The Cape Fear is North Carolina’s only major river that flows directly into the ocean. Its headwaters reach into Virginia, and it becomes the Cape Fear about 4 miles below Jordan Lake Dam where the Haw and Deep rivers merge. From there, it works its way about 200 miles to Southport.
The Cape Fear is tidal to Lock and Dam Number 1, which is 39 miles upriver from Wilmington. The tide change averages 4 to 4.5 feet at Wilmington, higher during full-moon and equinox high tides. The Cape Fear River to widen immediately below Wilmington, but the amount of tide change creates substantial tidal currents even in the wider river.
The boundary between coastal and inland waters is the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge that crosses from Brunswick County into Wilmington. Downriver is classified as Coastal water, requiring a saltwater fishing license, and upriver is Inland water, requiring a freshwater fishing license. License information is available at www.ncwildlife.org and www.ncdmf.net.
The actual boundary between saltwater and freshwater changes constantly. During periods of drought the river is salty for miles upriver from the bridge, and in periods of excessive rain, the freshwater runoff pushes the saltwater back down the river several miles.
The State Port is about a mile downstream from the bridge, and a series of spoil islands begins just downstream river and continue to near the mouth at Southport. They are close to the channel and at least several hundred yards from the river’s shorelines. At times, the fishing around the spoil islands and in the shallows between them and the river’s bank can be exceptional.
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