Cape Fear bays are red spots

Guide Jeff Wolfe looks for winter redfish in the shallow, warmer bays east of the Cape Fear River upstream from Bald Head Island.

Bays on east side of river hold plenty of fish in winter

Even during the harshest winter, the bays located east of the mouth of North Carolina’s Cape Fear River are a haven for red drum, and they hold some black drum, speckled trout and even an occasional flounder.

Three shallow bays and a creek system stretch between Fort Fisher to the north and Bald Head Island to the south on the east side of the Cape Fear across from Southport. The bays are separated from the Cape Fear by The Rocks, a water-control structure built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1800s. So they are protected  from swells and wakes, and their waters don’t freely mix. The Basin is the northern bay, with Second Bay in the middle and Buzzard Bay to the south.

The Federal Point boat ramp at the end of US 421 near the Fort Fisher Ferry Terminal is the only ramp with direct access. Several spots in the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area are good for launching kayaks into The Basin and Second Bay. But it requires a four-wheel drive vehicle and a daily or annual pass to access. Buzzard Bay has no land access. However, boats may enter from Second Bay or from the Bald Head Island end through Deep, Cedar and Still creeks.

Small craft offer best access

These bays are very shallow and are best fished from shallow-draft boats and kayaks. Much of the bottom is soft, so wading isn’t a good option. Fishermen should carry extra food and warm clothes. Missing a channel by a few feet or tarrying a little too long on a falling tide may mean waiting eight to 12 hours until the rising tide brings enough water to float again.

The tide change is approximately 4 feet. Low tide exposes acres of dark, soft mud or sand flats and oyster rocks. This exposed bottom absorbs warmth from the sunlight and warms the water in the bays several degrees.

The water doesn’t drain completely from all the bays each tide. The area doesn’t have to completely reheat every day and maintains those few degrees of warmth. During the winter, baitfish look for the warmest water possible, and in this area, these bays are it.

Jeff and Christian Wolfe of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters fish this area often and know it well. They usually fish with soft plastics on light jigheads. They retrieve them slowly, concentrating on hopping the lures off the bottom a few inches to get them noticed. Shrimp and pieces of mullet are also part of their arsenal.

About Jerry Dilsaver 1168 Articles
Jerry Dilsaver of Oak Island, N.C., a full-time freelance writer, is a columnist for Carolina Sportsman. He is a former SKA National Champion and USAA Angler of the Year.

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