Volume 14 Number 3 - March 2007

FEATURES:

	A Sight to Behold Anglers who ignore the Crystal Coast during early spring are missing some of the year’s best fishing for red drum, including sight angling and fly casting. Missing the tourists who flock to its beaches and waterways for six months out of the year, Carteret County can be kind of empty during the winter, especially the waters of the Beaufort and North River marshes. ... Dan Kibler

	Cabin-Fever Beater Head offshore from any southeastern port to find great bottom fishing during late winter and early spring. When cabin fever gets to you, and you reach the point you have to get out and clear your sinuses in the salt air, an offshore bottom-fishing trip is as close as it gets to finding a sure-fire cure. ... Jerry Dilsaver

	Cape Fear’s No. 1 Spot King’s Bluff lock and dam is top destination for blue cats at the state’s biggest river. Jackie Blanchard made a half-circle into the parking lot at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boating-and-picnic area at Lock and Dam No. 1 at King’s Bluff in Bladen County. ... Mike Marsh

	Poor Man’s Perch A trolling technique that catches white perch at Lake Wylie also will nail anything else that swims in the lake. I pressed the record button on my micro-cassette recorder so Charlie Johnson of Flat Bottom Guide Service could tell me about poor man’s trolling when we were interrupted by the cry, “Grab the rod behind you,” followed by another outburst: “There’s ... Tony Garitta

	Pounded Flounder The DMF says recreational anglers are hitting flounder too hard when commercial netters land more fish by a 10-to-1 ratio. Flounder are the most popular sportfish in saltwater. But their increasing popularity, as the target of a recreational outing and as a tasty food fish, has been keeping the flounder populations depressed in North Carolina. ... Mike Marsh

	Shed Heads More and more hunters are getting into the sport of finding shed antlers after the deer season. If you’ve never done it, you don’t know what you’re missing. Hunting shed antlers has become a popular activity in the South over the last few years. ... Cliff Covington

	Sonlite Specks Jacksonville’s Charles Howard spreads the good news of great inshore trout fishing at the New River, among other topics. Jacksonville residents once knew Charles Howard as “the flower man.” ... Craig Holt

	Sweet Fish of Spring Some N.C. mountain lakes have good numbers of walleyes; catching them proves the worth of an angler. The late Luther Turpin was widely and rightly hailed as the guru of Fontana Lake smallmouth. ... Jim Casada

	Three Easy Pieces Bass anglers who want to test their skills at a major impoundment should divide Kerr Lake into sections and learn to play one part at a time. Long before I moved to North Carolina, I had heard of Buggs Island lake. Buggs Island, technically John H. Kerr Reservoir, had a reputation for massive largemouth bass and prime spring fishing. With the passage of time, I have not ... Tim Mead

	Trash-Talkin’ Toms Try these tactics to improve your chances of bagging a longbeard at public hunting lands surrounding Kerr Lake. April and May are special times for hunters. Many die-hard bass anglers who relish fishing the spawn have given up that activity for calling keen-eyed Eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) in the red bud-laden, ... Marc N. McGlade

	WNC lakes have some odd fish Western North Carolina lakes contain a veritable smorgasbord of gamefish, some common to lakes around the state, some found only in high-mountain lakes, and a few that are specific to only a couple of mountain lakes. ... Robert Satterwhite