Western NC Archives - Page 43 of 73

Sabiki rigs can be versatile tools to catch all kinds of fish

Craig Holt

White perch populations have expanded exponentially in many of the Carolina’s large impoundments. […]

Striper fishermen often use planer boards with live baits to help spread them out, away from the boat, and cover a wider swath of water.

Planer boards make trolling work

Taylor Pardue

It wouldn’t be possible or effective to run a trolling setup without planer boards on the outer lines. […]

Lake Hickory has three main species of baitfish that fishermen use when targeting striped bass: (from top to bottom), gizzard shad, threadfin shad, blueback herring.

Live bait equals better bites

Taylor Pardue

Nothing beats the real thing when it comes to bait. Lure manufacturers have spent millions of dollars researching and trying to replicate the movements of baitfish, but a cast net can provide the real thing over and over again. […]

Trout in delayed-harvest waters better watch out; anglers can start keeping them on Saturday, June 6.

Keeper season begins Saturday on delayed-harvest trout waters

NCWRC Release

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open 31 trout streams and two lakes classified as delayed-harvest trout waters under hatchery-supported regulations on Saturday, June 6. […]

Colt Bass prepares to release a striped bass back into Lake Hickory.

Stalk Hickory’s stripers – Head for the upper end of Lake Hickory for some great late-spring striper action

Taylor Pardue

Being 100 miles inland at the foot of the Appalachian mountains, mere yards from the Hickory Regional Airport, Lake Hickory might seem is an unlikely spot for trophy striped bass, but many anglers are finding this sliver of a lake to be a good bet for landing quality fish. […]

A backcountry fishing trip requires a good bit more safety gear than a half-day stroll alongside a stream that’s closer to civilization.

Be prepared for anything in backcountry

Jeff Burleson

The mountains contain mile after mile of trout streams tumbling from the steep slopes of the Appalachians, with thriving populations of wild trout, beckoning anglers to try the backcountry. […]

Diamond-shaped signs designate how mountain trout streams are managed in North Carolina.

Stay legal: know your diamonds

Jeff Burleson

Trout-fishing regulations in North Carolina can change from stream to stream and even from one part of a stream to another. […]

Mike Kesselring fishes Rough Creek in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

A fly in the ointment

Robert Satterwhite

Mike Kesselring of Bryson City has, by his count, 7,500 trout flies, a collection that includes dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, streamers and terrestrials that he has accumulated over 25 years, and, he said, “The only flies I’ve ever tied were at the end of a tippet.” […]

Finding this big flathead catfish floating lazily next to his family's Lake Norman boat dock, 10-year-old Nick Holjak netted the fish and pulled it in. After taking a few pictures, he released the fish, which calmly swam away.

Lake Norman boy, 10, nets 4-foot flathead sunning near family dock

Justin Parker

Nick Holjak often fishes from his family’s dock at Lake Norman, or in a nearby cove from a makeshift boat, but the 10-year-old wasn’t even holding a rod when he landed the kind of fish many anglers spend their lives pursuing: a flathead catfish that weighed close to 40 pounds. […]

Wild trout in backcountry streams are not always pint-sized. Without much regular fishing pressure, fish like this rainbow can grow to trophy sizes.

Go off the beaten path for North Carolina’s mountain trout

Jeff Burleson

Western North Carolina contains some of the most remote places east of the Mississippi River, with absolutely breathtaking views from every angle. […]