February has been a super solid month for Redfish, even though we had to deal with a few weather issues. Right in the middle of the month we had a solid week of rain, which kept us off the water, shuffled some fish and stained the water. Luckily it didn't take long for it to fire back up after all the rain stopped. I can't imagine how good it could have been if we had seen pretty weather all month. I have to keep reminding myself that it is February though, and to be grateful that I get to chase these fish at all...some people live in places where they could only dream of fishing in February. On a good half day, we've seen anywhere from 100 to over 500 fish. The smallest schools have been around 10-20 fish, while we often see groups of well over a hundred schooled together. There is no replacement for time on the water this time of year. Sometimes you have to cover miles of marsh to find where the fish are...but when you find them, it's usually on. Some groups of fish are very willing, and some are very picky. It all comes down to how much pressure these fish have seen. Depending on the mood of the fish, you can get a feel for whether anyone else has been putting pressure on them. If the fish are "Nervous Nellies", then the real work begins. Staying as invisible to the fish as possible, trying different flies or lures, and adjusting the technique can turn a group of fish into "eaters". If not, it might be best to move on. Speaking of pressuring fish, we do our best to be as unobtrusive as possible. When we hook a fish, we back off from the school while fighting the fish, then let them settle down before we approach again. Sometimes we catch 6 fish from a school, sometimes 3, but we usually let the fish make that decision for us. When they start acting nervous, it's usually time to move on and let them forget about us. Time to find a new group of fish. I've had the pleasure of fishing with several very cool individuals over the last few weeks and I really appreciate them supporting me and letting me make a living doing this! Thank you all so very much! I'll leave you with a few more pics just to show you what we've seen the last month. If you want to come try your skills at a few, just give me a shout and we'll make it happen.
0 Comments
The mighty Roanoke River starts in southwestern Virginia and flows 410 miles, crossing the Piedmont and Coast of North Carolina, before finally emptying into the Albemarle Sound. The river continually changes it's characteristics as it drains from it's headwaters in the Blue Ridge Mountains down to the swamps of NE North Carolina. Long before Europeans settled here, the Native Americans heavily relied on the river as a source for hunting and fishing. In the mid-twentieth century, we added a total of 6 dams along the river to harness it's energy for the growing local communities. And now, anglers flock to the river for it's world class Striped Bass, Shad, Largemouth Bass, and Catfish fishing. "Although several species can be caught year round on the Roanoke, we tend to target the incredible spring time runs of Shad and Striped Bass between Plymouth and Roanoke Rapids." Whether you want to catch shad on a 4wt fly rod, watch a "Rockfish" explode on a popper before sunrise, or introduce your child to their first Striped Bass in a kid friendly manner, we have you covered. Hickory and White Shad make their spawning runs up the coastal rivers of North Carolina Feb-April of each year. "In our opinion, the Roanoke River near Weldon NC is the best place on the planet to experience the shad run." The hickory shad usually show up in the Weldon area during the first two weeks of March and hang around until mid-April. Even a slow day shad fishing on the Roanoke, is usually more action than you will experience in other locations. Over one hundred fish in a day, is a definite possibility when fishing the Roanoke. Shad are great fun on ultra-light spinning rods, or 4-5wt fly rods with a sinking line. They earn their nickname “poor man’s tarpon” from their flashy silver scales and their ability to jump multiple times when hooked. About half-way through the Shad run, the Stripers start to show up. "Just like with Hickory Shad, Weldon is also probably the best place in the state to catch Striped Bass, or Rockfish, as they’re locally known." Being anadramous, Striped Bass make a Spring journey up the Roanoke River towards their spawning grounds near Weldon. Stripers start to show up in April and usually hang around until mid-May. On a really good day, it’s possible to boat close to one hundred fish when the bite is on, although a couple dozen fish is more the norm. April is the keeper season, and the Weldon area can be very crowded. Our favorite time to fish for them, is the first two weeks of May, when the crowds have gone home but the fish are still there. The majority of stripers are schoolie sized fish from 16-24″, but several large females up to 40lbs are caught each year. The stripers are great fun on a medium action spinning rod, or a 7 or 8wt fly rod with a sinking line. Early mornings and late evenings can produce a great top water bite. We can also fish live bait if you want to experience some insane action. This year I am opening up March 25-28 and April 6-11 for Hickory Shad fishing out of Weldon NC. I will be booking May 1-15 for Striped Bass at Weldon. These dates will probably book up fast, so give me a shout if you’d like to fish the Roanoke with me this Spring. Thanks! John
We are two weeks into the new year and starting 2021 and Redfish off with a bang. There's no lack of Redfish around, you just have to find the ones with the right mindset. We've been seeing hundreds of fish in schools ranging from 10 fish to 100 fish...all in less than a foot of clear water. Some schools see you from 100ft away and require a very stealthy approach and cast...while others are much more user friendly. While not necessarily targeting them, we are finding a handful of Speckled Trout on the Redfish flats we are fishing. When we find them along a cut bank or drop off, they've been more than willing to play along with us. I've seen a few flounder on the flats this week also. If you've never seen a hundred Redfish circling you in six inches of water, you are missing out. We should have this type of sight-fishing available to us at least through the end of March. Give me a shout if you want to take a shot at it.
Back in the fall of 2019, Grays Sporting Journal came and spent a few days with me while writing an article for their magazine. The Albies hadn't quite arrived yet, but there were plenty of Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, Jacks and Houndfish along the beaches here on the Crystal Coast. We also hit a few tailing tides, and hooked a couple Redfish. The awesome folks over at Gray's just posted some footage from that trip, I'd love for you to check it out.
I'm in the mood to share my thoughts about a company and product that I really love. Hatch Outdoors and their Finatic Fly Reels. They didn't pay me to say that, they didn't ask me, they don't even know I'm writing this. I've been fly fishing for 15 years and working as a guide for 9 of those, and I've bought, beat up and sold my fair share of fishing gear. So, when you come across something you really believe in, it's worth sharing with your clients and any other anglers looking for a great product. "I've shared the following story with countless anglers on my boat, and now I'm putting it out there for everyone else." When I first got back into fly fishing 15 years ago, I had to decide what gear I was going to invest in. The options were overwhelming, and back then, there weren't nearly as many online resources to help with that decision. I settled on an overseas made rod, a cheap fly line, and a fly reel that would get me started. I still own the rod, and I caught a few fish that first year before the drag completely quit on the reel and the handle fell off. Thus, began my 10-year process of buying gear and abusing it to see how long it would last. When I say abuse, I don't mean throwing it down and kicking it around...I mean fishing for extremely tough fish in some pretty harsh environments. "I've been through enough brands and products to start my own fly shop." That's where Hatch comes in. In 2017, I launched my own fly rod company and began looking for a fly reel that would match well with the rods we were building. These would be reels that I would fish daily as a guide but would also be used on demo rods when Mauser Fly Fishing set up booths at trade shows. I had a few rules in mind when I started researching companies. (1) I wanted a Made in USA Fly Reel company, and (2) I wanted a reel from a company whose main focus was reels. There were a handful of companies that fit the bill. You can probably think of them immediately and count them on two hands. I had used the products from several of these brands over the years and had been pleased with all of them. I emailed 5 of those companies and told them about the new business I was building, and explained to them that I was considering using their products exclusively to guide with and use on my demo rods. And then I waited... I was sort of testing the waters to see if any of them showed interest. I wasn't asking for freebies or even discounts, I was just curious if they'd respond back. As a guide, I've always been a big fan of supporting companies that are a fan of what I'm doing. "Within 24 hours I received an email from Hatch." The manager at Hatch responded to my email and commented on how exciting it was that I was starting a new business venture. He also said that they were honored that I'd consider using their reels for my guiding and demo rods. The response came quickly and felt genuine, which is something you don't see much anymore. (I did receive a response from the other brands, but it took a few weeks, and none of them seemed nearly as thrilled. I understand what it's like as a business to be completely overwhelmed with the day to day process and receiving a never-ending inflow of emails. That being said, the company that beat everyone else to the punch is the one that got my attention.) I placed an order for 5 reels that same week. A Finatic 3+, 4+, 5+, 7+, and 9+. I still fish all of those reels four years later and have had zero issues. I've also added several more to the collection. The email from the manager wasn't my only positive experience with Hatch. A few weeks later I received a thank you letter in the mail from the owners, John and Danny, along with some Hatch stickers. Rarely, if ever, do I receive a thank you letter from a company that I purchase products from. It's something Mauser Fly Fishing does for every customer, so when I was finally on the receiving end of one, I was thrilled. Later that year, I went to the ICAST/IFTD show in Orlando. While there, I had the pleasure of chatting with the team at Hatch. Even though the show was extremely busy, the owners took the time to talk with me about my businesses, fly fishing, and really made me feel like I was important to them. At that point I was so sold on this company, that there was no way another brand could steal my attention. I was a super fan. By now you've probably figured out why I'm head over heels for the company's culture, but you're probably wonder how good their products are. I have been fishing my Hatch 3+ through 11+ reels nonstop. Big Redfish, Striped Bass, Albacore, Bonito, Sharks, etc... They've stood up to everything we've put them through. Their drags could stop a train, the machining is flawless, and the design is easy on the eyes. My buddies absolutely love theirs too and have caught everything from big Tarpon to Arapaima on them. I don't know anyone personally who has had a failure with them, but I have no doubt that if there was, Hatch would take care of it immediately. "There are plenty of companies that make excellent fly reels, but ones that also make you feel like part of the family are a bit harder to come by. That combo is the reason I'm sold on Hatch."
The Redfish have been tailing pretty good for a few weeks now here in Coastal North Carolina. I couldn't be more happy to see those golden tails waiving in the spartina grass after not seeing them all winter. Tailing Reds are one of my favorite targets. For one, it's such a visual way of fishing, where a lot of stalking is involved, it's as close as you can get to hunting with a fishing rod. Secondly, these fish are there to eat. Some low tide fish can be completely spooked out or lock jawed, and it doesn't matter what you do, you won't get an eat. A fish tailing in the Spartina Grass is there to eat, so it completely comes down to whether you can pull off the shot or not. If you do, you will be rewarded with an epic eat and a battle in the grass. If you don't, then you get the pleasure of watching your target speed off the flat, leaving a long trail of "you blew it" behind him. Below are the tailing tides for this season. I've broken it down into the times of day, and I've rated the quality of the tides on a scale of 1 to 3. The ratings are based on several things such as time of season, time of day and height of the tide. I'll be happy to discuss any of these dates with you as far as why I've rated it as I did. An average tailing tide can be fished fully in a 4 hour half day trip, but we can combine other types of fishing with it if you would like a longer trip. Date Time Rating May 3 late evening * May 4 late evening *** May 5 late evening ** May 6 late evening * May 21 late evening * June 1 late evening ** June 2 late evening *** June 3 late evening ** June 4 late evening * June 19 late evening * June 30 afternoon ** July 1 late evening *** July 2 late evening *** July3 late evening ** July 4 late evening * July 18 late evening * July 19 late evening * July 28 afternoon * July 29 afternoon ** July 30 late evening *** July 31 late evening *** August 1 late evening ** August 2 late evening * August 15 late evening * August 16 late evening * August 17 late evening * August 20 morning * August 21 morning ** August 22 morning ** August 23 afternoon ** August 24 afternoon ** August 25 afternoon ** August 26 afternoon ** August 27 afternoon ** August 28 late evening *** August 29 late evening *** August 30 late evening ** September 13 late evening ** September 14 late evening ** September 15 late evening * September 16 morning ** September 17 morning *** September 18 morning *** September 19 morning *** September 20 morning *** September 21 morning *** September 22 afternoon *** September 23 afternoon ** September 24 afternoon ** September 25 afternoon ** September 26 late evening ** September 27 late evening ** September 28 late evening * September 30 morning * October 1 morning * October 2 morning * October 3 morning * October 4 morning * October 12 late evening * October 13 late evening * October 15 morning * October 16 morning * October 17 morning * October 18 morning * October 19 morning * October 20 morning * October 21 afternoon * I'd love to get you out on the water to experience the excitement of Tailing Redfish, so don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you'd like to go!
Shad fishing has been really good lately on the upper Roanoke. It should continue for the next 2 weeks. If you are interested in getting in on the action on fly or spin, let me know and we'll get you on them! I'll just let pics speak instead of words.
Although Redfish, Speckled Trout, Stripers and Albies seem to get most of the attention here in Eastern North Carolina, there is a fish that is near and dear to my heart during the month of March. Many of us associate the arrival of shad in our coastal rivers with the official kick off of spring and the fishing season. These fish arrive and pack themselves so tight in some spots that it's not unusual to catch 10 fish out of 10 casts. They have a penchant for bright gaudy flies and lures and put every bit of their energy into escaping once hooked. Known for their acrobatic jumps, they've rightly earned the name, "the poor man's tarpon". The 2016 Shad Season in Eastern North Carolina is off to a great start. Lots of fish showing up in the usual places in the Neuse River and it won't be long before the Roanoke is busting at the seems with Shad. Both Hickory and White Shad are being caught and it should just get better over the next few weeks. If you haven't had an opportunity to experience this fishery, then you are missing out. These shad are fantastically fun on a fly rod or a light spinning rod. They're also a great "first fish" on a fly rod, if you are just starting out. We have all the know how, equipment, and flies/lures needed to go get bent on a bunch, so give me a shout if you want to go. I'll be running some trips on the Neuse over the next few weeks, but don't forget the really big action on the Roanoke around Weldon NC. I'm offering trips out of Weldon on the last week of March, and I can let you know what days are still open if you want to go. These fish are too much fun to miss out on, so I'll be more than happy to fill anyone in on equipment, locations, or the "how to" if you contact me. Have fun and I hope to see you on the water soon! We'd love for you to share this post with your friends! http://www.tailingtideguideservice.com/blogreports/shad-season-is-here The Tailing Tide - Newsletter Signup
|
|