Fishing is a past time enjoyed by men and women of all ages. Some enjoy the relaxation while waiting for the big one to bite, while others love the thrill of reeling it in. All fishermen can likely recall a time they came up empty handed, spending an entire frustrating day on the water without a single bite. In North Carolina, the NC Wildlife Resources Commission is trying to give anglers all the help they can with an online map of the GPS locations of around 550 fish attractor spots all over the state.
Fishermen can simply log on to the Commission’s website, access the fish attractor map, and download the related GPS coordinates, which can be found in the “Where to Fish” section of the site. Access this map with your smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device on the Commission’s new mobile website, www.ncwildlife.org/mobile.aspx. Just click on the Fish Attractors icon found on the Maps tab to begin hunting for the best spots to land the next big one. The map lists the locations of fish attractors in 50 public points, lakes, and reservoirs all across the state. The maps and associated files are updated by Commission staff each time a new fish attractor is added.
What, exactly, is a fish attractor? The idea is to provide a bit of underwater structure to areas with little to no naturally occuring vegetation. It looks something like a sea urchin with it’s protruding PVC pipes, approximately 5 feet in diameter. They are placed in clusters and give the fish somewhere safe to hang out. Besides providing some shade and cover for the fish, algae also grows in a few days time on the surface of the attractor, which draws in the algae-eating minnows, which in turn draws in larger fish.
The Commission’s Division of Inland Fisheries has been placing these fish attractors for years now, and continues to add more, to provide an improved habitat for area fish. Many of the fish attractors are easy to spot as they are marked with bright orange and white buoys. Others, however, are more elusive and cannot be found without having the GPS coordinates. Give yourself an edge the next time you are fishing in NC and check out the GPS coordinate map the NC Wildlife Resources Commission is offering. It could change a day of relaxation waiting around a slack line to a day of excitement, reeling in catch after catch.
