Current Adventure Charters

Posts Tagged ‘wrightsville beach fishing report’

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 »

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!!!!

I have just confirmed that I will be appearing at the 2010 Christian Sportsman “Fish Fest” fishing school on February 20, 2010. I will be giving seminars on near shore Dolphin (Mahi) fishing as well as inshore flats fishing for Redfish.

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

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

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.

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.

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!!

The Mahi run has started along the Carolina Coast. Below is video of our recent trip aboard the Reel_E_Keen on May 31, 2009. The Vantage is supposed to be ready this week so hopefully I am off to Florida on Wednesday to pick her up. The wait is almost over. Enjoy the video!!!

On Saturday, May 17, I had the pleasure of having Gregg Boots and his family aboard for a day of fishing. Dispite slow conditions due to a passing weather front, we managed to have a good day of fishing.

We started off the morning trolling along the beach for Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish, while waiting for the ocean to lay down so that we could venture a little further offshore to target some King Mackerel. It didn’t take long for us to find a school of fish and get the rods to bending. We put out a spread of clark spoons, maria jigs and the old faithful Spanish straws. Two lines were fished on the top of the water column and two were fished down with the help of a #1 planner. All lines produced fish, but the deeper lines seemed to be most productive.

Around 10:00, the ocean starting to calm down and we eased our way out to the Dallas Rock area. Once on scene, we pulled in the hardware and started to slow troll dead cigar minows. It didn’t take long for a strike and Greg’s son Alex was soon doing battle with 3-1/2′ Atlantic Sharpnose shark. This was Alex’s first time saltwater fishing and the expressions on his face were priceless when he realized that he was hooked up with a shark!! Seeing the look on his face reminded me of why i enjoy this job so much.

We ended up the day trolling back close to the beach catching more Spanish and Bluefish. A great time was had by all and I am looking forward to having the Boots family on board again in the future.

Capt. Brent

Fishing in the Cape Fear Area is improving. Recent warm weather has increased the water temps and the spring fishing run has begun.

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

Current Adventure Charters

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As has been of late, another cold front has graced out presence and has turned off the fish in Wrightsville Beach, Topsail Beach, Carolina Beach and the surrounding areas. However, this front should be short lived and I am expecting the fishing to pick up in the next few days.

By the weekend, we are expecting temperatures to climb back into the upper 70′s and the solunar forecast for the weekend is a 5, so I am expecting great catches by the end of the week and weekend.

Tides along the carolina coast will be high early in the morning this weekend and should make for some great flats fishing. I am also expecting there to be some good catches of Atlantic Bonito and bluefish as well. There is some 68+degree water out about 25 miles offshore and the King Mackerel bite should be great this weekend.

If you are thinking about a spring fishing trip, this weekend is looking good so give me a call.

As always,

Tight lines and only keep what you can eat!!

Capt. Brent