Sidebars Archives - Page 17 of 194

June 17, 2026

Packs of beagles have to work faster and cover more ground to flush rabbits living in cutovers and give hunters the chance for a shot.

As cutovers grow, slow packs fade

Hunting with slow packs of beagles used to be the way to go for rabbit hunters, but thanks to changes in habitat, quicker packs of dogs are now preferred for chasing bunnies. […]

Rabbit numbers in the Carolinas rise and fall in cycles; predators aren’t a big factor; it’s habitat.

Rabbits by the numbers

Craig Holt

The most-recent small-game survey conducted by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (2015-16) revealed that the best rabbit hunting occurs in the Midlands (2.19 rabbits jumped per hour). […]

Hunting released quail on a preserve can offer hunters a chance to relive a time 50 years ago when bobwhite was king in the Southeast.

A guide’s recommendations

Phillip Gentry

A guide at Contentnea Creek Shooting Preserve in Snow Hill, N.C., Walter Claybrook has some advice for hunters visiting a shooting preserve for the first time. […]

Pay special attention to your depth finder when fishing for crappie in February. Don’t spend much time in areas where you don’t mark slabs or bait, and notice the depth fish are holding and place your baits just above that level.

It’s the little things that matter

Phillip Gentry

Paying attention to details is never more important than when fishing for crappie in cold water, especially in February. If everything is done right, an angler is rewarded with a box full of fish, but missing the mark often means coming up blank. Here are some common tips that often mean the difference between catching a limit and going home empty-handed. […]

The subtle presentation of a light rig like this split-shot rig helps fool winter reds.

Cold equals slow, subtle presentations, retrieves

Jerry Dilsaver

Guides Mike Eady and Mark Stacy believe the primary thing fishermen must remember for successful cold-water fishing is that when the water is cold, the fish move very slowly and deliberately. […]

Neither North Carolina nor South Carolina has bag limits on crows, but season dates are different.

When can you hunt crows?

Marty Shaffner

Crows are a federally protected species, and both North Carolina and South Carolina have set hunting seasons for them. […]

High Rock is a winter sleeper lake

Terry Madewell

Guide Jerry Neely targets several lakes in January when he’s crappie fishing, and he said one that can be sneaky good is High Rock Lake on North Carolina’s Yadkin-Pee Dee system. […]

A crappie rig for winter fishing

Terry Madewell

Guide Maynard Edwards has a unique rig he’s developed for wintertime crappie fishing, enabling him to fish near the bottom and suspended fish at the same time. […]

Don’t put away crankbaits that work in deeper water when the first big wave of spawning bass move in early, because they often stay in relatively deep water.

Catch giants spawning first

Jeff Burleson

When P.H. Flanagan of Manning, S.C., caught the state record largemouth bass out of Lake Marion in 1949, he might never have dreamed that his 16-pound; 2-ounce beast would still reign as the biggest bass ever caught in the Palmetto State. But Santee Cooper is known for its big stringers of healthy bass, as are many other reservoirs scattered around the Carolinas. […]

The pilings that support the two US 64 bridges that link the mainland with Roanoke Island, N.C., attract plenty of stripers in the winter.

January’s best bets

Phillip Gentry

WHAT — Saltwater striped bass

WHERE — In North Carolina, fish the two US 64 bridges between the mainland and Roanoke Island across Croatan Sound. In South Carolina, the upper end of the Wando River holds stripers thanks to some supplemental stocking of native strains of river stripers. […]