December 2013 Archives - Carolina Sportsman

When he trolls artificials, Maynard Edwards likes to use small umbrella or “Alabama” rigs featuring multiple soft-plastic baits.

Is company that controls High Rock helping or hurting fishing?

If somewhere in the offices of Yadkin Inc. — the division of aluminum giant Alcoa that operates hydroelectric plants on reservoirs along the Yadkin system — there exists a dartboard with Maynard Edwards’ picture on it, the veteran fishing guide won’t be surprised. […]

Don’t put up your boots when deer season ends; there are squirrels to be killed.

Sell your tails

Jeff Burleson

Squirrel hunting is one of America’s favorite past-times, being abundant and from the soggy bottomlands of Mississippi to the high country of West Virginia. […]

Removing the skin from a squirrel is best done soon after it is killed and by two people. Cut through the skin — but not the muscle — all the way around the animal, and have two people pull in different directions against each other.

Top tips for cleaning squirrels

Jeff Burleson

Not only can squirrel hunting be exciting and challenging, the animal’s meat is one-of-a-kind and tastes nothing like chicken — it’s definitely not a white meat. […]

Staying hidden is much more important on late-season hunts, so building a blind from natural sources is often a good idea.

Late-season dove tips

Jason Hawkins

Andy Pope and Lowrie Beacham have developed habits in their pursuit of late-season doves that are worth sharing: […]

A shooting vest, snake gaiters and shotgun shells are great Christmas gifts for the upland game hunter in South Carolina.

Sportsman’s stocking stuffers

John Gribb

If you are looking for a gift for a hunter in the family but really haven’t a clue, here are a few ideas. […]

Hunters Jefferson Boaz, Folger Boaz, Chase Harris, Jeremy Johnson and Frank Harris took these tundra swans hunting with guides Charles Haywood and Karl Helmkamp of Albemarle Outfitters.

Swan Hunting Permits

Jerry Dilsaver

Tundra swans do a tremendous amount of damage to winter field crops, in northeast North Carolina, so the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission issues 5,000 permits to hunt tundra swans each year. […]

Make your own Santee rig

Phillip Gentry

Trolling over heavy cover is a recipe for breakoffs. To combat this, anglers on Santee Cooper designed a special rig employing a slinky weight and crappie float to keep the weight on the bottom but the hook out of cover. […]

Much of Lake Marion’s dead forest is now under the surface, but blue catfish will still orient to the trees that border old creek channels.

Fixing the catfish decline

Phillip Gentry

In recent years, the Santee Cooper lakes’ population of blue catfish has experienced a decline due to almost a decade of poor reproduction. […]

There’s perhaps no better bait on which to catch speckled trout than a live shrimp, typically fished under a popping cork.

Keys to fishing a popping-cork rig

Chris Burrows

Jeff Williamson of Get Busy Fishing Charters said that fishing live shrimp for speckled trout means fishing a popping-cork rig, and there are several keys to getting the before performance from them. […]

Leslie Mills killed this huge buck on Clay Creek Hunting Club property in 2011.

Wildlife Habitat Improvement:

Jeff Burleson

Minutes from Charlotte and just south of the state line in Chesterfield County lies Clay Creek Hunting Club. Consisting mostly of planted pines, agriculture fields, oak ridges swamp and creek bottoms, Clay Creek has almost the perfect collection of habitat types to support a wide range of game species, but trophy whitetail bucks are the primary emphasis for this seasoned group of hunters, and they see the results of their work in a real way. […]