April 2018 Archives - Carolina Sportsman

It’s time for topwater specks at Murrells Inlet

Try these proven tips from Murrells Inlet angler J Baish to catch your share of speckled trout on topwater lures in the spring. […]

Waccamaw River slabs are biting in full force

Brian Cope

Don’t overlook this coastal river when searching for a hot crappie bite in the spring. […]

Dredge the bass jungle with weedless topwater lures

Jeff Burleson

The bass spawn invigorates anglers across the country, and while many will be pitching soft plastics to bedding fish or casting search baits in staging areas, many overlook topwater baits. […]

The Speed Scremer features “arms” that provide maximum action bass just can’t resist.

Creme Speed Scremers

Don Shoopman

Dusty Anders of Deville was excited when he called an outdoor writer in early February.

The 50-year-old firefighter, an avid bass angler and part-time fishing guide, had just boated an 8-pound bass on one of his favorite new soft plastics. […]

Modern carbon arrows that look like wooden ones and are fletched with feathers are a major improvement over wooden alternatives.

Modern advancements in technology have made it easier than ever to be a successful archer. Tools such as compound bows with high let- offs, electronic rangefinders, magnified fiber-optic bow sights, fall-away arrow rests and many other advancements have changed our sport forever. […]

Sections of North Carolina’s Tuckasegee River are great spring destination for fishermen interested in taking trout on fly rods.

Spring trout are mountain blessings

Robert Satterwhite

Beginning around the middle of March and continuing through May, mountain streams start warming up, browns, rainbows and brook trout become active and hungry, and mountain anglers enjoy some of the best trout fishing of the year. […]

Guide Joe Dennis caught this big stringer of bluegill on crickets, his favorite baits for these aggressive fish.

Bream bonanza is at hand

Terry Madewell

The flooded cypress and gum tree forests and the abundance of shallow vegetation of Santee Cooper is Ground Zero for some of the best panfish action in South Carolina. Bull bream and super-sized shellcrackers abound, and anglers armed with the basic techniques of how, when and where to fish for this dynamic duo have an opportunity to limit on either species or a combination of both. […]

Pick a MirrOlure by size and shape to match baitfish in an area. From top, 14, 17 and 27 sizes.

Match the hatch

Jerry Dilsaver

Guides Lee Parsons and Mark Dickson emphasize choosing lures that are the same body shape, size and color of the dominant forage in an area. Several of the Catch 2000 lures, plus the 52M and MR, TT and MirrOmullet, have the general body shape as a mullet, and all topwater MirrOlures have mullet shapes. […]

You can’t retrieve a MirrOlure too slowly; most strikes come when the bait is not moving.

No need for speed; slow is good

Jerry Dilsaver

Lee Parsons emphasizes that many fishermen fish too fast, especially with stickbaits like MirrOlures. His retrieve includes plenty of twitches and pauses, with current providing most of the forward movement. The idea is not to see how much water can be covered, but to entice fish to strike. […]