May 2014 Archives - Page 4 of 7 - Carolina Sportsman

Aggressive cutting late in the season will often cause a turkey to shock-gobble, giving a hunter the chance to set up closer to the bird.

Two slam-dunk, late-season turkey calls

Of all the game species with which North Carolina is blessed, wild turkeys are one of a very few that must be pulled into shooting range with a series of calls. […]

Jason Burton pays close attention to current and trolling direction, and it pays off with better catches of Spanish mackerel.

Following directions

Jeff Burleson

Catching Spanish mackerel can seem very easy during the spring and summer when fish are mauling a school of menhaden or glass minnows. […]

The length of a gobbler’s spurs are a better indication of his age than body size.

Judge a gobbler’s age in the field

Jeff Burleson

Hunters judge turkeys by a collection of characteristics, including weight, spur length, beard count and beard length. Every hunter wants to harvest an old, trophy gobbler, but, knowing a tom’s age is a tough task in the field — before and even after the kill. […]

Cobia can put a strain on tackle that’s not up to the task, but for making long casts, anglers have to give up some heft for action.

Rigging for cobia

Dan Kibler

When cobia fishing, you need to use the proper gear. But that doesn’t mean the biggest rod is best. Lighter rods allow anglers to fish all day without getting tired, and it also gives them better casting distance. […]

This flounder was fooled by the spinning of a weedless spoon designed for inshore casting.

Spoon feed inshore fish

Jerry Dilsaver

I don’t remember exactly when I became such a big fan of using spoons for inshore and nearshore fishing, but it was a good day and a great choice. […]

Lowell Brannan took a 30-minute saltwater sleigh ride before boating and releasing this blacktip shark near Beaufort.

The open ocean beckons

Phillip Gentry

As a student in high school, Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and The Sea was required reading. Without sounding unappreciative of classic literature, who wouldn’t love to be pulled around in a small boat by a massive blue marlin? […]

Warm-season food plots are important for providing deer with nutrients during fawning and antler-growing seasons.

Keep spring costs down

Jeff Burleson

Throughout the year, deer and other wildlife locate various food sources to fulfill their daily nutritional requirements. […]

Hunters can often get to turkeys that are unpressured by paddling streams or swamps and accessing land unavailable to other hunters.

Paddle up a gobbler

Bill Howard

Late-season gobblers can drive a hunter insane. They become wary of the same old calls from the same old spots in the same old fields. […]

Plenty of big cobia stay around nearshore reefs, never moving into the Port Royal Sound or Broad River during the annual run.

Leave the cobia crowd

Bryan Bowers

Every spring, especially in May, boats and anglers literally line up in the Broad River in hopes of catching a cobia. […]

Lake Tillery holds one of the best populations of shellcrackers of any large lake in North Carolina.

It’s time to box up Lake Tillery’s ’crackers

Tony Garitta

Rusty and Rosco Bowers of Albemarle got hooked on fishing during their high-school years, but not in the manner conceived by the tackle industry’s “Hooked on Fishing” program. […]