Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Fall Report

Admittedly I am bad about keeping up with fishing reports so I will try to play catch up with whats going on along the Cape Fear Coast. If you want to view daily reports and photos, follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SightfishNC?ref=hl.

Fall fishing is in full swing and the bait is stacked up in the creeks, inlets, and along the beaches. Speckled trout have started to show up in good numbers from the New River to the Cape Fear. We are catching them in the Rivers, Inlets, and tidal creeks around structure. Oyster points, grass islands, rock piles, and bridges with current are all good hiding places for trout waiting on an easy meal. Most fish we have been catching have fallen for DOA soft plastic lures on jig heads and Billy Bay Halo Shrimp fished under popping corks. Good color choices are chartreuse, pink, white, or any combination of those colors. We have also been catching the trout on fly. When fly fishing for trout I like to use an intermediate line with a baitfish pattern such as a clouser or deciever. Trout fishing should continue to get better over the next 2 months. Flounder fishing has continued to be good and with the abundance of bait the fish are very fat. Most of our flounder have been caught while fishing Berkely Gulp soft plastic lures on jig heads. While live bait works very well for the flounder I find that the jigs allow us to cover more water and locate more fish. Redfishing had its ups and downs over the last few weeks with the windy and rainy weather but has began to improve with the cooling water temps. We have been catching redfish from Topsail Island and Wrightsville Beach down to Oak Island. Redfish have been falling for a variety of artificial lures and fly patterns while fishing the flats and tidal creeks.  Sightfishing for flood tide tailing redfish has been good but with the cooling temperatures the fiddler crabs will soon go into hibernation causing the flood tide fishing to end. If you want to catch a tailing redfish now is the time as there are only a few good tides left. Low tide redfishing should get better as we get into late fall and winter as the fish will start forming large schools. These schools can range from 50 to over 400 fish. This combined with the clear wintertime water makes for excellent sightfishing. False Albacore have also been making a good showing along the beaches and make great fly rods targets. These are very fast fish and will take you into your backing everytime. They feed on baitfish schools and we find these fish by looking for groups of fish busting on the surface. Casting a small baitfish pattern with the fly rod or a small metal spoon with a spinning rod into busting fish will usually result in a hook up. The albacore should be around our beaches until mid November.

I still have a few good dates left for Cast and Blast trips for clapper rails (marsh hens) and redfish. The clapper rails flush from the spartina grass as we pole the boat through the marsh looking for redfish. Bag limits for the rails are 15 birds per person and the season last until November 9th. We usually start the Cast & Blast trips fishing for tailing redfish and then finish the trip shooting rails. This is a tide dependent trip and there are only a few good tides left for this so dont hesitate to call and book your trip.

Now is the time to get out and experience the fall fishing along the Cape Fear Coast. 




























Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Summertime report

The summertime fishing from Topsail Island to Southport is very good right now. There are a few slow days when the wind and weather doesn't cooperate but on most trips we have been catching good numbers of red drum and flounder with the occasional speckled trout. This is the time of year when we have large numbers of seasonal species such as jack crevalle, ladyfish, sharks, and tripletail. The jacks and ladyfish have been scattered everywhere from the beaches to the flats and will eat just about any lure or bait they find. When we find them busting bait on the surface it is some of the most exciting sightfishing you can do as these fish hit and pull really hard. We have been targeting the jacks and ladyfish mainly with topwater plugs and topwater flies such as poppers and gurglers. If you are interested in some awesome ladyfish action call me about nighttime fishing around bridges and lighted docks. We have been catching redfish on the flats and in the creeks and have been sightfishing to schools and small pods of fish as they are crushing bait or tailing. Fishing for tailers offers the fly angler the best opportunity to catch a redfish on fly. They are very aggressive this time of year and will eat just about any lure placed in front of them. Some of the flounder have been very nice lately with some close to 5 pounds and most are falling for artificial lures on jig heads. The trout are scattered in the creeks and river and we have been catching a few on topwater plugs eary and late in the day and on bait and lures mid day. Sharks are here in larger numbers and are always willing to eat a dead bait. Under certain conditions we can also sightfish for the sharks with bait or on fly. Most of our inshore sharks are in the 5-40 pound range, although I have saw a few in the 100+pound range cruising the edge of flats. Fishing should remain good for the rest of summer and well into Fall.

Don't wait to call and book a trip on the Cape Fear Coast, as this time of year offers some of the best fishing and largest variety of species.

Capt. Allen Cain
336 613 2975
allenc4593@gmail.com
www.sightfishnc.com










Here are a few more pictures from the last few weeks.