With the cooler weather that we’ve been having, just about every living thing in eastern North Carolina is operating in fall mode. They’re getting ready for really cold weather.

Whitetail deer are in full rut, the snakes are crawling around looking for a comfortable place to hole-up for the winter and other forms of wildlife are “bulking up” for the shortage of food that usually accompanies the winter.

Fish are no different. Red drum, speckled trout, largemouth bass and various types of sunfish are hungry and taking advantage of the abundance of food that usually precedes the colder weather.

Outdoor sportsmen are in somewhat of the same loading up mode, as our hunting and fishing is the best this time of the year. It’s time to load the freezers with wild game and fish.

Wasp, yellow jackets and other stinging insects are also building secure nests and preparing for the cold. Their nests are sometimes underground (as in the case of most yellow jackets) or hanging under the eves of our homes or barns. Frequently, anglers find these nests hanging on branches near the water where they’re fishing.

Years ago, I watched as another fisherman used a branch to knock wasp nest off branches near a lake. He’d knock the nest off then quickly run away from the adult wasp that were not exactly happy at having their nest disturbed. After 20 or 30 minutes, he’d return and observe the area to be sure that the adult wasps were finally moving on. Then, he’d retrieve the nest and work his way back to his boat.

The nest was full of several hundred white-capped cells and each one contained a single white larval wasp. The angler simply kept the nest on the seat of his boat and when he needed fresh bait, he’d reach over and rip the white cap off one of the cells and extract the half-inch-long larva.

Using his brim pole with a very small hook attached to the line he simply impaled the tiny larva on the hook and flipped the baited hook into the water. It didn’t take long before the small float he was using on the line to disappeared under water. Setting the hook, he then pulled a hefty looking bluegill into the boat. He then re-baited fish hook and threw the freshly baited hook back into the honey hole. Within an hour, he’d put more than a dozen fresh pan fish on the stringer and quit for the day.

Using larval insects isn’t exactly new to a lot of freshwater fishermen. For years, the bait shops have been carrying small containers of maggots (larval flies) to fishermen, who learned long ago that fish (particularly pan fish) really liked this bait. These maggots were not the type of “smelly” maggots you find around rotted meat. They were specially raised in clean conditions and sold specifically for anglers to use for bait. Fishermen from the more rural areas soon caught on to the more readily available source of larval insects located close by to their favorite fishing hole. A long stick to knock a nest down and some good shoes to facilitate a swift retreat from the angry stinging insects produced a handy container of bait, with each individual bait holding a tiny cell awaiting it turn on a small hook.

Really successful pan-fishermen learned to use light-weight monofilament line and leader, small sinker tiny hook and with a specialized float to convince the fish that the morsel of food they were about to bite was safe to eat. The small, specialized float is designed to allow the fish to take the bait and hook in its mouth and attempt to swallow it without alerting the fish that trouble is on the other end of the line. The small float can be easily pulled beneath the water with little resistance.

Many fishermen in eastern North Carolina still take advantage of the numerous roadside canals and waterways that are easily accessible. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission launching areas usually have fishing docks close by and these ramps and the docks are handicapped accessible. Times may be tough, but with a small amount of cash outlay (tackle, licenses, etc.) anglers can gain access to these areas and manage to put good food on their tables. With a little effort, there is plenty of fresh, live bait close by and it’s free for the taking.