Several people practiced casting lines in the St. James Community Center ponds prior to the meeting.
EVENTS CALENDAR & MEETING TOPICS
- 27 October—meeting at Woodlands Pavilion (St. James) for a casting competition. Please take note this is the last Wednesday of the month instead of the third
- 17 November—monthly meeting with subject to be decided
- 11 December—holiday banquet at Members Club in St. James
Vice President “Big” Jim Larson called the meeting to order and announced that there is no treasurer’s report because Treasurer Doug Donaldson is still in Cape Cod. Jim did say the long awaited CFF hats are available for sale at $25 each.
Several guests and new members introduced themselves including, Charlie Parker, Jim Murray, Rick Winterholter, and new member Ken Morgan who introduced his guest Steven Wood.
Big Jim announced that a casting clinic would be held at the SJCC ponds on Saturday Sept 18 from 9-12 and Jim White added that he would have plenty of rods available for folks to use who don’t have their own.
Big Jim then explained about the spousal trip to Bristol by saying that six boats are being held until Friday but unfortunately, at the time of the meeting, there was only one person signed up for the trip. Discounted hotel rooms at the Bristol Inn are on hold and Big Jim needs to let the guides and hotel know if the trip is happening so anyone interested was encouraged to make their plans now. After a show of hands, it was determined the trip would be canceled.
Al Roy spoke about his recent trip to Alaska and Big Jim gave a few highlights of several club members who also recently fished in Alaska.
Ray Kozen discussed his recent trip to Big Horn River in Montana where he had good success with trout. He also talked about the Riverbound X-Stream club in southwestern VA which has access to 13 miles of private water that is stocked with rainbow, brook, and brown trout. Riverbound members can arrange to fish the waters or the public can fish for a fee. Riverbound X-Stream club can be reached at 304 922-4563.
Captain Jerry Dilsaver, a native of Southport was the guest speaker for the evening. Jerry was born and raised in Southport and has been fishing most of his life in our local waters using spinning gear but has recently been trying his hand at flyfishing with the encouragement of his wife and Rev. Jerry recently fly fished the Elk River and caught a few trout.
Jerry began by discussing flounder fishing in NC. He said it is anticipated that the recreational catch will be over the quota this year as it was last year so he thinks the quota will be reduced for next year or even a chance of no season at all. NC Division of Marine Fisheries and Marine Fisheries Commission are two different organizations. The Marine Fisheries Commission people appointed by the Governor to make decisions and the NC Division of Marine Fisheries are the biologists that collect the information and enforce the rules. Jerry discussed that the recreational side is slowly getting more share of the total allowable harvest which was 30% this year. In the next four to five years, the split between recreational and commercial is supposed to become a 50-50 split.
Jerry discussed the striper fishery at Weldon and said he anticipates that both the season and the creel limits will be reduced next year because the allocation was exceeded this year.
Some good news is that a lawsuit has been filed by the NC Wildlife Federation and the Coastal Conservation Association against the State of NC, the Marine Fisheries Commission and the Division of Marine Fisheries for mismanagement of NC fisheries. A judge recently said the suit can proceed which is progress from past attempts at lawsuits. So time will tell how far this lawsuit gets. There is also a second lawsuit to get shrimp trawls out of nursery areas such as the Pamlico Sound.
SC has reduced their flounder creel limit from 10 per person to 5 per person and 10 per boat. The season in SC doesn’t close and they have raised their minimum length to 16”. Also effective July 1, their out-of-state license fee went from $35 to $75 or $100 per year. Jerry said to launch at the ramp at Little River on the SC side of the bridge, go out the inlet, come back to the ramp at SC and haul out there and have a SC fishing license if you are stopped. Five flounder, ten speckled trout, and two red drum are the limits in SC.
Next Jerry discussed early fall and winter fishing within a three hour drive from Southport which covers the area from about Belhaven and Bath NC to Charleston SC. The main species available during fall and winter in those areas will be speckled trout and red drum. From Wilmington to the north you can add in striped bass. There will also be a few flounder and black drum in the mix. Black drum like meat so catching them on lures and flies is a little tough. Waters to the south of Southport will probably be a little better because the water is usually about three to four degrees warmer than north of Southport which can make a big difference in fishing. Albemarle Sound, the lower part of the Roanoke River, and the Atlantic Ocean are the only areas in NC that have a keeper striper season. Jerry talked about the striper fisheries in the Cape Fear River around Wilmington, at New Bern in the Neuse and Trent Rivers, at Little Washington in the Tar and Pamlico Rivers, and at Albemarle Sound and the Roanoke River.
Jerry said specs stay active in water temperatures down to about 65 degrees, then in water to about fifty eight degrees they feed every other day and have a subtle bite. Once the water is below fifty they won’t bite at all.
In general, as the water gets colder look for places that have less current. Look for the pockets of water with little current because that water will be warmed by the sun and the fish will hang out there.
Red drum feed shallow and especially during the winter. Look for mud bottoms that heat up from the sun. Red drum may not even cover their entire body with water. Elizabeth River, Snows Cut, and behind Bald Head are good red drum locations.
Remember that during winter the further you go back into a creek the warmer the water will be.
Stripers in the Cape Fear River tend to hang around the mouths of the small creeks that flow into the river in the area above Snows Cut.
Fishing near both ends of the tidal change is best because in the middle of the tide, the current is running the fastest so you need lots of weight to get your line down. Try to use something that can flutter a bit as it goes down.
There are a few stripers up the Lockwood Folly River in the deep holes near the golf course and beyond. You need to have deep diving lures or Rattletraps to have a chance at catching a striper there.
When going to a new area to fish, Jerry suggested checking the area out on Google Earth to get a low tide shot of the area. Also check the tide tables for the area you intend to fish and keep in mind that the further you are from the inlet, the longer it takes for the tide to get to inland water. A good rule of thumb is that the tide is one hour behind the inlet for every eight miles of distance from the inlet. This rule of thumb would be a bit slower on a wide, deep river where the hour delay might be at five or six miles from the inlet. Jerry also said that on a full moon tide the water runs harder later into a rising tide and on a new moon tide it runs harder later into a falling tide.
The Spanish mackerel in our area usually will only be around until the water gets to seventy degrees. We may have some false albacore around until Thanksgiving, but there is better albie fishing up at Wrightsville Beach because of the clearer water.
The Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program, cormp.org, covers the ocean from Charleston to Hatteras and gives ocean water temperatures as well as lots more information about ocean conditions.
For winter fishing trips, Jerry said he plans to fish the last few hours of the falling tide and the first few hours of the rising tide because this is when the current is typically the slowest and the water is the warmest. This is especially true if it occurs in the afternoon. Fish slower as the water temperature drops, meaning to take little twitches rather than big strips and slow down in how much ground you cover. Also use the lightest weight fly that will go to the bottom in the current you are in so the fly has some flutter as it sinks. Jerry recommends fishing a good shrimp fly because every saltwater fish will eat shrimp. Jerry stressed that you can’t fish too slow when the water is cold.
Jerry said that where water blends together like where two creeks meet, fish the slow side of the blend because the fish are watching what the current brings close to them. He also said to downsize the size of what you offer in cold water because a cold fish may go after a smaller, easier target.
Jerry also said he hopes to hold his annual fishing school in February if we get a break from Covid.
Jerry also suggested the following guides for the areas he discussed:
Guides
Local
Capt. Tommy Rickman – Southport Angler Outfitters – fishsouthport.com –
910- 264-7722
Wilmington Area
Seth Vernon – Double Haul Guide Service – doublehaulguideservice.com –
910-233-4520
Capt. Allan Cain – Sightfish NC – sightfishnc.com – 336-613-2975
Capt. Jon Huff – Circle H Charters – circlehcharters.com – 910-617-2619
Capt. Lee Parsons – Gottafly Guide Service – 910-540-2464
Capt. Judson Brock – Muddy Fly Guide Service – muddyflyguideservice.com –
910-660-9631
Capt. Stu Caulder – Gold Leader Guide Service –
facebook.com/goldleaderfishing – 910-264-2674
Topsail/Sneads Ferry/New River Area
Many of the Wilmington area guides also work this area.
Capt. Ethan Bilderback – Stellar Angler Guide Service – stellerangler.com –
443-758-3638
Capt. Allen Jernigan – Breadman Ventures – breadmanventures.com –
910- 467-1482 (Capt. Allen said he isn’t a fly fisher, but he can get
knowledgeable fly fishermen on the fish to use their knowledge and skills)
Swansboro Area
Capt. John Mauser – Tailing Tide Guide Service – tailingtideguideservice.com
– 910-340-4811
Pogie’s Fishing – Sales/rentals/multiple guides – pogiesfishing.com –
910-325-7876
Morehead City Area
Capt. Joe Shute – Capt. Joe Shute’s – captjoes.com – 252-240-2744
Capt. Tom Roller – WaterDog Guide Service – waterdogguideservice.com –
919-423-6310
Capt. Will Jones – Bounty Hunter Guide Service – bountyhunternc.com –
919-218-8451
New Bern/Oriental Area
Capt. Bobby Brewer – Baldheaded Bobby Guide Service – baldheadedbobby.com –
919-349-6112 (Capt. Bobby also does some trips to Tennessee and other
places)
Capt. Gary Dubiel – Spec Fever Guide Service – specfever.com – 252-249-1520
Down East Guide Service – Multiple guides – downeastguideservice.com –
252-671-3474
Pamlico River/Sound Area and Roanoke Sound
Capt. Richard Andrews – Tar-Pam Guide Service – tarpamguide.com –
252-945-9715 (multiple guides)
Little River, S.C. Area
I did not find any guides in this area specializing in fly fishing.
Pawleys Island/Georgetown/Mclellanville, S.C. Area
Capt. Fred Rourk- Sweet Tea Charters – Facebook.com/sweetteacharters –
843-241-4767
Capt. Jordan Pate – Carolina Guide Service – carolinaguideservice.com –
843-814-7900
Capt. Jeff Lattig – Living Waters Guide Service – livingwaterguide.com –
843-997-4655
Captain Newman Weaver – Kingfisher Guide Service – gtownkingfisher.com –
843-318-0474
Charleston/Isle of Palms/Folly Beach, S.C. Area (Some also fish farther
south)
Capt. Mark Holyfield – Charleston Fly – charlestonfly.com – 843-790-3131
Capt. Peter Lawson-Johnson – Low Country Premiere Fly Fishing –
lowcountrypremiereflyfishing.com – 203-249-4266
Capt. Harry Tomlinson – Charleston Fly Fishing Expeditions –
chasflyfishing.com – 803-727-0697
Capt. Chris Wilson – Fin Addict Charters – charlestonflyfishingguide.com –
843-224-7462
Pg. 6
Capt. John Irwin – Fly Right Charters – flyrightcharters.com – 843-860-4231
Capt. Ben Alderman – Ben Alderman Fishing – benalderman.com – 843-906-3630
Capt. Mark Phelps – Shore Thang Charters – shorethangcharters.com –
843-475-1274
Stores – Haddrell’s Point in Mt. Pleasant; Charleston Angler in Downtown
Charleston
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Fuller
Secretary