Beaver Creek Trophy Club. With more than 3,200 acres of pines, cutover, and swampland, Beaver Creek has the basic habitat components to back up to their name as a trophy club. […]

Butch Foster likes to use marker buoys to mark the spots where he gets strikes while trolling at White Lake.

Marker buoys are big help

Mike Marsh

White Lake has very little bottom structure to attract or hold concentrations of fish concentrations. […]

Boat docks and piers literally line most of Lake Norman’s shoreline, and they’re great spots to target late-winter bass entering the prespawn.

Plenty of opportunity

David A. Brown

Lake Norman’s 32,475 surface acres, multiple creek arms and numerous coves offers a lot of areas in which to seek these February prespawners. […]

When natural foods disappear as the water cools toward winter levels, soft-plastic shrimp imitations are very effective.

Speckled trout particulars

Jerry Dilsaver

Spotted sea trout, Cynoscion nebulosus, are primarily called speckled trout or specks. They are a favorite of inshore and surf fishermen and can usually be caught along the North Carolina coastline all year — except during the coldest winters. […]

Ducks

Know your limits, regs, times

Jeff Burleson

Every year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducts aerial surveys to estimate the breeding population of waterfowl across Canada and the northern United States. […]

Structure around marinas and docks offers protected, deeper water — standard winter habitat for black drum.

Top tips for catching more black drum

Jeff Burleson

Concentrating on docks and marinas will help you land more black drum during the winter months in the Cape Fear region. […]

A depth finder can help fishermen anchor over humps and slopes to cast to structure holding shellcrackers.

Double-anchor is key to admission to shellcracker heaven

Brian Cope

Although Tony Alexander likes to keep things simple when fishing for shellcrackers, he said some tools are very helpful in catching these fish. […]

Native shrimp, according to guide Jot Owens, are much preferred by black drum and red drum than store-bought, imported farm-raised shrimp.

Shrimp science: native shrimp rules!

Jeff Burleson

From Bubba’s shrimp rant on the famous blockbuster movie, Forest Gump, without a doubt, there are endless ways to prepare shrimp for the dinner table. […]

Tony Alexander said that light tackle is a perfect match for presenting baits and lures to winter shellcrackers.

Real or fake, shellcracker baits are best presented on light line, tackle

Brian Cope

Live bait — especially worms — are choice options for shellcracker fishing in cold weather. One reason is because the worms wiggle around on the hook, drawing attention to themselves. […]