This past Saturday I had Dr. Bob and Pete join me for a half day of sightfishing redfish. I guided Dr. Bob in the Cape Fear RedTrout tournament for Cystic Fibroses last October where he and partner James helped us take home the Most Redfish Division. Joining Dr. Bob this time was his friend Pete. We started the day at our first spot with a good falling tide and calm winds but with lots of cloud cover. Cloud cover meant finding fish and getting a fly shot would be tough. Knowing this Bob and Pete picked up the spin rods with weedless soft plastics and within a short period of time I located the group of around 100 fish slowly pushing wakes in less than a foot of water. We managed to get one fish out of the group before they spooked. Due to the clouds it was tough to see them until they started moving away from us and because they were spooked we couldn't get them to eat again. I decided to run us to another spot where I had located another group of 50-75 fish on a shallow flat just a few days before. These fish had just moved into the area and hadn't been run over by trolling motors for the last few months and weren't quite as spooky. I pushed the guys up on the bar where I thought the school would be and we watched as part of the school started pushing water coming straight at the boat. Both casted and resulted in another hookup. After a quick photo we were back on the hunt. Again after poling up on the bar we watched the fish again push water straight at the boat, and with two quick casts to the front of the school both Bob's and Pete's line came tight. First double of the day. Another couple photos and releases and we at it again. Unfortunatly the fish at that point had figured out our strategy and stayed out of range in slightly deeper water. With time running out I ran the guys to one last spot that had been holding fish all winter. We searched for the fish for a while with no luck. I had just about given up thinking they had moved when I noticed some nervous water in a small creek mouth. As we appoached the creek the water started moving and I told the guys to cast just in front of them and immediatly they both had another double on. Great way to finish up the day. Thanks Bob and Pete, I look forward to fishing with you guys again. 
The week before I fished with a few buddies while scouting some water I hadn't fished in a few months. The first few places didn't hold any fish but on our last spot we found a group of redfish hanging out with a huge school of large mullet. The redfish were easy to distinguish from the mullet as their carolina blue tails glowed in the clear wintertime water. A few days later on a trip to another new spot we located the school on which I guided Bob and Pete to. We sightfished a couple of fish on fly from each group before leaving them alone for later charters. This winter had been very mild and the fishing has remained very good. Don't miss your opportunity to experience the clear water wintertime sightfishing along the Cape Fear Coast. Call today to book your trip.
This weekend The Fly Fishing Show will be at the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. This is one of the largest fly fishing shows in the US and the largest in NC. The show is Saturday and Sunday. I will have a booth at the show so if you're there stop by and say hello.
Capt. Allen Cain
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