Brunswick County, the southernmost County in North Carolina, has a lot going for it as far as holding redfish during the winter, especially from the Shallotte River to the South Carolina line.
While they tolerate colder water better than many species, redfish prefer warmer pockets of water and have a unique ability to find them. The geography of the southern corner of Brunswick County creates warm spots and the fishing reflects it.
First, there are miles of marsh between the Intracoastal Waterway and Ocean Isle Beach, Sunset Beach and Bird Island. The marsh is shallow, with creeks winding through it between flats with dark bottoms that are exposed to sunlight during the low tides. This warms the water and creates the warmer pockets of water redfish seek.
The marshes are far enough from the heavy flow of the Cape Fear River that it does not affect them. The two rivers that feed the area are both shallow and winding and do not extend far inland.
The Shallotte River begins a few miles inland, west from Shallotte, and it runs to the ICW at Shallotte Point, where it turns south and follows the ICW for about a half mile before turning into Shallotte Inlet at the eastern end of Ocean Isle.
The Calabash River doesn’t run inland even as far as US 17. It is basically a tidal estuary that runs inland from Little River Inlet a couple of miles beyond Calabash.
Both rivers are tidal, very shallow and have extensive mud flats that are exposed to the sun at low tides. The warmer water that is created gradually works it way down the rivers and into the marshes along the waterway.
In addition to being a few degrees warmer, there are small branches running into the rivers that hold mud minnows all year. Puppy drum can be a little choosy during the warmer months when other baits are also available, but their winter diet contains mostly of mud minnows. With water that is usually a degree or two warmer and a good food supply, it isn’t any wonder numbers of redfish winter in the area.
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