- Cape Fear Flyfishers Meeting Minutes—May 21, 2018
The stormy day didn’t stop several determined casters from throwing a few lines pond side before the meeting.
President Ed Smith called the meeting to order at our new time of 6:15 p.m. and introduced new member Mike Hayes. Ed said we have 81 members.
The fly drawing was won by Jim White. Jim was thrilled at his haul since he is down to only a few thousand flies left at home.
Treasurer Scott Ewing reported that we have $7,920 in the bank.
Our next meeting will be held July 18 with a speaker from Coastal Conservation. There will not be a meeting in June because of the summer picnic on June 20.
EVENTS CALENDAR
- The summer picnic is Wednesday June 20 at the Waterway Park in St. James. This year the picnic will be a catered affair, coordinated by Diane Wyte and Bill Buchsbaum along with several helpers. The deadline for signing up for the picnic is June 12 and the cost is $10/person. Please send the number of guests in your party along with payment to Bill Buchsbaum before June 12; checks should be made out to Cape Fear Flyfishers. Please let Bill know any dietary issues you or your guests have and Bill will coordinate with the Southport Smokehouse to address those needs.
- Our annual winter banquet will be December 15 at the Members Club in St. James.
Pond Fishing
The Woodlands pond in St. James had a recent algae bloom. Because of this and the hot weather, etc., the pond fishing will end for the summer. Pond fishing may resume in September based on interest at that time.
UPCOMING TRIPS
New River VA for Smallmouth—Fishing will be July 23-25. Nine people are currently signed up. Jim White is coordinating the trip.
Asheville North Carolina—Jim Larson has been organizing this October trip with Hunter Banks. Twenty three people have signed up. Club members are staying at the Residences of Biltmore and each member is responsible for making their own hotel reservation there. If you have any difficulties in making your reservation, please contact Jim Larson for assistance.
Patrick at Hunter Banks is coordinating the guides and boats for this trip and will be calling each fisher to determine their desires for boats, etc. Fishers will contract individually with Hunter Banks for the fishing they want to do and will be required to provide a credit card to reserve their spot. Patrick will try to arrange personal preferences as far as fishing buddies, etc. If Patrick has not yet contacted you, please let Ed or Jim Larson know. Please be sure you understand the cancellation policies of Hunter Banks.
Patagonia—Joe Rinaldi is coordinating this trip scheduled for February 1-10, 2019. There are still openings so contact Joe if you would like to go along.
OLD BUSINESS
Bristol TN—The wading portion of this trip was cancelled because of heavy rains in the area but trout and smallmouth were caught by members on float trips.
Ed Smith shared that he participated in Jerry Dilsaver’s Kayak Fishing class and reported that it was a great class and he learned a lot. Ed said the class has lots of useful information, not just for kayak fishermen but for everyone regarding where to fish, etc.
WHAT’S BITING?
Forest Duncan and Ed Smith have been fly fishing from their kayaks in Town and Rice Creeks with good success. Forest said May is the time to fish these creeks for bream and the popper/dropper rig is especially effective. The rig uses a popping bug on top with a slow sinking, spider type bug about 18″ under the popper. Forest said the bream really hammer the sinking fly but also go after the popper.
Forest also said he was talking to a few fellows on the water who said that there is good bass fishing at the Brunswick Nature Park on Rt. 133. The park offers a kayak launch. This creek flows down to The Gator Hole on Rt. 133.
Mahi are hot and heavy along the Gulf Stream right now. Several members have expressed an interest chartering a boat to head to the Gulf Stream. Please contact Nancy Fuller at 443 5535846 if you are interested in this trip.
NEW BUSINESS
Taylor from the club has an opportunity for someone to join him for a fishing trip to Alaska August 18-28. The cost of the trip is about $6,400 plus tips, airfare, and a king salmon fishing license. Contact Taylor at 253 8818 if you are interested. This is mostly a spin fishing trip but fly fishing opportunities also exist.
NEW GEAR AND GADGETS
Ed Smith says he found a nice lightweight Simms rain jacket for $119.
Jim White showed a lubricant recommended by Jerry Dilsaver called Cleanse Oil. Jerry told Jim this is really good stuff—it cleans, lubricates degreases, de-rusts, etc.—sort of does it all. It might even wash the dinner dishes, too!
FEATURED PROGRAM
CFF member Captain Rob Thompson was our featured speaker and gave a presentation on East Coast Striper fishing.
Rob began by telling us about a new product that is a combination sunscreen and insect repellant called Sunsect. He had free samples for us to take and try out.
Rob grew up surf fishing and later fly fishing on eastern Long Island. Before moving to NC, Rob worked at trout and tilapia hatcheries. He also worked on a dive boat in the Bahamas and took people on flyfishing excursions when they weren’t diving. Rob is also a Honda certified outboard mechanic. He was also a guide when he lived in Maine and ran two boats—a flats skiff and a Parker.
Rob recommends using a shorter fly rod when fishing from a boat. Long rods (11′ etc.) make it too hard to bring the fish close enough to the boat.
Rob says that stripers are moving farther north and are now in Canadian waters. Stripers are off of our coast too and also in the Cape Fear River, with the Cape Fear being a mostly winter time fishery. Stripers are anadromous fish; they live mostly in salt water but migrate to fresh water to spawn. However, some stripers—like in our area–stay mostly in fresh water and have seemingly lost the urge to go to the salt water. There is also a separate striper population around Georgetown SC.
Rob likes to use a 6 wt. or 7 wt. outfit for smaller fish but he moves to a 9 wt. rod for large stripers.
Rob likes to use mono leaders for stripers so there is some stretch in the line. For floating and sight casting, he stays with a 9′ to 12′ long step-down leader tied with a 50 lb. mono butt to a 30 lb. mono mid-section to a 20 lb. flouro tippet. For intermediate leaders he uses a clear tip 6′ long 40 lb. mono butt with a 30 lb. mono tip. For a full sinking depth finder rig, Rob uses a 4′ straight mono 40 lb. leader.
Some favorite flies Rob uses for stripers are the Half & Half, gurglers, Clousers, Crease flies, Deceivers (small 2″ white), and Hollow flies. Hollow flies are a reverse fly which use deer hair tied backwards to give lots of movement in the water. Rob also says using a Crease fly on a full sinking line is a great combination. Crease flies are supposed to fall to the side when stripped; if they stay straight, they are tied wrong. Rob also likes a pink/chartreuse color combination.
Rob says seagulls are great indicators of fish—but not terns. Terns will pick up anything like seaweed, etc. but gulls will only go after fish.
Rob says that stripers usually stay along rip lines and rock structure. In the spring, they may come more up on flats chasing baitfish, etc. Rob says the battleship in Wilmington is a great place to fish for stripers as you can get very close to the water where there is structure. He also recommends the bridge pilings at the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge boat ramp and the Cape Fear River at the junction of the Brunswick River.
Rob says in the winter, fish shallow and near the shoreline for stripers. When the water warms up, fish deeper and in the holes by using sinking lines, etc. Rob says to cast your fly and let it sink for 15 to 20 seconds before you begin to strip your line. Stripers in the Cape Fear hold between 6′ and 20′. Big Clousers with big dumbbells are a good fly to use for deep holding stripers, along with 300 to 350 grain line.
American Shad and Menhaden (also known as pogies or bunker) are typical striper food so fly patterns imitating these fish work well for stripers. Stripers in our area also feed on silversides, anchovies, and rain bait. Eels, Pollack, worms, etc. are also great striper baits.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Fuller
Secretary