Newsletter - Page 1390 of 2136 - Carolina Sportsman

A big, Texas-rigged worm (left) is a great lure to fish around sunken brush piles.

Baits for brush piles

So you’ve got your brush piles set up and now it’s time to reap the benefits of your labor. What are the best lures to use around brush piles? […]

Lake Monticello is a pump-back lake that has a largely undeveloped shoreline and holds plenty of big catfish.

Lake Monticello is about 6 miles long and covers around 6,700 acres. It was created in 1978 as a pumped storage facility managed by South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G) to provide cooling water for a single-unit nuclear reactor; its outflow goes directly into Parr Reservoir. […]

William Attaway likes to put his outboard in reverse to slowly drift catfish baits during the winter.

Drift with your outboard in reverse

Terry Madewell

William Attaway does do some things differently from most fishermen on Lake Monticello, which is one reason he catches a lot of fish. […]

This big Lake Monticello blue catfish hit 89 minutes into a 90-minute wait, proving that patience is a key to catching trophy fish.

Anchor for big winter cats

Terry Madewell

Guide Chris Simpson catches big blue catfish at Monticello by drift-fishing and by anchoring, but if he is targeting big fish for a client, he will usually spend some of his time anchored. […]

Smoking can be a great way to preserve trout when you catch too many for a single meal and don’t want them to go to waste.

Smoke trout on the water and afterwards, too

John Gribb

Most guides and fishermen discourage killing more fish than you can reasonably eat, but in November, there is a real possibility of landing a 10-fish limit of trout and they are delicious. […]

Kahle-style hooks (above left) are better for fishing live baits than standard J-hooks (above right).

What’s a Kahle hook?

John Gribb

Some very good guides and other fishermen use Kahle-style hooks when targeting speckled trout with live bait. […]

Guide Danny Rourk likes to fish big topwater plugs for speckled trout on overcast or rainy days.

Trout on topwater

John Gribb

Ask a freshwater bass fisherman about the most-exciting way to catch black bass, and most will revel over the exciting explosions of bass on topwater plugs. […]

A baitwell filled with lively shrimp is as close to a guarantee of speckled trout action as a fisherman can have.

Catch shrimp easily

Jeff Burleson

During the fall, the speckled trout bite shifts into high gear, and every fish is happy to find a feisty shrimp back-peddling as fast as possible. Basically, everything eats shrimp. […]

Size up for ICW gators

Jeff Burleson

During the fall run, inshore waters fill up with big schools of speckled trout. Most of the fish that come into the Little River section of the ICW are of the smaller variety, often slightly on either side of the legal size minimum. […]

Plenty of nice crappie are there to be caught in Hyco Lake, especially as cold weather approaches.

Cooling weather sets off hot crappie bite at Hyco

Craig Holt

Sportsmen who aren’t chasing deer this month and are dialed into fishing might consider hunting crappie at Hyco Lake — and throughout the winter. […]

South Carolina getting 14-day October red snapper season

Newsletters

SC’s Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) for Atlantic red snapper in federal waters has been issued for a 14-day season beginning Oct. 9, 2026. […]

RJ Seiler kills 222-pound Rockingham County buck

Deer

RJ Seiler killed a mainframe 10-point, 222-pound buck in Rockingham County using archery gear during September 2026. […]

Pee Dee hunters tag giant gator

Alligator

John Wayne Caulder, his son Kelly Caulder and friend Josh Bumgarner killed a giant alligator in South Carolina’s Pee Dee Region. […]

SITKA x Phorm Energy drink available at SITKA’s Charlotte store

Hunting

Starting Oct. 5, 2026 Charlotte hunters and anglers will be among the first in the country to get their hands on a new limited-edition SITKA x Phorm Energy drink, available at SITKA’s retail location in Charlotte. […]

First buck with a bow on public land

Bag a Buck

Hunter Sanford of Mountain Rest, SC killed a 9-point buck in Hampton County, SC on Sept. 17, 2026. […]