Hisheirs, scooteri and I got out on the Cape Fear just below Buckhorn Dam (near Moncure NC, I suppose) on Tuesday in our kayaks. Its pretty shallow right now with an easy flow - no problem paddling down or upstream, but you touch lots of subsurface rock with the bottom of the yak.
We headed downstream a couple hundred yards to the head of the exposed rocky section. Lots of gar breaking the surface early and as it got toward dusk the bass started more actively feeding on top. The Cape didn't yield her treasure easily, but everybody caught a little something (emphasis on little...). Hisheirs got a couple of small bass on a just-barely-subsurface crankbait, scooteri got a cat on gulp maggot under a bobber and at least one bass (not sure on what). I got one small bass on a yo-zuri minnow and had a horny toad get chewed up pretty good on the paddle back - no hook ups but lots of blow ups.
I hadn't ever been there before and it was a lot to take in. I was most surprised at how wide the river is - 100 yards? maybe more? Not sure I identified any particular spots that seemed to have deeper pools or different fish holding structure than anywhere else. If/when I go again, I'll probably want to spend a little more time closer to the dam and/or get a little deeper into the rocky section. Mostly seems like the kind of place you need to get familiar with before it will share its secrets.
The gravel portion of Buckhorn road is great for the first 2 miles, but that last 100 yards looks like the lunar surface. Good spot to launch kayaks from once you get down to the water. Great place to paddle & see some nature.
Here's the pics:
Hisheirs at the launch:
Scooteri in front of the dam:
Downstream into the rocks:
Cape fear treasure:
