The Sun News of Myrtle Beach, SC has published the 911 calls concerning the case of Tyler Doyle, who went missing on Jan. 26, 2023 during a duck hunting trip out of Little River, SC.
Numerous rumors persisted about the case, but law enforcement officials stated numerous times throughout the search that no foul play was suspected.
Karen Nielsen killed a giant buck in Alamance County, NC during the 2022 deer hunting season. She hauled her mount of the buck to the 2023 Dixie Deer Classic where it officially scored 170 4/8 inches.
Nielsen won the Best in Show Award for the buck, as well as the Female Muzzleloader Award for Nontypical deer. The hunter, from Burlington, NC, killed the buck, a 10-pointer, on Nov. 5 with a 25-yard shot from her Wolf .50-caliber muzzleloader.
Mackenzie Alexander of Lilesville, NC got her first hunting adrenaline rush on Nov. 19, 2022 when she shot this 8-point buck.
“It was a frigid morning at 7:54 a.m. She had already passed up two does when this 8-pointer came out. He flew up in the air when she shot him. He only made it about 10 feet from where he was shot,” said her dad, Justin Alexander.
“It was her first adrenaline rush. She’s ready for more already!” he said.
Team Hooked Up took first place in the Nov. 5, 2022 Southeastern Catfish Club tournament out of Lake Wylie. The team, made up of David Aycoth and Colby Nance, pocketed $2480 for the win.
Aycoth and Nance brought a limit of 2 fish to the scaled totaling 70 pounds. Their bag was anchored by the Big Fish of the Tournament, which weighed 51.67 pounds and netted them another $900.
Team SBG took second place. Mitch Williams and Wyatt Williams won $1380, weighing in 60.62 pounds of fish. They also walked away with another $380 check for their 45.35-pound fish which took second place in the Big Fish award.
Third place went to Team Carolina Blues, made up of Joshua Coggins and Kyle Hefner. They weighed in a total of 58.55 fish, winning $820.
In fourth place, and winning $560 for 55.81 pounds was Team Whoppy Jaw’d — Micah Chappell and Jeremy Jackson.
Team Craig, made up of Casey, Larry and Luke Craig, won $280 for their bag weighing 51.66 pounds.
Click here to see the Southeastern Catfish Club’s full schedule and other information.
If you don’t mind sweating while you fish — and you will sweat here — you’ll find your share of stripers (and hybrids) willing to make it all worth it at Clarks Hill during the heat of summer.
While some days can provide that “catching them on back-to-back casts” action, it’s usually less of a frenzy than that. But you’ll have enough action to keep coming back. And speaking of sweating, you actually want it hot enough that you’ll be sweating profusely. That’s because the hotter it is, the more water they release from the Lake Russell Dam, cooling the waters of Clarks Hill enough that the baitfish and stripers stack up there.
This concentrates the fish into several hundred yards of the dam, where the stripers constantly patrol, chasing and slashing at schools of baitfish. Topwater lures shine here, and can make it a day to remember for anglers.
It’s okay to sleep late
This is also the type of fishing that doesn’t require getting up early, so forget about beating the heat by arriving at daybreak. It takes the noon sun to get it hot enough for them to open the gates at the dam, which provides more energy to all the air conditioners in the nearby towns. Opening those gates allows the water from the cool depths of Russell to pour in, dropping the water temperature significantly and turning the bite on like a light switch.
A good strategy is to get your boat in an eddy or if you’ve got one, hit the Spot Lock on your trolling motor to keep yourself in place. Now just watch the water all around you. If you sit in that one spot, schools will appear close enough to cast to, but you can also quickly motor yourself to a lot of other schools that are just out of casting range. Just make sure you don’t get too close to the school.
Walk-the-dog type lures are great here. Spooks, Sammys, Cane Walkers, Skitter Walks — you name it — whatever your favorite brand of walking lure is, it will work wonders here. Whopper Ploppers are also killer lures here, and you will catch your share either burning it straight back or pausing during your retrieve.
Small boats are fine here
Schools will appear for just a minute or two, then go back down. Many anglers simply keep topwater lures tied on, waiting for another school to surface. Casting blindly can also bring some fish up, so that’s always good to try. Another good option when the fish go down is to cast Rat-L-Traps, allow them to sink a few seconds, then start your retrieve. The bites come fewer with this method, but you’ll catch them often enough this way.
Spend a day here and you’ll quickly pick up on exactly where the striper schools usually appear. You’ll learn a little more each time you go. One of the best things about this lake is it’s easy to navigate, even in small boats. It’s a big lake, surface-acre wise, but it’s small in some ways. It’s narrow in most places, especially at the dam, where you can almost have a conversation from one side of the lake to the other.
11-year-old Jacob Gearheart killed a trophy buck in full velvet in Calhoun County, S.C. on Aug. 14, 2021.
Youth hunter Jacob Gearheart of Lexington, S.C. killed a trophy 8-point mainframe buck in Calhoun County on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. He was hunting from a box stand with his dad on Game Zone 3’s Youth Day when he pulled the trigger on the big buck, which was in full velvet.
The young hunter and his dad tried to jumpstart the season that morning, but a buck that was showing up daily on their trail cam did not show up Saturday. So they went to plan B, which was to hunt a different property that evening. The plan worked out well.
After walking in to the stand that evening, they waited patiently until a 9-point buck showed up. Unfortunately, this deer was too young to shoot according to the hunt club rules. So Jacob waited. A doe showed up and almost spoiled the party, blowing dozens of times before running off.
“We kind of thought that was the end of it,” said Jacob’s dad. But they stayed put, and so did the 9-point buck.
Not long after, the 8-point buck showed up. They could tell this deer was bigger and older. Jacob’s dad gave him the go-ahead to shoot the buck when he had a clear shot, which didn’t happen right away.
“I was nervous that he wouldn’t turn broadside,” said the youngster. Luckily, after a few minutes, the deer turned, offering the hunter a clear shot.
“When he pulled the trigger, it dropped. On the spot. It didn’t move,” said Jacob’s dad. “Last year, he shot a buck from the same stand, but we couldn’t find it. So this was a bit of vindication for Jacob,” said his dad.
