Chasin' Tail Charters

 Brothers, Wes and Zach Engle joined me today to hunt Redfish on the open flats around Bald Head Island. As we crossed a rare slick calm Cape Fear river to the tidal flats behind Bald Head, it was immediately evident that there were some family dynamics at work that were going to make for some competitive angling. As we poled into position on the first flat, shrimp and mullett were raining all around us. A Small pod of 4-5 Redfish appeared ahead of us cruising along the edge of the emergent Spartina grass as they pushed a large hump of water in front of their wide sloping heads. Zach launched a soft plastic jerkbait right in front of the commotion and soon came tight to a hefty 25" fish.. After a couple quick photos, the pair got back in the game , and several small coves down from where we were , another pod of Reds made thir presence known. As I poled up current to the fish, Zach handed the rod that had just scored the first fish to Wes as a gesture of brotherly love and assumed the rod rigged with a Bayou Buck's spinner bait that Wes had been throwing. On Zachs first cast with the bait that Wes had been throwing with no success, the water roiled and the drag began to sing as Zach fought his second fish in less than 10 minutes. As I scrambled off the poling platform to get some pictures of the fight, Wes had a few choice words for his brother's new found prowess at Redfishing, but was soon high fiving him and offering suggestions on how to play the strong fish that was determined to run as far into the marsh as possible. After Wes got his well deserved Redfish on a gold spoon, we headed off in search of the Speckled Trout that would soon be feeding on the rapidly falling tide. On the way the trout hole, Wes told me he really wanted to try to take one on ta top water plug. As we edged off the flat into a deep channel slough, Trout began breaking the surface as shrimp scatterred in all directions. Wes scored on his first cast with the little Rapale Skitterwalk and soon posed with a 16" Trout. The bite wasn't as hot as the previous day, but the  brothers managed 6 or 7 more trout before we made the decision to try to beat an approaching thunderstorm back to the ramp. Just as I finished securing the boat on the trailer the sky opened up with an incredible cloud to ground lightning display and the heaviest rain we've had all Summer.  There is truly no such thing as a typical day on the Lower Cape Fear, from fish appearing well outdside their typical ranges, to storms materializing out of nowhere... no matter how much time I 've spent on the water, I'm in constant awe of this place!

     After having a previous trip cut short due to a severe thunderstorm, that we almost managed to avoid, I was finally able to get David and his son Davis out on the flats of Topsail Island to fish some big schools of feeding Redfish. As we left the dock at 0630 we were greeted with light North winds (perfect for dropping the surface temps on the mud flats) and a fog bank and heavy overcast skies. More perfect conditions for sightfishing Reds with top water plugs cannot be had! David and Davis had agreed to take turns getting shots at the backing and tailing Redfish, but after David hooked up with a nice 2 year old fish on his second cast, all plans of taking turns were forgotten. With 2 seperate schools working the flat to the left and right of us, the father/son duo made easy work of sighting and casting to individual fish picked from the edges of the schools.  On Davis's first cast with a Rapala Skitterwalk, he began to ask how  I wanted him to work the bait, before the bait even had a chance to hit the water, a 25" Red crashed it and Davis exclaimed he didn't think he could handle him as the the braided line cut through the water on the first of several strong runs. After fishing the 2 schools for about 3 hours and landing 8 fish, we headed to another flat that has been holding fish through tthe summer. Managing 2 more fish on soft plastic jerkbaits, we called it a day, Davis's permanent smile as he climbed in the truck with his dad to head home is etched in my memory as yet another one of  my "best" days on the water. Thanks Guys... look forward to fishing with you again this Fall!

       I had Matt from Lynchburg Va. on board today for a fly trip on the Lower Cape Fear. Matt  who once made a living guiding on the Trout streams of Colorado just began fly fishing the salt a couple years ago, and being like most fly anglers, his fly fishing career is filled with the goal of taking as many species on the long rod as possible. So, after a couple years of Stripers and Speckled Trout on the Chessapeake, he decided it was time for Redfish. Wind was the theme of the day as we arrived on the flats and began blind casting with Shrimp patterns to small sections of flooded grass in the lee of tthe wind. As soon as the tide started to ebb, young of the year white shrimp started raining down the bank in front of us, and Matt made a weak side cast well in front of the pod of shrimp and began stripping the little Caves Wobbler fly rythmically, and soon had a nice 25 inch Red tracking his fly. After a masterful strip strike, he enjoyed several strong runs before bringing the fish boatside with a huge smile and shaking knees. After releasing his fish, he quickly snipped off the fly and retired it to the box containing his other "first fish flies" There is a mindset among fly guys that others in the angling community don't always seem to share(and I'm not speaking of eliteism), it's the challenge and the pursuit that seems to fill our dreams, not the fish flopping in the cooler. After taking a quick drink, Matt simply stated " I accomplished what I came to do, the rest of the day is about taking in this beautiful scenery", and with that he broke down his rods and just observed and talked about all his other fly fishing experiences as I poled through the marsh for the remainder of our trip. Thanks Matt, and I will see you soon on the New River for some mid summer Smallmouth!

   Today I had the distinct pleasure of fishing with two friends, Tom Morketter and Louis Cox from Fayetteville. Tom was the owner of Tarheel Fish and Game(the Fly Shop where I worked when I first started guiding) and Louis was one of our loyal customers. 20 knot NE winds caused by a shifting low pressure system, made for some sporty conditions as we crossed the Cape Fear, but I wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to get out with two friends I hadn't seen in over two years. We headed straight for a patch of Spartina grass that was almost covered by the high New Moon tide, and staked the Finchaser out with the Power Pole. Conditions were borderline at best with the wind blowing such a bow in the small diameter braided line, that staying in contact with the bait was impossible, and sight fishing was out of the equation altogether. So the two began blind casting to a small shelf of submerged oyster immediately adjacent to the grass edge. Within about 5 minutes Louis came tight to a nice Redfish on a Weedless jig, but the fish came unbuttoned a short time later after a powerful first run. As I was remeniscing with Tom, I saw a sight just off the bow that I haven't witnessed in years on the flats. A 30 plus pound Cobia was lazily finning along the water's extremely choppy surface. In unison, we both hollared Cobia!, and Tom fired off a cast beyond and to the left side of the fish just as I was reaching for a rod rigged with a Topwater Plug. As he burned the bait through the water to get it in position to intercept the fish's path, a hole the size of a tractor tire opened up in the water as the Cobia spun on tail and chased the bait down. The fish took immediately and the little medium power spinning rod was soon doubled over on itself and flexing straight through to the foregrip.  The hollaring and high fiving was quickly replaced by total silence as  the leader suddenly gave way and the three of us just stared at one another in total disbelief of the scene that had just played out. Tom having  instilled in me the value of the experience versus the outcome, took it in total stride and simply stated as he inspected the stretched and shredded leader, that watching a Cobia take a bait in less than two feet of water had trumped anything he had experienced from Keys Tarpon to Tuna! We soon got back to business and were able to get Louis his first tflats Redfish minutes later. As the weather turned ugly and the wind stiffened, we headed for the dock, not feeling the sting of a weather shortened day, but the excitement of yet another memorable experience in the outdoors!