March 2014 Archives - Page 2 of 6

William Sasser anchors a brush pile tree with two cinder blocks. Adjust the anchor rope to set the height of the tree. Tie a float to the upper part of the tree to hold it vertical. Sasser uses a brick-sized piece of Styrofoam for a float.

Location, design critical when creating brushpiles

Guide William Sasser can almost always find a place to catch crappie in Clarks Hill Lake. He estimates that he has about 200 brush piles in the lake. […]

Blue catfish, native to the Mississippi River drainage, have been stocked and moved to river systems and reservoirs across the Southeast, where they have become a popular target for anglers.

Blue catfish in North Carolina

Jerry Dilsaver

The blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus, is the largest species of North American catfish and has potential to reach 150 pounds. […]

Shallow, stained water is the ticket for catching Lake Wylie bass on spinnerbaits.

Go over to the dark side

Brian Cope

For many anglers, night time is the right time for catching bass, and March is a great time to doing it in the dark on Wylie. […]

Georgia and South Carolina have different size and creel limits for crappie on the Savannah River lakes.

SC has size limit; Georgia does not

Pat Robertson

The Savannah River lakes, including Thurmond, are unique in that there are differences in the size limits for crappie depending on whether you bring your fish out on the South Carolina side or the Georgia side. […]

Small, live minnow, hooked through the back, are deadly on Clarks Hill crappie.

Small minnows key for springtime crappie

Pat Robertson

Small minnows are the best bait for springtime crappie fishing, according to veteran Clarks Hill crappie fisherman and fishing guide William Sasser. […]

Tight-lining, or fishing with lures dropped straight down, is a favorite of spring crappie anglers.

Any color is good — as long as it’s blue

Craig Holt

Successful crappie fishing at Jordan Lake in March can hinge on having a jig in the color fish prefer that day. […]

A flutter hook is a great way to rig a long, thin soft-plastic bait weedless.

Rigging a flutter hook

Phillip Gentry

A weighted hook, aka flutter hook, is a great way to rig any number of soft-plastic baits such as a Fluke, jerk shad, or trick work. A long, thin weight that is molded on the shank of the hook gives the rig weight and imparts action. […]

Black crappie in Jordan Lake have rebounded after a 2011 die-off and should offer fishermen a great spring this year.

Net survey shows Jordan’s crappie on the rebound

Craig Holt

Biologists Jessica Baumann and Corey Oakley of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission conducted crappie surveys using trap and gill nets in October and November 2012 after a 2011 shad die-off and resulting crappie mortality. […]

Dressing in layers is the way to stay comfortable fishing in cold weather.

Dress for success

Phillip Gentry

Learning to be comfortable in the cold boils down to dressing appropriately and functionally. […]

Riprapped banks cover plenty of Lake Wylie’s shoreline, and fishermen need to target them in March.

Riprap is big key at Wylie

Brian Cope

The large rocks that line much of Lake Wylie’s shoreline are called riprap, and plenty of it is submerged below the surface. […]