Bass Fishing

Shell out on winter

Striped bass are a springtime staple for anglers during their spring spawning run up North Carolina’s Roanoke River, but, that’s not the only place to catch them and not necessarily the best time, according to Mitchell Blake of Chocowinity. […]

Inshore Fishing

Tag, You’re it!

Catch a tagged fish in North Carolina’s coastal waters and you may reel in a cash award. The NCDMF’s fish tagging program randomly selects tag numbers; anglers who have turned them in win $100. Of 1,020 fish tags anglers returned in 2015, the program drew three tag numbers for each of four species in the tagging program.  […]

Inshore Fishing

Chum slingers

Croakers make great bait for red drum, and they also make good chum. The Longer Life Bait Slinger was a great tool for tossing chunks of fish far out into the water to attract big red drum. […]

Inshore Fishing

Find a fish funnel, find OBX reds

While sight-casting is certainly the most-thrilling means of targeting big red drum, it’s not always the most practical. Low-light conditions, high winds and occasional stained water can make putting eyes on a school nearly impossible.  […]

Freshwater Fishing

Terminal tackle tips for big catfish

Zakk Royce’s terminal rigging includes more bells, whistles, and innovations than one might shake a Big Cat Fever rod at. Each component is vital to the whole, and when combined, the end result is a system that rarely hangs up or tangles. […]

Freshwater Fishing

Pick a perch for Gaston cats

Despite the alluring aroma of gizzard shad, blue catfish at Lake Gaston have another item on the menu to choose from in late summer.  While those gizzards are the building blocks of trophy catfish, blues will sometimes overlook them in lieu of the white perch, a more-fortifying meal when they’re worn down from summer heat. […]

Content

Sunburned OBX reds

The mouth of the Neuse River and the western Pamlico Sound aren’t the only places to hook into a trophy red drum this month. Massive schools of the bronzed beasts still haunt Hatteras and Ocracoke Inlets, where they entered the estuary last spring after a long winter at sea.  […]