Thanks for all the tips. I put a post on an east coast saltwater site (www.wmi.org/boards/salt_flyfishing/index.html) and got responses from residents from both states. Both said Feb/March are the worst months, but fish are available year-round (sounds familiar...). I may push the trip back to later in April...
Thanks again,
Tom
_________________________________________________________________From: "Ryan Davey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: Carolinas Date: Mon, 2 Dec 2002 23:43:49 -0800I can give you a bit of information as I used to live in Virginia, and the outer banks in North Carolina were only a four hour drive. We used to take offshore charter trips out of there all the time to marlin fish in the gulf stream. Most of my experience fishing in this area is in North Carolina, the only fishing I've done in South Carolina was at a reservoir that Santee Cooper reservoir, fishing for channel cats. Yes, they can be taken easily on a fly rod, I have witnesses. Inshore fishing and saltwater fly fishing can be excellent; I'll give you a brief summary. In the sound itself, bottom fish such as croaker and flounder about. I've never caught a croaker on a fly, but I have caught flounder. The fish in the sound grow up to 10-12 pounds regularly. I've had my best luck casting as heavy of a sinking line as you can get away with, and dragging clousers and other baitfish patterns through the sand. Stripers are an excellent sport fish in this area, and get better the further north you go. They can be caught by locating the schooling fish, just look for the birds. Cast anything baitfish-like into a pod and strip fast... Otherwise striper fishing requires a boat, although there are a few places where you can get good access to structure while wading. Fish any structure you can find, preferably bridge pylons and marker buoys, clousers and deceivers are good bets. You also have a chance of hooking a cobia as well; they fight hard and are a beautiful predatory fish. Bluefish can provide endless action and are a lot of fun on a lighter rod; most of the blues that you find inshore are "schoolies", small fish in the 1-5 pound range. You can catch them one after another, just don't get near they're teeth, or they will injure you. Bring along a couple of spools of knot able wire or pre-made wire leaders, they'll cut through mono like its paper. During certain times of the year, the tarpon do reach as far north as southern North Carolina. I can't recall the exact name of the river in which they migrate that is considered the farthest reach of tarpon in the US, but it begins with a P. A good contact for info on that would be Smith Coleman who runs the fly fishing section of Outdoor Anglers in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Beach fishing can be good, I used to have a lot of luck casting jigs into the surf with bait casters, and I've only tried fly fishing in the surf there a few times. There are miles of beach and lots of good breaks, this can provide good action if you don't have a boat and don't want to rent one. Bring a heavy sinking line as the currents are very strong, I would suggest a 9-10 weight with a Teeny 450 shooting head. Carry lots of clousers and deceivers in various colors ranging from chartreuse to red. Also, Bob Popovics Surf Candy in small - medium sizes are great. Offshore action is of course a different game, but there are plenty of blue fin tuna, white and blue marlin, and mahi mahi. Mahi mahi are seemingly designed for a fly rod. Let me know if you need any more information. Tight lines, Ryan Davey Support Engineer MSN GSC "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of T. Lang Sent: Monday, December 02, 2002 9:51 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Carolinas Does anybody know anything about the local saltwater/beach fishing scene in North/South Carolina? I may be there in the early spring... Thanks, Tom _________________________________________________________________ MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus
Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
