June 2016 Archives - Page 2 of 6

Beginning this fall, recreational fishermen will not be allowed to keep southern flounder caught in inside waters between Oct. 16 and Jan. 1.

North Carolina finally buckles down to save southern flounder

With a vote last fall, the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission approved regulations to help rejuvenate southern flounder by amending season lengths and removing gill nets from inside waters. […]

Hollow-bodied frogs and mice are great lures for river smallmouth bass whenever grass beds are found.

Grass means bass, even in a river, and even when they’re smallmouths

Brian Cope

Surface grass isn’t usually the type of cover you’d expect to fish on a river with the kind of current the Broad River has, but some areas have plenty of it. […]

A long, medium-heavy rod gives anglers the ability to make long casts with popping-cork rigs, as well as getting fish to the net more easily.

Go long, heavy with tackle for popping-cork rigs

David A. Brown

Throw your popping cork rigs on 7- to 7 1/2-foot medium-heavy spinning gear. The longer rod helps you with greater casting distance and you can achieve greater backcast clearance with the cumbersome rig. This helps prevent accidental snaggings, entanglements and any cast-killing drag. […]

Smallmouth bass are plentiful in the section of the Broad River just downstream from the Parr Reservoir dam.

Tailrace below Parr Reservoir is hot spot along South Carolina’s Broad River

Brian Cope

One of Mike McSwain’s favorite summer haunts on the Broad River is the backside of the Parr Reservoir above the Alston canoe launch. He heads upriver and stays to the right where the river forks. It’s a few miles upriver, so he uses his trolling motor when the depth allows it, and once at the dam, he’s in business. […]

The lower Cape Fear River and Snow’s Cut provide flounder with the of the best habitat available along North Carolina’s coasts.

Cape Fear, Snow’s Cut are great flounder habitat

Jerry Dilsaver

The waters of the lower Cape Fear River and Snow’s Cut have long been known as great places to catch flounder — and large flounder, too. The 20-pound, state-record flounder was caught there in 1980, and though flounder fishing in this area isn’t as good as it once was, it is still the primary location for fishermen trying to catch a flounder 10 pounds or heavier. […]

A brightly colored popping cork might draw strikes from a predator fish that notices the surface disturbance before the bait hanging beneath.

Keep reds, trout from hitting the cork, not the shrimp

David A. Brown

Despite our angling intensions, fish do what they want to do. Case in point; predators — mostly redfish — actually chomping the popping cork. […]

Flounder will stack up around the slightest change in bottom structure or contour.

A tip for finding nearshore flounder

Dusty Wilson

Far too many times, anglers stow just enough tethering rope to hold fast in the deepest water they anticipate to fish, if that. […]

Removing a flounder’s head right away makes it easier to produce beautiful, skin-on fillets from any fish.

How to fillet a flounder

John Gribb

Most anglers can adequately fillet a redfish or speckled trout but flounder are a little confusing. Do we cut two or four fillets, and where do we start? […]

Southern and summer flounder have both of their eyes on the left side of their body, making them “left-handed.”

Southern flounder are left handed

John Gribb

Flatfish, which lurk on the bottom and have both of their eyes on one side of their head, are widely dispersed throughout the world’s saltwater environments, but they are not all the same. […]

Freshwater grass shrimp are common around Shearon Harris’ grass beds, and they’re a killer bait for shellcrackers, but not readily available at bait shops.

Freshwater grass shrimp are a killer bait for shellcrackers at North Carolina’s Shearon Harris Lake

Dusty Wilson

It may be common knowledge to some, but it’s probably safe to say that most anglers are unaware that the grass beds in Shearon Harris Lake are literally teeming with freshwater grass shrimp, which make an excellent shellcracker bait, according to guide Greg Griffin. […]