November 2016 Archives - Carolina Sportsman

When the corresponding food source is in season, food-attractant scents can be used to direct deer into specific areas of a feeding zone.

The lowdown on food attractants

Anyone who has ventured into the woods with gun or bow in hand has considered a strategy of hunting deer based around feeding preferences: natural, planted or dumped out on the ground. But have you ever considered a hunting strategy based on the scent of food? […]

October and November are prime times to fish live baits for king mackerel within just a few miles of North Carolina’s beaches.

How to set up a kite rig for kings

Craig Holt

Setting up a boat to fish for king mackerel with kites isn’t complicated. […]

A set of quality binoculars can give hunters a tremendous advantage when hunting cutovers.

Good glass is good judgement when hunting cutovers

Pete Rogers

Good optics are a must for hunting clear-cut areas. The need to search for deer in the briars and brambles that swallow them in these areas is essential. […]

The short leader and circle hook of a Lupton rig may be the best choice for surf anglers targeting big redfish.

Wire may help with sharks, but it’s not the leader of choice for surf anglers targeting reds

Phillip Gentry

A question that is often debated by anglers is whether or not the terminal end of your surf-fishing line should consist of heavy monofilament or wire. […]

Enhanced hearing can help hunters identify and locate deer in cutover areas.

Make a big noise

Pete Rogers

Hearing enhancement is often overlooked when hunting clear-cuts. How can it help when I’m hunting animals I don’t expect to see at close ranges? But it’s common to hear hunters say, “I heard the deer before I saw him when he was walking through the clear-cut. It sounds like paper tearing.” […]

Does the moon trigger the whitetail rut?

Craig Holt

It’s an age-old, chicken-and-egg question with an answer that seems important because it’s generally accepted by old-time hunters. But likely it’s meaningless. […]

Don’t overshoot your best duck-hunting areas; hunting pressure will cause ducks of every species to pick up and move.

Hunting pressure is kiss of death for waterfowl success

Jeff Burleson

For diehard duck hunters, every hour of the season is an opportunity to fill a limit. However, too much pressure on the same flocks of wood ducks and other species can lead to zeros on successive hunts. […]

The decreasing amount of daylight in a 24-hour period, aka, the photoperiod, has a big impact on the timing of waterfowl migration, even among homebodies like wood ducks.

Know what affects duck migrations

Jeff Burleson

Duck season that come in before December are often overlooked by many hunters because of other hunt seasons, warm weather or just waiting for the big push of migratory ducks after Christmas. […]

Pro angler Matt Arey fishes only suspending jerkbaits; to add weight to make them suspend, he’ll change out hooks for ones a size larger.

Suspending jerkbaits more common than in the past

Pete Anderson

Deep inside my tackle box, there is a Rapala floating minnow that’s a victim of a late 1980s how-to article. Above the front hook, I drilled three holes and inserted a split shot in each, then sealed the wounds with epoxy. At the time, it was one of only a few ways that anglers could make their jerkbaits suspend. […]

Bass pro Andy Montgomery catches his best jerkbait bass on the lower end of Lake Wylie, where the water is less stained.

Catch more bass by understanding Wylie’s shad

Pete Anderson

Find the shad, and you’ll find the bass. That well-worn wisdom is true on Lake Wylie, especially in the winter. But to find the shad, it helps to know a little about them. […]