For anglers, Wilmington and NC’s southern coast are very nearly paradise. Blue-green inshore waters tempered and cleansed by the Gulf Stream, the deep-blue offshore waters of the Gulf Stream itself, saltwater estuaries where many saltwater species breed, and dozens of winding freshwater creeks teeming with life await eager anglers. Whether you're interested in lazing alongside a shady creek in slow pursuit of catfish, surf-casting for blues, or pitting yourself against mighty deep-sea game fish, it's all here. Even at Wilmington's Greenfield Lake, where one lucky guy hauled in a 40-pound carp in 1995, opportunities abound. Strict catch limits and catch-and-tag programs have helped several saltwater fish populations thrive and keep the fishing prospects looking good.

Since the early 1970s, the Division of Marine Fisheries has been involved in the creation of artificial reefs that provide habitats for a plethora of undersea life. These reefs consist of old ships, railroad cars, bridge rubble, concrete and FADs (Fish Attracting Devices, whatever they are). Using the motto "We sink 'em-you fish 'em," the reef-builders have created 20 such reefs along the coast to date. Judging by the numbers of sheepshead, mackerel and billfish landed on an average day, the program seems to be paying off. (Surely, the men who landed the 937-pound tiger shark in the Poor Boy Shark Tournament in August 1993 think so.) A chart will lead you to these sites as well as to the scores of fish-filled wrecks littering this area.

Small-boat owners in the Wilmington area have many fishing opportunities - around the pilings of Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company's pier in the Cape Fear River north of Price's Creek, for example. The mouths of most creeks and some inlets are good spots, especially during incoming tides when you and your bait can drift in with the bait fish. Use caution at ocean inlets during outgoing tides.