Bald Head Island backwater fishing with Ryan McBride and his son Jack started out slow, moved around to quite a few spots until we finally landed three red drums in the 18 1/2″ to 19″ size, Jack also caught a bluefish. The weather was ideal with just a light breeze blowing making for a nice morning to fish.
First red drum!
Bald Head Island backwater fishing begins with me getting up at 5:00 am in morning the first thing I do in the summer is to load both Yeti coolers up with ice. I then load the boat with eight spinning rods & reels. Make sure I have ample water & Gatorade in the cooler to keep my body hydrated, check that I have my fishing hat, sunglasses, cell phone on me. I then hook up the boat trailer to the truck and head to the boat landing arriving about 6:00 am. The next step is to launch the boat into the water and start to look for the live bait, sometimes I am able to catch finger mullet right at the boat landing. Other mornings I have to search several spots before I am able to find enough bait to last for the five-hour charter. If I am lucky with the cast net I am able to get enough bait with just a couple of casts, then some days it may take ten casts or more to fill the live well. Folks catching finger mullet with a cast net by yourself is a lot of work! I usually allow myself an hour to catch bait, Bald Head Island is about a ten-mile ride south from Carolina Beach on the Cape Fear River, some days the river is flat calm making for a pleasant ride, other mornings the wind will be blowing hard making it a rough ten-mile ride even in my Pathfinder which cuts threw the water great for a bay boat.
By the time arrive at Bald Head Marina I have already been working for three hours before the guest even steps foot on the boat. This is what I love to do, I really do enjoy taking other people fishing and seeing them enjoying the hard strike of the Red Drum or their eyes light up when that big Flounder surfaces beside the boat. Charter fishing has a lot of enjoyable moments, but it is a lot of work.
Tipping is a way of rewarding good service, a fishing guide who goes out of his way to ensure your needs are met. Superior service can be prepared to make a day on the water the best it can be or to correct a situation when things have gone wrong. In the fishing charter industry, tipping is customary! Keep that in mind when thanking your guide for the day on the water.
Cape Fear Guide – Capt.Mike Dennis – 910-619-0928
210 Peninsula Drive Carolina Beach, N.C. 28428