Newsletter

Rick Bennett of Wilmington instructs a classroom of eager anglers about saltwater fishing techniques at last year’s Sportsman Fishing School.

Make like a fish; go to school

If you aren’t a striper or bluefin fisherman or one of those dedicated anglers who chases speckled trout and red drum all year, then the winter months at the North Carolina coast are a slow time. […]

Take care of needed boat maintenance and repairs now and you can fish instead of paying a boat shop during fishing season.

Now’s time to take care of boat

David Fritts

I am probably the last person to preach to anybody else about keeping his or her boat in good shape or make a special effort to get it ready for the beginning of the bass-fishing season. […]

Wayne Lawson (left) and Dale Hege, both of Ramseur, won the Oct. 28-29 Fish-off for the New Piedmont and High Rock Team Tournament trails with a two-day haul of 30.34 pounds of largemouth bass.

Tarheel Team Tournaments ended

Tony Garitta

Tarheel Team Tournaments of Wilson, under the direction of James and Bucky Bass, has ceased operations — again. […]

Walleye fishing will be the most popular winter activity for mountain anglers and some lakes hold whoppers.

Winter fishing good at lakes

Robert Satterwhite

Walleyes and smallmouth bass are the staples of winter fishing in the mountains. […]

Marty Stone of Linden, a familiar face on the bass tournament scene, likes the worm-pegging capabilities of the new “T-Rig” he helped develop.

Tru-Tungsten ‘T-Rig’ gets a grip

Dan Kibler

North Carolina bass pro Marty Stone got a look at what he thought was the worm rig of the future when he was a pro staffer at Florida-based Gambler Lures. […]

One of the best lures for bass at rip rap during sunny days is a spinnerbait. The sun warms rocks and brings bass from the depths, looking for a meal of gizzard or threadfin shad.

Coach Dog

Craig Holt

Thermometers in central North Carolina showed 17 degrees at 9 a.m. at the Ebenezer Road Recreation Area last February when Andre Powell backed his boat trailer toward Jordan Lake’s dark waters. […]

The incoming tide is the best time to try to fish the Cape Lookout rock jetty.

Cronked for Reds

Mike Marsh

Red drum are versatile fish.

Now that they’ve returned in large numbers at the Carolina coast, anglers have begun targeting them all year long. […]

Trout species stocked at Helton Creek include 40 percent rainbows, 40 percent brook trout and 20 percent brown trout.

Hidden Helton

Tim Mead

Helton Creek, nestled in the hills of Ashe County, cheek-by-jowl with Virginia, is a jewel of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources delayed-harvest trout program. […]

Any trolling skirt color, as long as it’s blue-and-white, will catch yellowfins, or at least that’s the mantra of most N.C. charter captains.

Many Tar Heel anglers recognize Capt. Stan “Stanman” Jarusinski as one of the top king mackerel tournament fishermen in the region, winning and placing in numerous tournaments as well as winning the 2005 SKA championship for boats 23-feet-and-under. […]