-Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
-Bear Island Marsh
-Bogue Inlet – An Offshore Experience
-Deep Creek/Indian Creek – Great Smoky Mountain National Park
-Fishing Pier – New River
-Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
-Mile Hammock Bay
-Onslow Beach
-Revival 1869 – A Drinkery – Clayton
-Southwest Creek – New River
-Wallace Creek – New River
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
In June 2021, I was in the mood for some North Carolina Redfish (aka Reds or Red Drum). I launched the kayak aboard MCB Camp Lejeune right into the Atlantic ICW (Intracoastal Water Way).
The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) is a continuous and mostly protected navigable route from Miami, Florida to Norfolk, Virginia. Originally conceived in 1802 for commercial use, today it is primarily used by recreational vessels, however light-draft commercial vessels along with small tugs pulling barges will make use of the AICW to avoid exposed open ocean passages. The AICW is made up of natural rivers, bays, and sounds, connected by a series of man-made canals where necessary.
The route is maintained by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and is measured in statute miles at 1,090 miles long, beginning at mile marker zero (MM “0.0”) in Norfolk, Virginia. When combined with the Chesapeake Bay, a boater can cruise from Miami, Florida to Baltimore, Maryland covering a total of 1,282 statute miles, or 1,114 nautical miles. Cruising the ICW – Intracoastal Waterway | Boating itinerary on Marinalife
I was looking for bait action along the banks so I cast a golden and silver/blue spoon and started pedaling. Not 2 min later my rod started bouncing and I pulled in a slimy lizardfish. I had caught lizardfish in the AICW before, but I didn’t want lizardfish. I wanted Redfish! About 10 minutes later, the reel started screaming. This was the first of 3 Reds caught that outing and she was a fighter. Check out the video on YouTube below:
Bear Island Marsh – Onslow County
I scoured the charts and aerial footage looking for marsh. Marsh is the inshore home of flounder and redfish and at times, speckled trout. The goal was to target the points and drains with some artificials, Gulp plastics and spoons. I prefer outgoing tides in the marsh, except when it’s so low that you risk getting stuck due to the shallow water. If you’ve ever had to walk through the marsh mud, you don’t soon forget it. Not only is it a muddy mess that gets everything in the kayak dirty, it’s exhausting and time consuming if you find deep mud. It can be very hard to get out of sometimes, both the kayak and yourself. I launched early at Shell Rock Landing in Onslow County NC one early June morning of 2021. Since this was my first time launching here, I figured it best to get there early to get a parking spot. This proved out when I returned after fishing and the parking lot was jam packed. It’s usually best to get most places early, in my experience. I did notice a few suspicious folks in the parking lot when I got there that didn’t seem like they were fishing or launching a watercraft. I think they actually slept in their vehicles that night, which is why they were still there. Luckily, the launch can be very busy so it may deter some folks from breaking in cars and stealing valuables. I took some pictures just in case.
The launch was easy for my kayak and I quickly made way to the marsh. I targeted the drains and the points in the marsh while scanning for bait action. There was no shortage of bait action and casting ahead of the bait movement usually will land a bite or two. In my case this day, there didn’t seem to be gamefish actively chasing the bait where I was, so my casting seemed to spook the baitfish instead of getting a strike from the gamefish. I was successful netting a few flounder, but they were out of season. I also landed a small redfish that was almost as small as my hand. I had hoped to make my way completely through the marsh onto Bear Island, part of the Hammocks Beach State Park. The distance was about 1.5 miles from Shell Rock Landing, but the tides had a say this day. The water was already lower than predicted and with an outgoing tide, I was unable to make it through the marsh successfully and I didn’t want to get stuck! Overall, it was a successful day with some great flounder catches, despite not able to keep any due to out-of-season.
Bogue Inlet – An Offshore Experience
In December of 2021, we found the seas calm enough to head out offshore. We were targeting reef fish, hoping to find some grouper. We didn’t find any grouper but we found plenty of Black SeaBass, a Red Snapper, Spot Tail Pinfish, Rock SeaBass and Scup (Porgy). Check out the fun below:
Deep Creek – Great Smoky Mountain National Park
It was April 2023 and I was deep into my training for the 2023 Cateran Yomp. The Yomp is another term for “hike” and used in the UK. This particular training for the Yomp was to take place along the NC and TN border, specifically from the Max Patch Trailhead to Hot Springs, NC – a 20+ mile hike on the Appalachian Trail. The hike was on a Tuesday so the Saturday before, I headed west from Virginia Beach to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to meet up with an old buddy, Chris, to camp and try our luck on some trout streams in the GSMNP.
I scoured through Jim Casada’s book on fishing the GSMNP and decided upon Deep Creek near Bryson City. I reserved on the Recreation.gov website and relayed my plans to Chris, who was to meet me Saturday afternoon. Chris and I had attended elementary school, junior high, senior high and 3 of 4 years of college together and even played on a few sports teams together. Never had I ever fished or camped with him, nor had we spoken much in the previous 20 years after college, but he reached out and mentioned he lived near GSMNP and to give him a holler if I was ever nearby. This weekend was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with an old friend and enjoy a cold one for old time’s sake.
I was glad Chris wanted to meet up for a variety of reasons. One of them being that he had a popup camper that he was bringing which meant I didn’t have to sleep another night horizontally in my front seat or pitch a tent on the ground, something I wasn’t new to by any means, but still not my ideal course of action. Chris was also a Texan at heart, which meant that he would appreciate a good meal and noteworthy conversation – something that social media and cell phones have done their best to take away (at least the conversation part of it). Chris showed up shortly after I did, and we quickly set up the camper after cracking open a tasty local Houston favorite beer from the Karbach Brewing Company and attempting to catch up on the last 20 years of life. Who was still living in Pasadena? Who married whom? What career path did so and so take? Had we ever fished here before? When did we get into flyfishing? The sun was going down and we had plenty of time to chat over dinner, so we finished the beer, put on the waders and headed upstream to look for fish.
Deep Creek ran right along the campground, and we could’ve just walked 100 yards and wet some flies. But…that would be too easy and after all, everyone probably fishes along the campground, right? Right? We headed a few miles upstream where the Rhododendron got thick. That’s where we wanted to fish. The bloody Rhododendron where no sane angler would punish themselves by trying to push through it. That’s WhereTheFishAre, right? Well, we punished ourselves through 50 or so yards of thick bushes until we found the stream and began our quest to trick wild Rainbow and Brown Trout into eating our flies. Luckily, the punishment paid off and Chris and I both landed a few trout, making the journey worth it. We only fished for an hour because we spent too much time hiking and pushing through heavy foliage. I’ll take the blame for that one, but Chris didn’t seem to mind. He and I were just happy to be out in the land of free and of the wild trout at the GSMNP.
It was dark by the time we made it back to camp. We missed a small trail since we didn’t bring our flashlights and ended up hiking an extra half mile or so to circle back to camp. As if the Rhododendron wasn’t enough…
With the waders off and hanging to dry on the truck rack, Chris was the Man with a Can and a Plan. Beer, sausages and beans were on the menu, and we were “walking in high cotton”. It’s amazing what memories return alongside the smells of food, especially simple comfort food we had enjoyed so many times before. Conversation picked up where it left off and the joy ensued as two men told stories of days of old after a great day of fishing over a warm meal and cold beverages. That’s livin’ right there and it was only day one.
Day two began early with a cup of Dunkin’ coffee and blueberry muffins picked up from the grocery store bakery along the way. I brought the French press and coffee grinds while Chris supplied to kettle, heat and water. We sat at the camper table and pondered where to fish. Chris began mentioning a book he had been reading about fishing in the GSMNP, which sounded extremely familiar to one I had read. He pulled the book out of the truck and we quickly realized we had been reading the same book! As our old coaches used to say – We were students of the game. At the table, we decided our game plan was to hike to and fish Indian Creek, a tributary of Deep Creek and then fish our way back along Deep Creek, in the areas with less Rhododendron, of course.
Indian Creek emptied into Deep Creek around a mile from the campground. We would fish our way upstream on Indian Creek, wherever we could find some open spots we could cast without getting caught in the Rhododendron. The book said there was a few spots great for catching some wild Rainbows along Indian Creek so we headed out, ready for some catching.
As we entered the Deep Creek Trailhead, we noticed some signs recently placed on the trail that mentioned a man from Tampa who had been hiking Deep Creek Trail and went missing a few days prior. To this day, he still hasn’t been found, unfortunately. As we were hiking the trail, we had to step aside many times as the search crews that consisted of over 120 people from nearly 30 different agencies motored by in their search vehicles to look for the missing hiker. After seeing that, we reduced our contact with the thick Rhododendron, a bush that isn’t very forgiving to an ankle or knee. I still had a 20-mile training hike to do in a few days, too, so it was best we took it easier than the day prior.
Just before the Indian Creek Trail, we saw a fishy pool and decided to drift some flies in the Deep Creek. Chris found a spot, as did I, and we gave our luck a go. Chris put down his pack for a few min and upon his return, he found a snake using it as a pillow. When I began flyfishing, I became more comfortable with flying bugs, since that’s what flyfishing is all about – the bugs. I’m not sure I’ll ever get comfortable with snakes…
After Chris managed to reclaim his pack from the snake, we headed upstream along Indian Creek. The water flow was good, and it looked fishy but the Rhododendron lined nearly every foot for the 2 miles we hiked upstream along the Indian Creek. We managed to find a few small, cleared spots, but they were few and far between. I managed to nymph a Rainbow Trout out of a very tight pool, but Chris was left empty handed despite getting a few hits a from some willing fish along the way. About every quarter mile we kept saying we would just go another hundred yards in case the foliage cleared up and allowed us some easier casting, but it never really amounted to what we were hoping for. After 2 miles, we cut our losses, turned around and headed back to Deep Creek.
Back at Deep Creek, we found some excellent runs and pools to drift nymphs and dries to loitering fish. We both netted some solid wild Brown Trout along the mile of creek between Indian Creek and the campground. As the sun went down, the bugs began hatching and the fish followed the hatch. We both tied on a few different mayfly patterns until we found one to get the fish to budge. The action got hot for about 30 min until it became too dark to see the fly drift, which meant our ears would tell us if the fish took the fly or not.
An evening hatch gives you that “ah-Ha” moment. You find yourself casting dry flies to surfacing fish in the exact same spots you concluded there wasn’t any fish just hours ago. Did they suddenly move and show up? No. They were there the whole time. They just didn’t like our offering.
The hike back was only about half a mile and despite being too dark to see, we didn’t miss the hidden trail again this time around. Our stomachs had enough of the Cliff bars and after hanging the waders to dry, we headed out into town for some local table fare. Unfortunately, it was Sunday night and the summer season had not begun so we were left with Burger King and McDonalds as our choices. Burger King got the nod, and it was bad enough that I shall not even mention it any further. We had food to cook at the campsite, but sometimes a local burger is what’s needed to cap off the end of a great day of hiking and fishing. Well, we got a burger, just not a good one.
The next morning came early, but we still found some time to fish the Tuckasegee River, which was a couple of miles south of the campground that ran through Bryson City. We had a couple of hours to give it a whirl and we both chose to start the day off using streamers to see if we could get some trout to chase. Streamer fishing is a very active form of fishing compared to dry flies and nymphs, which imitate the bugs of the river. Streamers imitate the small fish or minnows of the rivers and streams and will often land bigger fish. These bigger fish can get quite aggressive, especially when the waters warm up and they are hungry. The aggressiveness can snap a lighter tippet or leader so it’s best to increase the strength of your leader and tippet to at least a 3X to avoid losing the fish, especially if you find yourself in some faster water with a lot of line out.
I cast some streamers upstream for about the first hour with no luck, so I switched to indicator fishing with a double nymph setup. This brought me some luck with a couple of trout to pick up the day’s motivation. Time was getting short, so I switched back to a heavier streamer setup and cast and stripped downstream as I made my way back to the truck. One willing participant ended my day on a high note to cap off a spectacular 40-hour period that ended a great weekend. I couldn’t remember if the Tuckasegee was as kind to Chris as it was to me, but it didn’t matter. I was able to catch up with an old friend and enjoy a couple of days of remarkable flyfishing, food and conversation in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Those are the moments in life you don’t forget.
Fishing Pier – New River
Fishing Pier – New River
Sometimes the ol’ fishing pier is the only place to wet your hook. I’ve fished this pier in both November 2020 and June 2021. While the fishing hasn’t been epic, I have caught some croaker both times using Gulp artificial bait. We refer to croaker as croakaine because they are very good baitfish, especially when fishing for Spotted Seatrout (Speckled Trout). The night time views from this pier are splendid. Access to this pier is limited to those with access to MCB Camp Lejeune.
Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
Alternate between nearly six miles of pristine beach and trails through salt marsh brimming with wildlife at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, a park touching both the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape Fear River. Development on this protected shoreline is limited to a visitor center and related facilities and boardwalks that attract birders and photographers. Loggerhead sea turtles, piping plovers and other rare species nest along the sandy shore. The park is popular for surf fishing, and four-wheel-drive vehicles are allowed seasonally with required permits. On this tip of Pleasure Island, visitors will also find a state aquarium, Civil War-era historic site and a boating ramp and paddling launch nearby.
The purchase of an annual permit (approximately $90) gets you access to miles of uninhabited beach and fishing areas. In November of 2020, I purchased the 4wd access and headed south along the beach looking for fish. Flounder, flounder, flounder! I’ve never thought of flounder as a common fish caught in the surf, but they were there and biting on Gulp Minnow Grub. I must’ve caught 7 flounder that day, but unfortunately NC’s flounder season is short and the tasty flatfish was not hitting my frying pan that day.
Mile Hammock Bay
Tucked away in the estuaries of southern NC, this bay is a common stop for sailboats migrating south for the winter. On a cool November evening in 2020, bait was a bustin’, which is a good signal to launch a spoon and reel until you feel that pull. This bay is great cover from the wind, which is why it’s such a great stop for transient sailboats. Unfortunately, for predatory fish chasing bait, it easily gives away their position, helping the angler.
According to Learninghowtofish.com, there are five types of spoons: Casting, trolling, weedless, jigging and the surface spoon. Spoons are stamped, forged or molded from brass, copper, steel, lead, plastic or wood. That day, I had casting and jigging spoons in the tackle box. A popular spoon I’m sure to have is the Johnson Sprite, which comes in many sizes, colors and configurations. Some will argue that size and color doesn’t matter, but I’ll have to partially disagree. That statement is sometimes true and sometimes false. It really depends on what the fish is interested in that day. I’ve experienced it many times where the fish is only biting on the gold spoon that day while other days they were only biting on a silver or copper colored. Hey…I get it. Sometimes I’ll eat the well done steak, even though I wanted medium-rare. Bottom line – have multiple colors and sizes readily available!
Back to what was chasing that bait – Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel. Bluefish are super fun to catch – just not super fun to eat (in my opinion). Perhaps, I’m used to more lighter filets o’ fish from the southern waters I’m used to fishing. The darker, gamey meat that the Bluefish has just doesn’t please my taste buds like it may for others. Regardless, I have eaten some Bluefish (after marinating) and it wasn’t as bad as I expected. It’s definitely worth a shot – you just might like it. The Blue Herons will certainly eat them, if you won’t.
The Spanish Mackerel is super fun to catch with spoons and they sport a lighter meat that, when fresh, can taste pretty good with some lemon pepper seasoning.
Onslow Beach
Located along the beautiful North Carolina coastline, between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean aboard Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, Onslow Beach is the area’s best getaway destination. Onslow Beach is open to all authorized DoD ID card holders with proper base access.
Camp Lejeune’s Onslow beach has some of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. The fishing wasn’t too bad either that November. A friend of mine sent me some reports of Spotted Seatrout in the surf coming from Chasing Tails Outdoors Facebook page. My past experience of catching Spotted Seatrout in the surf of the Gulf Coast told me that your chances were better around Sunrise and Sunset. So….I did just that. Woke up early and headed to the beach for some surf fishing. The first day the surf was as calm as could be so I was sure a topwater would do the trick. If not, perhaps a middle column mirrodine suspending twitchbait would do the job. If sunrise didn’t produce, I would come back around sunset and give it another shot.
Calm seas are great because if the predatory fish are crashing bait, it’s easier to hear and see where they are; thus, you can cast your lure where they are and increase your chances for hookup. That day the fish were certainly crashing the bait and it was time to cast. I started with the topwater and began walking the dog. I got a few hits, but couldn’t land anything. So, I switched to the suspending twitchbait and pulled in only one small Bluefish.
Was it time to break out the spoons? I can cast my Casting spoon pretty far with my 15lb braid and 7’6″ MH rod, but these fish were beyond my reach with this setup. Sometimes you’ve got to get creative and use what you have so I pulled out a jigging spoon. Kastmaster makes some good jigging spoons and that’s what I was serving. This spoon is heavier than a casting spoon, which helps it get to the bottom faster. In this case, I was looking to cast farther, not deeper and the Kastmaster worked like a charm. I was able to land the spoon right behind the crashing bait and able to reel right into or just outside of the bait, increasing my chances of a hookup. Hookup I did.
Ribbonfish? Wait a minute. That’s what was making all the noise in the surf? Ribbonfish? Maybe I’ll have better luck with the Spotted Seatrout next time….
These Ribbonfish were huge compared to the ones we catch in the Gulf Coast in our casting nets for King Mackerel bait. Should I filet one up and see how she tastes????? Why not…..
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Revival 1869 – A Drinkery – Clayton, NC
Sometimes you need to mix things up. The local watering hole featuring the same specials and same faces can lose their luster. Sometimes you need a Revival, 1869 style, featuring great jazz and a plentiful supply of over 300 whiskeys from all over the world. Something new is always afoot at Revival – 1869, especially exquisite cocktails. The scene is chill, the seats are cozy and the spirit collection is something to marvel at. Check out the photo below and make your way to Clayton, NC for a great experience. Follow them on social media to see what you are missing.
From the website:
An Experience: Revival 1869 is a place to gather with friends and meet new ones, to regale in the past & celebrate good times. The cocktails are fresh and cool, the jazz is hot & the whiskey flows. Located on Main Street in the heart of Historic Downtown Clayton, we offer an ever-expanding library wall of over 300 whiskies and spirits from all over the world. Our menu features seasonally changing house-invented craft cocktails as well as countless classic favorites. In addition, we offer small shareable plates, such as a world class charcuterie board made with internationally and locally sourced cured meats and artisan cheeses. We have a huge passion for jazz and the arts; we feature live jazz pros from near and far and we regularly host unique art events. Revival 1869 is a place like no other — we’ve created a classy experience for you in a comfortable, eclectic and welcoming environment!
Southwest Creek – New River
In June of 2021, I had a few hours left of daylight and needed to wet the kayak and a few hooks. I launched out of the MCAS New River shore and headed to the nearest shoreline point I could find in hopes that some flounder and speckled trout would be waiting in ambush. I attached some white gulp minnows and targeted the points of the tributaries that flowed into the New River. I landed a Spotted Sea Trout (Speckled Trout) and a Southern Flounder, but on a short, light rod, which made it quite interesting. I pedaled my kayak up the tributary a couple hundred yards targeting the fallen tree logs, but failed to land any more fish. An afternoon storm seemed to be headed my way so I quickly made my way back, only to get a light shower. Better safe than sorry. The New River has may spots that are worth exploring, but targeting the points is usually WhereTheFishAre.
Wallace Creek – New River
It was a warm Sunday June afternoon in 2021. We just returned from an exceptional night of jazz music and colorful cocktails at Revival 1869 in Clayton, NC. I wanted to work off some calories from a hearty breakfast at the local Clayton diner so I launched the kayak into Wallace Creek, a tributary of New River. My buddy Rob from Let’s Roll Outdoors said Wallace Creek was a good area to fish for Specs, Reds and Flounder – what we call the Texas Slam, if you catch all in the same outing. I was hoping to catch any of the three species, but all three would’ve been splendid, especially in NC, where I was a newbie to the lay of the water and fishing.
Like most tactics, target the points, banks and structure (trees, logs, or any underwater humps or rocks). I headed east on Wallace Creek and found the Beaverdam Creek, a tributary of Wallace Creek. The point looked fishy as I saw bait action and fallen trees. I tied on the usual – Gulp Minnow on a jighead, usually around 1/8th oz. After a few casts, I landed a nice Speckled Trout. I continued up the Beaverdam Creek until it became too shallow, casting along structure and banks, none of which netted any fish, but did entice a few light biters.
I then departed that creek and headed further east on Wallace Creek to another tributary – Bearhead Creek. There was good tidal movement of water which is helpful in targeting fish. Gamefish typically like structure and water movement so they can wait in ambush for the baitfish. I’ve always wondered if the baitfish know they are baitfish – and what do baitfish eat? Regardless, Gulp Minnows and Gulp Shrimp are supposed to smell like bait and I was ready to feed any waiting game fish. After a few casts, I felt that light thump….thump thump….thump. Flounder? Time to set the hook! A flounder it was. Not the biggest, but certainly not the smallest I’ve landed. Flounder can be tough to land. I’ve heard a few theories on setting the hook on a flounder bite and from my experience, I’ve netted flounder by immediately setting the hook AND waiting for it to swallow the lure (after a few thumps). I’ve also lost flounder both ways, too. Regardless, this one was netted and in the boat – only to be released since North Carolina’s flounder season only lasts about two weeks, and this wasn’t one of those two weeks! Despite catching many flounder in NC in 2020 and 2021, I was unable to harvest any of them, which was disappointing since they taste so good.
I continued upstream, landing and releasing another Speckled Trout, as well, and then decided to call it a day. On the way back I was able to enjoy the sounds of Ospreys while watching them dive-bomb their food after circling the skies in search of their next meal – a live show just feet away that just isn’t the same experience when watching on the telly.
