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!!

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

The first bite of the morning came from a chopper bluefish that attacked my top water Zaraspook plug just a few inches off the stern of the Vantage as I was quickly retrieving it back to the boat. Unfortunately, the razor sharp teeth of the bluefish made quick work of the 15lb, fluorocarbon leader and the fish swam off with plug in his mouth.

Kyle was quick to show Braxton that he was out to put more fish in the boat. After trying several different lure combinations, Kyle struck gold with the D.O.A. silver mullet paddletail. The D.O.A proved once again to be the bait of choice as all fish caught this morning would be on the D.O.A in a variety of colors.

Braxton wasn’t going to be outdone as he eventually put the big fish of the day in the boat, but he had to work for it. All in all,it was a good morning spent with some fine young men. The fishing is getting real good now as the water has warmed and there are all kinds of species of fish in the water now. On the beach, the Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish and Flounder are biting well. A little farther offshore, there are plenty of King Mackerel, Mahi, Cobia and more. Of course, the backwaters are still doing well with the Red Drum, Flounder and Speckled Trout.

If you are planning to be vacationing in the area and want to get in on some of the finest fishing on the East Coast, give me a call and book your trip today.

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.

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!!

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!!!!

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

Every year, I try to donate a fishing trip to the Coastal Conservation Association or CCA. On Friday, I had a trip scheduled with Mike and Rick who were the winning bidders for the trip that I had donated this year. Mike, Rick and myself had a great day on the water. The fishing was a little slow in the beginning, so I stretched out the 4hour trip I had donated into an 8 hour trip. The extra time was well worth it as the bite picked up in the afternoon and Mike and Rick went home happy with some good quality fish.

Rick finally broke the ice with a huge 29-inch Redfish. Later, the guys and myself found a good school of speckled trout and caught enough of those for Mike and Rick to take back home to Raleigh before calling it a day. Mike and Rick ended up with 12 specks, (1) 29-inch Redfish and a flounder.

Later that evening, Dekoy called and wanted to know if we were going to go fish like we had talked about. We worked out the details and decided to go fish the area I had fished the previous day. The wind was blowing pretty good out of the NNE and it was a little chilly but the ride in the “Vantage” wasn’t bad at all. We got to our spot, spent a couple minutes doing some last minute rigging and Dekoy got off the first cast. Bam….fish on, first cast. I’m thinking, they’re still here, it’s going to be a good day.

After having a quick discussion on whether we were going to catch & release or have a fish fry, we realized we hadn’t had breakfast and decided we were hungry, so into the box went the fish. The bite was on but sporadic. The fish seemed to keep moving, but never very far. When the bite would slow, we’d try a different bait until we found what they wanted and we would go back to catching fish. DOA shrimp and paddle tails were working well.

As the flood tide peaked, the bite really slowed, so we decided to make a move and try another spot. About 4 cast at the new spot and I was again hooked up with a nice speck. Not to be outdone, Dekoy decided to pull out an old “Mr. Whiffle” and found a nice slot red that wanted it for lunch.

When the water stated to ebb, it was time to head back to the honey hole for some more trout slaying. As soon as we got set up, the bite was on again. After taking a good count of the fish in the box, we realized that we were only 7 fish away from our limits. Now the quest became to limit out. Well, it didn’t take that long and we did just that. 20 specks in the box, but the bite was still on, so we bent the barbs down and went back to catching and releasing. At day’s end when it was time to pack up and head for the hill, Dekoy and I had 30 specks and 1 slot Redfish for the day.

I’d say the inshore fishing is still pretty darn good!!

Thanks Dekoy!!! I had a great time fishing with a good friend!!

Tight lines everyone!!

In the past few days the Atlantic Bonito have made a strong showing along Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Beach with Diver’s Rock area being particularly productive. Bluefish have shown up as well off Wrightsville and Carolina Beach with areas such as the Liberty Ship having good catches of fish. These fish will only be here for a few weeks as they will continue to migrate to points North as the ocean waters continue to warm.

Red Drum or Redfish, have also been biting well. Around Wrightsville Beach, docks along the ICW have been

holding some nice drum and the flats around Bald Head Island have been having some good catches as well. The Cape Fear River has been giving up some nice Speckled Trout, with a bunch of smaller fish mixed in.

Offshore, the King Mackerel bite is on in the warmer offshore waters. There are a few Kings in close, as a few have been caught off of the Pier at Ocean Isle. Typically, the King and Spanish Mackerel show up well close to the beach in early May, so I expect to catch some in close in the next few days. For those few that have been able to afford to go to the Gulf Stream, there are Wahoo, Yellow Fin Tuna, Black Fin Tuna and Dolphin being caught. I have even heard a report of a Sailfish being caught near the Frying Pan Tower area.

It’s time to go and catch some fish!! Call and book your trip today.

Tight lines!!!

Capt. Brent

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