Winter Reds Fishing Report - Feb 18, 2025

For those who think that the short days and cold winds of winter evaporate any hope of wetting a line, there are places to go, and species to target, that can make fishing in February as good as any other month on the calendar.  Of course, knowing where to go and how to fish those spots takes time and skill.  Thankfully, Joe, a.k.a. "Maj. Salt Life", has put in time on the water and has it dialed in.  

With only a couple hours to fish, I met Joe at the ramp near one of the many creeks that meander around and through Camp LeJeune, NC.   Maj. Salt Life recently equipped his well-appointed G3 skiff with an electric trolling motor, a critical addition in shallow slow-moving creeks with easily spooked Reds about.  We got underway around 1400 and headed to a spot just a few hundred yards away from the point of departure.  Temps in the upper 40s, low 50s.  Light breeze out of the northwest, on a falling tide.  

Joe noted that the water was not as clear as it had been lately.  Regardless, you could still see mullet and Reds darting in front of us.  Joe engaged the spot lock on the trolling motor.  Clearly, the word had spread since we were joined by a few kayak fishermen who were working holes 3' - 6' deep.  Joe grabbed the fly rod, but I wanted to get the skunk off, so I reached for the spinning rod tipped with a trusty gold spoon.  After a few casts and no takes, I decided that it was best to listen to my local guide and go with a electric chicken Z-Mann soft plastic.  Soon after that, I was on with our first redfish.  It was small, just 15 inches, but it was great to feel the tug after a long winter's respite.  

Joe was quick to follow using his 8-wt. fly rod tipped with a self-tied, chartreuse clouser.  

And it was a hog.  A nice 27 incher that took 10 mins and several runs to get to the boat.  With both of us on the fly rods, we landed one nice Red after another totaling 10 in a 2-hour period.  Most were in the 18 - 24" class. 

Nice fish on a beautiful February day.  And despite the constant action, it gave me pause and not a small amount of gratification to feel a piece of life come full circle remembering the times fishing with my father, then fishing with my young children, and now fishing with my oldest son as he prepares to be a dad.

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Trappe Waterfowl Compilation - Fowl not Fish - Jan 2025

 When the Chesapeake creeks are frozen and the fish are sedate, fowl offer a bridge on the Delmarva.  The winter of 2025 has been a throwback with several days of single digit temperatures resulting in frozen ponds and tributaries.  Polar winds also bring duck species that haven't frequented the eastern shore in numbers in some time.  Pintails, Canvasbacks, and Bluebills were in the hunter's sights for the first time in years.  

At Stirling Farms in Trappe, MD, the main target is the Canadian Goose.   Phil Weglein, owner and proprietor has hosted a core group of us since we both became friends in high school over 40 years ago.  Because of Phil's generosity, we have been able to enjoy the outdoors, lots of laughs, and knock down countless birds.  This season was no exception, and it doesn't go without notice that with age, the priority shifts to laughs and comradery over taking the shot.  Many thanks to Phil, Stirling Farms and all those who joined the hunting party during the 2025 season including Paul Carmen, Chris Morris, Jack Kamps, Audrey Weglein along with boyfriend Nick.  Of course, we can't forget bird dog extraordinaire, "Scout"!

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Looking For Reds In All The Right Places - Jan 29, 2025

January brought artic cold up and down the east coast.   Our regular Chesapeake fishing grounds are at least partially frozen.  But if you know where to look, you can find fish.   Major Salt Life, equipped with a new trolling motor on his G3 jon boat, accepted the challenge.  In reality, Joe was looking to work on his trailer and decided to use a nearby boat ramp in Eastern North Carolina to facilitate repairs.  Soon after he arrived however, he spotted dozens of Reds in water less than a foot deep.

Major Salt Life started with a spinning rod but soon grabbed his fly rod to land one fish after another on virtually every cast.   A few days later, he was at it again.   The videos below show the redfish in schools in very shallow water.  This time, Joe relied solely on his fly rod using a Clouser he tied.  Fish were all released safely, and most were in the 18 - 28" class.  Not bad, not bad at all for January!   Makes me all the more excited for spring temps and warm water.  

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

   

Ringing in the Reds - Cape Charles Fishing Report Late December 2024

Captain Felker demonstrates that the cusp of winter is still a great time to catch redfish in the lower Chesapeake Bay.

 

Happy New Year!

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Cape Charles Fishing Report, 27 November: I'll Have a Drumstick, Please

 Especially if it's a Red Drum Stick!

Apologies for the poor play on words.  The major period for fishing yesterday was in the morning.  But with temps still in the 40s, I decided to hold off until noon-ish.

Right before I was ready to gear up, the phone rang.  It was Captain DiPaola, heading north on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  He was heading home to Bethany Beach to host Thanksgiving for his family.  I suggested he stop for a bit to do some fishing.  Joe demurred, as he had to pick up a Turkey that afternoon.  I countered with a reasonable suggestion; fish, forget the Turkey, and pick up Wa Wa Gobblers for the family....

I mean, it's a Thanksgiving feast, and without the prep!  For some reason, though, Joe listened to his better angels and proceeded on his way.

So I had the lower bay to myself.  Got on the water around 12:15.  Partly cloudy skies, air temps in the 50s, water temps the same, no wind, flat seas.  A low tide scheduled to come in at 12:30.   I brought both spinning and fly gear, but decided to go with the fly rod, since conditions were perfect for this average caster.

Hit our go-to spot at the sothernmeost breakwater off Bay Creek.  A pretty good video:

I started at the breakwater, and on the third cast picked up a small Red on the EP Baitfish pattern I've been using all fall.  It's a bit chewed up, and the eyes are missing.  But the fish don't seem to care.

After several more casts without a strike, I continued down towards the mouth of Plantation Creek, casting every once in a while, again with no action. 

When I got down to the mouth, the tide was way out, and I could wade over 100 yards off the beach and still the water never got up to my knees.  A lot of Mullet jumping around, and every once in a while, I could see disturbed water - tell-tale signs that Redfish were around.

As soon as I started casting the action began.  Water was shin deep, and crystal clear.  While I was taking fish on blind casts, every so often I spied Reds swimming, and cast to them like we would when stalking Bonefish.  A lot of fun watching the take.  The fish were only around 15-16 inches, but still a fun pull on the fly rod.

From 12:45 or so until 3:30, it was non-stop hooking and catching.  Didn't keep a count, but I'm pretty sure I had a strike or landed a fish every 4-5 minutes.  Around 2:30 a slight wind picked up and more clouds came in, so the stalking ended and I fished back up to the breakwater.  Every spot I cast to resulted in at least takes, if not hookups.  Even hooked and landed a few in the slot, with the biggest around 22 inches or so.

It was one of those times where I'd tell myself that it was the last cast for the day, only to get a hit or a hookup.  After a few "last casts," the sun was lowering, and the air temps got cooler.  A sign that it was time to head home.

Happy Thanksgiving, and Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Cape Charles Fishing Report, 20 November: Don't Spare the Rod

 On Tuesday I returned from a trip to SC babysitting the grandkids and had a brief window to fish before a cold front rolled in.  High tide on Wednesday was noon, so headed out around 12:30 to see if the fish were biting.  Decided to bring along the fly rod as a backup, just in case conditions were amenable to throwing a streamer.

Weather was gloomy; perfect for fishing.  Heavy overcast with air temps in the low 60s.  Water temps in the shallows still in the high 50s to low 60s. A light rain shower every once in a while.  Most importantly, though, no wind and flat water! 

The last two conditions would prove key to the day's success.  No wind meant I could break out the fly rod.  Flat water meant I might be able to find fish.

Started out with the spinning rod, throwing a Strike King spinner bait.  On the third cast I hooked a small Red.  So I figured it was going to be a pretty good afternoon.  Unfortunately, the braided line wrapped around the rod tip (it happens).  Instead of fumbling around with it, or retying, I put the spinning rod down and picked up the fly rod.

Fished a 9' 8 weight with a floating line (no need for sinking line, as water depths aren't more than 4'), a 20 lb flouro leader, with an Enrico Puglisi baitfish pattern in white and chartreuse.  The fly works really well down here, but I suspect a Clouser or Deceiver in similar colors would work as well.

Spent the first half hour blind casting and trying to get my casting stroke and distance back, and not getting any hits.  Around 2:00, I got my first hit, and as I was stripping in the fly, could see some fish following.  Another cast and I saw and briefly hooked what I thought was a Red right in front of me.  

There's not much to fly fishing in these shallows, technique-wise.  You just chuck out the fly, let it sink for a second or two, then strip it in.  I vary the strips; long and slow followed by one or two short strips.  There's nothing out there to catch your fly, so if you feel like your stuck, execute a strip set and the fight is on. And if you don't get a good hook set on the take, wait a second and resume stripping all the way in.  The fish, or one of his pals, will probably take the fly.

Thinking things might pick up, I moved further south of the breakwater.  Noticed some disturbed water about 60 feet in front of me.  A cast in the middle of the spot and I was hooked on a Red.  Got him to my hand, about 15-16 inches.  A few more casts resulted in a few more under-slot fish.  Then it ended.

I walked down a little further, and once again noticed more disturbed water.  Turned out this was a large school of Reds.  For the next hour the action was non-stop.  Didn't keep an accurate tally, but it was at least 10 fish, several of which were in the 18-26 inch slot, with one that went a good 24".  A hoot on the 8 wt.

I even scored a PB on Speckled Trout, which easily went 24".

(Apologies for the poor quality of the photos.  Holding a fish, the fly rod, and a camera is a bit of a challenge)

About 3:00 a skiff meandered into my fishing area, and the catching stopped.  So I figured it was a good time to get off the water.

On Thursday air temps dropped and the wind picked up.  Things probably won't settle down until Sunday.  But next week looks pretty good, as long as the cold weather hasn't pushed the fish off.  We may even start seeing Stripers out there.

Tight Lines and Happy Thanksgiving,

Mikey D Fishing

Is it a Brook, a Brown, a Rainbow? Nov 2024

Growing up just north of Baltimore on the edge of suburbia, summer days would find me either on the baseball field, in or around nearby woods and streams, or fishing at Loch Raven Reservoir.  Fishing there started with a long trek through the woods across a feeder stream and over a ridge.   Sanders, a general store nearby,  provisioned me and my mates with bait, sandwiches, and tackle replenishment.  They also had the best milkshakes around.  Every once in a while, we would transport some of the panfish we caught in a bucket to the stream near my house in an amateur stocking effort.  

Fast forward to now and on a recent visit I went on a run near that very stream.  Finding it impossible as usual to pass fishy water without taking  a peek, I peered into a 4 foot deep pool.  I could hardly believe it, but a saw 3 or 4 fish about 8 - 10".  I ran back to retrieve my fly rod and wondered if the stream was healthy enough to support brookies.  

A quick roll cast tipped with a beaded woolly bugger, soon grabbed the attention of 8 incher.  Turns out what I hoped was a trout, turned out to be a rather large creek chub.  Not the result I hoped for, but still pretty cool to feel the tug from my boyhood stream. 

 Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing