SLABBIN in the SWAMPS by Jim Gronaw

SLABBIN’ IN THE SWAMPS by Jim Gronaw

Jeffrey Abney is the kind of guy I like to hang out with. For one, he’s a crazy, addicted bluegill fisherman with a minor in slab crappies, yellow perch and other species as they come. Second, he lives literally on the doorstep of one of the greatest panfish venues on planet earth…that is… the tidal, blackwater rivers of northeast North Carolina that drain from swamp headwaters and dump into the vast Albermarle Sound. Third, Abney does it differently…with a pole, line and hook. No frills, no fancy, customized rods or specialized gear…just straightforward, hard-core pole-n-line slabbin’ throughout most of the calendar year.

I recently had the chance to fish with him on several of his home river systems near Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The day before my arrival, a serious cold front had swept down through the area and plummeted both air and water temperatures. In less than a weeks time, water dropped 14 degrees and made fishing in the shallow, cypress filled blackwater creeks and rivers challenging, to say the least. But Jeffrey had a plan.

We fished three different systems, all of which looked very much alike with downed and standing cypress, the occasional boat dock or bulkhead and numerous creeks and guts just about everywhere that just cried for a live cricket offering. Every place looked sooo fishy…they just had to all be hot spots. But due to tidal movements, wind direction and amount of sunlight exposure, some spots just produced better than others.

Jeffrey explained that the bulk of the tidal movement on the Albermarle rivers is determined by the ‘wind tide’, rather than the customary lunar cycles we are so used to in Chesapeake Bay country. A northwest or northeast wind tends to draw water out of the sound and rivers and give them a low-tide effect, while westerly or southerly winds push water back up into the rivers. There is some degree of change, with the positioning of the main body of each river. He prefers incoming, or high tide conditions for catching bull coppernose bluegills…a southern sub-specie of bluegills that have been found throughout the southeast and as far north as southeast Virginia. They have a distinct copper patch on either side of their head above the eyes and some have fin edging in the tail and dorsal fins. Many are almost completely black, and tend to have a rotund body dynamic that makes them look like saucers. These are ‘primo’ panfish!

The first day of the trip we concentrated on crappies in the North West River, totaling 17 nice ones on bobbers and minnows around wood structure. Some were bona fide slabs. Along the way, we picked up some coppers, warmouth bass and a few fliers and shellcrackers…all common catches panfish catches in these beautiful waters. We considered ourselves fortunate to find and catch these fish despite the tremendous record- low temperatures during our visit.

For the next two days, we searched for the coppernose gills that, according to Abney, shut down in the fall once the cypress trees begin to lose their foliage, which was occurring during our trips. However, each day found a mid-day bite that put some impressive fish in the live well for us. We averaged 30 to 35 fish each day our of our three day visit…not bad at all considering the conditions that saw almost no one else on the water. Maybe they just have more common sense than Abney and Gronaw!

As mentioned, our tactics were simple, but effective…ease along with the trolling motor and plop small hairjigs, baited with crickets, at the base of cypress knees, fallen wood, dock pilings or fallen cypress trees. Small, foam bobbers kept the jigs at the 4 to5 foot depth range. The 10 and 12 foot telescoping poles were ideal for this fishing. Our jigs were 1/64th and 1/32nd ounce grass shrimp patterned jigs that I tie and baited with the southern favorite…crickets…they were the ticket for success in a cold and stubborn bite. We used a few other patterns from some of our friends on bigbluegill.com like David Eutuitus who ties an excellent pattern called the ‘Silent Stinger’. Pink colors seemed to rule the day. Also in the mix were nice yellow perch, a dozen or more largemouth bass to a couple pounds and I picked up a personal best flier sunfish…a unique sunfish specie native to the swamps and backwaters.

We fished the North West River, The Little River and the Tulls Bay sections of the Albermarle…all fabulous looking water. Lots of wood ducks, lots of eagles, lots of fish. The coppernose gills are indeed a treat and I can honestly say that this may be, just may be, the premier public bluegill fishing venue in the nation, given that there are thousands of acres of bluegill infested waters, loaded with 9 to 10 inch fish that have never seen a cricket, and few anglers perusing them. Abney averages about 4,000 bluegills a year, with as many as 700 a season beyond the 10 inch mark, most of which are released. These are astonishing numbers! And almost all by the route of the pole-n- line effort. Fillets…anyone! So vast and extensive is this region that a man could never fish it all in a lifetime of angling. But Jeffrey Abney is going to try!