Volume 16 Number 3 - March 2009

FEATURES:

	2009 Saltwater Forecast Stocks remain unchanged, but that’s mixed news for anglers and coastal fisheries. The news for North Carolina saltwater fishermen and resource watchers this year continues a familiar pattern — it’s a mixed bag with few changes from 2008. ... Craig Holt

	Earning Your Stripes March on Badin Lake can mean great action on striped bass. In 1944, a newly married Marine Corps pilot was ferrying a Navy B-25 Bomber from a munitions supply station in Ohio to Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station. ... Phillip Gentry

	New Kind of Speck Fishing This Jacksonville guide is dialed into gator trout. The best saltwater fishing usually occurs behind the dunes along North Carolina’s coast during the early summer or fall months. ... Craig Holt

	River of Many Faces The Nantahala offers anglers choices of wild, stocked, hatchery-supported, delayed-harvest, freestone and tailrace trout. As the river’s swift water roars through the rugged topography of western North Carolina, it cuts an impressive gorge through the Earth’s crust. ... Richard Bernabe

	The Redfish Beach Boogie Early spring fishing just off deserted beaches will make anglers dance. Gloves, ski masks and heavy coats were the order of the day as Capt. Stuart Caulder zipped out of Masonboro Inlet and headed up the beach to look for schools of redfish feeding in the late winter surf. ... Jerry Dilsaver

	‘Rock’ Not a Hard Place High Rock Lake has rebounded to become the Piedmont’s top crappie spot, especially for dock ‘shooters.’ After the exceptional drought of 2002 that dropped High Rock Lake more than 21 feet below full pool, many anglers pondered the fate of the lake’s once wonderful fishery. ... Tony Garitta



	State experts say there's good news and bad news for saltwater stocks; for High Rock crappie anglers, however, the news is all good. Photo By Ann Taylor

COLUMNS:

Backlashes
Why prime pump when well is dry
Craig Holt

Fish Like a Pro
Will any rod do? Not necessarily
Dustin Wilks

Greener Pastures
Shed hunting improves your trophy chances
Jeff Burleson

Head for the Mountains
It’s ideal time to head for a trout stream
Robert Satterwhite

High Tides and Tall Tails
Towing regs revisited: Where do we stand?
Jeff Samsel

Livewell
Norman drawing big fishing crowds
Tony Garitta

Lunker Lines
Catch one and soon, your limit’s done
David Fritts

To read everything from the March 2009 issue of North Carolina Sportsman Magazine, download the digital edition today.

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