# 58051: Subject: Lower Cape Fear River, North Carolina

Submitted by Rodbender (ip 66.83.84.146)

• Fished on 9/1/2009
• Report received: 9/2/2009

Water Temperature: .
Water Clarity: .
Seas: .
Weather: 15 knot wind with gusts to 20
Fishing_for: Redfish
Boat: Action Craft 1820
captain: me

Report:
After work I fished a creek out of the wind and waded grass flats on the last of the rising tide. Windy days are tough to fish and I never do well on them. Because of the wind and some open water I was glad that I had my Action craft rather than an ultralight skiff (although I would like to own one). The 15-knot wind against the tide was not pretty. Coming back in I ran on the crests of the waves. The light wasn't great either as sunset is now 1930 H.

I started poling with a friend on a rising tide in a creek where I caught redfish on the fly last week. Saw no feeding fish and caught nothing on fly or topwater. By then it was time to go to the grass flats and wade on the last of the rising tide. The water has cooled in the last weeks. Saw three redfish but only one rolling within casting distance. I threw a new weedless baitfish pattern that is real sexy with undulating ostrich tail but spooked that fish. No tailing fish were seen due to the wind.

A form of fishing now unique to North Carolina is called “bang netting”. The net is set at a creek mouth or encircling a length of grass bank. The netter’s boat is then motored between the bank and net to drive fish into the net. Often the surface is smacked with an oar. A few weeks ago I was poling a grass bank for redfish and to the north a couple was “bang netting”. Another “bang netter” was working the other side of the island that I was fishing. They can keep eight redfish a day. The recreation limit is one redfish. I release all my redfish. Like I said above – only in North Carolina. Shouldn't the state be doing more to promote the recreational fishery (where the money is)?

To quote our President Obama from the Gates Gate... “they acted stupidly”. Think about that as you drink your beer (I'll bet the well-decorated Harvard professor actually prefers wine).

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