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

]]> http://www.currentadventurecharters.com/good-redfish-bite-at-topsail-beach/feed 0 http://www.currentadventurecharters.com/cabelas-redfish-tournament-surf-city-recap http://www.currentadventurecharters.com/cabelas-redfish-tournament-surf-city-recap#comments Wed, 26 May 2010 18:23:26 +0000 Capt. Brent http://www.currentadventurecharters.com/?p=726 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.

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.

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

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

With the water full of finger mullet heading South, the top water action for big Redfish as been awesome. Early mornings while the sun is still low seems to be the best time for the topwater action, but cloudy days will produce strikes all day long. Skitter walks and Top Pups have been working well. Color doesn’t seem to matter much as the fish are feeding heavily and they just can’t resist the action of one of these plugs.

Top water is not the only baits that are working well now. Both Gulp™shrimp and jerk shads fished on weighted hooks have been producing a lot of fish. Skimmer jigs tipped with Fish Bites™ have been producing a lot of fish as well. Most of the trips taken lately have been producing double digit numbers of Reds in only a few hours of fishing.

The new ECC Vantage is performing beautifully and allows me to get into the skinny waters that tend to hold these great fighting fish. If you are looking to get into some great redfish action, give me a call and let’s get you out on the water. I still have some good dates in September available, but I will not be running any trips in October as I am getting married and will be heading to Hawaii for a couple of weeks with my new bride!!! Trips will resume in November and historically, Thanksgiving provides some really good fishing.

Give me a call and let’s go catch some fish!!

Tight lines!!!

Capt. Brent

I am very excited about the upcoming 2009 fishing season. It has been a long, cold winter, but the weather is starting to warm and the fishing is about to get red hot.

New this year will be the addition of my new 2009 East Cape Canoes “Vantage“ !!!

This boat is da bomb!!! She is 19′-2″ in length with a 79″ beam and she will draft between 7.5-10-inches!! She is going to be powered by a new 2009 Honda 4-stroke and she will be fast!!! That means, more fishing time for you!! The guys at East Cape are supposed to start production of my new custom boat in about 2-weeks and if all goes well, I will have her ready for charters around the first of May. She will be fully equipped with all of the bells and whistles to make your fishing experience one to remember. With her integrated spray rails and sharp V entry, not only will she be fast, but she will be dry as well. A 40 gallon fuel cell will give her lots of range and with a cruise speed in the mid 30′s, we can make the long runs to get to the fish, if necessary.

As I mentioned, she is going to have all the bells and whistles including a new 2009 power pole, trim tabs, 36 gallon live well, custom poling platform with new stiffy push pole, 2009 minn kota trolling motor and a front deck casting platform. She is loaded with storage which will keep her decks clean and clutter free. This boat is going to be in high demand and I am very excited to have joined forces with the guys from East Cape!! I know this boat is going to be a big hit for them and it’s going to be a great addition to the Current Adventure Fleet!!

In addition to the new flats boat, I still offer offshore fishing charters aboard the Current Adventure I for King Mackerel, Mahi Mahi, Sailfish and more!! I know the the economy is in turmoil right now, but I am looking forward to a great year. My rates are very reasonable and I always strive to make sure that all of my customers have a great day on the water while fishing with me. When you fish with me, you will learn new techniques, have lots of hands on experience and come away a better angler!!

Check back soon for more updates on the new boat and I look forward to serving you this summer!!

As always,

Tight Lines!!!