You have to love mild winters in SE NC!!

As I sit here to type this, in my mind I am hearing arguments from both sides on why this bill is a good thing or a bad thing. If your for it, it’s good and if your against it, it’s bad. There is always two sides of a coin. I also know that change is inevitable. No one likes change. We get comfortable, and when someone or something threatens that comfort, we take offense.

HB353 or the gamefish bill, as it is often referred to, is a bill to put gamefish status to three species of saltwater fish in the state of North Carolina. These fishes are the Red Drum, Spotted Sea Trout and the Striped Bass. Game Fish status would mean that there would be no commercial value to these fish and that they could only be harvested by hook and line. I totally support this bill and so should you.

The biggest argument that I hear from the commercial side that opposes this bill is that it will put people out of work. I don’t think this is the case. People adapt, and they will. Studies have shown that these three fish only make up a small percentage of the total commercial harvest for this state.  Studies have also shown that these fish are much more valuable as a recreational species that they ever were or ever will be in the commercial market. As my math instructors used to tell me, numbers don’t lie!!

Some say it’s recreational fisherman against commercial fisherman. I don’t believe this is true either. I think that the recreational community is just more in tune with conservation and realizes that if you continue to rape the waters, soon there will be no fish left for anyone to catch. Who benefits when this happens? No one!! In my short lifetime, I have witness the decline of fish stocks in our waters. Hell, at one time, I used to drag trawls and rape the very waters that I now want to see protected. Why? When I was younger, I too thought that the bounty was endless and that I was doing no harm. In hindsight, I can see the thousands of sea creatures that I killed that never had a chance to grow to maturity and complete the reproductive cycle to rebuild the stocks.

Let me try to put this in perspective. Now, I never have been a farmer, but I come from a family of farmers. It has been proven that the chemical DDT was a big culpurit in the demise of our national bird, the Bald Eagle. When this chemical was banned 1972, it didn’t put farmers out of a job, they just adapted and continued to work. Now, 40years later, I am finally seeing wild Bald Eagles around our home waters. Are we going to wait to protect these fish only when the stocks reach a point that they are basically wiped out of our waters?

So you don’t fish and don’t think you have a dog in this fight. Well, your wrong. If you are impacted in any manner by tourism dollars in this state, you have a fight. People could just go to SC, Ga, Fla or a number of other states that do protect these fish to do there fishing in and guess what, there dollars go to these other states with them. It doesn’t just affect the tackle shops, fishing guides and charter boats, it effects the hotels, gas stations, restaurants, retail business and on down the line. So if you don’t think this bill is a big deal, then I am sorry if I have wasted you time. However, if you do, don’t just sit back and let others do the work for you. Take a moment and let your voice be heard. It only takes a moment of your time.

Make a stand here!

Sincerely,

Capt. Brent

The past three years of Fish Fest have been nothing short of amazing.  Last year we hosted over 250 people at the school and were thrilled to have many of the foremost captains in Eastern North Carolina. This year is shaping up to be even better with a larger venue, new captains and a refined schedule.  We would like to formally invite you to attend Fish Fest 2012!

Fish Fest is focused on teaching you the how to enjoy the outdoors and catch more fish in the process.  There is no cost for this family-friendly event, but a $30 donation is suggested.

The class will be from 8am-4:15pm February 18, 2012 at Scotts Hill Baptist Church (185 Scotts Hill Loop Road, Wilmington, NC 28411).  A light breakfast and lunch catered by Middle of the Island will be provided.

The Speckled Trout bite has been great this fall. Since the Red-Trout tournament a couple of weeks ago, the trout bite has been good with good numbers of fish and some really nice fish being caught.

This morning I went out with my tournament partner, Capt. Jason Dail, and we had a great morning. We only fished about 3-1/2 hours, but caught and released over 30 trout and one Redfish. The first part of the morning we were blessed with some really nice sized trout as seen in the picture. I kept one fish that my wife and I enjoyed for dinner and the rest were released for another day. The mirrolure 18MR was the go to bait this morning. This is the sinking version of the 17MR, which is a suspending bait. The fish seemed to be holding close to the bottom, so the 18 was the right choice.

There is still a decent Redfish bite as well, though the great trout bite has taken most of the attention as of late.

Give me a call and let’s go catch some fish!!

Fish for a Friend

Tight lines!!!

The water is finally starting to cool down just a little with temps around 78°F this morning. Lot’s of bait in the water!!! The redfish were all upper slot fish. I threw nothing but a skitter walk this morning. Thought about going to try and find a trout to finish out my inshore slam, but after looking at the radar on my iphone, decided it was time to head for home as the bottom was about to fall out!!

Fall fishing is here!!

This past weekend I hit the Cape Fear River to see if the trout were biting yet. Instead, I found flounder on a mud flat coming completely out of the water chasing bait. In two days, I caught 10 flounder with 6 keepers and my partner Capt. Jason caught 5 keepers, all on  artificial baits. Saturday, most of the fish came on a 4-inch z-mann paddle tail bait and a spinner bait. Sunday, they all wanted a 3-inch gulp swimming mullet on a jig head. You can get both of these baits at Intracoastal Angler on Oleander Drive. The fish were much nicer on Sunday with Capt. Jason catching several in the 3-5 lb range. Yes, he out fished my in quality, but not quantity. I would have rather have had his fish, but I’m not complaining.

MADD 6 will be held in Oak Island this Saturday and I am looking forward to taking a couple of our fine service men/women fishing for the day. Hurricane Katia has threatened to put a damper on this event, but now it looks as if she is going to go out to sea and we are going to have a great day. I expect that I will take my guest up river to try and catch some more of these Flounder as well as target some Redfish and Speckled Trout.

The Cape Fear Red Trout Celebrity Classic is approaching quickly. I look forward to this event every year. It’s two days of great fishing for a great cause. If this is something that you think you would be interested in participating in, give me a call or an email and I can send you all of the details.

As always, if you want to get into some of the great inshore fishing that the Cape Fear coast has to offer, give me a call and set up your trip. Thanks for taking the time to check out my website, read my reports and view my video’s. Also, be sure to check out my facebook page and like me!!

Till next time,

Tight lines!!

Capt. Brent

What is MAD?

Well, this is from the MAD website:

Military Appreciation Day is an event organized by volunteers to provide a day of fishing for our Active Duty Military, Guard and Reservists. The event also includes activities for their families and a southern style cookout.

How can you help?

“WE NEED YOU!

Our events are organized and managed by a group of dedicated volunteers and we need more! If you would like to volunteer to help us Thank Those Who Serve America, click on the Volunteer tab above.

We also need donations to help pay for these events for our heroes. No amount is too small! If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to MAD”

History of Military Appreciation Day

In February of 2006 a newspaper in Wilmington, NC published a story about restaurants that were refusing entry to a group of Marines who had just returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. Rodney Carroll, Dan Smith and John Polosky were outraged and decided to do something about it!

Within a few weeks they raised almost $1000 and with the help of a donated van and a few marines they set forth on a mission to change this policy and pay tribute to those who have served America.

As they visited these restaurants and spent time with these young marines they were overwhelmed with the desire to show appreciation for our true American Heroes and thus the idea for Military Appreciation Day was born!

Within two short months, all of the planning for the event was completed and on May 20, 2006 men and women from all five branches of the Armed Services arrived for the First Annual Military Appreciation Day or MAD1.

The 225 service men and women who ventured out in volunteer and chartered vessels were greeted by pouring rain and howling winds, but the spirit of the day was not diminished as volunteers from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania were on hand for one reason…

One, Simple, THANKS!

So it’s simple, if you have time and would like to help the fine Men and Women of the United States Military, head on over to the MAD website and volunteer your time. If you own a boat, sign up to take a sailor, soldier, airman, marine or coastie fishing. Inshore of offshore, it doesn’t really matter, just take them fishing. If you don’t have a boat, sign up to help out for the day at the host site. If all else fails, make a donation to the cause. The volunteers that put on these events work very hard to make sure our troops get to have a great day on the water, but it’s not cheap and every little bit helps. So if you can’t attend, make a donation to worthy cause.

See you at MAD 6!!!

If you have followed my reports at all, you know that I am a hard core artificial bait fisherman. However, part of being a successful angler is being able to adapt different techniques and recognizing the time to take advantage of those tactics. In the heat of the summer, this may very well mean putting up the “fake” baits, and breaking out the cast net and loading the well with some good ole live bait. Now, I will admit that when I am off fishing by myself, I may not always follow my own advice as I am addicted to trying to trick a fish into eating a non-natural bait, but when it comes to keeping customers happy, you have to adapt to put fish in the boat.

The past few weeks, we have had some extremely hot temperatures here in southeastern North Carolina and in turn the water temps in our area have skyrocketed to the mid and uppers 80′s with near triple digit air temps. When weather conditions reach these extremes, the fish still eat, but to get them to bite, you have to change your approach.

Some of the more obvious changes to make are to go fishing early or late. Fish are more likely to bite while the sun is low in the sky and the ambient temperature is still relatively cool. If you have to fish during the middle of the day, find some deeper holes to fish as the water temps will be cooler in the deeper water. Also, warm water will not contain as much dissolved oxygen as cooler water and in turn, the fish don’t want to spend much energy to chase a lure. This is, in my opinion, one of the main reasons live bait gets more bites during the heat of summer than do artificial bait. A live mullet minnow or small Menhaden fished on a Carolina rig or suspended from a popping cork is a pretty easy meal for a predator fish to catch.

One of the biggest pieces of advice I can offer to the aspiring angler is to have patience. Give the fish time to bite and don’t get frustated if they don’t. Fish areas that are known to hold fish and give them a chance. If you do, it will pay off for you. On one of my most recent charters, we tried one spot for 30-45 minutes with only a couple of stingray bites, but then moved to another location and hooked up with a Redfish on the first cast. After spending 30-45 minutes in this location and catching two fish, we moved down the bank only 200 to 300 yards and caught five more fish that were of much better quality. Not to mention the few fish that we lost.

So when the weather gets hot and the fishing gets tough, remember to get creative. Try something new. Be patient and have faith. The fish still have to eat, they just don’t want to work for it. Try to put some of these tips to use and see if you don’t put more fish in the boat!!

Till next time

Tight lines!!

Capt. Brent

I set out early Sunday morning on a recon mission with my brother-in-law James and it didn’t take long to find a great school of tailing Redfish in about 2-1/2 feet of water. This school consisted of upper and over slot fish that aggressively consumed top water plugs at first light.

We launched from Topsail Beach at first light and made an early morning run down the glass slick ICW to our first location. Once on scene, I quietly ascended atop the poling platform of my East Cape Vantage to get an eagle’s eye view of the flat surrounding me while James took position on the bow ready to cast at my call. We quietly floated across the flat observing a slew of bait fish breaking the mirror like surface of the windless water. Off my bow and at about 2:00, I spotted the unmistakeable wake of a small school or Redfish exiting off our bow as they sensed our approach. Then, as I turned my head and looked to my South, there they were.

“James, tailers at 9:00″

Our hearts started to race at the sight of large tails breaking the surface as the fish were obviously feeding and by the looks of some of the tails I was seeing, I knew there were some big fish in this school. Spinning the Vantage 90 degress to port, I gave a couple of pushes with the Stiffy push pole to get just within casting range.

“Now James, cast” I commanded and he let the skitter walk fly through the air landing just on the other side of the tailers.

“Twitch it now” I said and the once, mirror like water shattered into a massive explosion of white water as the Red engulfed the tiny plug from the surface and the stradic began to sing as the fish made a fruitless attempt to escape with the bait firmly planted into his mouth. After a short battle, the fish came boatside and was released to fight again another day!!

If this sounds like your kind of fun, give me a call and let’s go fishing!!

Tight lines!!

Capt. Brent