As the weather begins to get warmer, the sun begins to get stronger, and the grass begins to get greener, the angler starts to get the fish itch. Although March is not the world’s best fishing month, there are fish to be caught and prep work to be done. You can catch everything from 24” stripers to small fighting bluegill in March. The shad should start running soon but the best is yet to come for spring.

This time of year the most productive fishing is mainly freshwater. There are saltwater fish to be caught, but not as many as fish in rivers and ponds. Once the warmer weather rolls in completely, then the saltwater action should increase. The fishing is incomparable to late summer and fall, but the fish you can catch are usually pretty big. My father swears late February and early March is the best time to catch a big bass. The big hogs are usually found in deeper water near cover but can come up to more shallow areas depending on the weather. The bass are still lethargic and moving slow so it is time to fish the lures and jigs slowly. The bass might start spawning earlier this year than the last because of the milder weather. The crappie fishing is about to get good as well, especially later in April. I have even been catching them on my fly rod. I love using a crappie killer fly and wet trout flies. The water this time of the year has some stain to it so I prefer using some lure colors that pop. The shad fishing has been spotty on the Tar River, but there have been some caught. I have heard that more are being caught in Rocky Mount than Tarboro. Paul King stated, “Two of my buddies and I caught a lot on Fishing creek using shad darts. They were really biting anything though. The fish were running in decent sized schools”. I tried my luck at Battle Park but ended up empty handed. Every time I have been out to the park, there have been more fishermen than fish. The water levels have dropped significantly all over which is helping the fish, but the water was moving faster than usual. The swift moving current will most likely slow down within the next few days. The shad should peak in the next 1-2 weeks, but some will stick around until early April. The rock will also start running later in the month, making late March a busy time on the river. If the fishing gets slow there is plenty of work to do to get ready for the summer months including organizing tackle, tweaking reels, putting on new line, practicing flipping and pitching, scouting good future spots, and knot tying. Replacing old line before the season starts is crucial for good hookups. You can’t reel in those 10 pound bass on old, withered line. Once the fishing gets hot, these simple tasks often get overlooked and forgotten about; however, they can definitely be crucial. Getting this prep work done before the fish start biting can lead to great success. March can be spent very busily, in a good way, if the angler finds some fish and get ready for summer fish.

Gear review: Abu Garcia Vengeance spinning rod. In the past month I realized I needed a worm and jig spinning rod. I knew I wanted something around 7’ and it needed a decent backbone. It needed to be stiff enough to catch a decent drum on but sensitive enough to feel a largemouth hit your worm. As I searched through the walls of rods either too expensive or too cheap, I finally came upon the right price range rod. I picked up all of the vengeances and loved the way they handled and for $40 I knew it was a deal. I was torn between a 6’6 medium heavy 2 piece and a 6’6 medium 1 piece. I opted for the 1 piece because the backbone was stiff enough to where you can still get a heavy hookset on the fish. The fishing pole has good action, quality guides, and is well balanced. It doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles or bright colors, but it can do its job. I put a Pflueger President spinning reel on it with a 12 pound line. The Pflueger is smooth and quality made. It is quite perfect for the Vengeance. This rod is one of the better rods for under $50. They have both casting and spinning styles, but I haven’t seen any reel combos. Overall I am very pleased with this purchase and I am sure I will get a lot of use out of it.