2010 Fishing Reports
CFR mixed bag
September 27, 2010 | 
Author After battling a nasty bug all week, I picked up a last minute trip for Saturday morning. Hoby, Ken, Bob and John, all former river guides, wanted to do a little fishing and catch up on old times. The crew was a few too many for my flats boat, so we decided I would take the helm of Hobie’s bateau’ and hit the Cape Fear River.
We started out making a run towards the mouth of the river to fish for Redfish with the plan of working back up river with the tide to finish out on the Speckled Trout. It was a good plan that came together. We fished the backwaters around Bald Head Island first and got our Redfish. Then as the water got closer to flood, we made the run back up river to pursue the Specks.
The Speck bite started kind of slow, but the blue fish keep the rods bent in the interim. As the water started to fall, the Speck bite picked up, but not as good as in previous trips. My take on this was that the tide turned right in the middle of the day and Specks bite best either early or late in the day. None the less, we came back to the dock with a cooler of fish, lots of comradery and some great memories of a good day on the water!!
Fall fishing is in full swing. Call today to book your next trip.
Tight lines!!
Capt. B.
Cape Fear River Speckled Trout
The speckled trout bite continues to get better and better on the Cape Fear River. The fish are feeding heavily on the abundance of bait in the water and there are some nice fish to be caught. In recent weeks, I have been averaging up to a dozen trout a trip and most have been well over the 14″minimum.
With all of the pogies and shrimp in the water, imitation shrimp baits such as the DOA shrimp and the mirrondine MR-17 have been excellent lure choices. The best bite has been on either side of the flood tide.
Water temps this past weekend in the river was still around 80 degrees F, but with fall weather around the corner, the water should start to cool and the bite will pick up. Look for the Specks to be here through the fall into early winter. If the past 3 weeks are any indication of what’s to come, we should have an excellent fall Spec bite!!
I have good dates still available. Call today and book your next “Current Adventure”!!!
Tight lines!!
Capt. B.
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Late August Speckled Trout
I made an early start this morning is hopes of finding a new trout hole and some trout for the dinner table. I succeeded at both.
My first stop of the morning produced one small puppy drum, a.k.a. rat red. The area I was in showed lots of promise with lots of bait in the water, but the bite just wasn’t to be. I decided to make a move and try some new spots, but to no avail.
I decided to make a run and while running down river, I saw something on the gps chart that caught my eye. I made a hard starboard turn and decided to check it out. I made a good choice.
The tide had started to rise and I found a point with good current on it. It didn’t take long to get hooked up with the fish. I tried many different baits and swithched often, but gulp shrimp, DOA shrimp and the mirrolure MR-17 produced. Most of the trout caught were in the 14-15 inch range, but I did catch one 3-4lb fish on the MR17.
All in all, it was a great day and I am looking forward to the fall when the trout bite typically picks up. I feel I will have a good trout hole for the fall.!!
Lower CFR report
Redfish and Flounder fishing continues to improve in the lower Cape Fear river area. Recent trips have produced good catches of Redfish on Topwater plugs, DOA paddle tails and Gulp Shrimp. The recent new moon and onshore winds produced some extra high tides flooding the mashes and presenting excellent opportunities to sight cast to tailing Redfish.
Ben and his boys from Dallas, NC had the chance to get in on some of the tailing Redfish and were also rewarded with a nice Flounder to round out the evening dinner.
The fishing for Redfish and Flounder will only be getting better in the coming months with September, October and November being prime times to fish the lower CFR area.
Let’s go Fishing!!!
Capt. Brent
Hot fishing at Topsail Beach, NC
When I say hot, I mean HOT!!! The temperatures around here the last couple of weeks have been in the mid 90′s and we have been hammered with strong SW winds. That has made for some tough fishing conditions.
There are still good quality fish around, but the fishing is a little more tough. Water temps are in the mid 80′s and the fish just don’t want to eat. Most of the fish have moved off of the flats and into deeper holes in search of cooler water.
Hard work and persistence will pay off as seen in the pic above. Terrell, Will and myself pounded the water for hours, but were finally rewarded by finding a school of upper slot fish holding in a deep hole that instantly produced a double hook-up. Though Will pulled the hook on his fish, Terrell managed to land his fish.
If you are going to be in the Topsail area or any of the other beach areas in the Cape Fear Region, give me a call or shoot me an email and book a trip!! The Redfish will be right on through the summer, fall and winter.
Tight lines!!!
Capt. Brent
Good Redfish bite at Topsail Beach
The Redfish bite in Topsail Beach area has been on fire the past couple of weeks. I have been finding lots of fish that have been willing to bite topwater baits. Zara Spooks and Top Pups have been working the best. The cold front that came through over the fourth of July weekend cooled down the water some and the fish responded by schooling up making for some exciting sight fishing in the shallow bays and flats.
The best bites have been in the early morning from sun up until about 10:00. After that, the wind tends to pick up and the fish aren’t as easy to see. The fish tend to want other baits such as soft plastics and bucktail jigs as the sun gets up and the heat of the day sets in.
If you are going to be in the Topsail area or other areas of the Cape Fear Region and would like to go fishing, give me a call and book a trip. I have good dates still available and the fishing is fantastic!!
Capt. Brent
Cabelas Redfish Tournament-Surf City-Recap
The second stop of the Cabelas IFA redfish tour, Atlantic division , was held in my home waters of Surf City NC this past weekend. The field consisted of 45 boat boats and 90 of the best redfish anglers from Ga., SC, and NC. My tournament partner, Capt. Jason Dail and myself set out early Saturday morning to compete against the best of the best. Jason and I fished the area for a couple of days prior to Saturday’s event in hopes of finding where the winning fish might be hiding. The day of the tournament started out with the ringing of the alarm clock at 0315 Saturday morning. The Vantage was prepped and we hit the road for Surf City a little after 0400. We launched the boat around 0500 at the wildlife boat ramp in Surf City in anticipation of the 0530 start. Just like in Charleston, we drew a late start and were one of the last boats to leave from the checkout point, but we didn’t let that late start discourage us. Read the rest of this entry »
Cabela’s IFA Redfish Tournament
The second stop of the Atlantic Division, Cabelas IFA Redfish Tournament will be this Saturday, May 22 on Topsail Island at the Beach House Marina in Surf City, NC. My partner, Capt. Jason Dail and myself will be once again out looking for that perfect, upper slot redfish in our quest to take first place in this event. Read the rest of this entry »
Bald Head fishing Mothers Day
Quick report!!
I spent most of Mother’s day with my wife and family. However, since I had the Vantage in tow, I managed to slip away late afternoon for a couple of hours of fishing (the boat ramp is only 1 block from my mother-in-laws house). The wind was still blowing, but not as bad as Saturday.
I saw tailing Redfish on the Cape Fear Flats around Fort Fisher and a found a school of fish that had a big school of mullet pinned against the bank near Bald Head Island. I was able to get several takers on top water plugs just before dark. I also hooked a short Flounder on a jig tipped with a Gulp jerk shad. Lot’s of bait in the water now and the fishing is definitely picking up.
Call and book today!!
Spanish Show at Wrightsville Beach
Just thought I would drop a quick note to let you know that the Spanish Mackerel have been showing up around Wrightsville Beach. The Liberty ship has been producing some nice fish and they should be around Masonboro Inlet as well. I haven’t heard any reports from the Sheapshead rock area, but I did predict late last week that they would show up the weekend.
Go get ‘um!!!
