The Fish Park

Greenville’s River Park North is an eastern North Carolina treasure for fishermen.

With each twitch of his wrist, Howard Vainright chugged the Bang-O-Lure across the calm surface of the woodland pond in River Park North. The lure dipped just under the surface each time it moved, and it left a series of expanding circles in its path, allowing Vainright to track its progress.

Unbeknownst to Vainright, something else was tracking the lure — from below the surface.

Suddenly, the water erupted around the lure, and it disappeared. Vainright leaned back and set the hook on a small, but healthy bass. Feeling the sting of the hook gripping its jaw, the bass jumped and tumbled twice, attempting to dislodge it. Vainright kept the line tight and his rod tip high, and soon, he was holding the lip of the tired bass. With practice from multiple repetitions, he quickly removed the hook and sent the bass scurrying on its way.

Already smiling because he was in his element, his smile was quite a bit brighter.

It was an ordinary, early morning trip for Vainright, the park superintendent at River Park North, a facility of the Greenville Recreation and Parks Department (GRPD). He believes it’s a good way to check on the health of the ponds and fish in the park. It has worked well during the 25-plus years he has overseen the park since its opening, and it continues to be a jewel among all GRPD facilities. In addition to local residents, people come from across eastern North Carolina to enjoy the variety of outdoor activities and programming offered.

Vainright had been “inspecting” the pond from a float tube, or as he prefers to call it, a “belly boat,” wearing fins for propulsion. He knows the pond by heart and said fish don’t shy away from a fisherman in a tube even as much as they might from one in a canoe or kayak.

“Fishing from the belly boat definitely gets you up close and personal,” Vainright said. “You are sitting suspended from the tube, and the water level is above your waist and below your chest. Most people wear a light pair of waders, but many times during the heat of summer, I come out in just an old pair of pants. The water is just cool enough to help cool you off.”

After releasing that first bass, Vainright worked across a flooded line of shrubs to a heavily shaded back corner of the pond. He skipped the lure under some overhanging branches and began to pop it back out. Before the lure reached the edge of the overhang, it disappeared in a splash. Vainright’s rod bent heavily as the fish surged in a futile effort to get back to the safety of a clump of bushes where it had been hiding.

“There seems to always be one or two in that little pocket,” Vainright said, pointing his rod tip to a small opening under overhanging branches. “Most are this size to about three pounds, but I caught one big one in here a few years back. I kept it in the big aquarium in the (Walter L. Stasavich) Nature Center for a while, and then released it back into here last year.”

Casting back to within inches of where the previous bass had hit, Vainright almost immediately hooked into another short, stocky bass.

“How about letting me store this in your livewell?” Vainright asked. “Mark (Tysinger) wanted to trade out some of the bass in one of the tanks, and this one is about the perfect size. I’ll call him a little later to bring a tank down and get it. Maybe we’ll get some more too.”

Effortlessly working along in the pond, Vainright continued to catch a bass about every five to 10 minutes. Some were a little larger than others, many were nice, and although none were what would be considered large, he was having fun. Most of the time, when he dropped the lure in a place that looked particularly fishy, there was a bass waiting there that couldn’t resist.

As the sun moved higher overhead, Vainright worked his way back to the place he’d entered the pond and fished a small rectangle of flooded bushes. He had caught a bass and suddenly, something grabbed the lure that definitely wasn’t a bass. In a few seconds, he brought it to the top and across to the belly boat and held up a small crappie.

Vainright suggested switching to Breambusters and crickets to see how the bream might be biting. He launched one of the park’s rental boats and clamped on a small electric trolling motor he had brought from home. Working his way around the pond, Vainright found bream biting in quite a few places.

“While fishing for various species throughout the park is usually pretty good, our catfish program in the big lake up front is a highlight of our fishing program,” Vainright said. “In addition to fishing from the banks, that pond has a ramp and two fishing piers that are handicapped accessible. We participate in the Community Lakes Fishing Program that is offered through the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Every month from April through October, the Commission stocks our big pond with somewhere from 800 to 1,000 channel catfish.

“The catfish stocked are already at keeper size, so anyone who catches them has fresh fish for dinner if they would like,” Vainright said. “Some of them grow pretty large too. Every October, we have a catfish tournament, and there are double-digit size catfish weighed every year. For folks who don’t have their own equipment, we also have loaner equipment thanks to another program offered through the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.”

Vainright said kids younger than 12 can and senior citizens older than 62 can fish free in the park; they still need to check in at the park office. Vainright said River Park North and its ponds were designed to provide outdoor recreation activities, and all his staff is willing to assist in whatever ways may be helpful.

Vainright said many communities have parks with recreational lakes and programs that include fishing, and a growing number of local recreation departments are participating in the programs offered through the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.

Jerry Dilsaver, a former SKA national champion and USAA Angler of the Year, is a full-time freelance writer based out of Oak Island.