Jacks Be Nimble

Horseshoe Lake at Suggs Mill Pond Game Land offers a variety of Down East fish species, especially toothy chain pickerel.

Anglers at Horseshoe Lake can hook chain pickerel that may make catch-and-release fishing a blood sport.My boat drifted between cypress trees at the 600-acre Horseshoe Lake at the Suggs Mill Pond Game Land some 20 miles east of Fayetteville. In all the game land includes 9,818 acres of swampy woods near NC 53.

A sandy road leads to a boat ramp and dock. Horseshoe Lake, named for the shape, is one of the mysterious Carolina Bays found at the eastern part of the state.

No one is sure what created these shallow pools near the lower Cape Fear River. During the years, researchers have written hundreds of scientific papers about the bays.

Some think fragments of exploding meteors or comets blasted the coastal plain like shotgun pellets to create the bays. Other researchers believe ancient tides or winds scoured out these sandy lakes.

Another theory holds that the lakes are spawning beds left by giant fish, now extinct, during prehistoric times.

I like the meteor theory, but no one really knows what formed these lakes. Native American legends tell of falling stars striking the earth to create these shallow holes in the sandy soil.

The Waccamaw-Siouan tribe still lives near the lake of the same name. They call themselves “People of the Falling Star.”

Whatever their origin, the mysterious Carolina Bays dot the coastal plain from New Jersey to Florida but are most abundant in the Carolinas.

Bay trees thrive at these lakes, hence the name. Many bays have filled in over the centuries, while others offer shallow fishing holes to anglers willing to target other species.

Most of the Carolina Bays contain acidic water caused by rotting plants in the swamps. Freshwater fish such as largemouth bass, bluegills and crappies don’t thrive at most of these lakes.

But chain pickerels, locally known as “jacks,” are the top of the predatory chain among gamefish at Suggs Mill Pond and other bays. Similar to largemouth bass, jacks are ambush feeders.

I cast an in-line spinnerbait near the remains of a crumbling duck blind at the lake last June. The fish hooked itself and buzzed 6-pound line from the reel.

Always a fool for light-tackle action, I would have to rate this lowly jack as equal to a largemouth bass for a good fight. And light line offers more of a challenge because of those razor teeth lining the lips of chain pickerel. Soon I soon learned just how sharp they really are.

Happy for a bite, I fought the fish to the boat for a date with a tape measure and a camera. Mindful of those teeth, I held the line with my fingers away from the mouth, and reached for the pliers, thinking I was safe.

Suddenly the fish seemed to jump up and snapped the meaty palm of my left hand. I yelped and shook it off, and the 17-inch predator splashed away, diving through the blood slick I left in the dark water.

Later, I told Charles Cain about the catch, and he chuckled. Now retired, Cain has fished at Suggs Mill Pond all his life.

He often fishes with long-time friend Edward Rice.

“Jacks are the meanest fish in the lake and they will bite you quick,” Cain said. “It’s hard to land jacks without wire leaders because they bite through fishing line. You were lucky to get that one in.”

On this hot morning, Cain and Rice prowled the lake, seated in a 10-foot fiberglass boat with swivel seats. To beat the sun they drifted in the shade of cypress trees. Boaters can’t use gasoline motors, so they putter around with an electric trolling motor.

Horseshoe Lake, happily, is one impoundment where anglers in small crafts don’t have to worry about large boat wakes.

Cain and Rice used cane poles and natural bait to catch small perch called “flyers” for supper.

“I once caught a 22-inch jack from this lake,” Cain said. “They fight better than bass.”

Cain said he catches jacks with small spinners or spoons. Jacks also strike live minnows.

“Use lures that have some red on them if you’re going for jacks,” he said.

Grass beds and floating peat bogs line the lakeshore. Jacks ambush prey from the thick stuff, so expect tangles.

For perch, Cain uses natural bait for a sure thing. Anglers can use worms and crickets here.

Cain and Rice use store-bought pellets that come packed in small jars. They filled a bucket with perch during this trip.

A white spinner lure also produced several perch and a surprise bullhead.

Rice lives to fish for largemouth bass at local lakes and rivers. Yet during the summer months he finds himself at Suggs Mil Pond two or three times a week.

Now retired, he grew up three miles from the lake and started fishing there as a youngster. And he had to hike across a swamp to get to the lake.

“Back in those days, I had to walk in across a sand ridge through the swamp, while watching for snakes,” he said. “That is still a good practice.

“Big cottonmouths and all kinds of snakes live here.”

But dangerous snakes don’t keep Rice away from his favorite fishing pole.

“I start fishing as soon as the weather turns warm,” he said “That’s when those millpond flyers start biting good. I catch them with cane poles, corks, and crappie nibbles for bait. Most people catch them with crickets and worms, but the crappie nibbles work better and cost less.”

For the small-but-tasty perch, Rice keeps the tackle simple — cane poles and corks.

The small perch work well on the table, Rice said, but he prefers jacks for sport.

“I love jack fishing,” he said. “In July 2005, I caught a 25-inch jack at Suggs Mill Pond. That’s the largest one I ever caught there.

“I caught it in the middle of the day with an orange inline spinner.”

Rice landed that toothy trophy while fishing near a lily pad in the middle of the afternoon. To stay a safe distance from the critter’s teeth, he uses wire leaders.

He also fishes for largemouth bass in the Cape Fear River and other lakes. But chain pickerel rate high for fighting quality, he said.

“I have caught bass up to 8-pounds, and once caught a 7-pound jack,” Rice. “I couldn’t tell that much difference in the way they fought until I got them in the boat.

“That 7-pound jack tore my hand up trying when I tried to remove the hook. Don’t grab a jack by the lip like you would a bass.”

Rice said he doesn’t eat chain pickerel but prefers perch.

However, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission fishery biologist Keith Ashley eats jacks. The Elizabethtown resident has studied Carolina Bays for more than 20 years for the WRC. On days off, he likes to land chain pickerel from the lakes.

He casts small silver or gold spoons near lily pads and other structure.

“Chain pickerel are ambush predators,” Ashley said. “They hide around structure and attack smaller fish.

“We usually bake them. They have a firm, white flesh that is very tasty, but you have to pick through the bones.”

Chain pickerel are the top predator fish in this cypress pond, but not the only ones.

“The Carolina Bays support acid tolerant species,” Ashley said. “We find some small largemouth bass and other sunfish in those lakes, but they do not grow well in the acidic waters.”

On the pH scale, seven is neutral while anything below that is considered acidic. Most of the Carolina Bays fall between 4 and 5 pH.

Largemouth bass and most sunfish species need water with a pH of 6 or above grow to any size.

By contrast, Lake Waccamaw is the largest Carolina Bay in that part of the state. It supports a robust largemouth fishery.

“At Waccamaw there are several limestone outcroppings that keep the pH between 6.2 to 6.4,” Ashley said. “We did quite a bit of sampling at Waccamaw. There we found good populations of bass, bluegills and pumpkinseeds.”

“Suggs Mill Pond and other bays in the area get little fishing pressure,” Ashley said. “That is a plus for anglers who want to get away from more crowded lakes during the summer.”

Winter attracts duck hunters to the lakes. Like the anglers, duck hunters often wonder where these lakes came from.

Keith Ashley has read all the theories.

“I don’t know anyone who explain where these lakes come from,” he said.

Anyone who visits Horseshoe Lake of the other Carolina Bays can ponder that mystery as they enjoy the area’s natural beauty. In summer, the best way to explore is to use a small boat, which is almost mandatory since only electric trolling motors are permitted.

Earlier that morning, I waited for a light shower to pass before launching. Once in the water the sun baked the lake.

For a break, I paddled in the shade of cypress trees, while watching for snakes. The water is just deep enough for kayaks and other small craft here.

Small boaters can enjoy rare sights.

At one point, I found acres of insect-eating pitcher plants growing in a peat bog. Doomed bugs crawled inside the long flowers for the sticky nectar. They stick in the nectar to become meals for the killer flowers.

All of the Suggs Mill Pond Game Land is a bear sanctuary, so bear tracks show up well on the sandy trails. Deer and wild turkeys also leave traces in the woods.

Suggs Mill Pond is part of a quail-restoration project that must be working. All morning last June, I enjoyed the cheerful songs of bobwhites.

On shore, the WRC maintains 80 acres of waterfowl ponds. These five ponds attract flocks of ringnecks and puddle ducks during the winter, and sportsmen with permits can hunt waterfowl in season.