Mike Marsh shows off a big catfish of about 40 pounds from the New Hanover County section of the river. Photo courtesy of Mike Marsh.

The Cape Fear River eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean. By the time its turbulent waters get to Bald Head Island, they have passed through New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, Bladen, Cumberland and Harnett counties. It begins life at the confluence of the Deep River and Haw River at Lee and Chatham counties.

Along the length of the Cape Fear anglers catch all sorts and sizes of catfish. Sometimes catfish catches are intentional, sometimes accidental. But catfish anglers are in for quite a jolt when a catfish strikes and makes a dive for the nearest undercut bank.

At lower stretches of the river, salinity keeps most of the freshwater catfish at bay. But there are still prized catfish to be caught.

Most anglers who first catch gafftopsail catfish are using cut bait or live baits while fishing for other saltwater fish. A big gafftopsail can break 10 pounds, but most weigh less than 4 pounds.

The gafftopsail is a tough fighter. Predatory by nature, this unique catfish chases live baits and therefore is especially numerous during the "mullet runs" at summer's end. Anglers using jigs or scented soft baits may also catch them while fishing for speckled trout.

The gafftopsail catfish is named for long streamers trailing from its pectoral and dorsal fins. The fins are apparently close enough in form to resemble a type of sail and give the fish its name. They cannot be confused with any other type of catfish but are sometimes caught along with smaller saltwater catfish called hardheads. Hardheads seldom weigh above 2 pounds and resemble bullhead catfish enough that they can confuse anglers fishing in the upper reaches of the river.

Both saltwater catfish have thicker slime coats than freshwater catfish and that turns some anglers off to dressing them. But once they know both of these saltwater catfish offer as fine an eating experience as any freshwater catfish, they happily drop them into their coolers. In fact, many anglers who have tried eating them believe the gafftopsail is the best tasting catfish in any waters.

Gafftopsail catfish form large schools in navigation channels. The best places to catch them are from the open sandbars along the edges of the navigation channels where bottom rigs won't get snagged. Hardheads like to stay in the depths. Deep holes are the best places to catch them, although either catfish can even be caught from the ocean surf.

The most likely place to catch these saltwater catfish in the Cape Fear is downstream of Wilmington. However, like many saltwater fish, they can survive in low salinities and may be caught as far upriver as Lock and Dam No. 1 at Elizabethtown if the water flow is low as it often is during the summer months.