Top 25 Visited Articles

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The Majik Drum Rig
by Capt. Owen Lupton

What is the purpose of the short leader drum rig with circle hook? That is a legitimate question some of you may have asked. In an effort to save our big red drum, so the spawning stock can increase, the Division of Marine Fisheries closed the season on taking any red drum over 27” in length a few years ago. Since there was an extensive fishery operating in Pamlico Sound on large fish over 27” it became apparent that status q... [Read More]

Author:: Capt. Owen Lupton

The Red Drum - North Carolina's State Fish
by Capt. George Beckwith

When Capt. Owen Lupton and young Rick Cayton caught the first tarpon on a rod and reel in the deeper waters of Pamlico Sound in 1976, a new fishery was created for Pamlico County anglers. The heavy, 20-40 pound gear reserved for offshore excursions through Ocracoke Inlet proved ideal for the newfound tarpon fishing. In the subsequent years, a few local anglers spent thousands of hours battling mosquitoes, dodgi... [Read More]

Author:: Capt. George Beckwith

Spanish Mackerel On Live Bait
by Bill Morris

From late summer through the fall, the Spanish mackerel is one of the most reliable game fish along most of our coast. From the beach, Stingsilvers and small Hopkins spoons are the lures of choice. Pier fishermen swear by Gotcha plugs with gold hooks. Small private boats and large charter vessels alike spend countless hours trolling gold and silver spoons.

Live bait is another way to target Spanish mackerel, especially the big on... [Read More]

Author:: Bill Morris

Restoration of the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River striped bass population has resulted in a world-class fishery enjoyed by thousands of anglers each year. Each spring, beginning in March, striped bass in Albemarle Sound begin their spawning migration up the Roanoke River. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission opens a limited striped bass harvest season on the Roanoke River for anglers who enjoy turning their catches into delicious table fare. Timing of the striped bass harvest season, along wi

... [Read More]

Pompano Profits
by Bill Morris

It’s a common joke that fishermen spend more dollars per-pound on their catch than any market could possibly charge. But if there is one species that might put your ledger into the black, it’s the pompano. These fish — which carry the highest market price in the country — are right now feeding in the surf zone from the Outer Banks south, and the best time to catch them is through the first two weeks of October.

A close cousin to jacks, the Flor... [Read More]

Author:: Bill Morris

Do you have a problem with your present fishing bait or recipe? Some catfish and carp baits are very limited in their attraction and catch results, due to their high proportion of insoluble ingredients. It is in fact, the soluble proportion which truly stimulates the fish most effectively into eating your bait and getting hooked!

For example, you may have a very basic homemade bait which catches a few fish, perhaps a chicken meal based bait with added garlic and honey, bound together by semo... [Read More]

Author:: Tim Richardson

Albemarle Striped Bass
by Capt. Gary Dubiel

North Carolina’s Department of Marine Fisheries (DMF) and Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) have established a complex management system to maintain a massive number of resident striped bass in the Albemarle/Pamlico Sound and Roanoke River. Once reduced to numbers small enough to make recreation fishing hardly worth the effort, “line siders” have now become the shining star of the Tar Heel State’s spring recreational fishery. Achiev... [Read More]

Author:: Capt. Gary Dubiel

If you're anything like me, you where a fishing vest to carry all of your fishing gear. If you do any walking during your fishing trip, a tackle box just doesn't cut it. So you need to wear a fishing vest. You can find them at any decent sporting goods store or of course on the internet. I believe this idea began with fly fishermen (or flea flickers as my mentor used to refer to them), but I'm not positive about that. In any case, it's a very convenient idea, and if flea flickers are the... [Read More]

Author:: Trevor Kugler

If you go into any fishing tackle shop, you will find a plethora of fly fishing flies. In fact, you might find that the shop has an overwhelming amount of fly fishing flies. It can be hard to know where to even start looking, let alone how to know which flies to buy.

To help you out, here are some basic descriptions of some of the major types of fly fishing flies:

Wet Fly Fishing flies

The flies are supposed to resemble certain insects as they would look beneath the surface of the... [Read More]

Author:: Anne Clarke

Submitted by member animaljosh

I have had loads of free time as of late and have been checking out past threads here in the hope of making the days pass faster. I’ve had lots of giggles and gained a lot of insight. There is one subject here that I feel needs some clarification. That subject is reptiles…..specifically snakes (alligators are a close second…) I am going to take this opportunity to try and shed some light on an obviously misunderstood subject. I know it’s hard to “teach old... [Read More]

Author:: NCangler member animaljosh

Surf Fishing the Outer Banks of NC
by Elizabeth Edwards

My first experience surf fishing was with my father on Wrightsville Beach, NC in the 60's. He parked our shiny black Ford Fairlane in a gravel parking lot off the beach and we hiked over the dunes to the surf, carrying rods, buckets, tackle box and various other fishing paraphernalia. I remember him catching bluefish, croakers, puppy drum and flounder as I played in the tidal pools nearby. Later, my grandmother would fry the... [Read More]

Author:: Elizabeth Edwards

As my handle (Luremaker) goes, I make custom freshwater spinner baits, buzz baits, bass jigs, and have my own store line of soft plastics and crankbaits.

The make up of a spinner bait consists of basically three parts:

1. the body or head
2. the blade or blades
3. skirt

Now here is where the fun comes (as I call it) or the confusion, the matching of blades to the heads. There is the Colorado, Willow, Indiana, Tomahawk and the Deep Cup Colorado. The Colorado... [Read More]

Author:: "Lew" Lew's Rod & Reel

Trolling - Methods, Gear and Baits
by Michael Russell

The fact that fish will strike at moving objects has been known to man since the dawn of time. Evidence of this has been found throughout the world. Polynesians troll pearl shell jigs with tortoise-shell hooks from paddle canoes. Other races trolled from a variety of sail and oar propelled vessels, long before the advent of the motor. Now anglers can troll at various speeds and to depths of up to 60 fathoms with long lines... [Read More]

Author:: Michael Russell

If you are new to online Forums then some of the terminology may be confusing and you many not know where to begin to participate in the forums. Our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section is a great resource for learning more about:

• User Maintenance
• General Forum Usage
• Reading and Posting Messages

Just click on one of those links to learn more, but here is a quick primer on participating in our forums.

Definitions:
Category - A group of discussion... [Read More]

Author:: Randy Durham

How to Build Your Own Cricket Trap
By Albert McBee

When I was a kid, my father would choose a weekend for a catfishing trip to Lake Texoma, giving me ample notice to catch lots of trotline bait. The pond I liked to get bait from was full of black perch and bluegill from 3 inches to 3/4 pound each. They liked crickets. Lots of crickets.

It took me an hour after dark to chase and catch a dozen crickets to fish with the following morning. Then the perch ate them so fast that I ran out wi... [Read More]

Author:: Albert McBee

Want to Make an Inexpensive Fish Attracting Lure? Try the CD Flash
by Gary Ralston

What is free and can also serve as an effective fishing lure? Simple; compact discs (CD’s). Whether from AOL, or any other source, a CD comes with at least one highly mirrored surface that easily attracts fish eyes. If you haven’t noticed already, a CD is flexible, plastic and can easily be cut with a pair of scissors. You can create a shape like a fish, long diamond, triangle,“V”, or any shap... [Read More]

Author:: Gary Ralston

Sight Fishing for False Albacore in the Fall
by Bill Morris

Saltwater fly fishing has its roots tangled up with the mangroves’ on the shallow marl-and-turtle grass flats of South Florida. So it may simply be tradition that drives saltwater fly anglers toward “sight fishing”—the technique of seeking out specific fish and attempting to cast right into their feeding window. Sight fishing is most often associated with Florida species--bonefish, permit, and tarpon--but the sport’s p... [Read More]

Author:: Bill Morris

An ancient way of survival turned hobby, fishing, is cherished by many for its relaxing, natural setup. But if you think fishing is all about throwing the line in the water and oozing down in your fold-up chair while getting a tan, think again. Sometimes fishing is hard work! Especially carp fishing. Read on and you’ll find out why…

You don’t have to be an extremely experienced fisherman to recognize this scenario: you prepare for a fruitful day of carp fishing, thinking you got the right bai... [Read More]

Author:: Chris_Braithwaite

We often hear from people that are having problems joining our website because they aren't sure about the registration process. Hopefully we'll cover the basis here for you to make this easier. Let me say up front that registration is free and the process is very quick.

HOW TO REGISTER

1. If you have never registered on our website before simply click on the Register link located in the menu bar near the top of the page.
   
2. Next you will need to enter your Date of Birth. We don

... [Read More]

Author:: Randy Durham

Albemarle Striped Bass
by Capt. Gary Dubiel

The Albemarle-Roanoke estuarine stripers live in a vast area of water during the course of the year. Their wintering grounds are directly to the west of the Northern Outer Banks of North Carolina. Such famous beach towns as Nags Head and Kitty Hawk are a stones through away from outstanding fishing. Although boat anglers have an advantage over wade fisherman, shore anglers do stand a reasonable chance to get into fine striper fishing... [Read More]

Author:: Capt. Gary Dubiel

Bowfin-Mysterious Menace
by Tony Liddle

Until recently I never really put much thought into all of the dogfish that I have caught over the years of hunting bass & panfish. While fishing with the great Eric Allee recently, I asked him, “Eric, what were you referring to when you used the word "bowfin"?” We agreed that he was talking about what I call Dogfish. People may call this interesting breed other names, such as grinnel, blackfish, brindle, mud fish, shoe pike, cypress ba... [Read More]

Author:: Tony Liddle

3 Color Combinations That Drive Fish Wild and Can Help You to Catch Your Limit
by Larry M. Lynch

The most successful fishing lures seem to imitate natural forage either in size, color, action, sounds or a combination of these. Some color schemes may also promote visibility by providing contrast to existing visual conditions that the fish (not you) have. This may help explain why seemingly “strange” or “unorthodox” color combinations catch fish. We don’t see what the fish see.... [Read More]

Author:: Larry M. Lynch

NC Pamlico Slam
by Capt. Gary Dubiel

The mechanical voice of NOAA came across the air ways, “Winds east northeast twenty to twenty five knots for tomorrow.” I dialed the phone to break the bad news to a couple of anglers who had been waiting for six months to tangle with a little tunny at Cape Lookout.

“I know you all came to fish Harkers for albacore,” I said, “but its going to be blowing pretty hard tomorrow. We could give it a try, but if there’s more east than north in the... [Read More]

Author:: Capt. Gary Dubiel

Throwing Cast Nets 6ft and Larger

We will be using cast net throwing instructions for being right handed, which is throwing from left to right in a clockwise fashion.

1. Place the handline loop around your left wrist, coil your handline (approximately 20-30 ft in length) in your left hand, then grab the net at approx. 12" below the horn.
   
2. Again, with your left hand, grab approximately the middle of the net so that you will have the net looping in a circle type shape and it being double

... [Read More]

Author:: Provided by Black Pearl Cast Nets

Night Fishing for Specks - Go On Top When the Bite Slows
by Capt. Gary Ralston

Night feeding speckled trout chasing live shrimp skipping across the surface are exciting to watch and are usually easy to catch. At times their numbers can be quite large and their rapid popping and slurping while feeding can make the water appear as if someone is repeatedly tossing in handfuls of gravel.

Typically, plastic bait tails or double rigged jigs/worms are the number one choice of most n... [Read More]

Author:: Capt. Gary Ralston