Cape Fear On the Fly – Stripers (Well, Almost)
Like last year, with both of our busy schedules, Gary and I are finding it more difficult than it should be to schedule some fishing time together. There always seems to be something that takes priority over spending time on the water (like making a living and raising a family), and on the rare occasion that our schedules did coincide with each other, the weather and wind were not very cooperative.
So there is not going to be a recount in this issue of an exciting and successful fly fishing adventure, as we hope to bring you in future articles, but more of an overview of some of the tackle that I recently used on a couple of local trips.
The first species that I had hoped Gary and I would chase with the fly was our own Cape Fear River striped bass. Spring and warmer temperatures are upon us, and I fear that we will not have much time left to get some shots at a striper on the fly, so it may actually become the last fish that we go after late next fall.
I recently had a few striper bites on the fly about a month ago when we found a school of smaller (3-4 lbs.) fish busting bait on top. One fish chased a crease fly (a topwater fly that is effective on many species in our area) for about ten feet, but we never managed to get the hooks in him. It was pretty exciting to see, though, and it gave me confidence that catching a Cape Fear River striped bass on the fly is an attainable goal (because to say that our local stripers are fickle and challenging to catch, on any type of tackle, is an understatement).
I did manage to get out for a couple of hours early the other morning with a good friend, and he caught his first ever striped bass on a topwater plug not far from downtown Wilmington. We had brought along an arsenal of fly tackle hoping to find a school of fish holding together in a small area, as they often will, and then switch from the spinning rod to the fly rod, but the handful of bites we got were from single fish and we never even broke out the fly rods.
As I get to do the fly ordering for Intracoastal Angler here in Wilmington, I brought along a chartreuse and white bunny tail pattern called a “scooter,” and I think it will prove to be an effective pattern for our local stripers. Chartreuse is a favorite color of many local fishermen (including myself) for many species in the stained, dark water of the Cape Fear River, and this general pattern has worked well for stripers in other areas, too.
I had a 10 weight rod rigged with a 10 weight, weight-forward floating line and a crease fly for any topwater action that might occur, and then my 9 weight outfit had an intermediate line and a “scooter” fly (as I mentioned earlier) for any subsurface fishing we would do.
I think a sinking line would stay hung up in the many snags that litter the bottom and the banks of the river, and they are more difficult to cast than either a floating or intermediate line (however, there are specific situations where a sinking line would probably be the right choice). Both outfits sported 20 lb. leaders from 7 to 9 feet in length.
So Gary and I are starting a little slow this year on our quest. I feel confident, though, that we will be able to get on the water together soon and start our challenge of catching as many different species of fish that we can this summer with a fly and chronicle our adventures here in the Fisherman’s Post.
I have a feeling that the next installment will feature the tenacious and hopefully abundant bluefish and what type of fly tackle you need to be successful in catching those toothy critters.
Tight loops till next time,
Capt. Jon
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
