Cape Fear Flyfishers Meeting Minutes—19 February 2020
President Bill Buchsbaum called the meeting to order and asked for the Treasurer’s report. Treasurer Dennis Hill announced that we had $4,929 in the bank.
The fly drawing was won by Bruce Golden.
Bill briefly discussed upcoming trips to Bristol TN, Galax VA, and Naples FL. Jim Larson, who is in charge of arrangements for the fall trip to Bristol TN, said it looks like we will be staying at the Bristol Inn in downtown Bristol. Jim also talked to Elk Creek Outfitters and Hunter Banks about guides. The South Holston Lodge and/or the Watauga Lodge, both located on the river, are other possible accommodations.
Pond fishing is changing from Wednesdays to Tuesdays at the Woodlands Pond in St. James.
Nancy Fuller spoke about trout fishing at Jacobs Fork Creek in South Mountains State Park NC which is located northwest of Charlotte and is about a 5 hour drive from Southport. Nancy passed out maps of the park to those interested.
Doug Turner, state coordinator for Reel Recovery, a global organization that puts on retreats for men with cancer showed a short video about their organization which is hosting a retreat October 4-6 in Canton NC on the West Fork of the Pigeon River. Donations can be made online at reelrecovery.org.
EVENTS CALENDAR & MEETING TOPICS
- March 18—monthly meeting with speaker Rob Thompson
- April—pond fishing/meeting
- May—picnic
- June, July, August—no meetings for the summer
- September—monthly meeting
- October—monthly meeting
- November—monthly meeting
- December—holiday banquet
PROGRAM
The program speaker was local guide Seth Vernon. Seth began by commenting that just like any sport, flyfishing requires practice.
Seth discussed the benefits of using a line management device on the bow of a boat, such as a weighted basket to help with line control in the wind. He recommended a collapsible basket for wading ponds etc. called Charlie’s Total Control Stripping Basket.
Seth explained that in getting ready to cast, it is important to strip off line and stretch it a bit before your cast. He also said that right handed anglers should always have their line on their left side before casting it. Seth also said that cleaning your line with one of the cleaning products really helps to prolong the life of the line and helps it shoot better during your cast. Also, he said to NEVER use spray sunscreen near your fly line as it will burn it.
Seth explained that a good guide should give you a direction and distance when pointing out a fish for you to cast to. He uses a “casting clock” on his boat which is based on a standard clock face. So as an example, a guide should say, “There is a fish at 30′ at 8 o’clock.”
Seth explained that it is very important to never present a fly in a manner that the prey is coming towards the predator as this scenario doesn’t occur in nature in saltwater. So the best angle to present your fly is with a fish coming towards you at 45 degrees and maybe even up to 90 degrees. You do not want to cast to a fish swimming away from you or one that has crossed your bow.
Seth discussed how important it is to be as quiet as possible while on the boat by walking softly and not slamming hatches, etc. He also suggested casting side arm when there is wind instead of casting overhead.
Seth said that redfish congregate during low tide and spread out during high tide so it takes a while to figure out how to fish different areas at various stages of the tide.
Seth said to never cast over a school of fish. If the school has already started to pass by, try to cast to fish at the back of the school that are still approaching you so you can keep the fly in front of the fish. He likened the action to teasing a cat with a string, i.e. you would land the string in front of the cat and give short quick jerks to entice the cat to play.
Usually in our area from April to December, we have occasional tides that are high enough to push fish onto the flats. If you can find an area with grass that has marsh periwinkles, that is a good place to find tailing redfish. Those areas also hold crabs and worms in the sand that the fish are hunting. Fish the extreme high tides in these areas to find fish with their backs out of the water. Keep in mind that tailing fish are very vulnerable to predators so be extra stealthy near them and make sure not to cast your line over them.
Wading birds and birds working a tide line are there because fish are holding in this area. These areas likely will be at confluences of creeks on an outgoing tide.
The shallower the water, the narrower the cone of vision is for a fish. This means that a tailing fish basically sees what is in front of them but a fish in several feet of water has a wider cone of vision so keep this in mind when planning where to cast. In shallow water, Seth said to picture putting your fly on a serving platter in front of the fish because that represents the fish’s cone of vision.
When fishing in the grass, make sure to use a slow retrieve because the prey are not moving fast when they are in the grass so you want to imitate that behavior. Wiggling your rod tip is a good strategy because it will send out shock waves which the fish will feel on their lateral line and it will cause the fish to investigate. Keep in mind that sometimes you may not feel the grab from a tailing fish because the fish is crushing the fly into the mud and inhaling it from there. So any slight bump may be a fish; you often will see a strike before you feel it from a tailing fish. When this happens, pull slowly back until you feel pressure and then you have the fish.
Shrimp slider patterns are effective in the grass. And in the river deltas around Southport, black drum and sheepshead can also be up in the grass with the redfish where they go after periwinkles on the grass blades. Seth said he has only ever caught a tailing sheepshead on a small, black crab fly.
When fish are busting on the surface, try throwing top water flies at them. Busting fish are in a frenzy and will grab surface flies. Bluefish and albies are two fish that are great to catch on the surface. Use slow pops when fishing for busting fish. Keep in mind that during a frenzy a fish may actually take your fly but still be swimming towards you so it is important to keep the slack out of your line.
Two questions to ask when selecting a fly are: What are the fish doing and what is the tide doing? If the fish are busting, you wouldn’t need a fly for depth like a Clouser. If the fish are deep, then select a deep water fly. Also consider the wind when selecting a fly. As far as selecting a color for a fly, the basic rule of thumb is light colored flies for light days and darker colored flies for darker days. And keep in mind that you should try to select a fly that YOU can see so that you can keep track of where your fly is located. For deep water try using a weighted line or a weighted fly. Use flies with no added weight in very shallow water in order to keep the fly a light as possible so it makes a soft, delicate splash when it lands. For flies with no weight, be sure to wet your flies before you make a cast.
In order to sink a fly that doesn’t have weight, use an intermediate sinking or full sinking line.
When blind casting against grass banks etc., it is sometimes effective to use a loud fly, maybe one with a rattle in it. In this case, you want to attract attention from any fish that may be cruising in the area. Also, in areas that are holding fish, e.g. pinch points, try using a weighted fly and maybe bounce the fly on the bottom. If you get caught on the bottom, try using a heavier leader so you have a better chance of recovering your fly before it breaks off. Sometimes it is effective to drift along shorelines that have lots of pinch points and blind cast at various pinch points with a cast, pop, pop, pop pattern. Keep doing that along the shoreline until you get a strike.
Searching and blind casting flies can include Clousers, rattle mullet, rattle shrimp, and some spoon flies. Crease flies are good top water flies for most saltwater fish. Rattle shrimp flies are great flies to use in the Cape Fear River.
Seth recommended fly tying books by Drew Chicone.
To buy flies in our area, check Great Outdoor Provision Co., Intracoastal Angler, and Sportsman’s Warehouse in Wilmington. Seth said his favorite online supplier is Blackfly Outfitter in Jacksonville FL. He also recommended Orvis.
Seth uses mostly 16 lb. fluorocarbon leaders when fishing locally or maybe 12 lb. if he wants to go really light. He also suggested not fishing a 9′ leader in the grass because the longer the leader, the less accurate your cast will be. He uses 6.5 to 7 feet in the grass and goes to a 20 lb. leader.
Seth uses mostly floating fly line but for trout he keeps an intermediate or sink tip line at the ready. When fishing a floating line, always use a tapered leader. For sink tip or intermediate line, use 4 to 6 feet of straight tippet. Seth recommends an 8 wt. rod when fishing for redfish. He personally uses a 7 wt.
Seth discussed gel spun backing which is thinner so you can put more backing on your reel.
Seth gave a tip for how to tell a black drum from a sheepshead. He said a sheepshead ALWAYS has seven stripes.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Fuller
Secretary