April 2012 Archives - Carolina Sportsman

Learn how to read a gobbler’s ‘temperature’ before deciding whether or not to call to him aggressively or quietly.

10 Turkey-Taking Tips

A grand old South Carolina turkey hunter from yesteryear, Archibald Rutledge, once wrote: “Some men are mere hunters; others are turkey hunters.” […]

Lowcountry marshes will fill up with slot-sized reds this month.

Beaufort Breakout

John Gribb

Okay, no excuses now. The weather is beautiful, the garden is planted and the redfish are biting again. […]

Hunters who travel across North Carolina often need a change of tactics to bag a smart gobbler.

All Terrain, All Turkeys

Bruce Ingram

By 8:45, only two toms had sounded off a total of four times on Arthur Dick’s 1,800-acre Willow Oaks Plantation in Rockingham County outside of Eden. […]

Guide Chip Hamilton shows off a Lake Hartwell striper.

Hartwell’s Hot Cast-and-Blast

Terry Madewell

One of the best public cast-and-blast opportunities for South Carolina outdoorsmen this month is the Upstate hotspot of Lake Hartwell. […]

Christian Bedsworth of Star Rods (left) shows Matthew Waddell of Goldsboro’s EZ Bait & Tackle one of the new Aerial spinning combos from Star Rods at the recent Henry’s Tackle Show in Raleigh.

Fishermen in North Carolina are lucky! Fishermen in most parts of the country have only one tackle show to look forward to each year, but around here, it’s not unusual to be able to visit several shows during the winter. […]

Butch Foster rigs a planer so it can be released and an a wahoo fought only on the rod..

Land a wahoo without a planer

Mike Marsh

To troll big baits and lures down at the depths where wahoo are lurking, fishermen resort to using big planers. […]

Capt. David Cutler loves to fish for early-spring wahoo in the bluewater off Little River. He looks for color and temperature changes to hold wahoo.

Get an early start

Jeff Burleson

Whether inshore, offshore or in a freshwater environment, 90 percent of fish become more active as dark turns to daylight, and seas. […]

A trout fisherman works catch-and-release trophy waters under the management of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Cherokee waters on mend

Robert Satterwhite

About midnight on July 15, 2011, a flash-flood sent a 10-foot wall of water through the Cherokee Indian Tribal Hatchery, washing away or killing 435,000 trout and leaving raceways buried in silt. […]

This trolling plug bears scars from dozens of wahoo. Plugs are often more effective than ballyhoo, especially trolled at high speeds.

Rigging a lure cures ballyhoo blowouts

Mike Marsh

Rigging ballyhoo on trolling skirts takes lots of time and money. Blown-out ballyhoo bellies from high-speed trolling and cut-off tails from short strikes are two types of bait failures. […]

A big wahoo can knock a lure several feet up the line, away from the hook. Keeping the lure closer to the hook often prevents biteoffs.

Prevent break-offs

Jeff Burleson

The sound of a big reel burning off drag will quickly energize a crew on a bluewater excursion, but the instantaneous pressure release and a limp rod will discourage even the most-patient angler when the line is severed for one reason or another. […]