[emu103]

So im headed to the cape fear after more fishing and less catching than I hoped for last week near wrightsville. Im trying to find some marsh areas that flood, and am searching navionics every free second in preparation.

My question is, of all the flats I hear of on the lower cape fear, google maps is barren of it all. It looks like a river with some shallow areas. When switching to government charts there are some identifiers that im having trouble understanding.

Are these teal areas with grass icons under water during higher tides, or completely dry all the time?

 

[ice cream man]

Not sure where that picture was taken from.
Flood tide will be after 12 today.
You will see what's dry if you go early.
More fish with less water for them to hide in. ........ ICM

 

[emu103]

Navionics. Its a little north of fort fisher on the other side of the river. It was just an example, im still searching for spots, and could end up anywhere but this was just to display the teal areas I was questioning.

Does anyone have a good shop arou d wilmington that sells flies? I went to tex's last time i was in town and loved the shop, but there was no fly selection

 

[nc35hunter]

I don't think there is any chart that can accurately show all of the shoals and sandbars out there in the river and adjacent creeks. I have been trying to figure out the areas around your screenshot and south of there for a few years, and this is the most important thing I've learned: You never know where you might run out of water real quick. Just last weekend I tried to get into an area that I "thought" I knew pretty well, but wound up chewing mud where I expected it to be several feet deep.

I wouldn't trust a chart to say what will be flooded or not at high vs. low tide - just get out there and explore, but take your time. What kind of boat do you have?

 

[emu103]

Kayak/wading so no issue there. But thats also why it is important for me to choose an area that will be most likely to be productive. Paddling 10 miles is not exactly fun in my book and takes away from fishing time. I dont live at the coast and dont have time to really "find" fish except for day trips. Really trying to find some thin grassy areas but cant tell from maps and charts.
Thanks for the input

 

[Drum Runner]

Fort Fisher is the perfect place for yakking. I'd start with fishing the wall breaches as tide came up and went down. Food gets washed from one side to the other. Fish know this. Then you have plenty of protected backwater marsh to fish. You could spend a week in there poking around.

 

[news_watch]

Top Spots fishing maps are pretty decent.
I buy one for the area I'm vacationing in each year.

NW

 

[ice cream man]

Went this morning, got stuck & I know the area.
Caught 2 Trout, a Red, a Ribbonfish & a Croaker. Had several topwater blow ups.

For flies, Intracoastal Angler in Wilmington has them as well as charts & guides that fish.
Ask for Capt. Jon Huff saw him fishing today. ....... ICM
http://www.intracoastalangler.com/

 

[drumchaser]

Went this morning, got stuck & I know the area.
Caught 2 Trout, a Red, a Ribbonfish & a Croaker. Had several topwater blow ups.

For flies, Intracoastal Angler in Wilmington has them as well as charts & guides that fish.
Ask for Capt. Jon Huff saw him fishing today. ....... ICM
http://www.intracoastalangler.com/

Nice going on the reds and trout. I wish I could understand blowups and why they happen to help my catch ratio change for the better. Oh well, guess that what makes me want to go back the next morning.

*Had John fix an eye on a rod in short time. Wasn't like these places where you drop them off for god knows who to come by to pick them up, then you get them back a couple weeks later. Reasonable prices and solid work as well.