Volume 19 Number 7 - July 2012

FEATURES:

	Herding Morehead City’s sheep Underutilized and underrated, convict fish can make for some sweet seafood dinners. Here’s how to put them in your corral. While easing across the no-wake zone at the State Ports in Morehead City, Matt Lamb was paying a lot of attention to just how the tide was moving and how strong it was flowing. He had several buckets of fiddler crabs and sea urchins, and the ... Jerry Dilsaver

	Hot Summer Combo Wrightsville Beach is jumping-off point for great nearshore action on king mackerel, dolphin. The huddle at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s boating-access area at Wrightsville Beach took place before dawn — while there were still enough parking spaces for vehicles. One of the busiest ramps on the coast on weekends, it serves a ... Mike Marsh

	Lake of the Month: Randleman Dam Lake North Carolina’s newest lake is still hot in sizzling weather. When Randleman Regional Reservoir — popularly known as Randleman Dam Lake — opened its gates for the first time at 8 o’clock one morning in March 2010, anglers towing bass boats were ready to go. In fact they’d been ready to go for hours, some ... Craig Holt

	No fear, trout still here! Lower Cape Fear is perfect ‘summer home’ for plenty of specks. Here’s how to catch them. Fishermen have many options in the lower Cape Fear River during the summer, with redfish, flounder and sheepshead available from Snow’s Cut all the way to the Bald Head Island jetties. And low and behold, one of North Carolina’s ... Jeff Burleson

	Ocracoke: End or Beginning? Ocracoke Island is out of the way, but it’s one of North Carolina’s best coastal fisheries, offering a summer smorgasborg for anglers. On the highways that run south from Corolla, the village of Ocracoke is the end of the line on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Other inlets are more-easily accessed; getting to Ocracoke is a test of patience or a relaxing ride, depending on how you ... Bruce Litton

	Surface Sizzlers Most fishermen approach July as a month when bass are deep, but a Shearon Harris expert knows how to reach out and touch them on top. While waiting for a visiting angler, Chili the Wonder Dog took guide Jeff Thomas for a walk around the parking lot at the Merry Oaks boat ramp at Shearon Harris Lake as the sun burned through the daylight fog last July 10. It didn’t ... Craig Holt

	Wet-Dry Bluegill Vacuum Rivers in Northeastern North Carolina produce great bream fishing for anglers who fish both styles of flies. A layer of fog floated above the water, foreshadowing the humidity that sunrise would bring on a July day. Bob Smithwick manuvered between the pilings on the NC 45 bridge, working the throttle and steering levers on his panfish-model Bass ... Mike Marsh