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June 17, 2026

A planer bridle allows for the planer to easily be added or removed from the line.

The planer bridle rig

While wahoo are often caught by baits and lures running at or just below the surface, a good number are caught well below the surface on outfits designed to fish there. […]

Shellcrackers spawn around different kinds of cover, but they can usually be found close to beds of freshwater mussels or clams.

Next, please

Phillip Gentry

Long, rocky points — especially those that provide some underwater cover in the form of stumps, brush or rockpiles — tend to be very busy places on Lake Murray during the spring. […]

Bluegills have characteristics similar to shellcrackers, but they lack teeth in the throat that shellcrackers use to crush shells.

Although they share many common characteristics and are commonly lumped together in many circumstances under the handle “bream,” bluegill and shellcrackers have distinctly different characteristics, especially when targeting one specific species while fishing. […]

According to N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission surveys, black crappie far outnumber white crappie at Jordan Lake.

It’s all black and white

Dan Kibler

Most reservoirs support good populations of black crappie and white crappie, and despite pro angler Kenny Allen’s assertions that there are plenty of white crappie in Jordan Lake. […]

Corkin’ ’crackers

Phillip Gentry

Tackle and rigging for shellcrackers can be as simple as a No. 2 hook with a couple of split-shot up the line. Brad Taylor uses this type rig on many of his rods with a couple of simple modifications. […]

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission instituting creel and size limits for crappie on Jordan Lake in 2004 and improved the fishery tremendously in terms of quality of fish and better age distribution.

Success does have limits

Dan Kibler

The crappie fishing at Jordan Lake is managed under regulations that are unique among reservoirs in North Carolina. […]

The grass might look dead this month, but it’s alive with bass.

Bass in the grass

Brian Cope

Shallow alligator grass is present throughout Lake Wateree, and though it may look dead in March, it is anything but. […]

Lake Norman’s crappie fishery has improved over the past half-dozen years, with fishermen like Chris Nichols reporting greater numbers of fish, as well as the quality fish they’ve caught in the past.

No answers just yet

Dan Kibler

Biologists with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission don’t have any solid reason for the uptick in crappie fishing in Lake Norman. […]

Mike Spinks shows off a Wateree bass caught on a buzzbait in the grass.

Birthplace of the CATT trail

Brian Cope

The Carolina Angler’s Team Trail (www.catttrail.com) features tournaments all over South Carolina, and it all started on Lake Wateree. […]

Getting a bait back under a pier or boathouse is important to reach crappie that position themselves back in the shade under the cover of a platform or boat parked in a slip.

Put a bull’s eye on docks

Dan Kibler

With crappie holding on brush or around the pier’s pilings, Neeley and Nichols go to light-action spincasting outfits spooled with 4-pound test mono. […]