Posts Tagged ‘Topwater Redfish’
Topwater Redfish Action
June 27, 2011 | 
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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
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 »
The Redfish bite is on!!!
The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting cooler, the water temps are falling and the mullet blow is kicking off. It can only mean one thing, fall fishing is here. The Redfish bite has been on fire in the North Topsail Beach area as of late as well as many other areas in the Cape Fear Region.
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
More Great Fishing!!
The rain is falling here today so it gives me a chance to catch up my fishing reports. The fishing this week has continued to be fantastic!! I have had catches of King Mackerel, Mahi Mahi, Redfish, Baracuda and more.
Saturday, I fished the skinny water of the Topsail Island area with Rob aboard. We boarded the Vantage headed up the ICW in search of Redfish. We found a little bay that I had not fished before, but it had the look of promise, so we decided to give it a shot and were not disappointed.
I took my perch atop the poling platform and quietly poled Rob around in the clear, skinny water. We eased the boat up to a point that had a couple of oyster bars leading off of it and soon Rob had set the hook into the first fish of the day. After releasing the first fish we proceeded up a creek only to find a bunch of bait, but no Reds willing to eat.
We decided to go back into the larger bay and give it another look. As the tide had risen since we first arrived at our location, I put the trolling motor in the water and joined Rob on the bow. As we worked down the shore line, we spotted a large oyster bar leading off another point. As we got close to the bar, I saw a large school of Redfish spook and start to move off, but instantly both Rob and I were hooked up!!! I hook and landed a nice slot sized fish on a jig, but Rob had hook a much larger fish on a gold spoon. Since we were both hooked up, I lowered the Power Pole into the bottom to hold our position. After a good fight, Rob slid the fish into the net.
We maintained our position for a short time to see if the fish would settle back around the bar, but soon decided to make a move and see if we could located them again. This area looked like it would be a great place to throw top water plugs, so we both switch lures to cover more water. We set course for a couple more oyster bars and found fish holding on just about everyone that we fished. Though we missed several fish, the top water strikes really got the adrenaline flowing as it always seems to do. In all, we landed 5 nice Reds for the morning and missed hookup on as many.
It was a great morning of fishing and I can’t wait to go fish this area again!! If you are in the Topsail area or anywhere in the Cape Fear area and you would like to get into some of the great fishing the we have to offer, both inshore and offshore, give me a call and book a trip today.
As always, tight lines and practice catch and realease!!
July Fishing brings a mixed bag of fish
The heat of July is here and the fishing is hot. King Mackerel, Mahi, Little Tunny Baracuda, Redfish and more are some of the species caught aboard the Current Adventure boats over the 4th of July weekend.
Payton and Addison with Mahi
Friday I had repeat customers David, Rhonda and their daughters Payton and Addison for a day of offshore Mahi fishing. Well the day started out with the winds blowing 10 knots stronger and 180 degrees opposite of what was forecast. Needless to say, it was sloppy, but the girls didn’t seem to mind so we put lines in and trolled our way offshore. I had a location in mind to find the fish, the question was whether or not the seas would lay down as predicted and let us get there. It took about 4 hours to get to where we wanted to be, but once there, the seas were laying down and the fish were starting to bite. The girls spent the next couple of hours catching Mahi, King Mackerel, Baracuda, Little Tuny, sharks and remoras.
The following day I had Jay and Todd from Charlotte aboard for another day of Mahi fishing. This time, the weather man got it right and we made the run offshore in calm seas at 20 knots. Once we reached the ledges that i wanted to start fishing, it didn’t take long for the bites to begin. Jay and Todd stayed busy all day catching Mahi, Little Tuny’s, 40lb Baracuda and yes, another remora. Jay and Todd ended up with 9 Mahi for the day that they were planning to take back home to their families for some great eating.
Sunday, I had the opportunity to take family out for a day of inshore fishing. Kenan and I left the docks around 0600 and hit the flats for some topwater Redfish action. The new Vantage made short work of the time between the landing and the fishing grounds. Once on the flats, we threw Zara Spook top water plugs looking for a topwater bite. The first strike that Kenan had came from a 3 foot Blacktip Shark that was feeding on finger mullet in the shallow water. The fight lasted a few minutes till the sharks teeth severed the leader and the shark and our plug swam away. I tied on another plug for Kenan and it was back to fishing. Soon, Kenan was hooked up again with a nice Redfish only to have the fish cut the leader on the marsh grass and swim away with yet another plug. Finally, Kenan hooked up again on a smaller fish and this one he got to the boat. This was his first Redfish.
Kenan's first Redfish
Next it was my time for a first. It was time for me to catch my first Redfish in the new East Cape Vantage. I cast out a Black and Yellow Top Pup and had a 30-inch brute inhale the topwater plug. The fish tried several times to take me into the grass and oyster rocks, but in the end, I was victorious as Kenan netted the big fish.
Kenan and I spent the rest of the morning catching a few more Reds before calling it a day and heading in to spend the last of the Holiday weekend with family and friends.
The fishing is great. Give me a call and book your trip today!!
Tight lines!!
Topsail Beach Redfish-Huge Schools
I hit the water at 0530 Sunday morning to do a little pre-fishing for upcoming charters this week. The wind was calm, and the water was like a mirror. The first place I stopped, I had to search a little, but I was rewarded by finding a school of Redfish holding tight in a cove. These fish were schooled tight and willing to eat a top water plug. The first fish that I caught was a hefty 6.5lb upper slot fish. I felt like a kid in a candy store watching these fish wake around in the shallow water. I slipped my anchor into the water and proceeded to catch a couple more before easing out and leaving them alone.
Afterwards, I went searching for some more fish. I decided to check out a spot that I had looked at many times before, but had never found fish. Well today would be different. I spent quite a while in this location before I finally found the school, but when I did, it was on. There had to be at least 200 fish in this school, maybe more. Once again I caught a few fish, then slipped away quietly, leaving them in peace. Hopefully to will hold tight for this weeks upcoming charters.
There is a lot of great top water action to be had, so call and book your trip today!!!
Tight lines!!!
Capt. Brent
