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August 28, 2026

Beginning this fall, recreational fishermen will not be allowed to keep southern flounder caught in inside waters between Oct. 16 and Jan. 1.

North Carolina finally buckles down to save southern flounder

With a vote last fall, the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission approved regulations to help rejuvenate southern flounder by amending season lengths and removing gill nets from inside waters. […]

Planer boards allow striper fishermen to cover a wide swath of water with their baits and to get them away from the boat in shallow, clear-water situations.

Use planer boards around striper hot spots

Terry Madewell

Guides Brad Taylor and Mike Glover agree that covering a wide swath of water enhances your odds of success when fishing live bait for stripers. The way they accomplish that is with planer boards. […]

The lower Cape Fear River and Snow’s Cut provide flounder with the of the best habitat available along North Carolina’s coasts.

Cape Fear, Snow’s Cut are great flounder habitat

Jerry Dilsaver

The waters of the lower Cape Fear River and Snow’s Cut have long been known as great places to catch flounder — and large flounder, too. The 20-pound, state-record flounder was caught there in 1980, and though flounder fishing in this area isn’t as good as it once was, it is still the primary location for fishermen trying to catch a flounder 10 pounds or heavier. […]

Fishermen who can follow stripers on their transition from shallower, spring patterns to deeper, summer areas, can catch limits consistently.

Follow the transition to summer stripers

Terry Madewell

By late June, hot-weather patterns typically set in on Lake Murray, but the striper fishing continues to be red hot for those adapting to deep-water patterns. […]

Flounder will stack up around the slightest change in bottom structure or contour.

A tip for finding nearshore flounder

Dusty Wilson

Far too many times, anglers stow just enough tethering rope to hold fast in the deepest water they anticipate to fish, if that. […]

Marking waypoints and tracks during the day will make fishing after dark that much easier.

At night, GPS units are doubly important

Pete Rogers

A GPS unit is crucial to fishing for catfish at night on Lake Wateree. Unlike many other lakes, Wateree is very dark at night, with few shoreline lights to provide illumination. Knowing your GPS and trusting it is crucial to a successful night fishing. […]

Hollow-bodied frogs and mice are great lures for river smallmouth bass whenever grass beds are found.

Grass means bass, even in a river, and even when they’re smallmouths

Brian Cope

Surface grass isn’t usually the type of cover you’d expect to fish on a river with the kind of current the Broad River has, but some areas have plenty of it. […]

Smallmouth bass are plentiful in the section of the Broad River just downstream from the Parr Reservoir dam.

Tailrace below Parr Reservoir is hot spot along South Carolina’s Broad River

Brian Cope

One of Mike McSwain’s favorite summer haunts on the Broad River is the backside of the Parr Reservoir above the Alston canoe launch. He heads upriver and stays to the right where the river forks. It’s a few miles upriver, so he uses his trolling motor when the depth allows it, and once at the dam, he’s in business. […]

It’s time to find, tie up hunting leases for the fall season

Jeff Burleson

June is a big month for hunters across the Carolinas. With turkey season over, hunting leases get ready to laps, and sometimes they change hands for fall season. […]

A long, medium-heavy rod gives anglers the ability to make long casts with popping-cork rigs, as well as getting fish to the net more easily.

Go long, heavy with tackle for popping-cork rigs

David A. Brown

Throw your popping cork rigs on 7- to 7 1/2-foot medium-heavy spinning gear. The longer rod helps you with greater casting distance and you can achieve greater backcast clearance with the cumbersome rig. This helps prevent accidental snaggings, entanglements and any cast-killing drag. […]