Fished the northeast cape fear on 5/2/08. We put in at the bridge right on hwy 210. I can't remember the name of the ramp, but theres an old store right before you cross the bridge. I noticed they are doing alot of construction on that stretch of 210 and also appears they are putting in a new bridge.
We hit the river when the tide was coming in, which I hate to do. I like hitting it when the tide is high and fishing the falling tide. Also noticed the river seemed a little high. We went up the river about 5 miles or so and passed by some guys that seemed to have a cat that was at least 2 1/2-3 feet long. Was not close enough to see what kind, but it was huge.
We were using spinnerbaits in white, chartreuse, chart/white, broken back rebel's, and also threw a buzzbait around the lily pads. The score? Me - 1 small bass, 1 pumpkinseed, 3 missed bites, and 1 big fish (either bowfin or bass) that got off right at the boat. Grandpa - 2 nice bass hooked, none in boat. I fished a double colorado chart/white spinnerbait pretty much all day and all my fish/bites came on that.
Regardless of the number of fish, we still had a good day fishing. I love fishing spinnerbaits in the river because there are so many different types of structure and every pocket/stump/tree/grass/etc. I threw into, my heart would start beating fast and I would be holding on waiting for a fish to nail it. Normally this is how the fishing is there, but fishing the high tide and fighting the wind made it a little difficult to fish. I also noticed in some places the water was really dingy and almost muddy looking in some places and in others the water looked just right.
Took this pic on my phone idling down the river:
Here is the small bass I caught. She was about 12-13" long and full of eggs:
