North Carolina is home to two different rivers named New. One is in the mountains of Northwestern North Carolina and offers whitewater and fishing opportunities, and the other is at the coast and has boating and fishing opportunities.
The coastal New River is approximately 40 miles long and is totally contained in Onslow County. The first real notice of it is a very small stream crossed by a small bridge on NC 24 and US 258 just east of Richlands High School in Richlands.
A few miles below Richlands, the New River opens into a stream wide enough for canoe, kayak and small-boat traffic. Just before crossing US 17 Business in Jacksonville, the river widens to the point of easily handling boat traffic. Downstream of Jacksonville, it widens into a series of bays and may be several miles wide at different spots before reaching Sneads Ferry, where it narrows back down to a moderate-size waterway, and New River Inlet, a small, shallow inlet between North Topsail and West Onslow beaches.
The New River features very little tidal difference; many days, the wind moves more water than the moon tide. A foot of tidal change can be significant; it can also mean the difference between getting into some of the creeks or not.
Numerous creeks flow into the river. Downstream from Jacksonville are popular ones like Northeast, Southwest, Wallace and Fernch’s creeks, all of which are bordered on at least one side by either the New River Air Station or Camp Lejeune Marine Corps bases.
The river is home to an artificial reef, AR 398, which is located roughly between Town Point on the west bank and Hadnot Point on the east bank. The reef it is comprised of rubble mounds using the debris from the old US 17 Business (Buddy Phillips) Bridge in Jacksonville. Reef construction began in 2010 and stopped in late 2011. There is space to add more materials should they become available. The reef site is marked by buoys on the four corners; it covers approximately 30 acres of riverbottom in approximately six feet of water.
The idea for mounds of rubble was borrowed from oyster reefs that have been successful elsewhere along the coast. Biologists are already calling the reef a success, as it has attracted a variety of fish: Speckled trout, red drum, flounder, black drum, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel and bluefish.
The New River Foundation was established in 1995 to help restore and protect the New River/White Oak River Basin. For more information, visit www.newriverfoundation-onslow.org.
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