Monday, July 30, 2007

Schools of Reds and some larger fish arriving...


I fished with friend and angler BC Cone yesterday amidst cloudy skies and the threat of a thundershower and we managed to find and cast to a lot of fish despite the tough "sight fishing" conditions. BC caught a nice drum on topwater early in the morning as well as a handsome bluefish on topwater, about three pounds, but our emphasis was on the fly.

Because of the overcast conditions we were both having a hard time seeing the fish until they wereliterally right in front of the boat, I guess the good news is that Beavertail Skiff of mine is stealthy. The challenge was to lead these solo, paired or schooled fish on short notice. If you are new to saltwater fly fishing it is important to practice both distance casting and short distance casting. Think of a golf game, if you don't have a good short game or putting game it can really hurt your score, the same is true in fly rodding the salt. Another tip I would like to mention as a general rule is once you are comfortably fishing on the bow learn how to hold your flyline and leader and fly in the "ready position". Practising going from a dead stand still with your line, leader and fly in hand is more realistic than blind casting. Now once you have mastered the ready position through casting you are good to go.

Lastly if you encounter shallow water sight fishable reads practice putting the fly immediately and delicately in front of close encounter fish so that they don't have a chance to think about it, you want a reactionary bite. On your long distance fish keep leading them a foot to eighteen inches until you determine the fishe's mood and this will allow you multiple shots at a fish without spooking it.

The fishing is great and the fish are holding a pattern as we hurdle towards the shrimp "hatch" so give a call if you are interested in some spectacular sight fishing for red drum.


Good Luck and Good Fishing,

Captain Seth Vernon~

910-233-4520

sethvernon@hotmail.com

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 5:00 AM 0 comments  

Friday, July 27, 2007

Bill Slaughter has a fishy new boat!







Hello anglers. My good friend Bill Slaughter has a bad new toy and we took her on her maiden voyage today, it is 17' Yellowfin custom flats skiff that he will use on the redfish tour this year and the fish better watch out. We scouted some new water in the boat and were both impressed at the poling draft and quiet hull in the shallows. we found some fish early in the morning and even had one tailer in the calm of the morning, no good fly shots today but some insane topwater action again today and some nice schooling drum as well as singles, all in all some good times!



It's nice when your buddies throw you in the briar patch if you know what I mean. Big thanks to Bill for letting me run the new boat through the shallows like I stole it! Great days on the water happen more than you think don't waste any time getting down to Wilmington for some fishing.






Good Luck and Good Fishing,



Captain Seth Vernon



910-233-4520



posted by Intracoastal Angler at 1:51 PM 0 comments  

Thursday, July 26, 2007

John and Bill Toaspern fish Topsail Reds...


What a day! I guided John and Bill Toaspern this morning and we had some spectacular shots and bites from reds this morning. Bill had five bites, hooked three and landed two and I beleive that if conditions had been better for John, who fished fly this morning, he would have connected to a few fish also.

We fished the waters around Topsail and I met John and Bill by way of the article I wrote for this months Saltwater Fly Fishing magazine on Cape Fear Coast Redfishing.

I was really thrilled to have a father son today on the boat as the weather and tide were perfect, light wind falling tide and two excited anglers makes a good day. We could have easily caught more fish today and I have to hand it to these guys they really wanted to learn more about the fishery here and some new tactics!

I look forward to seeing them both again and may have the opportunity to take John and his son out this fall. Here is a picture of the one that didn't get away! The ones that did get away could have eaten this one! Not bad for a west coast steelheader and a Colorado trout fisherman. You guys will always have a spot on my skiff!


Good Luck and Good Fishing,

Capt. Seth Vernon

910-233-4520

sethvernon@hotmail.com

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 5:19 PM 0 comments  

Top Dog fishing does it again....


On Wednesday I had the opportunity to spend some time topwater fishing with Joe Lee of Durham, NC. He had never plugged for redfish and so we set out to find some schooling fish and get to work. Our first stop of the morning put us on feeding fish in the shallows, in the early morning low light we had to work hard to see the school. I had some strong visual clues from the platform and we managed two drum right off the bat.

I was awfully excited to see Joe catch some fish on the topwater plug on his first attempt. We are talking about putting together a father and son trip this fall for Joe and his son who just graduated from UNCW and I promised I would call when the reds start eating shrimp full force again.

Thanks Joe for trusting me to put you on the fish and for trying some new tactics for redfish.


Good Luck and Good Fishing,

Captain Seth Vernon

910-233-4520

sethvernon@hotmail.com

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 5:13 PM 0 comments  

Friday, July 20, 2007

Ten times the fun when it's Topwater Time!


It is rare this time of year to not have charter on a Friday. Even rarer still that two Wilmington based Fishaholic guides would both have the same day off. So what did Capt. Lee Parsons of Gottafly Guide Service say when I asked him if he wanted to go fishing with me this morning? "Does a fish Fart Bubbles?" he said. If any of you are confused we went fishing or did "research" I like to say.

In all seriousness I could not have asked for a more fun loving or patient charter captain than Lee, we always catch fish together and we have had some remarkable trips over the years of fishing together. Today was no exception. When I say that Lee is a fisherman I mean it. First thing this morning he raised five sleepy topwater redfish bites before the first fish actually commited to the plug. Being a generous angler and friend I photographed his catch and he quickly lent me the rod and took the push pole from me so I could catch one. Mine was bigger:) and as soon as Lee sends me the pictures I will prove it. It's fair though because he caught his first...

I wanted to scout another place so we left these fish alone and a little wiser and we relocated to a new piece of water I have had my eye on. Upon arrival it was nothing special as the 15 kts of wind has started to stir things up pretty good making visibility and topwater fishing very challenging too. Nonetheless Capt. Lee hooked up quickly and I followed his lead with the rod I had stuck in my belt free and the push pole gripped between my nees I cast right behind Capt. Lee's fish and was immediately rewarded with a handsome redfish. That was our first double of the morning! Two handsome 6 pounders came to the boat and we did a few high fives and some photos.

The fun wasn't over as we continued our day moving and fishing what was to us virgin water and we ended up with 10 topwater redfish several more visual bites, one shake off and some awesome fly fishing takes but no landings. As always it was a great day on the water with my good friend Capt. Lee Parsons. Stay tuned to sportfisherman.com for the video on our topwater bites.


Call me if you would like a charter for some amazing redfish action this summer! 910-233-4520


Good Luck & Good Fishing,

Captain Seth Vernon

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 2:18 PM 0 comments  

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Alfred Brand and his first redfish ever!


Wednesday morning could not have been better. I had the pleasure of guiding Alfred Brand who is a friend of Ollie Smith of Blue Ridge Anglers in Boone, NC who was kind enough to introduce the two of us. Alfred is a true gentleman and commited fisherman. I picked him up from his dock on Wrightsville Beach yesterday morning in the pre dawn and he was already smiling with the thought of going fishing.


We had an hour of falling tide on us already and needed to make our moves fast and Alfred still had to learn how to "walk the dog" with a topwater lure. I rarely see people learn how to manipulate a plug like that so quickly but Alfred had it down in under 30 yards of shoreline, and he caught and released his first red in that stretch.


We fished hard and saw plenty of pushing fish and had several topwater blow ups but only one really got the hooks in him. We made a couple of moves to different locations and Alfred impressed me with a long cast and perfect execution of the plug which rewarded him with an 8.5 lb. redfish that truly demolished the plug as it walked on the surface.


The fishing is good and we managed to find some schooling reds later in the morning but not before the wind caught up to us and sent us back to the docks. Early morning has been good and we are catching some beautiful reds on half day charters in the backcountry each day. Give me a call if you would like to join in the fun and take a sight fishing trip for redfish at 910-233-4520.


Good Luck Fishing!

Captain Seth Vernon

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 8:06 AM 0 comments  

Bill Slaughter tackles topwater reds and spanish...




Had the unique opportunity of spending some time with good friend and IFA redfishing partner Bill Slaughter on Tuesday. Bill just got a new 24 Yellowfin with a tower on it and we decided we would do some fishing and sight seeing on Tuesday morning. The visibility from the driving station on his tower was remarkable and it allows you to see things in the marsh you never knew were there.




Bill had not caught any redfish out of the new boat as it only had a few running hours on it so we decided to do some topwater fishing early Tuesday morning and do some "research". Here are some pics of Bill's first topwater red in his new rig. Mine was bigger but being competative and smart Bill skillfully released my fish boatside before the camera could come out:) Just kidding it was an accident and the fish would have pushed the 7 lb. mark, the coolest part was I caught the fish from the tower on a topwater plug and I got to see the whole thing from a bird's eye view.




We also had the time to slip outside of Rich's Inlet for a while and found some huge Pogey schools with spanish and blacktips feeding on them. Bill caught a beautiful spanish on a new Sebille topwater on his third cast, I would have to say the new Yellowfin is very fishy.




Big thanks to Bill for getting me out and letting me drive his new boat and go fishing with him it was a real treat.




The water is a stable 80 degrees F and there is a lot of bait and gamefish hanging around Wrightsville Beach right now. Give us a call to book a charter and catch some fish! 910-233-4520




Good Luck Fishing!


Captain Seth Vernon

posted by Intracoastal Angler at 7:11 AM 0 comments