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 last couple of weeks.
Recently 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 top water 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 bait fish 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 top water 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.
Saturday, I fished the skinny water of the Topsail Island area with Rob aboard. We boarded the Vantage and headed up the ICW in search of Redfish. We found a little bay that I had not fished before, but it had the look of promise, so we decided to give it a shot and were not disappointed.
I took my perch atop the poling platform and quietly poled Rob around in the clear, skinny water. We eased the boat up to a point that had a couple of oyster bars leading off of it and soon Rob had set the hook into the first fish of the day. After releasing the first fish we proceeded up a creek only to find a bunch of bait, but no Reds willing to eat.
We decided to go back into the larger bay and give it another look. As the tide had risen since we first arrived at our location, I put the trolling motor in the water and joined Rob on the bow. As we worked down the shore line, we spotted a large oyster bar leading off another point. As we got close to the bar, I saw a large school of Redfish spook and start to move off, but instantly both Rob and I were hooked up!!! I hook and landed a nice slot sized fish on a jig, but Rob had hook a much larger fish on a gold spoon. Since we were both hooked up, I lowered the Power Pole into the bottom to hold our position. After a good fight, Rob slid the fish into the net.
We maintained our position for a short time to see if the fish would settle back around the bar, but soon decided to make a move and see if we could located them again. This area looked like it would be a great place to throw top water plugs, so we both switch lures to cover more water. We set course for a couple more oyster bars and found fish holding on just about everyone that we fished. Though we missed several fish, the top water strikes really got the adrenaline flowing as it always seems to do. In all, we landed 5 nice Reds for the morning and missed hookup on as many.
It was a great morning of fishing and I can't wait to go fish this area again!! If you are in the Topsail area or anywhere in the Cape Fear area and you would like to get into some of the great fishing the we have to offer, both inshore and offshore, give me a call and book a trip today.
As always, tight lines and practice catch and release!!
Tight lines!!
Capt. Brent Stanley
Current Adventure Charters
910.200.9959
Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide
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