March 2016 Archives - Carolina Sportsman

A big Mop Jig will produce a lot of big prespawn bass, but not until you’ve found them with a search bait like a crankbait.

Not all the lake’s a stage

March means prespawn bass fishing across South Carolina, with maybe a few fish spawning late in the month, but it’s the best prespawn month and big-fish month. […]

Fishing with a bow is challenging, especially when done from a kayak.

Fishing with a bow is fun and challenging

Bill Howard

Fishing with a bow is a lot like hunting, and it’s especially challenging when it’s done from a kayak. […]

When Bassmaster Elite pro Brandon Palaniuk fishes the Classic at Grand Lake in Oklahoma this month he’ll have a box of Wiggle Warts with him.

The importance of realistic, crawfish patterns is well known to Bassmaster Elite pro, and Brandon Palaniuk proved it on his way to finishing second in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic on Grand Lake in Oklahoma. […]

ProNav Angler adds electronic super powers to a “dumb” trolling motor with electric steering and then lets you manually or automatically navigate and position your boat as you fish.

Phone-in boat control

Allan Tarvid

There seems to be no end to the number of ways smartphones and tablets can help us. Just about the time I thought I couldn’t be surprised by another smart-electronics revelation, I discovered that they can now operate a bow-mounted trolling motor. […]

Swimbaits can be fished at the surface or as deep as 30 feet, depending on the weight of the jighead and speed of retrieve, and they catch bass.

Versatility makes swimbaits deadly on South Carolina bass in spring

Brian Cope

One of the reasons swimbaits are so effective in March is because bass will be in all stages of the spawn. Some will be on deeper ledges and secondary points waiting for the right time to move closer to shallow water. Others will have moved to docks at the mouths of pockets. […]

James Grimes’ 6-pound speckled trout is a big one for anywhere on North Carolina’s coast, but the New River holds some much bigger.

Next state-record might be a New River speck

Craig Holt

Although the New River has a reputation for yielding giant spotted seatrout, the state-record trout of 12 pounds, 4 ounces came from Wrightsville Beach and has held up for 55 years. […]

Soft-plastic lures like this Billy Bay Halo Shad will produce speckled trout around the New River’s artificial reef.

New River’s artificial reef is prime spring fishing spot

Craig Holt

After four years, the New River’s artificial reef is cranking out good numbers of seatrout and other gamefish and plenty in trophy sizes. […]

Try and use specific calls that are made for producing specific sounds; don’t try to make a noise that a call isn’t designed to make.

Match the sound you want with the right turkey call for best results

Terry Madewell

John Tanner said even using his own calls, he practices to find just the right tones that produce the sounds he wants turkeys to hear. […]

Let the way turkeys communicate on a given day show you how they want to be called, and you’ll be a step closer to tagging a gobbler.

Let wild turkeys tell you how to call them; don’t go in with your ears shut

Terry Madewell

Steve Cobb said that the best calling technique mimics the natural surroundings of where you hunt, regardless of that zip code. […]

Tasty whiting are among the earliest fish to arrive around Cape Fear and the latest to leave, providing fishermen battling cabin fever with some great action.

Whatever you call them, whiting are among North Carolina’s tastiest inshore fish

Jerry Dilsaver

Whiting are found along most of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and their sea mullet and Virginia mullet monikers to a disservice to these mild-flavored fish, which have none of the oily qualities of mullet species. […]