Our Natural Heritage
Pushing Your Luck
by Jim Dean ®'998
“ There are those who
would say there are
two kinds of fishermen
— those who cant
wait, and those who
can. I don’t personally
know any of the latter,
or want to. ”
For fishermen, the months after Christmas pass at a glacial rate. By the time March arrives, the i
need to fish is epidemic. It little matters that winter lingers like a bad case of flu. We must fish. |
Now If you’ve been eyeing the angelfish in your kid’s tropical tank, check out these opportunities.
Hickory and American shad. Hickory shad are already climbing our coastal rivers and
smaller tributaries to spawn, and their larger American (white) shad cousins will soon follow. If
rivers don’t flood excessively and become overly muddy, fishing can be outstanding. Ultradight
spinning gear with 4- or 6-pound test monofilament is a sporting choice for hickories. Small shad I
darts or jigs with curly soft plastic tails and spoons like the No. 1 Reflecto work great, and many I
fishermen rig them in tandem with the spoon trailing the dart. Heavier spinning tackle with at
least 8-pound test is a better bet for white shad. Some fishermen have also had good luck with
brightly colored, weighted flies, but only where waters are relatively clear.
A partial list of rivers with shad runs would include the Chowan, Roanoke, Tar, Neuse, Trent,
Whiteoak, Northeast Cape Fear and Cape Fear, and the best spots are often at the mouths of
tributaries.
Striped bass. The legendary spawning run of stripers (rockfish) in the Roanoke River has been ,
restored, and fishing can be good from Hamilton upstream early, with peak spawning occurring j
in April at Weldon and good success sometimes continuing into early June. Live shad, cut bait
and bloodworms all produce, but large jigs with curly soft plastic tails offer great sport. Fisher¬
men who remember this river as a polluted, muddy mess will be surprised at the clear water, and
fly fishing with fast -sinking lines and big colorful streamers is increasingly popular, producing !
astonishing catches. Be sure to check regulations and always play it safe on this dangerous river.
White Bass. Tributaries flowing into lakes with populations of white bass are good bets for
some hot fishing in March. That’s the time of year the fish run up these streams to spawn. Some 1
spots — the Haw above Jordan Lake and the Uwharrie out of Tillery — can be waded if you’re ]
careful, but others require a boat. Light spinning tackle and small jigs, plugs and spoons are ideal,
but flies sometimes work, too. The fish seldom run large, but if you hit the run at its peak, fishing ,
can be memorable.
Crappies. These popular panfish spawn early in our lakes, moving to the shallows around
cover along shorelines this month. A light spinning rod and 4- to 6-pound mono with small curly
tailed jigs or Beetle-Spins will do the job. If you don’t find fish shallow, try deeper water around
standing timber, bridge pilings or other similar cover. Many fishermen use live minnows, but you
can also rig a jig under a sliding float to pinpoint deeper fish. Rigged properly, the float will slide
down to the lure making it easy to cast, and if you knot a short piece of string or rubber band to : ;
your line, the lure will always drop to the desired depth. It’s a versatile, deadly tactic.
Largemouth bass. No, you’re definitely not jumping the season to start bass fishing, espe- , |
dally for lunkers — in fact, you may already have missed several good weeks. Well before they
spawn, large female bass make forays into very shallow water to look for spawning sites, usually
around brushy cover. Cold fronts will drive them back to deeper water, but if you can fish on the
heels of a spell of warmer weather, you are likely to have good luck around shallow cover using a
spinnerbait, jig-and-pig or soft-plastic salamander. In big lakes, lunkers are also often caught on
windy shores, particularly along rip-rap, using spinnerbaits, Rat-L-Traps and similar rattling
divers. If you like topwater action, a noisy buzzbait like the Lunker Lure will often catch bass
long before other surface lures produce.
If you also like to catch chain pickerel — some of us do — March is one of the few months you j |
can expect predictable action with these toothy predators. Use a spinnerbait or diving minnow
imitation, and expect the best action along windy shorelines with lots of cover. In waters that
harbor both bass and pickerel, mixed bags aren’t unusual.
Mountain trout With many streams now open all year, you don’t have to wait for opening
day in April. During those periodic warm spells in early spring, trout often feed actively even
sometimes on dry flies. Pressure is light and fishing is often terrific.
Too early to fish? There are those who would say there are two kinds of fishermen — those
who can’t wait, and those who can. I don’t personally know any of the latter, or want to.
