I took fellow fly angler, Al Raynor, on a brief morning expedition for shallow water redfishing at North Topsail and we managed some good Memorial Day redfish long before most folks were even out of bed.

Al and I both had wanted to check out the local waters around North Topsail and I had been waiting for a few days of consistent weather to warrant taking the trip up there. We checked two of our favorite local flats and found one school of about thirty reds pushing in the early morning shallows as they pursued some small finger mullet. We worked on these fish for a little while and seeing that they were distressed decided to go and find some fresh fish that hadn't seen as much pressure.

It wasn't long before we discovered another school of reds cruising the shallows of some abandoned spoil islands and eating small shrimp and baitfish. We are currently using Murdich's Wiggler a lot for redfishing the local waters and I am amazed at how effective a pattern it has proven to be ni such a short period of time. We caught two fish together on Saturday between around 7 o'clock and 10 a.m. with the first one being pretty small. However it was a significant achievement because I thought the fly was too heavy for the depth of the water the fish was pushing in but all of those fears were laid to rest when I saw the fish charge forward and inhale the fly. Now the fight was surely on and Al landed the fish in short order. Pursuing the fish a few more feet up the bank we encountered the leading edge of the school a short distance from the boat and Al made a quick backcast to intercept one of the larger redfish in target range. The fish never slowed down and as soon as it felt the pressure of the hook it exploded on the surface and sped away from the boat taking Al deep into his backing. Believe me when I say that it wasn't for a lack of drag on the reel either, the fish simply had a lot of fight in him. This fish only measured about 23 inches to 24 inches but had and impressive belly and weighed in at about six pounds on the Boga Grip.

All in all it was a good way to start the Memorial Day festivities and we managed to catch some pretty fish away from the crowds. The summer redfishing is heating up so don't wait too long to try your hand at these magnificent shallow water gamefish.

Tight Loops & Lines,

Captain Seth Vernon

It isn't often that I harvest a red fish for the dinner table even though I catch a lot of them with my charter anglers. However there is a very effective slot in place with the NC Fisheries Division that manages the catch of recreational red drum and it states one per person between 18-27" can be posessed per day.

Therefore when the possibility arrives that an angler hooks a redfish too deep in the throat or worse one sucks a fly back into a gill I use the opportunity to eduacate my fellow anglers about the ethics involved in keeping a fish and minimizing the impact on the resource. This very event occured to me and an angler for the first time this year.

Needless to say the red fish was hooked deep in the throat and was bleeding profusely. So the question was posed, "will you eat this fish if I harvest him for you?" I asked my angler. "Absolutely," was his reply. I explained why I din't think the fish was going to make it and my angler agreed and we put the fish on ice.

We had a fantastic morning and continued to catch fish with ease but I couldn't get the burning question out of the back of my mind... What had that fish been consuming for his last meal and what intelligence would be revealed from the afternoon autopsy?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and my angler and I were both astonished to see so many soft shelled blue crabs in this fish's stomach but the eduacation factor was a fantastinc teaching opportunity.

The fish in this photo had been feeding on crabs during the full moon high tide. During the full and new moon phases the blue crabs migrate into the protective surroundings of the spartina marshes where they hide as they become defenseless in their molting ritual. Interestingly enought the red fish know this and therefore pursue these crabs at their weekest moment and gorge themselves with this delicacy.

On your next trip take a good look at the crusher in the back of a red fish's throat before you release it and maybe you too will marvel at how well nature designed these magnificent game fish. The weather this week is going to be windy but the weekend is supposed to lighten up. Just remember Memorial Day is coming and it will be busy on the water, stay safe and enjoy the water responsibly this weekend...

Tight Loops & Lines,

Capt. Seth Vernon

The weather has been real favorable here with light winds and good conditions for hitting the flats for some redfishing. Sunday appears to be the best day according to the weather forecast.

There have been a lot of fish attracted to topwater flies like red or gold Dink's poppers, Hells Bay Hoppers and of course crease flies and the Umpqua rattle mullet in chartreuse over white.

I am still fishing the falling tides and letting the red fish come out of the grass and into the open expanses of the mud flats, however on these full moon tides there are several schools of fish tailing in the grass and eating blue crabs.

Take some time this weekend and go wet a flyline, you will be glad you did.

Tight Loops & Lines,

Capt. Seth Vernon

What an awesome event. I had the opportunity to teach our Saltwater Fly Fishing School at Airlie Gardens here in Wilmington this past weekend and the students did an amazing job. The purpose of the course was to teach these hungry saltwater fly anglers how to fish like the best in the business. That includes casting instruction in techniques like the double haul for more line speed, accuracy and distance, learning how to build a leader from scratch, rigging a fly reel and how to appropriately use the lifting power of the fly rod to gain as much as 16 lbs of force on the leader end!

We also had time to discuss the fishing opportunities around the Cape Fear Coast in detail and watch some great DVD fishing action we have been filming here during our outings. A big thank you to the staff and crew of Airlie Gardens for an amazing retreat for this program and Manhatten Cafe for hot coffee and a wonderful catered breakfast each morning.

Congratulations Saltwater Fly Fishing grads, I look forward to seeing you hone your skills on the water this season.

If you are interested in joining us for the June Saltwater Fly Fishing School on the 9th & 10th feel free to call 910-233-4520 or email me at sethvernon@hotmail.com .