Thanks for all that attended to make Fish Fest ’11 a huge success!!!

Once we were released from the checkout, Jason and I had about a 45 minute run to get to our “A” spot.  We knew that our time there would be limited as the tide was falling and soon there would be no water on the flat that we were fishing. I proceded to climb atop the poling platform to pole us around the flat while Jason took his spot atop the casting platform. It didn’t take long to find tailing redfish up against the grass and soon Jason was hooked up with the first fish of the day. Unfortunately, after landing the fish, a quick measurement revealed that this fish was over the slot limit of 27-inches and had to be released. We continued fishing near the grass as long as the water held out and had several more oportunites at catching fish. These fish were super spooky and just didn’t want to commit to anything we had to offer. We had fish follow several different baits, but they just wouldn’t bite. Soon Jason got another fish to bite a top water plug, but it pulled the hook before we could get it to the boat.

Realizing that the water was falling fast, we moved away from the grass and soon spotted several more schools of redfish out in the middle of the flat. We worked these fish and cast time and time again into the schools with the same results, lockjaw!! Our “A” spot soon became the only spot we would fish as the tide dropped to a point that we counldn’t get off of the flat and were forced to anchor down in the only spot of deep water we could find and wait for the tide to turn and the water to re-flood the flat. After a quick lunch, the water started to return and soon we were able to move around again in search of the fish that had eluded us most of the day.

With the change of the tide, Jason and I switched places and I took over on the casting platform while Jason poled me around. It didn’t take long to relocate the fish and we were back to trying to get a bite. After trying several of the lures in my arsenal, I decided to try a white and silver flaked DOA paddle and tail and it was a good choice. I made a cast and my rod bent over as I drove the hook into the mouth of a redfish. After a nice battle of the light spin tackle, the fish came to the net and this time, it measured, Into the live well he went. We were on the board!!! As luck would have it, that would be our last bite of the day and at 1400, we packed up and headed back up the ICW to make the 1500 weigh in time.

Though we only had one fish to weigh, it did weigh in at 5.70 lbs. A very respectable 25-inch fish. With only one fish to weigh, we placed 28th out of 45 boats. If only that first fish would have been a 1/2-inch shorter. Congratulations to Capt. Rennie Clark and Capt. Drew Arndt on their victory in Surf City. They weighed in two redfish for a total combined weight of 14.46 lbs. and took home a new Ranger Banshee Extreme!!

The next and final stop for the division will be in Georgetown SC in Sept. Jason and I will next be competing in Morehead City in the Redfish Action series in June.

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.

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!!!

We threw everything in the tackle box at them. Gulps, Mirrorlures, gold spoons and bucktail jigs. We did manage to catch 4 or 5 fish this morning, but we would have like to caught more. The cold temperatures and the fact that these fish have been pressured hard the last few weeks had given these fish a big case of lockjaw. However, it was great to be on the water and it is awesome to see so many redfish in the water at once.

Tight lines to all.

Capt. Brent

Last week I had the pleasure of taking Ken, his son Paxton and friend Mathew on an offshore trip in search of Mahi. We left the docks a little after 0600 and ran offshore. We started fishing about 20nm from the beach and had our first Mahi strike within 5 minutes of putting the first line in the water. The fishing was steady all day and we never went more than 45-minutes without a strike. While fighting a Mahi in the 30nm area, we had a Sailfish take a bait, but we jumped him off before we could get a good hookset. I have raised more Sailfish out of my Seapro boat than any other boat I have ever owned.

The days catch included Mahi, Spanish Mackerel, and Barracuda.

Inshore, the Redfishing has continued to be good as well. Flounder are also being caught and I saw a few very nice Speckled Trout caught over the weekend as well.

Summer fishing is great so give me a call and let’s go catch some fish!!

Tight lines!!!

Capt. Brent

As May blows out and the heat of June builds in, so does the fishing. the weather in May has been far from desireable, but June is looking better.

Spanish and King Mackerel are biting well along the coast and the Redfish and Flounder bite is picking up as well. Traditionally, June marks the beginning of the Mahi run. Though i haven’t had a chance to get out and find any, I am sure they are out there. Speckled trout continue to be caught in the Cape Fear River, and Cobia are showing up along the beaches.

While coming in from a charter on Saturday, I got to watch a guy in a Kayak do battle with a huge bluefish, that was probably well over ten pounds. It was pretty awesome to watch that fish tail walk just a few feet from the Kayak.

Fishing is heating up, so give me a call to book your trip. I will be fishing in an inshore tournament this Saturday, but I have other good dates available.

Tight lines!!!

Capt. Brent