Monday, April 21, 2008

Wrightsville Reds

After weeks and weeks of 20+ kt winds, we finally recieve a break allowing anglers to really get out there and see how the bite is. Reds have really become more active as the water temperature continues to rise. They can be found most active in skinny waters on a low tide when the water is at its warmest. Schools of anywhere from 5 to 55 have been reported here at the shop along with some great "hook-up" stories. With the wind slightly calmed down, Bonita should arrive near the beach at anytime, so come see us at the shop for some new tips and gear.

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 11:14 AM 0 comments

Thursday, August 9, 2007

More Topsail Reds on fly...


On Tuesday I guided brothers Rod and Howard Dillman for a full day of redfishing in the Topsail area. We really did have a tough day and two of the spots I wanted to catch a topwater bite with Howard resulted in no action whatsoever. I could see the schools however and it got me thinking that it was just one of those days where you work harder to make things happen. By noon we had only had three fly shots and one topwater explosion on the plug.

Our final move of the day was the cash cow as we saw around thirty fish schooled up and Rod made an excellent cast and caugt a handsome 6 lb. female drum on the Cape Fur Shrimp pattern that I tie. Overall it was a great day and the Dillman guys were fun to hang out with and spend a day on the water.

If you are fishing in the Topsail/Wrightsville area and are looking for some exciting shallow water redfishing don't hesitate to contact me for more info.


Tight Loops & Lines

Captain Seth Vernon

910-233-4520

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 5:01 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Capt. Tommy with Tripletail Action on the Fy!!!



Josh Eddings and I left Wilmington on Mon. at 3:30am to fish in Mclellanville, SC with Capt. Tommy Scarborough of Georgetown Coastal Adventures, our target...Tripletail on fly! We redfished with Tommy early that morning and had some incredible fishing action with redfish so shallow on the mud flats I could see thier eyes above water, I think Tommy's redfish have four wheel drive...


The reds were fun and we even had some trout and flounder action on fly to round out the day while we waited for the tide to become high enough to float some tripletail past the crab buoys. On our third drift Tommy had us on a nice 7 lb. tripletail and Josh's second cast at it was absolutely perfect, the fish was laying on the surface like a piece of debris and the fly landed literally inches from his nose, we were refused. We didn't feel too defeated as Tommy promised there was more action waiting on the next float, boy was he right. About seven casts later Josh was tight to a 12 lb. tripletail on the fly and he bested the fish with a Scott S3S 7 weight!! It was awesome!


I have to thank Capt. Tommy for being such a fine host and gentleman and sharing his backyard with us for the day, we loved fly fishing with him and are already planning a return trip for this October. Check Tommy's website at http://www.captaintommy.com/ and tell him I sent you, he will be glad to have you.


Just one more fish for the fly guys to chase, enjoy!




Tight Loops & Lines,


Captain Seth Vernon


910-233-4520


sethvernon@hotmail.com

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 5:09 PM 0 comments

Monday, July 2, 2007

Fishing is HOT and I am catching up on reports...















Where do I begin, the fishing has been incredible with lots of great stories and anglers on and off of the boat. I have seen tailers, topwater feeders and we have even done some successful wade fishing on the flats lately for super skinny reds.










I would love to thank the anglers these last few weeks as they have done really well under the "pressure" of some insane sight fishing for redfish. So hats off to Steve Carpenter, John Andrews, BC Cone, Pete Richardson and Joey Scott and George. You guys are why I love my job. Congrats to you all and I look forward to our next adventures on the water together!










I know a lot of these grip and grins are of spin caught topwater bites, on a few of these trips we had some tough fly fishing conditions and these anglers where talented enough to "talk Fish" with the spinning rod as well as the fly, remember be versatile and trust your guide if he tells you there's a fish with your name on it.










On another note the latest issue of Saltwater Fly Fishing features my first ever 6 page feature on fly fishing the Cape Fear Coast for red drum. Let me know your thoughts!










Tight Loops & Lines,





Capt. Seth Vernon

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 8:11 AM 0 comments

Friday, June 8, 2007

It pays to get up Early...










I had a great early morning trip with Pete Richardson of Wilmington, NC this morning. Pete had it together and we managed to impress ourselves by catching two redfish this morning between 5:45 am and 8 am. The morning was quiet with lots of bait on the move but very little redfish tailing/pushing/waking action to speak of.
I thought I had seen some reds milling quietly in a pocket of water on the edge of a flat no deeper than about 8 inches and asked Pete to make a cast with a topwater pug and spinning rod to wake them up. On the first cast he had a tremendous surface strike which we missed. On the very next cast he settled the score with a well placed cast and a great hook up yielding him a pretty 4 lb. redfish at first light.



The light improved and we decided to move to another spot that has been producing some tailing fish for us. When we arrived the water was slick and the fish were not showing themselves. We actually bumped into some fish and Pete got one to eat a fly presented perfectly in front of the lead fish. Once he got the fish close we could tell it was bigger than the one he caught earlier that morning. We weighed the fish at six pounds even and he ate a Borski's Bonefish Slider.
The fishing has been great and with the right weather we can sight fish to our hearts desire! Give me a call if you are interested in some tight lines, strong runs and big smiles. 910-233-4520
Tight Loops & Lines,
Captain Seth Vernon






posted by Intracoastal Angler at 8:47 AM 1 comments

Monday, June 4, 2007

Bob Kirkman's 1st Redfish on Fly






I had the extreme pleasure of fishing with Mr. Bob Kirkman of Lenoir, NC on Saturday morning of this past weekend. Bob is an accomplished trout fisherman and has spent a lot of time in the NC mountains around Boone honing his trout technique. When he arrived at the coast this Saturday he was ready to tackle some hard fighting saltwater fish.



We had some incredible early morning fishing activity and absolutely not a breath of wind until around ten o'clock. We started the day fishing some shallow mud flats bordered by spartina marsh in pursuit of fish that were headed into the marsh on the rising tide to forage for crabs and shrimp. Bob and I spent the first part of the morning getting him caught up to speed on the "double-haul" which is a technique we utilize in saltwater fishing to make long distance casts more quickly and more accurately. After a short warm up we moved in range to some fish we had seen briefly tailing along the edge of the marsh. Within minutes of seeing two fish pursuing shrimp in a small lagoon Bob had hooked and lost his first rising tide redfish.



Little did he know that I could see some more fish pushing in the next bay. Three casts later Bob was tight to his first red of the day. We were fishing a new Umpqua fly pattern called the Johnny Rocket and the fish loved it! Congratulations Bob, you did a great job this weekend and it was a pleasure fishing with you. Tell Ollie and Brownie I said "hello" when you see them in the mountains.



Don't hesitate to call or book a fly fishing charter for this summer. The weather has been very good and the fishing is only going to get better when the menhaden arrive in our backcountry waters.






Tight Loops & Lines,



Capt. Seth Vernon

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 7:02 AM 0 comments

Friday, June 1, 2007

High Tides Have the Reds of Wrightsville Tailing



It was another beautiful morning at Wrightsville Beach. Josh Eddings and I got an early start and fished locally in search of tailing fish on the rising tide. We had only about an hour and a half to kill and so we spent our time wisely this morning.

Josh hadn't driven my new Beavertail B2 yet so I turned the wheel over to him while we rode the waterway. If you haven't seen the new boat you can get a peek at it on the website http://www.beavertailskiffs.com .



The high was only 2.9 feet this am and it kept most of the fish from escaping too far into the grass and out of reach. We had three tailers, a dozen pushes and one busting a crab way back in a grass flat. Just nice getting out on these slick calm mornings.



Give us a call if you are interested in a flats charter for these great game fish 910-233-4520.

Tight Loops & Lines,
Captain Seth Vernon

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 8:21 AM 0 comments