Cover Photo by SOC CLAY
Lake Gaston's shallow structure provides great habitat for post-spawn bass.
Cover Photo by JOHN E. PHILLIPS
Red drum are where you find them at N.C.'s southeast coast during May, and that's everywhere.
Cape Fear Conundrum
By Bryan Stange
The time of year Cape Fear-area anglers wait for through a seemingly endless winter is here when the calendar indicates May has arrived.
Warm fronts, longer days and the swollen Gulf Stream have warmed the Atlantic Ocean’s waters at the North Carolina coast this month. The heat from the sun promotes the growth of microscopic organisms, which fuel the food chain. Baitfish and shrimp begin multiplying and gather at North Carolina’s inshore waters.
Stumped at Gaston
By Dan Kibler
Lake Gaston is arguably one of the best lakes in North Carolina on which to fish for spawning bass. It’s big, full of fish, the kinds of little pockets and coves with stumps that attract spawners, and the water level is stable, which keeps fish on the beds for a longer period of time.
So is Gaston also one of the state’s best postspawn lakes?
Tom Foolery
By Terry Madewell
Chasing late-season gobblers can be one of the sport’s greatest challenges. It also can be productive and rewarding, despite popular sentiment among many turkey hunters.
Year of Dusty Fishing
By Tim Mead
Jason Quinn, a Lake Wylie resident and a highly successful professional bass angler, called his wife last year to get information about North Carolina’s drought during a break at an Arkansas conference .
“My wife said all the boat ramps at Lake Wylie were closed,” he said, “all but one.”
Day of the Dolphin By Jerry Dilsaver
Half the Sea Sun Ticket’s trolling lures were still dry when a shiny Penn International howled its “got-one-on” song last May.
The clicker ratcheting of the big trolling reel parlayed a sense of urgency — someone needed to be strapped in a fighting belt to handle this fast-running fish.
Haul the Decks
By Mike Marsh
The air was heavy and hot as the inside of a Turkish steam bath, typical summer weather at Southport’s waterfront.
The only way to defend against copious sweating was to sit in air conditioning or blow-dry it away with a fast boat ride. Yet despite the summer weather, for some anglers, it was about to become Christmas.
The Other Spring Trout
By Bob Goldstein
Weakfish don’t get any respect.
Tar Heels get more excited about spotted sea trout, probably because anglers catch lots of them from the grass beds of Pamlico Sound during the warm season and get runs of big specks at Cape Point each winter.
Fishing Reports
