Forecast by: Capt. Jot Owens
Penn Tackle Elite Staff • Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com • 910-233-4139
I hope by the time you read this the weather will still be pretty mild as it has been most of this winter. February can be a 50/50 kind of month. Some years it’s good, some years bad! I prefer a normal to a bit milder kind of February myself! Most years you need to pick the best days to go fishing around the Cape Fear area waters…warmer days with less wind are the keys to better winter fishing trips this month.
Cape Fear River striped bass are one of my favorites for winter fishing in the Wrightsville area. I look for the stripers on dropoffs, around pilings and in big- ger creek mouths. Working baits like Berkley Gulp five- and six- inch Jerkshads and Berkley Havoc Grass Pigs should get you a bite or two from a striped bass. I rig my Jerkshads and Grass Pigs on 1/4-ounce Moaner Stroker swim bait hooks; check out Moaner.com for great hooks at great prices! Mid-water crank baits work too…try lures that dive from three to eight feet deep for best results. If the crank bait starts to hit the bottom let it float up a bit or trust me you’ll lose it to a log! Don’t forget that the Cape Fear River striped bass fishery is a closed fishery and is catch-and-release only; you must release all striped bass. But they’re still
fun to catch!
Another fish that can bite well in the Cape Fear River during the winter months is the blue catfish. If you would like to give the catfish a try, use baits like cut mullet, chicken livers and cut eels. I use heavy Carolina rigs when I fish for catfish. Try an Eagle Claw L42 2/0 to 4/0 hook with 50- or 60-pound mono leader to make your Carolina rig. Look for the catfish on drop-offs from five to 20 feet of water. We have seen some blue cats over 30 pounds caught in the river, so don’t use tackle that’s too light…these are not always your ‘farm pond channel cats’!
There is one fish that can be caught very easily during the winter months, if you find them! This redfishing can be some of the best of the year for catching numbers of fish. The deal breaker for this fishery is you have got to have good weather, calm seas and bright sunny skies for the ocean schools. I use Berkley Gulp Ripple Mullet in colors Pearl/Chart Tail, New Penny and Rootbeer Gold/ Chart Tail…also the Berkley Gulp two-inch and three-inch Shrimp work well too. On warmer light wind days you can also find some nice schools of reds in shallow water oyster flats and rocks. The reds will sun on these dark-colored bottom areas for a little extra warm up. This is also where you’ll see some bait fish doing the same thing (warming up). Work these baits slowly in front of the redfish schools, not right through the school, as all this will do is spook the reds and will make it very hard to catch them. If the reds are hungry, they will break away from the school and eat your bait!
Tackle run down: Reels: PENN Battle II & Conflict Spinning reels in sizes 2500, 3000 and 4000 for the redfish and striped bass; and Battle 5000 and 6000 for the catfish. Rods: PENN Battalion and Regiment in 6’6” & 7’ medium and medium/heavy action. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-Cast in 10-, 15- and 20-pound test. Leader: Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon leader material. Thank you for reading Coastal Angler Magazine!