Northwest NC Archives - Page 37 of 54

In the hands of an experienced angler, jigs can produce great catches of fall crappie at Santee Cooper.

Jigs vs. Minnows

The age-old debate continues as to which is best for catching crappie out of Santee Cooper, the jig or the minnow. […]

October fishing is excellent for blue catfish on the Santee Cooper lakes, as this 30-pounder taken out of Black’s Camp testifies.

Tips for fishing Santee Cooper in October

A lot is going on in the Santee Cooper lakes this month. In fact, October is one of the most productive seasons for a variety of species, according to several guides. […]

Striped bass fishing on Lake Moultrie has been fabulous since the season reopened Oct. 1.

Early striper season on Lake Moultrie has been fantastic

Terry Madewell

The four-month closed season for striped bass on Lake Moultrie has finally ended, and the fishing action has been wild. […]

Bob Matthews has been catching plenty of largemouth bass from the Santee River in recent weeks.

Santee River largemouths loving stable water for a change

Terry Madewell

After a summer of continuous flooding and unstable water, the Santee River has stabilized, but the bass fishing is anything but stable. According to one local expert it’s sensational. […]

Cory Christensen killed this 155-inch Berkeley County buck the afternoon of Sept. 29.

Bonneau hunter kills huge Berkeley County buck

Dan Kibler

A late-September goose hunt kept Cory Christensen from killing a huge buck near his home in Bonneau – for a day, that is. […]

Expect excellent fishing when you target crappie on the Santee Cooper lakes in the fall.

Sack Santee’s fall slabs – It isn’t spring, but fall is an awfully good month to catch crappie on South Carolina’s Santee Cooper lakes

Terry Madewell

Crappie can be caught throughout the year, but there are times and places when the fishing can extraordinary. The Santee Cooper lakes and October are that ideal combination of place and time. […]

Santee Cooper's blue catfish, like this one Carroll Tanner and Jean Robertson are showing off, are in a long period of decline that biologists attribute to the decade-long drought.

SCDNR biologists point to drought as key to decline in Santee Cooper blue catfish

Pat Robertson

The blue catfish population, which has supported a tremendous recreational and commercial fishery in the Santee Cooper lakes for almost 50 years, is in serious decline, and biologists think a near-decade long drought may be the cause. […]

Ronnie Jackson and Jim Strong (left and center) killed this 12-foot-4 alligator in Santee Cooper's Sparkleberry Swamp, then got help from Danny Reynolds (right) to load him on a utility trailer for the ride to the processor's.

Sumter hunters strike again; another 12-foot Santee gator bites the dust

Brian Cope

On Thursday night, Sept. 19, Jim Strong and Ronnie Jackson became the third group of Sumter outdoorsmen to harvest a 12-foot-plus alligator in less than a week, and like the previous two, this one also came from the upper reaches of Santee Cooper. […]

Joe Parmenter and Wesley Ridgill killed this 12-foot-5 alligator in the Hickory Top area of the Santee Cooper lakes on Sept. 17.

Another big Santee Cooper gator makes waves

Brian Cope

Two men from Sumter took a 12-foot johnboat on an alligator hunt to the Santee-Cooper lakes on the evening of Sept. 17. While Joe Parmenter and Wesley Ridgill weren’t the most well-equipped hunters, they managed to boat a 12-foot-5 beast that weighed 656 pounds. […]

Mike Colboth, Chris Warren and Ernie Seruya took this 12-foot-2, 820-pound alligator out of the upper end of Lake Marion on Monday, Sept. 16.

Lake Marion produces 820-pound gator that finally dies in hunters’ boat

Brian Cope

Three hunters from Sumter tagged a 12-foot-2, 820-pound alligator on Monday, Sept. 16, while hunting out of Pack’s Landing on Lake Marion. It was an animal that should have measured a good deal longer, but it proved plenty tough in the end — requiring an extra shot after he was in the trio’s boat. […]