April 2014 Archives - Carolina Sportsman

Small crankbaits will likely play a big role in bass fishing this April, thanks to what appears to be a delayed spring.

I might enjoy this April

I have made no bones about having trouble catching bass in April, because I’m a crankbait fisherman and it’s probably the worst month in North Carolina to fish a crankbait. […]

Shallow, April bass are usually suckers for a topwater plug fished above their heads.

A lot of people love to fish in April, and it’s easy to understand why. The weather has warmed up and settled, it’s a joy to spend a day on the water when it’s that pretty — and the fish will be biting. […]

The Ruger SR22 is fun to shoot, and it’s a perfect weapon to carry.

Ruger’s SR22 — Small, accurate, fun

Gordon Hutchinson

I’m going to let you in on the next big thing in handguns. You get the opportunity to get in on this before the rush, like what happened with the Ruger LCP and the Smith & Wesson Shield. […]

New Humminbird ONIX and ION units equipped with certain LakeMaster maps can use a plug-in SmartStrike program to help you pattern a lake.

Manufacturing luck

Allan Tarvid

The Dallas Fire Fighters Bass Club was formed in the 1970s and as a casual angler just turned serious fisherman I was a charter member. […]

Hunters have a unique opportunity to take turkeys during rainy weather because their behavior is more predictable and one of their sharpest senses is dulled.

Bad weather, good hunting

Jeff Burleson

For a species with a brain the size of a walnut, wild turkeys are fairly clever at avoiding the talons or the teeth of predators, but their poor sense of smell allows hunters and other predators to take a few turkeys each year. […]

Rigging for deep-hole trout

John Gribb

Most anglers who fish baits or lures under corks or floats think of them as primarily used in relatively shallow water. […]

A school of colorful dolphin suspended behind a boat can wind up in the fish box if fishermen are careful when they pitch baits in their direction.

Small dolphin can bail out a fishing trip

Jason Hawkins

Sometimes, bluewater fishing is so slow that even a novice or child can become bored. Small, aggressive dolphin, aka bailers, can provide just the tonic. […]

Speckled trout, like this one caught by Ralph Davis, are actually members of the drum family; they make drumming noises as the spawn approaches.

Trout talk

John Gribb

Did you know that trout talk?

Speckled trout are not a member of the trout family (salmonidae), but of the drum family (sciaenidae), and they make drumming noises just like red drum and black drum. […]

Organic fertilizers may fit better into the strategy of landowners who are interested in food-plot planting instead of extensive agricultural activity.

Organic fertilizers not just for hippies

Jeff Burleson

Each year, landowners with an interest in providing food for wildlife spend countless hours on the tractor, at the farm supply store and at the kitchen table trying to develop a productive crop. […]

Capt. Richard Sykes shows off a speckled trout that fell for a fly.

Trout on a fly

John Gribb

Yes, you can catch speckled trout on a fly rod, and when you get into a school, the action can be “a fish on every cast” frantic. […]