Strange goings’ on in the foothills of North Carolina. So strange in fact, a local paper has dedicated a page to mapping sightings of a piebald deer along with a contest to name the creature for a grand prize of ten dollars.
Cleveland County, home of Bridges Barbeque in Shelby, is about an hour west of Charlotte. According to the map, this deer has covered quite a bit of territory, ranging as far as Lake Wylie (southwest of Charlotte) to South Mountains State Park (south of Morganton). The majority of the sightings are in the Shelby-Cherryville-Gastonia triangle.
This may not mean much to you but it sure does to my Mother, who sent me the map. Click here to check it out, it really is kinda neat.
Sightings
North Carolina, oddities, whitetail deer
When the weather cools, thoughts typically turn to whitetails but as soon as the rut passes here in the Carolinas, it’s time to break out the heavy tackle. The annual migration has been a real boom for local charter boats, a winter gold rush that until about fifteen years ago, was unheard of. That’s when the fish began showing up a short ride from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, becoming so huge the state created the T.A.G. program – Tag A Giant – to track these huge fish. Fierce fighters, a single bluefin tuna can bring huge dollars at the dock where Japanese buyers snap them up (I can remember an angler getting $17,000 for a fish in the mid-90s).
The photo above was taken by someone aboard the Pole Position, a 57′ war wagon captained by Gene Ingle and based in Wrightsville Beach. After the jump, check out the fish Gene’s crew caught, splayed out on the deck next to a mate for a size comparison. The crew in the smaller outboard (above and after the jump) are unknown, but they sure have their hands full! These fish were caught off Morehead City, North Carolina on December 5th, 2009.
Thanks to Beach Billy for sending these in!
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Fishing
North Carolina, tuna
If you’ve ever done any kind of fishing, you know that a surefire way to find your prize is to look for a potential food source. This could be checking the hatch to know what fly to use or the structure for what may bring up that bigmouth bass. When it comes to offshore fishing, birds are the key. As baitfish are driven to the surface, birds will pick them off, so if you spot birds diving in a particular location, you can bet it’s a good place to wet a line.
And that’s what happened off Cape Lookout in North Carolina recently, within an easy swim of shore no less. Red drum and spot-tailed bass had driven a buffet of bait to the surface and with the shallow depth and clear water, the entire show was something to see.
Check out the photos after the jump.
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Fishing
North Carolina, saltwater
It took five years to do it, but the state of North Carolina finally confirmed Billy Walkowiak’s 2004 black bear as the 17th largest ever taken in the state.
Billy’s bear had an official weight of 647 pounds and was estimated to be nine years, nine months old. It was shot on a dog hunt in Hyde County, NC, a hotbed for big bears in the state.
The state record is an 880 pound bear taken in 1998 with a shotgun, also on a dog hunt, in Craven County.
Bill had a full-body mount done, check it out after the jump.
As with any records program there are several ties at various weights heavier than his, with a total of 37 bears larger than his.
After the Hunt, Bear
Bear, North Carolina, record
Iredell county rests in the piedmont area of North Carolina, within an hour of the mountains and just northwest of Charlotte. It’s not the first place folks in these parts think of when discussing big NC deer, but any day in the stand sure beats a day at work.
Congratulations to the Iredell hunter who bagged this buck, a trophy in any part of the state.
Deer
North Carolina, whitetail deer
This North Carolina buck was taken on opening day of black powder this season by the neighbor of my brother up in Burlington. No word on the location of his hunting ground, but the northern area of the state is known for big bucks.
Thanks Hal!
Deer
black powder, North Carolina, whitetail deer
Doubletough friend Billy of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina let us know today that the skins from two zebras taken last summer finally arrived from Africa. A frequent contributor to Doubletough Outdoors, Billy is a fine Southern sportsman when he’s not brokering yachts and sportfishing boats. This particular adventure pretty much fell in his lap as a friend won a hunt with Adansonia Safaris but could not go, so Billy jumped at the opportunity.
According to Billy, the locals use zebra meat to feed injured and newborn lions as well as being raised for hunting by foreigners, “they are like cattle there and you would have to be from Africa to understand.”
Check out the finished skins after the jump. They’re going to look great next to his North Carolina-record black bear full-body mount.
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African game
Africa, North Carolina, taxidermy
