McKinney Lake , Hoffman NC - Fishing and Access to McKinney Lake

 Mckinney Lake

 (See Bottom for many pictures of the lake and Facilities including the boat ramp, piers , parking etc)

HINT - You can click on the Pictures to make them bigger and see them better

Mckinney Lake is a 75 Acre(some sources say 65 Acres) impoundment of Hitchcock Creek in Richmond County.   This lake serves 2 purposes.   1. Supplying water to The Fish Hatchery located below the lake and 2. Recreation , mainly fishing , canoeing,  and birdwatching.   

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commision leases the Hatchery from  US Fish and  Wildlife which operated the hatchery until 1995 and then the NCWRC in 1996 started leasing it for the production of channel Catfish in the 23 ponds . 

This lake is a "Blackwater" lake and never gets muddy which makes it a good place to go after heavy rains which can have other spots muddy .  The lake can also be fished during daylight hours on any day of the week. 

What makes McKinney Lake really good and interesting is since 2016 the NCWRC has started a feeding program and the results have Bream(Bluegill to you Northerners) up to and over 1 lb !   

Photo Courtesy NCWRC

I can say for sure when I was there last I counted no less than 9 feeders around the lake. 

What can you catch here?   Bream, Shellcrackers (Redears to the northerners) , Black Crappie, Largemouth Bass,   Jack (Chain Pickerel to the Northerners),   Raccoon Perch (Yellow Perch to Northerners) , Channel Catfish, and for sure some others that I cannot verify but most likely are in 

there which are Redfin Pickerel, Bullheads, Common Carp and maybe Bowfin. 

This lake can be accessed off of  McDonald Church Rd (SR1475) and then Mckinney Lake Rd.

Boat Ramp -   Basically a dirt ramp.

Boat Trailer Parking Area

Vehicle Without Trailer Parking area

Handicap Parking Spots

McKinney Lake Pier

Mckinney Lake Deck

More Pictures

Thanks for Reading and be sure to visit my YouTube Channel Macks Extreme River Fishing

#mckinneylake

#mckinneylakehatchery

#fishing

 Goldsboro NCWRC Boating Access  Area

The Goldsboro Boating Access area is owned by the NCWRC and is located at 2901 US HWY 117 S  Goldsboro, NC 27530 .  The GPS Cordinattes are  35.3482, -78.0236

This Ramp is easily found right off of US 117 S just south of Goldsboro and just past E-Z bait and tackle where you can get all of your bait & fishing supplies. The ramp is open 24 hrs a day 365 days a year. 

***video of fishing this section down near the bottom****

Here is a picture of its location with the Ramp circled in Green. 

Notice - you can click on the pictures to make them BIGGER

The main fish pursued here are White and Hickory Shad During their spring spawning run(Late Feb to April).  Striped Bass during their run  During March, April, and early May and  Catfish (Blues and Flatheads) all year. 

Picture of the ramp -

Ariel View of the Ramp -

The actual ramp is circled in Red,  The Parking area is Grass (inside orange circle) where you can pull up to or back up to the fence(yellow)

One of the Best places to fish is upstream at the mouth of the Little river which is ~3 miles up.

Here is a shot of where  the Little River enters the Neuse River.  The Little River being a Blackwater stream usually runs clearer than the Neuse River so there is usually a noticable "mudline" which can be seen in this aerial shot. 

In March of 2023 I made a trip up to the mouth of the Little River in search of Shad.  We caught a few Hickory Shad  in  this video and you can see the river at the mouth of the Little plus in this video I go into more detail with pictures and marking the best places to fish for Shad. 

Video of This section from the ramp to the Mouth of the Little River with a few fish caught. 

March 2023

Thanks for reading and watching.  

#neuseriver

#littleriver

#boatramp

NCWRC boat ramps

 Fishing Indian Camp Pond 

Indian Camp Pond is a 4 acre Pond Located in Richmond County on the Sandhills Gameland. 

Here is an aerial Photo of the Pond

This 4 acre pond is open to the public for fishing but you must have a NC Fishing license to do so. 

This Pond is a Blackwater Pond and thus stays "clear" all the time never getting muddy.  Fish found in this pond are Largemouth Bass, Crappie(Black) , Bream, Shellcracker , Channel Catfish and during most winters (usually around the 2nd or 3rd week in December) the pond is stocked with trout.

During warm weather the most sought after fish is the Channel Catfish which the NCWRC stocks peridiocally.   They also have a fish feeder installed just for the catfish.  This is done though a program called the COMMUNITY FISHING PROGRAM or CFP.  see it here  https://www.ncwildlife.org/Fishing/Fishing-Programs/Community-Fishing-Program

Here is an aerial photo of the Pond . I have put a circle around the fish feeder which is in easy casting distance of the end of the 2 piers.  50 ' from the 1st pier to feeder and 70 ' from the second pier to feeder. 

Note - this feeder does not dispense food during the winter. 

The NCWRC stocked 1,100 8'' - 12'' Channel Catfish in Indian Camp for 2022.   You can see the numbers for Indian camp and others by searching NC warmwater stocking for 2022 or the year you want to see. 

As noted above During the Winter usually around the 2nd or 3rd week in December the NCWRC stocks trout in Indian Camp. This is a put and take fishery as the trout that do not get caught will die when the water gets too hot for them in the spring.   

Here is a video of them stocking in 2022

Here is an aerial view of the pond and I have put  ''X'' s where I think the best Trout fishing spots are. 

Here are 2 videos of me catching Trout aat Indian Camp.

Here are some cool pictures of the creek below the dam but this creek is too small for any fish of any size, interesting the walls with grooves in this.  I wonder what structure was on here??

Thanks for reading and Looking.  Mack

#indiancamppond

#indiancamplake

Fox Squirrels Range Expanding in North Carolina

Great News !!  Yes Fox Squirrels are expanding in North Carolina.   

The Fox Squirrels in Eastern NC are expanding North and west and the Fox Squirrels in our NW Mountains are expanding east.  

They are being seen in places where they have not been seen in years. 

Here is an article from the Appalachin Voice in 2012 where they talk of the populations in the mountains expanding east and the Eastern populations expanding west.   

Read it here - http://appvoices.org/2012/04/18/fox-squirrels-making-a-comeback-in-n-c/

This year (2023) the North Carolina Wildlife resources Commission updated the Fox Squirrel range map which had not been updated since 2011 

I am going to show the 2 old range maps the state has been posting for ~20 years or more

Old Map 1  2011 or earlier

Old Map # 2 2011 or earlier

Here is their Press Release that was released aprox 2pm  on February 26, 2023 courtesy of the NCWRC

Click on the picture to make it bigger

Now , here is the New Fox squirrel range map just released this year(2023) by the NCWRC

New Map updated 2023

If you compare Old Map 2 to the New Map you can see they have added 21 counties to the range map.

This is great and exicting  news for everyone.  

#foxsquirrel

#foxsquirrelhunting

#foxsquirrelrangemap

Gilchrist Blue Springs and Jonathan Springs Near High Falls Florida

 

Location -  Gilchrist Blue Springs and Run, & Jonathan Springs

Date - January 26th and 27th 2023

This trip was a bucket list trip for me as it really accomplished 2 things(or hoped to) which was to catch a Suwannee Bass and the other was to see several Springs in this area.   Both were accomplished. 

This is the area where I fished on the second day but one side adventure of this Trip was canoeing up Gilchrist Blue Springs Run to the Spring which was magnificiant. This spring is located in Ruth B. Kirby Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park and I  was the only person there.  The Spring and run are off limits to fishing.

What an awesome spring but the run(creek) to the river was maybe 1/4 to 1/3 mile long and it was awesome as well.   You can see a Suwannee Bass Swimming with 2 Largemouths if you pay attention.   

I Launched at Rum Island Springs County Park which is a very nice county Park which has Rum Island Spring as a swimming hole. It can be seen right on the river.

We Put in at the ramp  (Blue Circle) paddled down past Rum Spring and entered Gilchrist Blue Springs Run (Red Circle) and then paddled up to Gilchrist Blue Springs.(Green Circle)

Click on the Picture to see all of it

Here is the Video of that short but awesome paddle adventure.

I then went upstream to Jonathan Spring and this little Spring was pretty awesome to be a small one.

Even though Google Maps shows Jonathan Spring as a Blue Balloon that is not where it is at. The red arrow marks the outlet of it and the spring is only like 20 yards up .   The Yellow Circle is where a very small spring bubbles up into the river. 

Click on the Picture to see all of it.

Video on Jonathan Spring 

Video of the 2 days fishing on the Sante Fe River. The 1st day we put in at the High Falls Ramp and the second day we put in at the  Rum Island ramp.  Both fishing days are on this video. 

#suwanneebass

#gilchristbluesprings

#genniesprings

#jonathonspring

Ruth B. Kirby Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park 

#floridasprings

LJ Brasher and His Jitterbug Modification - The Monster Bass Fisherman

 021223

LJ Brasher and his Jitterbug modifications.

LJ Brasher was the first Big Bass Fisherman I read about.   Now I want go into too much detail here about his tactics as you can google him and find it all out but he used big Black musky Jitterbugs at night, 14'' plastic worms by day,   Abu reels , heavy line and fished a 100 mile radius around Madison Florida.   This Opelika Alabama Resident was IMHO the best Big Bass fisherman there ever was.   He caught well over 500 bass over 10 lbs and one summer I think he Caught 80 over 10 lbs and I know for sure he caught 5 over 10 lbs in one night !! and he mounted all of them on a stringer seen below. 

My Brasher would fish sometimes for up to 2 days in his boat without ever getting out.  His tactics along with his persistance is why he caught so many.   Unfortunatly he passed away in the late 90's and my one regret is I never drove down there to meet him. 

Here is a video I did of LJ Brasher's Jitterbug modification.  

Thanks and leave some comments if you knew Mr  LJ Brasher or just really liked his tactics.

#LJBRASHER

#jitterbug

#bigbass

#monsterbass

Trout Stocking Indian Camp Pond 120722 #shorts NCWRC

120722

Indian Camp Pond

Marston, NC

The NCWRC stocked ~1200 Trout in less than a minute.

Video on My Youtube channel coming up soon where we catch and eat some of these fish 3 days later.   See Mack's Extreme River Fishing on YT

Best Spots for Trout @ Indian Camp Pond

#ncwrc

#troutstocking

Odom Boating Access Area - New Boat Ramp open on the Roanoke River

 112622

New Boat ramp open on the Roanoke River - Odom Boating Access Area

Feburary 2022 the NCWRC opened a new much needed ramp on the Roanoke River.   This ramp will help alleviate some of the crowds at the Weldon NC boating access during the Spring Shad and Striper runs. 

The address for the ramp is 1017 Striper Ln Jackson, NC  which is just outside of Jackson NC and is 10 miles below Halifax NC(no public ramp there) and 17 miles below Weldon NC.

The coordinates of the ramp are  36.324494, -77.440062

The  Ramp has 42 spots for vehicles with trailers with aprox 1/2 in the lower paved lot and 1/2 in the upper gravel lot. 

The Lower lot also has 4 spots for single vehicles and 2 Handicapped spots for single vehicles.  This lower lot also has 1 Handicapped spot for a vehiclle with trailer.  

The upper lot has half the spots for vehicles with trailers also has 4 spots for single vehicles. 

This is an aerial shot of the Ramp and parking area(2 pictures below).  The main parking area is paved and the upper parking area is gravel.   This was taken during contruction as the lines are not painted on the lower lot.

**April 2 2023  these aeriel pictures are from Bing Maps and when taken they  had not painted the lines on the bottom lot or put in the parking places on the upper gravel lot when they were taken.   Google Maps as of today still shows woods there where the ramp it so they are way behind Bing.   

I will update these aerial photos as soon as either Bing updates or google maps does.   

***Note you can click on the pictures to make them Bigger*****

****When google maps updates the satelite view I will post an up to date aerial of the lots**** 

A nice view of the ramp which has 2 lanes. 

Some views of the lower Parking lot

Single vehicle spots

More single vehicle spots

View heading out or up to the upper gravel lot

The Upper Gravel lot

which has 2 single vehicle spots on each end

Here are some views of the Roanoke River 

The main fish that are sought after here are Hickory Shad, American Shad, and Striped Bass during their annual spring spawning runs.

Blue Catfish can be targeted here year round.

Other fish found here are Largemouth Bass, Alabama Bass,  Bowfin, Longnose gar,  Channel cats,  a few flatheads(not common) ,  Chain Pickerel, and your usual panfish, Crappie, bream etc. 

Check out a video I have of Striper fishing the Roanoke

Thanks for reading.  Mack

#Jacksonnc

#roanokeriver

#striperfishing