Carolina Beach

[thisistheyear]

I'm from Mass., experienced Cape Cod / Narragansett Bay fisherman. I'll be in N.C. the weekend of 4/12 visiting Mom, probably a day trip to Carolina Beach so we can visit the shore. Is there any convenient pier, jetty, or beach where I can wet a line? What species will be around? Any local knowledge or reccomended bait shops? Any help is much appreciated, I'm just looking for a quick 1-2 hour diversion from the restauraunts and shopping rounds. Thanks.

[zonker]

About 5 miles south of Carolina Beach is the Fort Fisher historical site and the NC Aquarium. Just before you get to the aquarium there is an access ramp for driving on the beach. You can drive and fish the beach for about five miles south from that point.

I haven't been there for a few years, but I just took a look on Google Earth and could clearly see tire tracks in the sand, and what looked like three trucks out on the beach.

The beach closes during certain phases of the moon, for turtle spawning. If you run into that, there are piers at Kure Beach and Carolina Beach. If weather is bad, you can always visit the aquarium, or drive up to Wilmington and tour the WW2 battleship USS North Carolina.

All of these options would be good for one or two hours' diversion.

Good Luck!

[thisistheyear]

Thank you! That's exactly the local knowledge I was looking for. What will be around for fish in the middle of april?

[jellybear]

I like the North end too but it gets crowded during peak season and they charge a fee now.Definetly check out the Aquarium at Fort Fisher and if you are a Civil War Buff you will love Fort Fisher.They do re enactments often.

[speckhunter80]

Post up on************link removed , derf***********. You will get lots of suggestions. I fish north of there out of Swansboro/Bear Inlet area.

[zonker]

I found some more information about the drivable beach. It's part of Fort Fisher State Recreation Area. All the details are here:

http://ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/fofi/activities.php

Turtle closures won't be a problem, that doesn't start until late summer. Looks like you'll need both a fishing license and a beach driving permit, which will cost about $10 each.

For sport fish, there should be plenty of red drum and bluefish in the water, maybe some trout. If you want to catch something to eat, target the flounder and whiting (locally called sea mullet). If you get very lucky, you may hook a cobia. It's a little early, but if the water is unusually warm there may be pompano and spanish mackerel. There will definitely be dogfish, skates and puffers (locally called blow-toads) to keep things interesting.

I like to put out a fish-finder rig with pieces of bunker (locally menhaden) for the drum. Also a fire ball rig with the same bait for blues and a small rod with a couple of small hooks and some bloodworms for the whiting and other small species. Then I will cast a one ounce spoon, which mostly catches blues but I've also caught flounder, pompano and spanish with it.

Any combination of those rigs is worthwhile.

Good Luck!

[Bootnrally]

If you are heading to Carolina Beach, the south end is State Park property with beach access. This used to be the Coastal Artillery School, and has either been federal or state property for a real long time...NO DEVELOPMENT!Just take 421 (Business rt. is Lake Park Drive, Bypass is Dow Road) to Fort Fisher. Just north of the Aquarium is a dirt road called Ramsgate Road. You can drive there, and there are designated crossover points to the beach. The State park HQ's are at the other end of the beach, but there is an information Kiosk and beach access area just before you get to Ramsgate. You can drive south on the beach till you hit an inlet called Corncake Inlet. It has been a long time, so y'oughta check about the regs.

BTW, if you drive down Ramsgate Road, DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH THE WATER PUDDLES!!!! They are tidal, and some of them can be over 3 feet deep! Cast a net in them and you may get some finger mullet for bait (again check the regs...it has been a while!)

NC has a SW Rec license, available in 10-day or full year increments, and I don't recall the out of state rates, but you can visit the NC Wildlife Resources Commission website for that. Fish on the pier, and your license is covered while on that pier.

There are two Piers still operating...Kure Beach Pier, just north of Fort Fisher (Conveniently located at the intersection where 421 Business and Bypass meet) and one up on the north end. Don't recall when they open, but Kure beach pier is family owned, and they are fighting against the developers...a good crew to support!

When all else fails, you can go all the way down 421 to it's end...just south of the Ferry Dock, and fish "The Basin". It is real shallow (used to be good clamming in the summers), and you can usually find a few croakers and panfish there.

To the west of where the road ends, you will see a long rock jetty. This connects Carolina Beach (Pleasure island) and all of the little islands all the way down to Bald Head. On the east is the basin and a series of tidal creeks, on the west side of the jetty is the Cape Fear River. Don't get tempted to walk across to the islands...it is a bad idea, and you are real likely to get stranded.

Good Luck and let us know what you end up doing and catching!

[hamlet]

The south end is also where the ferry lands that runs between Ft. Fisher and Southport. Southport is a nice little town at the mouth of the Cape Fear river, ferry is cheap and the run is about 20 mins.

Oak Island is there also... 10 min drive from Southport. There is an excellent fishing pier on Oak Island, and great beach at the west end for surf access. You can cast net for shrimp on the ICW side of Oak Island too... there is a public landing in the marshes.

[oceanroamer]

I spent much time there. I have a buddy who just started out guiding out of there so I'll bet he'd be highly negotiable on a Cape Fear River red drum trip... if you are interested let me know and I'll look for his phone #........