by Lee Padrick, September 29, 2014 On Saturday, September 27th, Dwayne and I had the opportunity to fish the third and final event in the Carolina Redfish Series, held at Chasin' Tails Outdoors in Atlantic Beach. Nineteen (19) teams entered and competed in the blustery northeast winds. Dwayne and I headed eastward a few minutes after 6:45 AM. The wind was forecast to blow 15-20 kts out of the northeast, and high tide was around noon. So because of the incoming tide and the strong north winds, we would have plenty of water in our fishing spots. We arrived at our first stop, a marsh in Back Sound, and spent about an hour blindcasting an area where we had caught some low tide fish in practice. We didn't catch anything, so we headed to our next spot, a grass island/oyster bed in southern Core Sound. The wind was increasing, and this area was exposed to the northeast winds, so we PowerPoled down and started casting popping cork rigs. Dwayne caught the first fish of the day, a small 4.5 lb red. He quickly followed that fish up with a 28.5" fish, that was outside of the 18"-27" slot limit our target fish had to meet. I hooked up, and we had about 10 lbs in the livewell. There was a school of reds around this particular grass island, as we slowly picked our way through them and upgraded the fish in the livewell. The wind continued to increase, and the waves were literally lifting the boat up a few feet at a time, and the PowerPole was bouncing, as we kept drifting closer to the oyster bed. Several times, we repositioned the boat, only to have the boat bounce along again toward the oyster bed. We caught about 10 fish in this spot, but decided to leave, as the wind and waves were making it difficult to stand up in the boat. Our next stop was a remote marsh along Core Banks. A very wet, rough boat ride got us to our spot, but the fish were not in their regular haunts, so we decided to head to a wind-protected bank in Core Sound. When we arrived, the tide was high and fishing the area was going to be difficult with all of the excess water, so we decided to ride out the rest of our time in the back of one of the local coastal rivers. When we arrived at our next stop, the wooded shoreline offered us protection from the wind, so we were able to fish in relative comfort. We caught a few fish, but did not upgrade our 12 lbs in the livewell, so we moved to another nearby spot. This area yielded the best fish of the day, as we found a steady bite and slowly upgraded our fish, until we had what we thought was around 13.5 lbs in the livewell. We headed back to the 4 PM weigh-in, and weighed in a two-fish aggregate of 13.82 lbs, good enough for 1st place in the tournament, and enough points to give us the coveted Team Of The Year title. Congratulations to all the competitors that fished the series this year. I want to thank Hook and Bones, Salty Bay Baits, Temple Fork Outfitters, Pro-Cure Bait Scents, Fins Premium Superlines, No Slack Tackle, Bubba Blade, and PointClickFish.com for keeping us on the water. And big thanks to John Moore, Jay Feimster, and Matt Lamb, and all the folks involved with the Carolina Redfish Series for putting on a great tournament series.
Our next event is the Riley Rods Championship Shootout on October 11th at Fulchers Landing in Sneads Ferry. We are looking forward to it. - Lee
by Lee Padrick, October 13, 2013 On Saturday, October 12th, Dwayne Smith, Jeff Smith, and I fished the 2013 CCA Inside Out Tournament, held at Portside Marina in Morehead City, NC. The goal of the tournament is to bring in one redfish, one speckled trout, and one flounder. The redfish must be 18-27", the trout must be at least 18", and the flounder must be 16". We started fishing at 7 AM, on a falling tide. Low tide was at 8:47 AM, so it was going to be tough to catch the trout on that tide. As we worked down a marshbank, Dwayne catches a 3 lb redfish. A few minutes later, we upgrade the red when I catch a 5+ lb fish, so we hit our target weight for the redfish. Its time to catch a trout and a flounder.
by Lee Padrick, October 9, 2013 I had been telling some friends that as soon as October rolls around, we're going trout fishing. But there is no greater pressure than having to put your family and friends on fish. So when Stephen E. Smith agreed to go fishing with me and Dwayne Smith, I felt the pressure. When I met Stephen at the dock, I asked him if he wanted the good news or the bad news. He chose the good. I told him, "We're going to catch some fish."
The Redfish Guys came in second place at the NC Fall Redfish Shootout held at Fulcher's Landing in Sneads Ferry on October 5th.
This event was the third of the year held at this location, with previous tournaments in May and July. This tournament was originally scheduled for September 28th, but high winds convinced the teams to move it back a week.
by Lee Padrick, October 2, 2013 The popping cork rig has proven over time to be a deadly technique for catching shallow water redfish. This simple rig will keep the lure in the strike zone and attract predators with splashes and rattles. It is an essential part of my approach to putting redfish in the boat. There are many popping cork products on the market, corks that gurgle, splash, rattle, and click. The corks come in many types of shapes and colors. Some popping corks can even be purchased pre-rigged. The method I prefer is the oval popping cork. This cork produces a rattle and click that sounds much like a baitfish being eaten, or a shrimp popping. Also, with the right tackle setup, this cork casts extremely well, in comparison to many of the other products on the market.
by Lee Padrick, September 22, 2013 Air temp: 70 Water temp: 75 Wind: Light, variable Tide: High Technique: Popping corks, gold spoons, topwater lures
Dwayne and I went out and hit a handful of spots to try and catch some redfish. At our first stop, I had a blowup. Dwayne immediately threw a popping cork and put two fish in the boat. Kept moving along a marshbank, and I had another fish shake a topwater. We ran to another area, and I caught an undersized red on a topwater. Then we checked out a spot we haven't fished much this year. For good reason. Nothing going on.
by Lee Padrick, September 15, 2013 Air temp: 65 Water temp: 75 Wind: NE at 10 mph Tide: Falling Technique: Popping corks, soft plastics (weedless and on jigheads), topwater lures
Dwayne and I had a long day on the water. We launched at Shell Rock Landing before sunrise and checked a few spots for drum for an upcoming tournament. No fish and/or luck at our first two stops (except for two 18-20" flounder). Then we fished a spot that Dwayne had caught a few reds yesterday. Dwayne sticks a small one on a popping cork, but the fish spit the hook on the way to the boat. Then he hooks another and lands it. I had a blowup on topwater, then I hook one when we come around a marsh point. We fished down a bank, but the dropping tide convinced us to put the boat back on the trailer and head to Morehead City, hoping to catch a few trout on the rising tide.
We launch the boat, run to a nearby spot, and Dwayne hooks up on his first cast. Its going to be a good day. Unfortunately, he had hooked a lizard fish. He hooked up on a ladyfish soon afterward. No trout or drum, but I did catch another flounder in the 16" range. A few more cooler mornings and some NE winds, and I think the trout bite will start up for the fall. ----- If you like what you see here, check out The Redfish Guys on Facebook.
- Lee Padrick, September 11, 2013
Air temp: 70 Water temp: 78 Wind: Calm, variable Tide: Rising Technique: Popping corks, topwater lures
Dwayne and I fished a few different spots, caught a few fish at each stop.
At the first stop, Dwayne caught a nice red on a topwater lure at sunrise. Made for a great picture (shown below). I had a topwater blowup, and tossed a popping cork with a Salty Bay soft plastic to the spot where the fish showed interest in my plug. A couple twitches and I was on. We fished down the bank, looking for a school of feeding fish without success. We ran the boat to the next stop, a shallow water bay with a grass bed bottom. As we moved down the bank, we found a number of feeding fish. I tossed a topwater, immediately hooked up, only to have the feisty red shake the hook.
We grabbed our phones to shoot video, and took turns catching fish. I hooked another on a topwater lure and landed it. Then Dwayne followed up with a popping cork fish further down the bank.
Made another quick run, and I had a topwater strike. Popping cork didn't land the fish, so we began to think it was a speckled trout. A few casts of the topwater later, and I land a 18" trout. Then we moved east about 2 miles for our final stop, a huge grassbed flat. No luck at this spot, so we called it a morning.
Video of the morning: PC: Every Day Mobile: Every Day - Lee ----- If you like what you see here, check out The Redfish Guys on Facebook.
We headed back to the 4 PM weigh-in, and weighed in a two-fish aggregate of 13.82 lbs, good enough for 1st place in the tournament, and enough points to give us the coveted Team Of The Year title.
Our next event is the Riley Rods Championship Shootout on October 11th at Fulchers Landing in Sneads Ferry. We are looking forward to it. - Lee
