President Bill Buchsbaum called the meeting to order and held the fly drawing.
New member Melody Ryan introduced herself along with visitors Ian and Grayson Sands who have a YouTube channel Sands in the Surf. Colorado based visitor Gary Burton was also present. President Bill said we added ten new members in 2021.
Treasurer Doug Donaldson reported that there is currently $2875.63 in the treasury with a current membership of 53. Doug reminded us of the new CFF hats that are available for sale at $25 each so please purchase your hat soon to help the club recover the cost of the hats.
EVENTS CALENDAR & MEETING TOPICS
- 11 December—holiday banquet at Members Club in St. James from 6:00-9:00 p.m.
OLD BUSINESS
The October casting clinic was a great success with some tough competition and hopefully next year even more people will turn out for this great event. Everyone was a winner!
NEW BUSINESS
Officers for 2022:
President—Big Jim Larson
Vice President—Rick Hettenbach
Secretary—position is open. Please consider volunteering
Treasurer—Doug Donaldson
Webmaster—Steve Moore
Education Director—Jim White
Incoming President Big Jim Larson spoke briefly about what he envisions for the club in 2022. He said he welcomes feedback from the membership as to what they would like to see for trips and programs next year as well as for local gatherings. Jim also said he has an opening for a trip to the San Juan the second week of April so contact him if interested. Jim is also going to Clearwater in February if anyone would like to join him.
FEATURED SPEAKER
The featured speaker was Captain Seth Vernon who moved to the Wrightsville area in 2004. Prior to moving to Wrightsville Seth was a guide in Boone and fished extensively on the South Holston and Wautaga Rivers. Seth also guided in Alaska for Mission Lodge and guided at Ascension Bay. Seth owned the Intercoastal Angler tackle store in Wilmington until 2008 when he began guiding in the Wilmington area full time.
Seth’s program focused on fish that are available in our waters and the waters of Wrightsville Beach during the fall transition into winter. Speckled trout, redfish, flounder are the primary species along with albacore offshore and Louisiana style bull reds on the nearshore wrecks. On calm clear days, sometimes bull reds will chase bait to the surface where they can be targeted on the surface on the fly
Seth said the key to fishing here during winter is to be prepared and equipped to change plans depending on what is biting. He said the winter low tides are a phenomenal time to chase schools of redfish in the creeks.
Seth said that when targeting redfish in ten to twelve inches of water this time of year, a 7 wt. rod is an ideal tool because the metabolism of the fish has slowed down from the fall so it is unlikely that a fish will take you into your backing like they might do in October or in the summer months. You can move up to an 8 wt. rod in the wind. If you find redfish in shallow water during the winter, earmark that spot because that is prime real estate where the fish will return to during the same conditions such as water temperature and wind, etc. The fish want spots that will not dry out completely at low tide. The redfish are looking for main creeks branches or main bays and bayous with tributaries that are feeding lanes where prey cycles through as the currents ebb and flow. If you catch a south facing clear day with blue skies, that is a prime time to sightfish for reds.
Schooled up reds will follow a lead fish and as the movement from the tails of the fish in the front sweep bait up from the sand, a following fish will “wink or flash” by rolling slightly on their side which exposes their white underbelly as they grab prey. Watch carefully with polarized lenses for winks to indicate the location of a school of fish. Once a flash is seen, position the boat by considering the current so that the fly can be presented by intercepting the fish. Make sure to make a gentle presentation with the fly. When targeting a fish in a large school, don’t cast into the center of the school because the fish will scatter and it’s game over. Target fish on the outside of the school and cast two to three feet over the target and bring the fly to the fish. Right handed anglers should cast off the left side of the boat and vice versa. Don’t ever cast directly in front of the school. Try to make a cast where the fish discover the fly instead of the fly discovering the fish. Don’t make a cast where the prey (fly) is coming at the fish because that approach doesn’t occur in nature. Make the fly travel with the school not at the school.
If you see an area with small craters in the mud, this is where stingrays are excavating the sand for clams. Redfish will follow the rays to catch small prey that the rays stir up. Sometimes you just have to cast at the rays because you won’t be able to see the redfish in the stirred up water.
Mullet will also be intermingled in schools of redfish and show themselves by swirling before the push. Mullet have white tails where the redfish tails will look like an iridescent blue. Redfish appear darker in the water than the mullet. Crescent shaped bays are good areas for holding schools of redfish. When you do find a fish, put a waypoint into your GPS and note the water temperature and conditions because when those same conditions occur again, chances are good fish will return to that same location.
Fly selection for shallow water redfish can include the Seducer. Seth also has his own variation of this fly he calls a Salty Shrimp. Mighty Minnow, Bunny Minnow, Borski fly are great patterns as well. Seth predominately uses unweighted flies because he fishes in water 20” or less 99.9% of the time. Plastic rattles are louder than glass rattles and some redfish flies use rattles. For our water Seth recommends to have a few brown flies and a few white flies. If you want to search deeper water, use a subsurface fly.
It is very important to fish using stealth; no slamming cooler lids, loud footsteps on the boat, etc. Keep movements gentle as rocking the boats sends out waves which spooks the fish.
When surgically targeting a school, try to pull fish from the outside of the school. Once hooked up, consider backing the boat up to drag the fish from the school rather than reeling the fish in. Backing the boat is a more stealthy approach and minimizes the chance of disturbing the remainder of the school. In general you can extract about 10% of a school without disturbing the remaining fish by using the correct techniques.
Seth likes Arc fly lines because they don’t stretch near as much as some other brands. Seth says he does believe in using cold water lines in cold weather and warm water lines in hot weather. He said in winter you can use a 12 lb. leader or a 16 if the wind kicks up. In summer in dirty water in our area you may want to move to a 20 lb. leader. Arc Salt 99 line is what Seth uses in the winter. Seth likes buckskin to blue colors at the back end and a sky color at the tip. Stay away from bright colored fly lines. Use all floating lines expect maybe an intermediate line for albacore or trout in big currents. Long leaders on calm days, short leaders on windy days.
Regarding polarized lenses and sunscreens, stick with amber or brown lenses for inshore waters in our area. Use gray or blue for offshore Gulf Stream waters. Be careful with sunscreen and use the type that comes in a stick like deodorant. Neutrogena makes a good stick sunscreen. Keep sunscreen off the surfaces of the boat and off of your fly line. Make sure to always take rain gear along even when the forecast is for clear weather. When using fluorocarbon tippets you need to add twists to your knots since you’re working with dissimilar materials. Seth uses six turns for his blood knots when joining fluorocarbon to mono line. Seth stressed to tell your guide about any of your weaknesses or about areas you want to work on e.g. back casting, etc. Be honest with your guide so you will have a better trip.
Redfish do not like to be in currents so always fish the calm water in the curve of a river or creek. Fish in the sheltered water as it is a prime line for fish. Mid tide falling tide is a good time for redfish as they come out of the grasses.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Fuller
Secretary