Background
The Black River, a tributary of the Cape Fear River in southeastern North Carolina, is approximately 50 miles long. It is formed in Sampson County by the confluence of the Great Coharie and Six Runs Creeks; flows southeast, receiving the South River approximately 30 miles south of Clinton; and continues southeast until it merges with the Cape Fear River, about 12 miles north of Wilmington.
The river has an average width of 80 feet and an average depth of 4 feet in the upper reaches and an average width of 184 feet and an average depth of 7 feet in the lower reaches. As a shallow, slow moving blackwater river with many obstacles, it is navigable by small motor boats, canoes and kayaks only.
Cypress trees along the Black River in Bladen and Pender counties have been dated to be over 2,000 years old. One tree, with an estimated “birthday” of 605 B.C., has been alive for over 2,600 years, making it the oldest tree in the eastern United States.
The river banks and stream edges are generally made up of dense forests consisting of cypress, maple, swamp tupelo, ash, and oaks. In a few places, dry upland bluffs along the river support longleaf pines. Many wildlife species inhabit the river’s floodplain, including turkey, deer, bobcat, river otter, black bear, and more.
In 2017, the North Carolina General Assembly directed the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation (Division) to study the feasibility and desirability of acquiring land and establishing a State Park on the Black River. The Division issued its feasibility study in February 2018. It concluded that the study area met the state’s criteria for adding it to the State Parks System and recommended that the residents of Sampson, Pender and Bladen Counties arrive at a community consensus on the proposal.
Getting There
Three access areas are open to the public: the two Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC) boat ramps located in Ivanhoe and Hunts Bluff and Henry’s Landing (there is a $5 fee for Henry’s) located in the Rowan area. All are in the lower section of the Black River. Directions follow. Type the addresses into your GPS system and/or Google Maps for electronic directions.
Hunts Bluff Wild Life Boat Ramp, 351 Hunts Bluff Rd., Kelly, NC: From Leland, merge onto US-74W/US-76W to Riegelwood and travel 9.4 miles; turn right onto NC 87-N and travel 6.1 miles; turn right onto NC-11 S N and travel 8.3 miles; turn right onto Longview Rd. (SR 1547) and travel 1.2 miles; turn left onto Hunts Bluff Rd. and travel 0.3 miles to the area at the end of the gravel road. Travel time is 35 minutes from Leland.
Ivanhoe Wild Life Boat Ramp, 3681 Ivanhoe Rd., Ivanhoe, NC: From Leland, merge onto US-74W/US-76W to Riegelwood and travel 9.4 miles; turn right onto NC 87-N and travel 6.1 miles; turn left onto NC-210 N and travel 3.1 miles; turn left onto NC-210 N/NC-53 W and travel 0.6 miles; turn right onto NC-210 N and travel 7.3 miles; turn right onto Beatty’s Bridge Rd and travel 0.6 miles; turn left onto State Rd 1200/Ivanhoe Rd and travel 0.9 miles; continue onto Ivanhoe Rd and travel 2.8 miles; destination will be on left. Travel time is 45 minutes from Leland.
Henry’s Landing, Lake Creek, NC, get directions from your location on Google Maps. From Leland, merge onto US-74W/US-76W to Riegelwood and travel 9.4 miles; turn right onto NC 87-N and travel 6.1 miles; turn left onto NC-210 N and travel 3.1 miles; turn left onto NC-210 N/NC-53 W and travel 0.6 miles; turn right onto NC-210 N and travel 6.1 miles; turn right at Howard Loop and travel 0.2 miles; make a slight right onto Henry’s Landing. Travel time is 41 minutes from Leland.
Fish Species
The Black River offers good fishing for largemouth bass, bluegill, shellcracker, red breast. pumpkinseed, warmouth, and chain pickerel. Other species include crappie, catfish, bowfin (blackfish), and gar. It offers excellent fishing for redbreast sunfish averaging ½ to ¾ pound. April through early June is the best time to fish for largemouth bass. The spring spawning period offers the best fishing for sunfish, with good catches continuing through the summer and early fall.
Fishing Spots
Turning left from Hunts Bluff Wild Life Boat Ramp:
- Main River
- Colvins Cove, 0.35 mile
- Kelley Cove, 0.9 mile
- Larkin Cove, 1.5 miles
- Beatty’s Bridge, 1.75 miles
Turning right from Hunts Bluff Wild Life Boat Ramp:
- Main river
- Cove on right, 0.3 mile
- Cove on right, 0.6 mile
- Rock Hole Cove, 1 mile
- Gaylor Cove, 1.7 miles
- Wilson Cove, 1.8 miles
Largemouth Bass
When water temperatures reach the high fifties (57 to 59 degrees), bass move into the shallows to prepare for the pre-spawn and spawn cycles. (Folklore suggests bass move to the bank when the new growth of oak leaves is about the size of a squirrel’s ear.) This is when the largemouth bass is most active, most aggressive and can be taken in the greatest numbers. The smaller males are the first to appear, followed a little later by the bigger females.
Fishing tips during the pre-spawn and the spawn phases:
- Stealth is critical. Scull quietly along the shoreline or through the shallows. If you use a trolling motor, run it at the lowest possible speed and try to maintain a steady speed (in other words, don’t change the pitch of the motor).
- Avoid the use of depth sounders, sonar units or any other devise that emits an electronic pulse. This is especially important during the spawn phase when the fish are on the beds.
- A seven or eight weight outfit with a floating line will accommodate most springtime bass fishing situations.
- In the mornings and late afternoons, size 6 or 4 popping bugs and frog imitations are highly effective. These same flies can be worked into the middle part of the day when overcast conditions are present.
- Other times try streamer patterns, articulated flies, wooly buggers (wooly worms), crawfish patterns, bass bunnies and 6-7-inch worm flies.
- When bass move onto the beds, fish the beds thoroughly and work the fly slowly. Often, it takes fifteen minutes or more to induce a strike from a bedded bass.
- A good fly choice is the 6-7-inch worm fly tied with a small cone head. The better colors seem to be black, purple and red – often a chartreuse or mercurochrome (hot pink) tail adds to this fly’s effectiveness.
- Crawfish patterns also work well during the spawn.
Bass bugs recommended by emeritus member Bobby Sands include the Pencil Popper, Wooly Bugger, Wobble Bug, and the Hackle Fly (Seducer).
Pick two or three flies and try them.
Bream (Bluegill, Shellcracker, Red Breast, Pumpkinseed, and Warmouth)
Folklore suggests that bream fishing is at its peak on the full moon in May.
Below is a display of bream bugs recommended by emeritus member Bobby Sands.
Wasp imitations are a good fly choice as wasps are a great indicator for spring fishing. They must collect water from the surface to emulsify pulp for their nest. When they swoop down to collect the water, the fish are waiting to eat them.
Popping bugs cast against the bank are particularly effective in the spring. Former member Al Noble catches the most fish on poppers on the first and last hour of daylight.
Popper dropper rigs have a floating popper bug on top and a slow-sinking weighted fly on the bottom.
You don’t have to tie your own flies; you can buy Betts poppers and Sneaky Pete’s at Wal-Mart, Bass Pro, or online.
Presentation
Vary baits, sizes, and retrieves when fishing for bass and bream. For example, let a fly sit on the surface for 15-20 seconds and recast elsewhere if you don’t get a strike. Other times, retrieve it, sometimes slow, sometimes faster. Or, start with a slow presentation; let the fly sit on the surface a minute; give it a twitch but never retrieve it with heavy chugs. Vary your retrieves to find what works.
Vary your flies; what works last year may not work this year. A spider pattern used with great success one year may offer little success the next.
Use a large popper to fish for bream and bass at the same time. Fish nothing smaller than a #8 hook or bigger than #2; throw something bigger, such as a pencil popper or a wooly bugger, for bigger bream.
Don’t try to cover too much water too fast; instead, if you see a log or other structure you like, cast to it 3 or 4 times.
Gear
Emeritus member Bobby Sands uses an 8-weight fly rod in case you hook a large bass. Use an 8-10 lb leader without a tippet.
Former member Al Noble uses a 6-8-foot leader; 8-lb test line for bass; 6-lb test for bream; go to 12-15 lb test if fishing structure. Use a 4-6 lb tippet. One can buy tapered leaders instead of making your own.