Posts Tagged ‘topsail beach fishing report’
Fish Fest 2012 was a big success!!
February 21, 2012 | 
Author Fish Fest 2012 is in the bag and as in years past, it was a big success. It was great seeing fellow guides, old fishing friends, past clients and future clients alike! The Cape Fear Christian Sportsmen once again put on a first class show with a lot of local talent, a catered lunch by MOI catering, and lots of great fellowship.
If you were able to attend and sat in on my flats fishing seminar, I want to personally say Thank You for a great turnout and great participation from the audience. I thoroughly enjoy sharing the knowledge that I have acquired over the years. As I said in the seminar, my parents were teachers and I guess a little of that must have rubbed off on me as I enjoy teaching others what I love to do…Fish!!
If you weren’t able to make my class, don’t despair. I video taped my seminar and have it available for you to watch. I hope that you enjoy!!
Capt. Brent
Great Speckled Trout Bite
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!!
Topwater Redfish Action
With temperatures returning closer to normal and not in the triple digits as of late, the Redfish bite picked up considerably over the weekend.
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
Fishing with the troops
I had the pleasure this past weekend of fishing with one of our Airman in the US Air Force. Kyle, Braxton and myself got an early start at first light looking for the Reds. The morning started with a little breeze out of the SW, but it soon laid out, and despite the forecast, we had an absolutely beautiful morning on the flats. We fished a flood, falling tide and we were the first boat on the fishing grounds.
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.
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 »
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
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
