December 2015 Archives - Page 2 of 5

The size of the minnows you use can matter a great deal during the winter.

Minnow size can be crucial in cold weather

Cold water does inhibit the aggressiveness of crappie in terms of the bite, and lure and bait presentations must be on target. Limits of slabs can be caught when an angler give crappie what they want. […]

Spoil islands in the Cape Fear, like this one, are constantly changing in size and shape as the river channel is dredged and the tidal flow is altered.

Channel dredging created Cape Fear’s spoil islands

Jerry Dilsaver

The N.C. State Port in Wilmington is 24 miles upriver from the mouth of the Cape Fear River. A channel is maintained to allow large ships to travel upriver to the port. […]

Crappie pushing the 3-pound mark aren’t common, but they aren’t rare, either, as fish feed up during the winter.

Get the drop on winter crappie

Terry Madewell

On many lakes, very definable contour changes exist where a flat drops into a river or large creek channel. During the winter, targeting this fine line, a mere few feet wide, can be the key to catching a lot of crappie. […]

The tidal flow and freshwater runoff can change the habitat around some spoil islands in the Cape Fear River from saltwater to brackish and all the way to freshwater.

The Cape Fear is unique among North Carolina rivers

Jerry Dilsaver

The Cape Fear is North Carolina’s only major river that flows directly into the ocean. Its headwaters reach into Virginia, and it becomes the Cape Fear about 4 miles below Jordan Lake Dam where the Haw and Deep rivers merge. […]

Knocking down the last rows of corn, soybeans, sunflowers or millet in your dove field should provide plenty of late-season wing shooting.

Mow, plow last strips for doves

Jeff Burleson

Even though dove season’s popularity is centers on Labor Day weekend, the late season can offer hunters fantastic wing-shooting when the weather puts hunters in long-sleeved camo. […]

Mow, plow last strips for doves

Jeff Burleson

Even though dove season’s popularity is centers on Labor Day weekend, the late season can offer hunters fantastic wing-shooting when the weather puts hunters in long-sleeved camo. […]

Hunters get ready to toss hounds across a deep ditch so they can join the chase.

Dog hunters wary baiting may cause too many lost bears

Craig Holt

In 2014, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission began allowing still-hunters to use natural bait the first six days of bear season in any county with a season. […]

Supplements like Lowcountry Deer Mineral provide deer with needed vitamins and minerals during critical stages of growth.

Mineral supplements can provide whitetail deer with important nutrients

Phillip Gentry

While learning how to manage local deer herds for hunters and landowners, Danny Buxton of Smoaks and his close friend, Jordan Patrick, began experimenting to come up with a supplement that would provide deer with essential vitamins and minerals during their critical stages of development. […]

Hunt duck impoundments once or twice a week to keep from pushing ducks to other areas.

Manage waterfowl hunting pressure

Jeff Burleson

The largest chunk of waterfowl season arrives this month, giving hunters six weeks or so of duck-hunting madness. […]

Plott hounds, brought to North Carolina from Germany in the mid-1700s, are a mainstay for bear hunters old and young.

Hunting bears with Plotts is a North Carolina tradition

Craig Holt

In eastern and western North Carolina, many modern bear hunters own pursuit hounds, most from the Plott stock, a breed of brindled bear and boar dog brought to the high country in 1750 by Johannes Plott, a German immigrant. […]