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October 17, 2026

Going through a timber stand and deciding which trees to cut and which ones to leave as mast producers is an excellent way to improve deer hunting.

Habitat-improvement projects

Gary Barrett has initiated a number of habitat-improvement projects at Oakhaven that North Carolina deer managers can implement on properties they own, lease, or hunt on if the landowners agree: […]

Blake and Daryl Hodge of Wrecking Crew Guide Service specialize in hunting public waters in the Upstate.

Join the crew

Phillip Gentry

Based in the Upstate, Wrecking Crew Guide Service is well known for hard-core attitude of pursuing waterfowl and excellent calling. […]

Wood duck boxes are a common sight across North Carolina, thanks in part to the efforts of a high-school shop teacher from Alamance County.

High-school teacher increased wood ducks

Craig Holt

In the mid-1970s, North Carolina was home to relatively few native wood ducks. That began to change when a “shop” teacher at Western Alamance High School put his students to work building and selling wood duck boxes. […]

Upstate waterfowlers can find tremendous hunting opportunities on public rivers and lakes, but doing more scouting is key to finding hot spots.

Rig’Em Right Decoy Anchors for duck hunters on the move

Phillip Gentry

Based in Morehead City, North Carolina, Rig’Em Right Waterfowl owner Matthew Cagle has developed a revolutionary way to collect and store duck decoys without the hassle of tangled lines. […]

Expert duck callers such as Josh Green know less calling means more results when it comes to mallards.

Jump-shooting will whack woodies

Craig Holt

Jump-shooting is a popular past-time among duck hunters, and it produces plenty of woodies — especially in the western half of the state, where duck habitat is limited to waterways. […]

Guide Clark Purvis displays the take from a morning waterfowl hunt in a swamp: puddle ducks and geese.

Eastern mixed bag

Craig Holt

Eastern North Carolina offers waterfowlers the best chance to hunt a variety of divers, puddlers and sea ducks. […]

Hook a live mullet through the nose from bottom to top with a jighead.

Live baits with a purpose

Jerry Dilsaver

Capt. Mark Stacy likes to use live baits for trout and redfish — and for flounder, too, when they are around. Years of experience have shown him where he can catch mullet minnows, small menhaden and shrimp well into the fall. […]

A section of a child’s swimming pool ‘noodle’ is a great tool for keeping pre-rigged surf leaders from tangling and ready for use.

Keep leaders tangle-free

Mike Marsh

Surf-fishing guide Walter White pre-rigs his live-bait leaders for surf fishing. These leaders are used when red drum are likely to bite and are rigged with circle hooks. […]

Topsail, Fort Fisher and Freeman Park all require beach-driving permits.

Beach-driving briefs

Mike Marsh

Details on beach-driving permits […]

Differences in regulations between North Carolina and South Carolina often cause fishermen in the Little River area to release fish that are legal in one state but too short or too long in the other.

Different limits for different states

Jerry Dilsaver

The actual boundary between North Carolina and South Carolina is not well-marked in the marshes between Sunset Beach and Little River Inlet, and several creeks that empty into the Intracoastal Waterway in one state have headwaters and large portions of their meandering in the other. […]