South Central NC Archives - Page 42 of 124

A good pair of polarized sunglasses, like these worn by guide Garrett Lacy, makes seeing schools of reds much easier in January.

Checklist for January redfish

Anglers who hit the water in January often say it’s easy to catch redfish, and for those with the right ingredients, it might be. Stock up with these key items, and it can be easy for you too. […]

Spinning reels in the 2500 to 3000 class spooled with braided line are a perfect match for winter redfish.

Medium-action tackle is the ticket for January reds

Brian Cope

Spinning gear is great for redfish, and as long as you set your drag properly and aren’t tossing baits deep under docks, you don’t need to use very heavy-duty rods, reels or fishing line. […]

Lake Wylie’s population of blue catfish is expanding in terms of numbers and the size of fish being caught.

Lake Wylie’s catfish from a biological perspective

Terry Madewell

It’s one thing to have fishermen tout a lake as being great for a certain species, but taking a look from a scientific and biological perspective adds depth to that analysis. […]

Using planer boards allows fishermen trolling lures or slow-trolling live baits to cover a much wider area on either side of the boat.

Planer boards adapt well for striped bass

Craig Holt

Maynard Edwards is one of North Carolina’s supreme tinkerers when it comes to discovering new and effective fishing techniques. […]

Warmer weather might move crappie up and into brush piles, where deep-jigging with a single curlytail is productive.

In January, think cold for long-lining Badin Lake crappie

Dusty Wilson

Although long-line trolling is the goal when suspended crappie are the target, it is always possible that a mild December or a series of warm fronts could cause crappie to hang up in the deep brush they’ve been calling home rather than transitioning to open water. […]

Vertically tight-lining minnows and jigs from the bow of the boat allows anglers to target in extremely deep water.

Tight-line for tough Badin Lake crappie

Dusty Wilson

“l’ll do whatever I need to do to catch crappie in winter,” said guide Maynard Edwards, and if January turns off bitter cold, that might just mean chasing them all the way to the bottom of Badin Lake. […]

17-year-old Mt. Island angler Nick Roser caught this hawg on Jan. 10 in a cove that was protected from the wind. The bass weighed over 9-pounds.

17-year-old angler catches 9.3-pound bass in Mt. Island Lake

Brian Cope

Nick Roser was catching a few small bass on Jan. 10 at Mountain Island Lake, but the wind was blowing hard, so he decided to find a cove in hopes of getting out of the 15-mph gusts. […]

Andrea and Abbi Jordan show off a nice lowcountry redfish they caught recently with Capt. Rick Percy of Reel Chance Charters.

Lowcountry redfish bite is hot on plastic shrimp under popping corks

Brian Cope

Winter has finally shown up in the lowcountry, and because redfish don’t mind the cold, neither should anglers. It’s a great time of year to catch plenty of these fish, including some big ones. […]

Carson Orellana caught this bass, and dozens of others, in a two-day period in shallow water on Lake Norman over the New Year's holiday.

Lake Norman bass biting strong in shallow water on these lures

Dan Kibler

The calendar shouted “Happy New Year”, but the water-temperature display on the screen of Carson Orellana’s Lowrence depth finder said 61.7 degrees. […]

Nice redfish aren’t that difficult to find in the gin-clear waters around Charleston in January, because they gang up in huge schools that are relatively easy to locate.

Go to school on January redfish

Brian Cope

Addison Rupert was pointing, trying to get his client to see what he was seeing. […]