2010 Fishing Reports
Roanoke River Stripers-Weldon NC
May 4, 2010 | 
Author
This past weekend I traveled up the interstate highways to Weldon NC to partake in a little Turkey hunting and Striped Bass fishing with my brother-in-law James and his buddy, James. The hunting was not as productive as the fishing, but that’s a story for another time.
After spending a few hours in the woods on Saturday morning and then heading back to camp for a hearty breakfast, James, James and I loaded up the “Vantage” and headed for the striper run on the Roanoke in Weldon. Being that it was the first day of the catch and release only season, the crowds had subsided (a little) though there were still many boats and people out fishing. The sun was high in the sky and let me tell you it felt like summer. Read the rest of this entry »
Late April fishing report
Spring is here and the fishing has been, well, challenging!! The air and water are both warming, but steady fronts coming through has made for challenging conditions. It seems as of late it has either been beautiful or the winds have been howling. The constant change in conditions have seemed to put the fish in a confused state.
In the past week I have had to cancel trips due to wind, fished in some less than perfect conditions and had some perfect days as well. Last weekend I had Ed and his son Conner on board for some flats fishing. With winds of 15-20kts, we tucked up in Hewletts creek off the ICW to get out of the wind. Having a front go through the previous night, the fish didn’t want to cooperate. However, Ed did entice one sub- slot fish to bite a Berkley Gulp bait however.
The Cape Fear River is full of bait. On a recent outing to try and locate some speckled trout, there were massive schools of small pogies in the river channel as well as up on the river flats. I didn’t have any success on the trout that afternoon, but seeing the all of the bait fish was a very welcomed sign.
Another recent trip took me up in the North Topsail area. I went looking for several schools of fish that I had been finding in recent weeks, only to find that they had vacated the flats they were holding on. I was beginning to think that they had all left the state, but I finally found some small fish that were willing to eat a topwater plug. I don’t care how big they are, any time you can get one to eat topwater, it is always exciting!!
In other fishing news, the first Spanish Mackerel of the year has been reported being caught off of the Jolly Roger Pier on Topsail Island. Also the bluefish have been biting well on got-cha plugs. Atlantic Bonito as well as False Albacore are biting well near the inshore rocks and artificial reefs such as Divers Rock, Dallas Rock and the Liberty Ship. With the warm temperatures expected the next few days, I really expect the bluefish to bite well and I expect a good showing of Spanish Mackerel in the near shore waters. Some large Spanish should be caught around Sheepshead Rock this weekend for those that run down there.
I am planning on doing a little Turkey Hunting followed by some striped bass fishing this weekend with my brother-in-law on the Roanoke River. Wish me luck and I hope to have a little better report next week.
Topsail-Bald Head fishing report
This past weekend saw a return of cooler temperatures to the Cape Fear area. Saturday I fished the middle to southern end of Topsail Island. I departed from the NC Wildlife ramp at Surf City and fished my way south.
Water temperatures in the ICWW were in the low 60’s while back up in the creeks and mud flats, they were in the mid to upper 60’s. I saw many fish up on the mud flats, but not so many in the ICWW. The fish that I did see didn’t seem very interested in eating, a pattern I typically see after a weather front roles through. In addition to Redfish, I did see a few small Flounder dart out from under my boat as I floated across the mud flats as well as a good number of mullet minnows.
I spoke with another angler while up one of my favorite creeks who informed me that he had been catching some speckled trout in some of the deeper holes.
Sunday, I took my neighbor Steve out and we hit the flats on the southern end of the county around Bald Head Island. Water temperatures in this area again were in the mid 60’s. We had similar activity on Sunday, seeing a lot of fish that didn’t seem to interested in eating. I did get a nice 25-inch Redfish to eat a gold Johnson silver minnow spoon tipped with a white curly tail grub. Tipping the spoon with a grub will give it an entirely different action that the Redfish just seem to love. Steve also landed a smaller Redfish on a D.O.A. paddle tail in a new penny color with gold flake. He was fishing it on an 1/8oz. weighted hook. I also saw a lot of baitfish in the water in this are including mullet and small shad. With all of the bait in the water, the fishing should only get better and better.
I have a couple of trips booked for the end of the week so stayed tuned for more updates. Also, don’t forget to call or shoot me an email to book your trip. I am starting to get a lot of calls for booking for the up coming summer, so don’t wait too long to call so as not to miss your opportunity.
Till next time,
Tight lines!!!!
Topsail Fishing Report
Hi Folks,
Quick report for you. The water is really warming up with the nice weather we have been having. The Redfish have moved out of the ocean and back into the internal waters. My wife and I hit a mud flat in the N. Topsail area recently and found a nice school of fish. Unfortunately, with the sun low in the sky, I poled on top of them before I saw them and spooked them. After that, it was hard to get them to bite.
I have also heard of a Speckled Trout bite picking up in the rivers, though I have not been down to verify as of yet. Viginia mullet (a.k.a. whiting) have been biting on the piers with good reports coming out of the Surf City area. The Bluefish should make a showing any day now on the beaches it they haven’t already. Water temps on the beach are in the upper 50′s to low 60′s and mid 60′s in the ICWW and flats and bays. Spanish and King Mackerel are still are few weeks away, but typically we will start to see these in the nearshore waters by early May.
We have weather moving into the area Thursday evening expected to be out of here early Friday. If you are coming to Wilmington for the Azalea Festival and want to sneak in a fishing trip, Saturday and Sunday both look great for some Redfish fishing on the flats. I have openings for both days as of now, so give me a call and book a trip.
Tight lines and good fishing!!
Capt. Brent
IFA Charleston Tournament this weekend
The first tournament of the IFA Redfish Tour, Atlantic division, will be held this Saturday, March 20th in Charleston SC. My partner, Capt. Jason Dail and myself will be down there competing against the best of the best. This will be my first year competing in the series and I am very excited. There will be two other events in the series later in the summer.
This past weekend, I ventured down to the Palmetto state to do a little pre-fishing for the event. I would like to take this time to thank my new friend Thomas W. for graciously allowing me to come and stay in his fishing camp and for taking me out on the water to show me around. Thomas has also been so kind to allow Jason and myself to stay at his camp while were are down there preparing for Saturday’s tournament.
As would have it, the weather this past weekend was far from perfect with the winds howling out of the SW at 20+ knots. The temperatures were nice, but the wind had the water stirred up so bad it looked like chocolate milk. None the less, we ventured out into the vast expanse of inshore water and managed to find several schools of fish. The fish didn’t seem to be to interested in eating which I am sure was due to the poor weather conditions. I did manage to catch a fish and it happened to be a fish that had been tagged. This is the first time I have ever caught a tagged fish, and I look forward to getting information back on when and where this fish had been previously tagged.
Even with the poor condition, the amount of fish that I saw in such a short period of time was amazing. Weather conditions for this weekend are looking good, so I expect there will be a big turn out for the tournament with lots of fish caught. Hopefully, Jason and I will find the two perfect fish we need to take home the top prize. Stay tuned for updates!!
Last but not least, a shameless plug. If anyone out there is interested in sponsoring Capt. Jason and myself, we would love to help promote your business out on the tour!! Every little bit helps and we would love to represent you.
till next time,
Tight lines!!!
Topsail Beach fishing report
Good weather finally graced us here on the Carolina coast so today I got out to take advantage of it. I hadn’t fished the North Topsail area in awhile, so I decided to see what I could find. I went to an area that I had found some fish last summer. The water was gin clear and the light winds made for a great sight fishing day.
After searching for a short time, I found a body of water that had a great mud bottom which was holding water temps 5 degrees warmer than surrounding areas. Soon, the gin clear water was turned cloudy which is a tale tale sign of feeding Redfish and moments later, I saw the fish scurrying off from the boat in all directions. A few cast later, I hooked up with the first fish of the day, but it soon shook the hook. After missing a couple more bites, I soon had my first fish in the boat.
With my power pole deployed, I anchored the boat and continued to catch a few more fish. Gulp jerk shads rigged on a weighted hook worked well on the school of fish. The fish in the school ranged in size from under slot fish to upper slot fish. Overall, it was a productive day for just a few hours on the water.
Ocean Reds
I will once again be speaking at the 2010 Fish Fest!!!
I have just confirmed that I will be appearing at the 2010 Christian Sportsman “Fish Fest” fishing school on February 20, 2010. I will be giving seminars on near shore Dolphin (Mahi) fishing as well as inshore flats fishing for Redfish.
If you are in the area, don’t miss out on this event. It will be very informative with a lot of one on one class room instruction. There will be lots of other guides and captains other than myself there as well.
I will post more information as it becomes available. Mark you calendars now!!!!
BTW….there are large schools of Redfish off of the beach that are very hungry. Despite the extreme cold weather we have been having, the fish are on the beach and are easy to catch when the weather permits us to get out.
Tight lines!!
Capt. Brent
