Wyoming Angler Catches First Redfish on Fly

I had friend and Wyoming angler Mark Landerman join me on the boat last week for some shallow water sightfishing along the Cape Fear Coast. Mark is an avid fly angler pursuing trout thoughout WY and Montana. This is Marks second trip to NC. He came last fall and got to experience the NC albacore fishing so this trip he was after shallow water redfish. We started the day early looking for tailers around some oyster bars due to the low sunlight and visibility and our local redfish didnt disappoint us. Within the first few minutes we spotted a tail and Mark made the cast but the fish never tailed again and we lost him. After running to another little bay we started poling down the bank and bumped into a school of fish. After backing off and letting them calm down, they started tailing on a mud flat and crushing small shrimp on the surface. It was an awesome site seeing backs and tails out of the water as they crawled across the flat. Unforturnatly we didnt manage to get any of these fish as we lost them when they moved into a deeper depression. I decided to move us to another flat close by where I had been finding fish the week before. As we appoached the flat we noticed other friends of mine were already on the fish but they called us over to join in. I silently poled my Maverick hpx-t over and watched as a large hungry school of redfish came cruising by eating everything in their path in a foot of clear water. We set up as to allow Fred and John in the other boat to get first shots at them since they were there first. As the fish moved in our direction I spun the boat to give Mark a shot and he made a perfect cast to the lead fish. The first fish inhaled his fly but being a trout angler forgot to strip strike and the fish pulled off. There were so many fish that Mark simply made another cast and we watched as four fish fought over the fly until one inhaled it and Mark was tight to his first red drum on fly. After a few quick pictures and the release, I asked Mark if he wanted to get one on a topwater fly. So I quickly grabbed a gurgler out of my fly box and as Mark tied it on I poled the boat back up to the group of fish which were still feeding. As I pushed Mark in range, he made a quick cast to the fish and before he could strip the fly a fish exploded on it. Catching a red drum on topwater is one of the most exciting ways to target them. After a few more photos and the release we tried to get another but with the strong full moon spring tide flushing in we lost the group as they began spreading out along the marsh edge.

The next day friend Kary Via joined me on the boat for some afternoon flood tide tailers. We saw many fishing tailing happily in the spartina grass as they were feeding on fiddler crabs. We managed to land 4 tailing redfish on fly and pulled the hooks on 2 more.

The fishing in Topsail Island, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, and the Cape Fear River is outstanding right now. Dont miss your oppotunity, now is the time to book your trip and experience it for yourself.

Captain Allen Cain
http://www.sightfishnc.com/

Cape Fear fishing heating up

Summer is almost here and the fishing along Topsail Island, Wrightsville Beach, and Carolina Beach is getting better everyday.  Red drum are starting to follow their summertime patterns and eating everything thrown at them. Big bluefish (5-15 lbs) and ladyfish are also patroling the local waters and put up a really good fight on light tackle.  I have been out scouting the last few days with friend Wes Aiken and we have been finding redfish crushing bait and tailing on the flats from Southport to Topsail Island. The southeast wind we had this week cleared up the water in the Cape Fear River and made for some good days sightfishing. We landed many redfish on fly and topwater plugs. 

I also fished the recent Fishermans Post Spring Inshore Classic Tournament with friends Will Huffine and Frank Prior. This tournament is for red drum and flounder and each team can weigh in one of each species. While prefishing the days leading up to the tournament we found many tournament sized redfish so our game plan was to get a good redfish and then focus on flounder the rest of the day. Well, come game day we caught many fish we just couldnt get a fish over 23 inches. After spending most of our time trying to upgrade our redfish we decided to go spend the last few hours looking for flounder. We fished a few docks and other deep holes and managed to pull out 4 flounder with the biggest being 2.5 pounds. With time running out we ran to weigh in with our two fish but they just weren't big enough to place. While talking to other anglers who fished it seemed everyone had a tough day and the winning flounder was only 4.76 pounds. Despite our loss we had a good day and caught many fish, most of which were on topwater plugs.

Some sharks have started to show up on the flats also and it is really cool seeing a 4 foot shark swim across a flat less than a foot deep with his fins out of the water. Just a few more weeks and we will start fly fishing for sharks behind shrimp trawlers. We will be throwing 10-12 wt. rods with big flies for sharks in the 20-100 lb range. Speckled trout are also being caught although the season for keeping them is closed until June 15.  The flounder fishing is also picking up around the inlets and structure in the waterway and river.

Last but certainly not least our flooded grass fishery is really picking up. This is the most exciting form of sightfishing as you pole across flooded grass flats on really high tides looking for redfish as they feed on fiddler crabs. Just last week on our last set of tides I managed to connect with a small 18" redfish as he was "crawling" across a flat searching for crabs. This fish was so shallow that his whole back was out of the water and when he tailed up 3/4 of his body was out of the water. Two weeks prior I had friend and anglers Fred Berry and his buddy John on the boat for an afternoon tailer trip. Despite the super high tide and 20-25 mph winds we managed to find a few fish. Since this was their first trip fishing for redfish it took a little time to get used to casting to these fish and the first few didnt give us many chances. But in the last hour of daylight we found one fish tailing happily in a calm pocket of water. With Fred on the bow ready to cast a weighted crab fly, I poled the boat within 30 feet to give him a good close shot. The fish had his face buried in the mud so Fred put the fly right on the fish's tail. Immediatly the fish turned and inhaled the crab and Fred was tight to his first ever redfish on fly. After a few runs Fred brought the fish boatside and we brought him in for a few quick pictures.  Next up was John, but light was fading fast and after searching a few more spots it was time to head in. I look forward to fishing with you guys again.

Dont miss your opportunity to get out and experience what the Cape Fear Coast has to offer. 

Capt. Allen Cain

336 613 2975

a few pictures from this week

Welcome to the blog/fishing reports of Sightfish NC

Hello friends and anglers. For those who dont know me yet, here is a little background info to get this blog started. My name is Allen Cain and I am a fly and light tackle fishing guide in Wilmington NC. I grew up hunting and fishing the Piedmont region of NC before moving east to attend UNC-Wilmington. While in college I was introduced to shallow water redfishing and a new passion began.  After graduation, I obtained my USCG captains license and began guiding others to memorable fishing experiences along the Cape Fear Coast of NC. When not guiding, I can be found on the water scouting for new waters to fish or in the woods hunting turkeys, deer, and ducks all over NC. 

I have been meaning to get this blog started for a while and finally managed to find some time today to get it up and running. I will do my best to keep up to date fishing reports and information posted regarding fishing along the Cape Fear Coast.