Cape Fear On The Fly – Fly Fishing Is In The Air
Usually, at this time of the year, I would begin a fly fishing article with a “spring has sprung” theme. However, this year it seems we went from fall to early summer with not much winter in between, and our fishing this season, as a result, is showing early promise.
After a very productive winter of striped bass fishing, we’ve been hard at work gearing up for the upcoming, busy (hopefully) fishing season, and while we were working the spring snuck right up on us. The few cold spells we did have were short lived, and our local water temps never did chill down to normal winter lows, let alone stay under fifty degrees for any extended period of time.
And the buzz seems to be that we may be headed into a really active summer.
I do know, though, that it’s now time to grab your fly rod and be on the water, as there have been great reports coming in from all over. So instead of a discussion on readying your fly gear for spring (I never really put mine up for the winter), we are going to talk about what opportunities the coming months may offer up for the area fly fisherman.
The bluefish should start invading our inshore waters any day now. They readily take a fly in and around our local inlets and backwaters.
Gary Hurley (Fisherman’s Post) and I have been discussing what other local species we are going to target this coming year, as we are going to try and catch some of the ones that eluded us last year.
Some of the other early arrivers will be the bonito (there are already rumors of these off the beach). There are also false albacore, though a little far out right now. And red drum slowed down (only slightly) over the winter, but they will be steadily getting better in creeks, flats, and the usual haunts.
Then in May (or sooner this year) everything bursts wide open, including action with cobia.
For this fly series, I think getting into some bonito or spanish mackerel would start off this year nicely and allow us to follow up in summer and fall with some interesting trips that have been in the works for some time.
It seems that if Gary and I can schedule a trip together where we have even halfway decent conditions, we more often than not are successful. And a successful trip makes for a much more interesting article, so we are going to work hard to schedule some unusual fly fishing excursions with some exciting reading to follow.
Also in the works for fly fishing this year, Gary and I will be working on Fly Fishing Schools (to be hosted by Intracoastal Angler and Fisherman’s Post) for all levels of fly students and enthusiasts—beginning, intermediate, and advanced. There will be more to come on these hands-on schools as we work out a schedule and format that makes sense.
Our spring season is already upon us, and I feel like we should be preparing for most of our local species to show up early. If you need any help in prepping your fly tackle for any and all species, please come down to Intracoastal Angler as we would be glad to help. And keep on the lookout for more Cape Fear on The Fly articles to help keep you amped for your next fly fishing adventure.
Thanks for reading, and tight loops,
Jon Huff
Capt. Jon Huff is owner operator of Circle H Charters, an inshore fly and light tackle guide service based out of Wrightsville Beach. Jon splits his time between running inshore charters, fishing offshore tournaments, and co-managing Intracoastal Angler. (910) 617-2619, www.circlehcharters.com.
