DECEMBER 2024
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CarolinaSPORTSMAN.com
LATE SEASON
LATE SEASON
STRATEGIES
STRATEGIES
BEAT THE
BEAT THE
BUCK BUZZER
BUCK BUZZER
BAG-A-BUCK
BAG-A-BUCK
UPDATE
UPDATE
DECEMBER 2024
DECEMBER 2024
DEER
DEER
DEER
DOGGING FOR
CRAPPIE
IN THE COLD
DEER
DEER
DEER
DEER
DEER
DEER
CarolinaSportsman.com
December 2024 |Carolina Sportsman
DEPARTMENTS:
31 NC Hunting Regulations
33 SC Hunting Regulations
69 Sportsman Showcase
70 Hunting/Fishing Scrapbook
74 Sportsman Astro Tables/Advertiser Index
CONTENTS
CAROLINA SPORTSMAN (USPS #012969) is
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Sportsman, PO Box 1199, Boutte, LA 70039-1199.
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Sportsman. EDITORIAL information and guidelines
can be obtained by emailing Brian Cope at brianc@
carolinasportsman.com.
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Volume 31 | No 12
www.CarolinaSPORTSMAN.com
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Brian Cope, brianc@carolinasportsman.com
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44
CRAPPIE
TACTICS
FOR COLD
WEATHER
ON THE COVER:
Case Wiles killed this
10-point buck in Barnwell
County, SC during an evening
hunt in mid-September.
FEATURES:
14 BIG BUCKS CONTINUE TO FALL
Carolina deer hunters keep the hits coming
▶By Brian Cope
22 BEAT THE BUZZER
Use these tips to stock the freezer before the
clock runs out on deer season
▶By Phillip Gentry
28 DEER DOGGING ON
PUBLIC LAND
Deer hunting with dogs is alive and well in
the Carolinas
▶By Mike Marsh
36 BAG THAT LATE-SEASON
TROPHY
Don’t give up on deer hunting in the f nal
days of the season
▶By Terry Madewell
44 CRAPPIE TACTICS FOR
COLD WEATHER
Don’t overlook crappie when it’s cold
▶By Terry Madewell
20 FULL DRAW By Pete Rogers
34 ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN
By Pat Robertson
50 SANTEE STRINGER
By Terry Madewell
52 GREENER PASTURES
By Jeff Burleson
56 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY
By Phillip Gentry
58 LUNKER LINES By Davy Hite
62 SOUND & SEA By Chris Burrows
64 COOKING ON THE
WILD SIDE By Capt. Jerry Dilsaver
68 SPORTSMAN’S NOTEBOOK
By Brian Cope
6 HATCHERY HEAVILY
DAMAGED
OUTDOOR UPDATE:
54 Dragging for blues
55 Stripers sizzling at Russell
60 Badin bass beatdown
61 WNC’s rivers are recovering
66 Mixed messages
67 Specks are December specials
FISHING HOTSPOTS:
COLUMNS:
28
DEER DOGGING ON
PUBLIC LAND
Volume 31 | Number 12 | December 2024
Carolina Sportsman| December 2024
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CarolinaSportsman.com
December 2024 |Carolina Sportsman
Carolina Sportsman| December 2024
looding and landslides during Hurricane
Helene caused extensive damage at NCWRC’s
Armstrong State Fish Hatchery, located in
McDowell County.
According to NC Wildlife officials, some of the hatch-
ery’s trout escaped during the flooding, but the major-
ity of the 600,000 fish died due to the compromised
water supply.
The hatchery is closed indefinitely and requires major
repairs before reopening.
Luckily, the Bobby N. Setzer, Table Rock, and Marion
State Fish hatcheries are all fully operational after
receiving limited damage during the storm.
The Bobby N. Setzer hatchery’s previously planned
renovation will be delayed until the Armstrong facility
is back to full operation.
Stockings of trout throughout the state’s waters will
continue in areas that are deemed fit.
“Staff will continue to evaluate Delayed Harvest
Trout Water locations for accessibility to anglers,” said
Assistant Chief of Inland Fisheries Corey Oakley. “Every
effort is being made to stock all accessible locations so
that anglers, both from Western North Carolina, and
those who visit, can enjoy Public Mountain Trout Water
streams in areas unaffected by Hurricane Helene.”
More information about trout stockings, and about
the repairs at Armstrong State Fish Hatchery, can be
found at ncwildlife.org/trout. ■
Bag-A-Buck
Contest
underway
Don’t forget to post photos of your bucks in the
Carolina Sportsman Bag-A-Buck Contest to be
eligible to win monthly prizes and our Grand
Prize.
To enter or see deer that have been entered,
log onto
www.carolinasportsman.com/bag-a-buck
UPDATE
OUTDOOR
Brian Cope
with
HATCHERY HEAVILY DAMAGED
NC’S ARMSTRONG STATE FISH HATCHERY NEEDS EXTENSIVE REPAIRS
Brian Cope of Borden
S.C., is the editor of
Carolina Sportsman
Magazine and
CarolinaSportsman.
com. You can reach
him at brianc@
carolinasportsman.com.
Trout hatcheries play a
big role in NC’s streams,
rivers and lakes.
Waterways
deemed safe
throughout
western NC are
receiving trout
stockings, despite
damage to one of
the state’s biggest
trout hatcheries.
CarolinaSportsman.com
December 2024 |Carolina Sportsman
Western North Carolina is a popular travel destination for
Christmas, and for the winter in general. Aside from snow
skiing and snow tubing, hunting and fishing remain popular
this time of year.
But the damage from Hurricane Helene will disrupt some
of that travel this month. Don’t let that stop you from enjoy-
ing the great activities and events offered in the region
though. Businesses are open, and relying on visitors to help
them make up for time lost during the aftermath of the
storm.
Most highways in western NC have reopened, but a few
remain closed, or at least have restrictions. The following
roads are of particular note:
•
I-40 is closed in both directions from Mile Marker 20 to
Mile Marker 0 at the Tennessee state line.
•
I-26 has reopened at the Tennessee state line with one
lane open in both directions.
Alternate route recommendations throughout the region
are available at DriveNC.gov. ■
TRAVELING TO WNC?
ailey Harrell killed a black phase fox squirrel at North Caro-
lina’s Sandhills Game Land on Oct. 26 during a hunt with
some friends.
Leaving from Granville County around 4:30 a.m., Harrell and
friends Landrum Carver and Austin Williams arrived at the Game
Land around 6:30. Then they hiked into an area that Carver had
seen fox squirrels the year before. They spotted a few of their
intended quarry right away.
“We saw three fox squirrels, but they were all too far away for a
clean shot,” said Carver.
After trying that spot with no luck for a little while, they decided
to relocate.
“We traveled to the other side and Austin spotted a fox squirrel
at the top of a dead pine tree,” he said.
That’s when they saw a different type of squirrel. And it wasn’t
the more common gray squirrel.
“We thought the fox squirrel made it into a nest at the fork of the
tree, so I hit the squirrel call a few times to try and lure him out,”
said Landrum. “But sur-
prisingly, a flying squirrel
poked his head out.”
After looking around
the tree a little more, they
finally saw a fox squirrel
in range.
“After a while, we spot-
ted the black fox squirrel,
flat on the shady side of
the tree,” he said.
Harrell had the best shot
at the animal, so he took
one shot, and the squirrel
came crashing down.
Fox squirrels are more
abundant in areas that
are rich in pine trees,
unlike gray squirrels,
which prefer hardwood
trees, or at least a mixture
of hardwoods and pines.
They come in several dif-
ferent color phases.
Sandhills Game Land,
which is located in Rich-
mond County, NC, is a
60,000 acre parcel, and is
widely known through-
out the United States
as a prime example of
longleaf pine habitat.
For hunting regulations
at Sandhillls, visit www.
ncwildlife.org. ■
BAILEY HARRELL KILLS
BLACK FOX SQUIRREL
Bailey Harrell killed this black fox
squirrel at Sandhills Game Land.
Carolina Sportsman| December 2024
UPDATE
OUTDOOR
rayson Smith of Browns Summit, NC
killed a Guilford County giant buck that
has been green-scored at 160 inches.
The young hunter entered his buck in the Caro-
linaSportsman.com Bag-A-Buck Contest in early
November, and won the contest for that month.
Smith shot the buck with his Mission by
Mathews Crossbow MXB 400 during a mid-Octo-
ber hunt. He had a long history with the buck,
observing him on trail cameras for the previous
three years, and seeing him on the hoof more
than once, including during a hunt in 2023 when
Smith had a clean shot at the deer.
“During 2023, this deer that we’d nicknamed ‘Big Mark’ walked
out into the food plot and fed through our soybean field,”
he said. “I knew it was him, but when he turned his head, I saw
that he had broken off his beam at his G2. I didn’t want to shoot
a deer this big but all broken up, so I made the decision to let
him go.”
Another buck, a nontypical that Smith had an even longer his-
tory with, made that decision a little easier. He made that buck
his main target for the rest of the 2023 season, and it panned out
for him perfectly.
“I was fortunate enough to harvest the 157-inch nontypical on
Dec. 9 of last year, and that closed a 6-year history book of that
deer,” he said.
Throughout the offseason, Smith continued feeding his deer
herd, hoping Big Mark would stick around and make it through
the winter.
“On July 23, I got my first photo of him of 2024. He was in full
velvet and had cleaned up into a giant 8 with a small kicker off
Young hunter’s buck
green-scored 160 inches
his G2,” he said.
Fast forward to this season, and Smith almost got a shot at the
buck, but he wasn’t comfortable with the angle of the shot, so he
held off on shooting.
Then on the afternoon of Oct. 14, Smith was hunting from an
elevated lock-on stand in a section of hardwoods overlooking
laydowns and white oaks when he finally pulled the trigger on
Big Mark.
After seeing three bucks walking out of range, Smith felt sure
one was his target buck. So he sat there the remainder of the
hunt feeling dejected.
“Then around 6:55, I heard something make a loud cracking
noise like it was coming through the laydowns. I looked up and a
deer was right there at 25 yards,” he said. “I could tell immediately
it was Big Mark.”
Smith shot the buck, gathered a search party, and found it.
“I want to thank the Lord, my dad, and Austin Busick,” he said.
“This was really special, and something I’ll never forget.” ■
Grayson Smith killed this 160-class
buck in Guilford County, NC, and won
the November Bag-A-Buck Contest.
GRAYSON SMITH
WINS NOVEMBER
BAG-A-BUCKWINNER
Coastal
Waterfowl Hunting
in North Carolina
• 1/2 DayDuck Hunt
• Full Day Duck Hunt
• Duck/Swan Combo Hunts
• Float Blinds and Marsh
Blind hunts available
No Meals or Lodging Included
Reservations for Lodging Provided.
Capt. Clay McPherson • 252-333-2279
www.AboveCleveladventures.com
Coastal
Waterfowl Hunting
in North Carolina
Call Me
Now!
CarolinaSportsman.com
December 2024 |Carolina Sportsman
Carolina Sportsman| December 2024
10
Elliot Newsome bagged this buck
in Alendale County, SC. It’s the first
deer he’s ever killed.
Case Wiles killed this big buck
in Barnwell County, SC
Cole Carr shot this buck in Stokes
County, NC in late October.
Donnie Lee was hunting in
Brunswick County, NC when
he tagged this buck.
Austin Shadburn killed this buck in Spartanburg County,
SC. His two sons are posing with it here.
ON THE
COVER
SPORTSMAN’S
BIG BUCK GALLERY