By Capt. Aaron Kelly, Rock Solid Fishing
Spring is coming and Eastern North Carolina offers plenty of fishing opportunities. I like to get bobbers, live minnows, and beetlespins and fish the fresh water. Fresh water fishing Outer banks? Yes sir. I grew up in Kitty Hawk on a fresh water canal. If I wanted to saltwater fish, it was a one-mile bike ride up to Kitty Hawk Pier. Springtime was a great time to land white perch, crappie, largemouth, and bluegill. I was always looking for that rare chained pickerel to hammer my daredevil lure while constantly keeping a keen eye on that bobber. Just watching the bobber start to quiver right before a bite gets anyone excited. It’s a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon introducing your kids to fishing!
More interested in the brine? Let’s go catch a tog! Tautog will been nibbling crabs on wrecks. Their color is beautiful in March when you get one with the rusty yellow streaking across it’s head. Or, look toward shallow muddy flats for slot reds. Put your time in and if you find one there are more around. Jigs with gulp shrimp are a good starting point. Slow hops across the bottom seem to perk the red’s interest. Gold spoons are another favorite. Cut bait also works. If you see ‘em but they just won’t hit, be patient! Maybe the sun will warm ‘em up a bit more or that tide change will get the water moving. Moving around marsh points with some flowing water could present schoolie stripers ready to attack you jig. I also enjoy throwing those little micro rattletraps. Sometimes a flounder or speck could fold into the mix.
It’s March and the water is still cold so you still could get skunked. You could also lay on a marsh point catching reds every 10 casts looking at all the cars off in the distance going across the bridge wondering why more of those folks have not caught on to you yet! Good Luck.