Fishing North Carolina Style

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Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on April 10, 2013 at 8:23pm

Likewise David....I went out late Monday afternoon for a couple hours and although I caught a decent mess, the bite was much slower than today as the temps had just started climbing on Monday....Today was incredible especially after a few clouds rolled in and the sun started to set....the gills especially started rolling on the surface and became very aggressive.......

Comment by David Wester on April 10, 2013 at 8:16pm

Wow! What a trip Jeffrey. Looks like the past couple of days have made a huge difference. I finally made it out Monday morning and only managed 11 gills. Make that a tough 11 gills. I tried multiple colors and bait at every depth. What finally made them interested was a chartreuse/red Roadrunner jig tipped with a mealworm. They were very lathergic and would just barely bite with only the slowest retrieve. Although they were definitely shallower, they were hanging in the slightest drop off when casting toward the bank then a very slow retrieve. The bite was so slight that most would have missed it if you didnt know exactly what you were looking for. Not sure on the water temps since I was without the finder. Although,the fish were much warmer then the last time I was out. It seemed to me that these fish were the brave scouts, as they were only slightly interested, definitely not attacking the bait. Jeffrey, looks like you had a trip for the books. I need to get back out soon. I think you definitely got the season started!

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on April 10, 2013 at 7:55pm

Little did I know what I was in for earlier this afternoon after work when I discovered that the waters of Bagley's Swamp had warmed up to 76 degrees and the fish responded in a big way.......I had an 86 fish trip with 47 Black Crappie up to 14", 36 Coppernose with the big fish @ 10.75" along with a couple straggler YP and a nice largemouth bass....Game on in Carolina!

This 14" Crappie was BFOD

This 10.75" Gill was the big gill of the trip....

Even a couple Yellow Perch were shallow...

A Largemouth had to get in on things...

76 degree water on 4/10/2013....Are you kidding me!

Plenty of Chunky gills in the mix today.....

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on April 10, 2013 at 8:33am

This week's weather will have a pronounced positive impact on the freshwater fishing across North Carolina.....Specifically in the Northeast region, the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds and associated rivers will warm to near 70 degrees or above before settling in the mid 60s for this weekend and beyond which is a great trigger for fish activity.....The churn from the sustained southwest winds will have a boiling affect even warming suspended/staging fish....I expect even a surface bite to come into play at some point very soon as the insect activity has blown up with flowering trees and plants....My tactics in the days ahead will include starting shallow and working out until contacting fish to determine their current positions....Rivers north of the Albemarle Sound such as Yeopim, Perquimans and Pasquotank will be at or just above normal levels and becoming darker by the day despite the chance of a little rain from a passing front this Friday.....The brackish waters could produce a multitude of species from bass, spawning Crappie and the elusive Coppernose Gills which have been holding out for warmer water...It's an exciting time to be a Bluegill/Panfish angler in costal North Carolina and I expect things will heat up on our state's lakes and reservoirs also....Good luck to everyone fishing North Carolina Style!

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on April 8, 2013 at 4:11am

Good luck today David......look forward to your report....

Comment by David Wester on April 7, 2013 at 8:01pm

Jeffrey, looks like you're getting some great practice in before the real fun begins anytime now. My poles are ready and in the back of the truck as I'm finally getting on the water tomorrow morning after work. One of the perks of working 3rd shift I suppose. I hope to have some good news to report by this time tomorrow. I'll be armed with every assortment of jig and fly along with minnows, nightcrawlers and mealworms.

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on April 7, 2013 at 6:03pm

The gills are starting to show....mainly Northerns at this time..

After fighting low water for the majority of the last two weeks.....today's southerly winds followed by southwest winds tomorrow will put the rivers north of the Albemarle Sound back at Normal Levels.....The high skies of early April and the churn from the wind tides will break the freshwater bite wide open......Water temperatures should reach the middle 60s this week and the moderate nights forecasted will help stabilize these temperatures which will also stimulate most species.....Until now the Coppernose gills have been few and far betwween but expect these jewels to become active in the days ahead.....The shallow water Crappie bite will be outstanding this week on many of the coastal rivers including the Little, Perquimans and the Pasquotank......Look for increased insect activity as many Dismal Swamp plants and trees begin to bloom along the shores and this will trigger insect activity and stimulate the shallow fish.....

We are on the verge of great fishing in the Northeast region of the state and I always get excited about these days...

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on April 4, 2013 at 6:06pm

Your patience will finally be rewarded in the weeks ahead in many North Carolina locations......Female Crappie are poised to join their male counterparts in the river/creek shallows and the lakes will be right behind the tidal waters.......The Albemarle/Pamlico Estuary is at or approaching 60 degrees for water temperature and the bite should pick up.....Search for the highest temperatures you can find by looking at sunshine soaked areas and/or windward shores where warm water is piled up and circulated by winds, especially southerly components.....

I've caught bass, crappie and a few gills shallow on two area rivers this week...

Various tipped jigs under a float has been the trick....chartreuse, pink and red have worked the best..

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on April 4, 2013 at 5:37pm

I know a couple locations in southern Virginia that traditionally produce some early season tank shellcrackers but rarely big numbers until Easter......It's getting that time all across the state.......I always caught shellcrackers in March on Santee Cooper the 13 years I lived down there......The waters down stream of the lakes are already producing quality shellcrackers this season.....I concur on next week's weather.....excited about the warm up.....Just hoping we don't get stained up too bad tonight as this latest system goes through....

Comment by David Wester on April 4, 2013 at 5:30pm

I talked to someone at Canal Lakes fish camp on Santee and they said they were just recently seeing a few shellcrackers being caught. The Santee lakes are supposed to be some of the best shellcrackers lakes in the country, that's why I was surprised that a NC lake was producing so heavily so early.
A lot of rain here today, cold rain. We have 70's next week with chances of showers. That warm rain will help a lot to warm the waters.

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