For a more recent perspective, check out Jerry’s presentation to the club in September 2021 – link

Notes from a presentation Jerry gave the club.

Jerry says the primary species of fish available in our area during the winter months are red drum, speckled trout, striped bass, largemouth bass, and black drum. Except for the black drum, all of these fish will hit lures and flies but the black drum don’t care much for lures and flies and will only hit one if it is presented just right; black drum much prefer a piece of meat.

Water temperature and weather are keys to finding fish during winter. The metabolism of the fish and their need to feed slows during the winter. The first drop in fish activity happens when the water temperature gets to around 60° F. At water temperatures below 50° F, the fish become inactive but may start to feed again around 45° F. If the water cools slowly, the fish stay more active than during sudden temperature drops. After a mild night time temperature drop, the fish tend to become active again at sunrise. Cold gray days result in lethargic fish, but the first sunny day will get the fish moving. The second day of sunlight sees more activity and by the third day, the fish are very active. It is important to watch the weather forecast during winter and to find periods of extended sunny weather where the sun is beating down on the water.

To find warmer water during winter, seek out shallow bays with black mud bottoms, e.g. behind Bald Head in Buzzard Bay or The Basin, or in the bay between these two known locally as Second Bay. Try a few casts in the deeper channels and work towards the shallower areas to locate holding fish. The Elizabeth River has lots of pools where the water swirls by on the outside but is quiet and still on the inside, and you can fish holding in these quiet pools. Fish these areas slowly. Redfish may be feeding on top near the oyster rocks and specs may be beneath the reds picking up the scraps. There are many shallow bays off of the Elizabeth River where the water warms quickly.

Davis Canal and Davis Creek are other great places to fish as there are holes, flats, and oyster rocks. Lockwood Folly, around the corner from the boat ramp at Sunset Harbor and tight on the channel is a big shallow flat that warms well during the winter. This area can also be accessed from Varnamtown; look for the stand alone house on pilings and go up that creek. Note that there is a large sandbar in this area so use extra caution when navigating.

The canals at Holden Beach and Ocean Isle are great places too for winter trout—move your bait slowly!

Behind Ocean Isle and Sunset Beach are flooded marsh areas with some saltwater ponds. Both red and black drum can be found in the ponds, especially on sunny days. The fish might be waking here so throw in front of them. The blacks are more of a bait fishery and Jerry uses chunks of blue crab. Check out Google Earth to see this area.

Lake Sutton, the cooling reservoir for the power plant, is a unique place that holds bass, carp, catfish, panfish, and flounder. Very warm water exists at the outlet from the plant and can be 74° F to 76° F during February. At times, the bass chase shad on top so casting a silver fly into the bait and letting it sit will get attention. Catfish also hang around the drop offs near the edges of the dikes and will pick up soft plastics and presumably, flies.

Greenfield Lake in Wilmington is similar to the ponds in St. James–no outboard motors are allowed here. Greenfield holds large bass and large alligators so use caution when fishing here.

Way up Beaver Dam Creek, past the docks near the headwaters is a row of pilings. There is some freshwater coming in here from the swamps and it tends to be warmer. It’s a good spot for fish during the winter.

In general, try to get far enough up creeks where the tidal flow is minimal and where the water stays stationary and is warmer. Water will also be warmer at low tide.

Fish slowly in winter and use small flies. Work flies and lures extremely slowly during winter. Winter fishing requires slow twitches of the rod rather than long strips. Give a short twitch and let the fly flutter back down before giving another twitch of the rod. The longer you can keep the fly in front of the fish, the more inclined the fish will be to strike. The fish are looking to save energy during winter by going after easy looking, in-their-face prey.

Scent on the fly can also encourage a strike. Jerry prefers to use white lures and flies or lures and flies in the white family, i.e. pearl, gray, white, maybe with a chartreuse or green tail.

Trout will be in the shallow water early in the day but they head for the depths later in the day. Drum will stay on the flats. Drum will also follow the tide in and over oyster rocks and hang there where the water is warmer and the food is abundant. The oyster rocks also put more scent into the water and will help to attract food and fish.

Jerry discussed some of the issues our area faced after Hurricane Florence such as water quality and fish kills. Many fish were displaced, e.g., there were reports of stripers being caught in Dutchmans Creek and Wildlife Creek, but biologists are now telling Jerry that water quality has greatly improved and the river is recovering.

Stripers in the Cape Fear River near Wilmington show up around Thanksgiving and stay until about May or June. In trying to reach their traditional spawning grounds near Fayetteville, stripers pass through Lock and Dam No. 1 but they have to be locked through Lock and Dam 2 and 3. There is a moratorium on keeping stripers in the entire Cape Fear River system. Maps showing the Cape Fear River system are available on the NC Research Wildlife Commission website at NCWildlife .org or on NCDMF.net. Carolina Beach inlet and the Wrightsville Beach jetty are also areas to try for stripers.

From Washington to the sound on the Pamlico, stripers are a hot winter fishery. Belhaven at Pungo Creek is a good striper spot. One guide Jerry recently fished with, Richard Andrews of Tar-Pam Guide Service (tarpamguide.com), described this area as a “flyfishing paradise for stripers.” Where the Pungo Creek comes off of the Pamlico River at the ICW near Belhaven, there is a huge bay. Watch for the birds over flocks of stripers. The primary food is bay anchovies so fish small white Clousers with a 6 wt. and a sinking tip line. If the sun is real bright and the fish are deeper, try a streamer tip and a larger bodied fly. Match what the fish are feeding on. Try fishing the fringes of the schools. 

Jerry teaches classes and will have two saltwater fishing classes at the Oak Island Recreation Center on February 2 and again on February 9. Each class runs from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A captain’s bag of goodies and a nice lunch is included in the admission of $65.00. There are lots of door prizes available from fishing gear to boat electronics, etc. You can sign up for the classes on the Oak Island Recreation Department website or at captjerry.com. Registration is open now and fills up quickly.

The last weekend in April Jerry holds a fishing class for ladies only. This is a two-day school and includes an Intro to Flyfishing segment with an opportunity to fish on Sunday.

The first or second Saturday in May, Jerry holds a Kayak Fishing School at Dutchman Creek Park.