Holmes Pond Fishing near Spring Lake, North Carolina

• Overview

  Out in Cumberland County, North Carolina, sits Holmes Pond. The water sits 148 feet up. Small at around 9 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Our Cumberland County list holds plenty of bigger water. The nearest town is Spring Lake, 5.3 miles away. Eastover lies 6.3 miles off, Fort Bragg another 7.3 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Holmes Pond

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. Across Cumberland County, recorded fish include redbreast sunfish, dollar sunfish and yellow bullhead. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Holmes Pond the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 80°F in July and bottom out at 42°F in January. Winter is the comfortable season here rather than the difficult one. Shade and hour of day matter more than month. Spring and autumn carry the year; summer squeezes it into the ends of the day. Anyone fishing Holmes Pond regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Expect a half a mile walk in from where the car goes. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Wooded Lake sits 1.4 miles off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Holmes Pond in what we hold.