[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Fishing to Fight Cancer tournament held here at Campbellton Landing gave us a good preview of the kind of fishing we can expect during the month of June. Many of the catfish anglers are accustomed to using live bream for catfish bait. They caught plenty using beetle spins, crickets, and wax worms. The bream are currently spawning and many will continue in that pattern throughout the month of June. They can be found “guarding” their beds in shallow slack water areas.
The larger catfish that were weighed in were flatheads. The majority of these larger ones were caught in the Cape Fear River using cut-bait, fishing around debris piles near Wilmington. Most of the other catfish brought to the scales were blue catfish. Both of these species are also currently spawning in the river and will continue this during the month of June. They spawn in holes that are protected from the current. After the huge amounts of rain, the river is flowing fast and furious. It should be easy to spot the slack areas. The stripers are still in the river but the shad will all be gone. Stripers can be caught using a bucktail jig or jig and soft plastic bounced along the bottom.
Be safe, have fun, and take a kid fishing!