The Fishing to Fight Cancer catfish tournament was held on the Cape Fear River May 16th and 17th. The entire river system from the Locks to the Rocks was used. That is to say that participants fished all the way up to the headwaters by the Buckhorn Dam and all the way down in Wilmington. A variety of fishing activities took place during this overnight tournament that help us prepare the forecast for June. Lots of the anglers chasing the big catfish will fish for bream shad or eels to use as bait. The bream fishing was excellent, the shad fishing was slowing down and only those who were “in the know” caught eels.
The bream fishing in June on the river will be on fire as these fish will be hungry after spawning. They will bite a wide variety of natural and artificial baits. This is a great time to introduce a child to fishing as they won’t have to wait too long to catch a fish. Crickets are by far the most popular bait for bream and they are plentiful in the bait shops along the river. Wax worms are a great choice as well. They are a hardy bait and do not get stolen as quickly as crickets. Red worms also work well and small jigs with spinning blades are the most popular artificial.
Many people who were fishing for bream caught largemouth bass in the river. These were bass mostily in the pre spawn mode. The spawn must have been delayed by the cooler weather we had in the late winter. These bass should be finished spawning by the time June gets here and will begin to settle into their summer patterns. They can be caught with minnows, nightcrawlers, redworms and crawdads for natural baits. For those who prefer to use artificial baits jigs, soft plastics, and crankbaits are the most popular bass baits at this time of year. There are lots of different patterns that work along the river so you may find that other baits will work better in some instances. For example if you get into some of the oxbow ponds along the river you may find lily pads where a an artificial frog makes a good choice for a bait.
The superstars of the tournament were of course big flathead catfish. There are three types of catfish in the river. There are the flatheads, the blue catfish, and the channel catfish. The flatheads ruled this tournament because of the water temperature. The bigger fish had not yet spawned. The largest fish weighed in was 52.7 lbs. This fish was causht by Team Slappe which consisted of Tom Slappe and his grandson Thomas Head. Team Slappe also had the biggest total weight with a three fish limit that weighed 67.2 lbs. During the month of June the larger channel cats will become more active. Live eels are the most popular bait for these fish. They can be purchased at many bait and tackle shops. Tom Slappe has fished all twelve of the Fishing to Fight Cancer tournaments and this was his team’s first win. Tom can often be found at Riverside Bait and Tackle in Fayetteville North Carolina and is always willing to share his knowledge of the river with any newcomers. The Swamp Boys Benefit Organization raised over $12,000 which will be donated to St Jude Children’s Hospital through this tournament and related events.
Rick Cox
Riverside Bait and Tackle
Email: riversideoutdoorsnc@gmail.com
Call: 910-568-3071