Neuse at Smithfield....?

[greggofish]

I have fished the Neuse and Cape Fear in several places but have never fished it around Smithfield. Thinkin' about heading that way this weekend. If I put in behind the baitshop/lumberyard would it be better to head up or down stream. I have a 17 foot cattin boat that can float pretty good in as little as 2 to 3 feet even though it's a regular sized boat. Mainly wondering about the depth for a mile or so either way. I'll probably bring 5-6 dozen live 6-9inch golden shiners and a few dozen big dead shad. I release everything I catch (rather eat a burger or saltwater fish). Not askin for a favorite spot just hopefully some general info for that area. If I can help with Jordan, Falls, Cape Fear near Buckhorn, Harris, just ask. Thanks.

(Preciate the response on the old board Keith.)

[fwmud]

Greg, youcan go up or downstream there at the baitshop. Theres some decent holes about a mile or two(guessing distance) down stream. The sand bars between the ramp and the 3 bridges are pretty shallow so take it easy boing down stream. I don't fish it much anymore myself.
Don't forget to check out the Nc gathering thread for next month.
Keith

[greggofish]

So, do you think it's worth the effort or should I just put in farther downstream? Thanks for the info. The gathering looks interesting......have to see what the schedule looks like.....

[Kitthunter]

Greg, you can either put in behind the lumber yard or at the Town Commons behind the Little Brown Jug. The ramp at the lumber yard is a better place but you have to pay $3.00. There is a pole by the sign as you drive towards the ramp. Put the mony in an envelope and write a description of your truck. The guy that collects the money sometimes comes at night and that way he will know for sure you paid. If you put in there, go back upstream. There are some shallow spots when the river is down so be careful. About halfway between the there and the other ramp is Swift Creek on your left. It is maybe a 10 minute ride at speed so it may take 15-30 minutes with the river low. I like to go upriver in case of a breakdown or in case you get stuck. There have been some nice fish caught near the mouth and along the bank on the left just down stream from the mouth. I hung one last year and got him to the boat (about 50lbs or so) but I was by myself and lost him trying to get him in the boat. There have been 3-4 over 40lbs caught there in the last year. There is a log across the mouth but you can usually get over it to the left if the river is up. There have been some nice ones caught inside the creek as well. Before you get to the creek from the lumber yard, the river curves to the right. Just before that curve is a small log jamb on the left. Fish from the jamb downstream along the bank. I caught a 35 there earlier this year and have caught a couple of smaller ones there too. Use live bream 4-5 inches long, large goldfish, jumbo minnows work too. I actually caught the 35 on a large bream head. That's the first flathead I've ever caught on cut bait. If you go downriver a ways, Black Creek will be on your right. I haven't fished there much, but there have been some nice fish caught near there too. Good luck.

[greggofish]

Wow...great post... Thanks alot for the info. I will be in a blue an white boat with a white outboard when there. My brother is with me most of the time. Think we are going to come down tomorrow night. I will post the results of the trip. Thanks again and maybe we can meet up on the river some time.

Greg

[Kitthunter]

I won't be fishing this weekend, it's my anniversary. I use a green 14 ft Lowe with and old blue 15 Evinrude. I have two fog lights mounted on the front, you can't miss it. I might fish next weekend. We went down to Elizabethtown this past weekend and fished with Joe (he posts on here) on the Cape Fear. We only caught 4, the biggest was only 15 lbs, but we had a large time. We used a 24ft pontoon boat, grilled cheeseburgers and ate watermelon. LOL!!! We are definately going to do that again. I also fish with a guy who uses a brown G3 boat with a 25 Yamaha 4 stroke tiller handle. That thing flies. Anyway, maybe we'll meet up sometime. Later, Mack.

[greggofish]

We went last night and shallow is right on for the Neuse right now. Can't imagine it gets much shallower. My boat is 17 feet with a 50hp and the first mile or so downstream of the lumber yard ramp was averaging 1.5 to 2 feet deep. Not so bad going down but terrible leaving at 1:00 AM. I made sure I smoothed out every sand bar for the next person and fed all the mosquitos..lol.

Anyway, saw several good holes and fished one of the deepest. Wound up with a 25 pound Blue on cut shad and a 5 1/2 pound Flathead on live bream.

Does the river usually stay this low? I have a 14 foot john I'm gonna have to get ready if we go again anytime soon. Besides the water being so shallow, that road to the ramp at the lumber yard is pretty rough. Not sure I can get the john boat trailer over those wicked ruts. That dude oughta take that 3 bucks a pop and fix those huge washouts.

Had a great time and will be back soon one way or another.....

[Kittyhunter]

Sorry, I forgot to mention the path to the ramp. I have pulled my 14ft Jon boat with a S-10 down there, you can go with about anything if you stradle the ruts. The river is not as low as it gets. I went about 2 months ago and couldn't even go upriver. Just around the corner from the ramp we ran aground all the way across the river. We wound up going downriver to fish. You said you did ok going down but not so good back up. That's why I like to go upriver first, the boat always sits lower in the water going against the river, so if you make it upriver, you know you will be ok coming back. If you drag bad going down, you may not make it back to the ramp. If you go down towards Goldsboro, there is usually more water down that way. We put in on Ferry Bridge Road sometimes, or at Whitetail Landing off 117. Beware of the Smithfield ramps when the river has been up and dropped back down. It usually leaves a lot of mud on the ramp and without 4wd, you may not get up the ramp. Oh yeah, nice blue you caught. That boat looks kind of big to put in around Smithfield unless the river is up. We have been in a center console Polar before when it is up.

[greggofish]

Yeah, we are lucky we are not still feeding the skeeters. If I wanted to put in at Ferry Bridge or Whitetail Landing, how would I get there from coming into Smithfield on 70 business? Might try that next time the water is that low. I forgot your advise about going upstream first....shoulda paid attention.

Preciate your help...don't mean to post a million times....just excited about fishing some new water.....thanks again........

[Kittyhunter]

To get to Whitetail Landing, you have to take 70 east to Goldsboro. As you come into Goldsboro, there is a Honda dealer on the left, a Nissan dealer on the right. You will come to an overhead bridge, if you go under and loop around to the right, it takes you down 70 through Goldsboro. You will need to take the ramp to the right before the bridge which is 117 towards Mount Olive. I'm guessing you go about 2 miles maybe 3, and the road kinda splits (the median gets wider) there will be a stoplight and a produce stand on the right. Just up from that there is a store/bait shop on the right. As the road comes back together past the bait shop, there is a driveway on your right. That is the drive for Whitetail Landing. There is a club/bar there and the ramp is right beside it. It is a pretty nice ramp, really clean and we have never had to worry about anything. There are some nice spots downriver, never fished upriver from there. If the river is up good, you can make it down to where the Little River dumps into the Neuse. We have caught some there too. It is a pretty good ride downriver. Don't try it with the water low. Now Ferry Bridge road: 70 business into downtown Smithfield on main street, you will pass the courthouse. Go down until you see Soundstation and Security on the left. That is hwy 301. Turn right on 301 and go down until you get to a stoplight with D&D Body shop on the right. Turn left, that is Old Smithfield Hwy/Brogden Rd. Take that road 10-15 miles or so. You will see signs for a place called Buckleberry where people ride 4 wheelers and stuff. Go past that, you will see Lassiter Rd. to the right. You can turn there, it dead ends at Ferry Bridge road and turn right on F.B.rd, or you can go further down until you see Ferry Bridge road. Either way, turn right on Ferry Bridge rd. When you get to the river, you will cross the bridge and the ramp is on your right. Hope this helps you, happy fishing.

[fwmud]

If ya put in there behind lumberyard, instead of turning in there,continue on up 301 and turn right by whiteswan. take the first dirt road on right. It's a straight shot down to the ramp. That way you won't have to go thru that little "canyon" gulley turning from lumber yard.

[greggofish]

That's good news. I'll try it next time I get that way.....

[Kittyhunter]

Yeah, thanks Keith, I didn't know that.

[mack in n.c.]

hello greggofish, i also live in cary......grew up on the haw...still have 2 tracts of land on the haw......anyway.....you have got some good info from these guys but heres 1 more....if you put in at ferry bridge use your smaller boat.....shallow spots there too.......ifyou go upstream you will come to an island.....there are some deep(relatively speaking) spots around the island but at low flows you will not get even some jon boats past the top of the island.........i fish there often and at a flow of 700 cubic feet a second or less it is too shallow there....the upsteam tip and channels are also blocked with several trees........i fish out of 3 canoes...been there several timesthis year but 1 time the flow was only 400cfs......i had to get out of my canoe and drag it past the island and through stickups.... this canoe will float in inches of water!.....i could walk from 1 bank to the other and not get the top of my ankles wet...look at usgs.gov ...its tricky gettting used to it but look for info on water....then info by state......then look for streamflow......look at the goldsboro gauge monitered by the us geological survey.........the flow i like in wayne and johnston cos is around 1200 cfs......the flow i like in craven co is anywhere from 2-4000 cfs.....hope this helps...........mack

[greggofish]

Thanks for that info....I plan on maybe trying that area once I really test the areas around Smithfield. The other night we went 3-4 miles down river and it kept getting better and better. We only caught a few but heard a few giants feeding around midnight. I swear one sounded like it was eating a beaver....ha

I like the Haw River and get out there several times a year. We put in at 42 on the Cape Fear and fish just past the Hwy. 1 bridge. Caught a few decent Flatheads there this year and a few really nice Channels over ten pounds. Think I prefer the neuse though due to the fact you get fresh fish moving around.....The Cape Fear/Haw/Deep is cut off by Buckhorn, and the Jordan spillway...I think limiting the fish. And, it's not a bad drive from Cary.

Thanks again.....

[mack in n.c.]

hello, i have fished that part of the haw a lot but only once this year.. i agree that it is good...good for stripers too....i put in also at 42(if i use my big square stern canoe with gas motot or a freinds boat but sometimes i take my 15 ft canoe and carry it down the rrocks at the dam and fish from the end of the rocks to us 1.......if no fish are biting i usualy can p/u (no lie) anywhere from 30 -100 nice corks that have washed up against the laydowns that the perchjerkers at the dam have lost and then floated down........i aslo think that for catfish that the neuse is the best....i know guys like the cape fear but i like the neuse better....its smaller and easier to read the water.........and some places wher i fish the neuse (except for springtime shad and striper runs) i rarely see another boat.....stop by and see me if you can....i am the asst mgr at the ace hardware at highhouse and 55.....thanks mack

[greggofish]

Will do, I'm right off Cary Pkwy (Lake Pine Drive) and go to the Ace on Old Apex alot......next time I'll head to high house......

[Kittyhunter]

Yeah Mack is right about Ferry Bridge, I forgot about that island, but I have never been when it was that low, must have been lucky. We usually go to the left of the island and haven't had any trouble. But we have not been when it was really low. My name is Mack too.

[mack in n.c.]

hello greg go fish.....small world......i live behind the rex wellness center (between there and the lake).............i may fish some where friday but i have some wk to do on my land for deer hunting in ala co and somework on 200 acres i lease in chatham co.....i am(weather permiting) going catfishing on the neuse next saturday..probaly in craven or lenoir co.......thanks mack

[greggofish]

small world indeed.

We will not get out til next weekend (Striper fishing on Jordan this weekend)and will probably be on the Neuse after a big flathead this time. Saw three areas on the river that have to hold big ones if I can just get them out. This time I'll bring the 14 foot Jon boat. I have a new 18 hp four stroke on it and should be able to get to the good spots alot quicker than I did last time since that boat can run well in 6-8 inches of water.

Will post the results if there area any :)

[mack in n.c.]

hope you do well this weekend.....if you are not a memeber of the jordan lake striper club please consider it....if you are, i am sorry for not knowing it.....hope you do great on the neuse also.......if i get my wk done early tommorow i have decided to hit the neuse or probaly the deep late tommorow........mack

[greggofish]

Looks like I'll be able to make the Neuse this weekend after all. Is the Ferry Bridge Road area any deeper than the lumber yard? I sure would like to take the bigger boat and I see the water is still about the same at the lumber yard. I need about 3 feet to not worry too much.....


Tarheel Striper Club, haven't joined yet but will if I can get time to make a meeting.

[Kittyhunter]

Greg, I saw the river today at the prison on HWY 70 and at the Town Commons, I wouldn't put my 14 ft Jon boat in right now, it is extremely low. The ramp at the Little Brown Jug is grown up so bad, (don't know who is responsible for clearing it) I wouldn't try to put in there until it is clear. It doesn't look like there would be much water anywhere right now. I doubt it would be much better down at Ferry Bridge. I was going to go this weekend, but from what I saw today, I'm not going to attempt it. Thought about going down to E-town on the Cape but with gas like it is, I ain't driving that far to fish. I filled up my Silverado this morning and it had over 1/4 tank, it took $54, and filled up my S-10 and 2 gas cans this afternoon and it was $92. If you go anywhere, make sure you go upriver first, that way if you make it up, you will make it back. If you go down river and drag bad, it will be worse on the way back upstream.

[greggofish]

Allright....jon boat it is then........Just gonna be harder to land that giant Flathead with my name on it...thanks for the up to the minute river report.

[Kittyhunter]

Nah, there have been 50 - 60 lb flats pulled into jon boats here. I lost a 50+ trying to land him by myself, but if I'd had help, he woulda been in the boat. I regularly fish out of a 14 foot Lowe with a 15 Evinrude. It sits low in the back with just one person though, I have to put my cooler, bait bucket, etc in the front. I run 2 batteries under the center seat (it has been cut out and covered with a hinged door). I have 2 spot lights on the front and a fold down light on the side that is about 6 feet high on an antenna mount. I also have electric start which is why I run 2 batteries. It sat way too low with them in the back.

[greggofish]

My 18 Nissan is electric start and I'll share a trick I use to minimize the weight. I use a Lawnmower battery instead of a regular. Helps alot. My boat is also a Lowe and the center seat is also the livewell. Works great to keep about 40-50 Bream. That 4 stroke will really push it along.

[mack in n.c.]

neuse it loowwwwww......i just looked at river level.........river is only flowing at 437 cfs...the avg for this day for over 20 years is just uner 1000 cfs..........i would not put even a small boat in anywhere above goldsboro...the top side of the island above ferry bridge will be only inches deep.....i also forgot 1 thing ..there is a stretch 100- 200 yds before the island that right now would only be a ft deep.......ok for my canoes but the top side of the island would be impassable right now.....as i said earlier you would need probaly at least a flow of 700 or more to be ok.....i would assume that this would hold true for upriver around smithfied as well.......kittyhunter is right about several things.....i would never go downstream....especially at smithfield(and especially at only 437 cfs) ....if something konks out the next ramp is probaly 20 miles down stream as the crow flies but more like 30 miles if you look at how much in winds.....there are several private places downstream but you had better know the owners.....i used to launch at 1 private ramp(i wked in smithfield for 8 years) but he only let me because i went to college with his son.....also you should not have a problem landing big cats because i doubt anybody uses canoes as much as i do,.i have 1 46 lber at 2 pushing 30 this year out od a 15 ft canoe..... i may switch my plans tommorow and fish the neuse instead of the deep.....since its low i will be able to get upsteam to some of my spots whereas jonboats will not...also the fish will be more congregated............. goodluck to everyone if you go..........mack

[Kittyhunter]

Yeah, the lawnmower battery would be OK if not for the lights. I don't think a lawnmower battery would last long running a spotlight coming back in. I have two car batteries. They are cheaper than deepcycles and will last one trip with no problem. These were actually free. (that's another reason I use them). I'm going to try to get some pictures of my setup this weekend and post them. Maybe we could start a new thread to post pics of your rig.

[JAYNC]

does anyone fish near grifton on the neuse, I hear there are some pretty big cats there, also what is the average water depth there. I know downriver a little ways at ft barnwell its prety deep but not sure about the grifton area.

[ponykilr]

actually kitty hunter is confused(exhaust fumes at work), as the little river is upstream from whitetail landing. i picked on him at work because of his short term memory problem. what he meant to say was he had not fished down river from whitetail much. i guess he never paid attention to what direction the water flows(sometimes it's so low it really doesnt flow at all, it kinda meanders :p )
we went down stream a couple of times and fished under the 117 bridge(caught a 20lber with kitty hunter in the boat) and a 11 lber another night when my bro-in-law's moter died....but thats another story :crying:
if you go to ferry bridge when the water is low, dont go over a couple miles down, unless you bring an extra prop. it gets really rocky.
when the water is up(i use a rock at the brown jug as my gauge, 6 inches of rock visable or less means no problems, much more means dredging with your little spinnie thingie on the back of your outboard) you can go up from smithfield past the 1003 bridge(2 bridges and a tressle upstream, about 5 miles or 20 minutes on my yamaha powered, mud brown, kitty tracker) and there are some good holes up there. fish snags and around the island about a mile past 1003. kitty hunter caught a 27lb flattie up there with me one night.
good luck with the ole' nooose, its little and shallow and kinda aggravatin'...but its got a lot of flats if you search 'em out.

[Kittyhunter]

You guys listen to pony, he knows the Neuse well, taught me everything I know and a lot I forgot. I do have a bad memory. You guys listen to pony, he knows the Neuse well, ..... OK it's not that bad. Anyway, he does fish it a lot and his bro-in-law is like a dang catfish sonar or something. You could fish right beside him and not get a bite and he'd be pulling them in. I think he rubs like some catfish urine on him or something, maybe some old deer hunting tricks. Pony got me hooked on this stuff, we work together and have been friends like a gazillion years so if we talk a little trash on here, think nothing of it. Now about that night the motor died, I'd never heard of anyone paddling with a teaky torch. LOL!!!! I don't forget everything.

[ponykilr]

we did remove the teaky oil first, we rubbed ourselves in it to try to keep the skeeters off us. someone who shall remain nameless(brandon) took my spray to use "just for a second". i told robbie that no water spittin out of that hole was not a good sign........ we rebuilt it, we made it faster, better, more reliable...........ok, we put a new head gasket and water pump on it. it still runs like crap.
my fourstrokin 25 yamahaw though, now thats a nice peece-o-quipment.

[melvin7a]

Mack,
Albeit this is the long way around but I lost your contact information. If you would e-mail then I can reply directly.

Regards,

Melvin
melvin7a@yahoo.com