Late December Fishing Report

12/17/08


Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast:

Fishing over the past few weeks has been pretty good. Over twenty Striped Bass caught and several other species as well. Last week I was fishing with longtime fishing friend Capt. Travis Dant and we landed 8 nice fish, two were over 30". Although I did manage to knock Travis' off at the boat with his "small" landing net. I say it was small he said it was fine. Anyway we had a good day throwing an assortment of plugs and grubs. We did get a picture of this nice 25" fish.




Sunday Allen and I got a late start and landed one fish over 20"and I lost a fish of course it was a nice fish. It hit the Crankbait I was throwing and immediately began pulling drag. I did not give it the bassmaster hook set and and as it went by the boat the hooks pulled. That has happened a couple time in my Striped Bass career and I can only assume they were nice ones, right. Then I saw the water moving along the bank. Something was hitting the surface and I threw a topwater and nothing. I picked the crankbait back up and bam a 23" gar slammed the plug. They always seem to get it in the side, but I am counting it as a catch.





I went today for a couple of hours solo. I pushed up on this ledge and marked what I thought was bait on the sounder. I threw a couple of baits and had not a hit. So I drifted back over the spot and continued to show some nice bait marks. I scrambled to get my cast net and threw several times with nothing. The next three casts got a 5" flounder, a 3" catfish and a 4" spot. The spot went into the bait tank for later use. I talked to a guy Sunday fishing bait and he had 14 Stripers and one was over 30#. I rolled up river a bit to soak the spot. I put it on a float rig and shortly a nice blue catfish was coming to the boat.



I was done with live bait and went back to casting and trolling. After what seemed like a hundred casts I managed this nice Striped Bass and had to call it a day.

Speckled trout are still being caught in the river and out in the sound from Carolina Beach to Topsail. Most are throwing grubs and live shrimp. Reports of Red Drum are good in the sound around Wrightsville Beach and in the surf from Topsail to Masonboro. Riding the beach at low tide when the water clears up can be a good way to find fish. Fish the sloughs from the beach at high tide with fresh shrimp has been the ticket for reds and blacks. I have been focused on the Striped Bass so I am relaying this as second hand info from reliable sources.


Still booking trips for Striped Bass in the Cape Fear.

Keep Chasing Trophies,
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
910.619.2224

First Annual Cape Fear Striped Bass Tournament

Greeting From the Cape Fear Coast:

December 6, 2008 was the First Cape Fear Striped Bass Tournament put together by Cape Fear River Watch. A one day format with the awards for the three biggest fish and the three biggest two fish aggregett. My anglers were Don Latella and Skipper Smith, of Fayetteville. The day started fishing structure along the main river channel where we pulled the hooks on a schoolie fish and did not get a second bite. We moved to fish along some creeks and picked up a nice 20" schoolie while trolling a Bomber 4" diver. After some more trolling we came back to the area where we picked up the first fish and landed a 25" fish cranking some small crankbaits and divers. We landed three fish in all and had several more strikes before the bite ended. We hit several more spots but could not get a bite. After some more searching we hit upon an area that had some bait jumping and after about 20 mins we had boated two more schoolie fish and lost two or three more. We ended up with a aggregate length of 45"for our two biggest fish and ended up with 6 landed fish and several lost fish and missed strikes.
The day for all the anglers involved was great as all the boats landed fish and all the anglers either landed their first Cape Fear Stripers or their most caught in a single day. There were over seventy fish caught and released with over 40 fish tagged. These fish were caught up and down the river and landed by trolling, casting and jigging. You pick your favorite method of fishing and a Cape Fear Striped Bass could be in your future as well.

This is the time of year, as shotguns and rifles are about to be put away and winter is about to settle in the South, to brave the cold and hit some Stripers. The Cape Fear River system is the only all Catch and Release river system in North Carolina so these fish will be here and not in the pan. A friend of one of the captains invloved in the tournament caught a tagged fish today and released it again this morning. I have a feeling this is going to be a great year for Striped Bass in the Cape Fear.
Thank to everyone a Cape Fear River Watch for putting together a great inaugral event.

Still booking Cape Fear Striper trips for December and January.

Keep Chasing Trophies,
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Cape Fear Stripers

12/02/2008

Greeting from the Cape Fear Coast

I have been doing some prefishing for the 1st Annual Cape Fear Striped Bass Tournament. The last few trips have produce some decent fish. Today was my first solo trip and managed to catch four. Three of them were 18-20" fish but this one was a nice 33" (compressed tail) and weighed in at 15lbs. The day started out in the 40's and raining. Still nicer than the 30mph winds of
yesterday. Around 9:30 the rain stopped and the bite began. The first fish hit lying in a pocket on a broke back Mirrolure.
The sky began to clear and I continued to cast several different baits at pockets and structure along the river. I kept working along and could not get another solid bite. So I decided to do some trolling. As I went along a extended point the bank side rod bent to the gunwale. "Ding-dang", I thought as I saw my line wrapped around that extended point. I quickly sprang into action thinking that there was another lost crank bait to the submerged cypress of the Cape Fear. Clearing the other trolling plug and starting to back up I noticed the line had some how moved about ten feet off the bank. As I put rod to hand that cypress snag had a solid head shake and felt rather hefty. I did not want to horse this one after talking to a friend of mine who in a similar situation a few years ago boated a 45-50 pound fish from the Cape Fear River. After a five minute battle on ten pound mono, I boated the 15 pounder. This is only my third fish over 30". The next two hit while cruising over some five foot flats.
When these fish hit, they smack it like there is no tomorrow and all though the battles do not last to long most of the time I was easy on big girl today knowing she hit on the only rod with mono.

Booking trips for mid-December and January Striped Bass Trips now.
Keep Chasing Trophies,
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Seabass and Grouper

11/26/08

Greeting from the Cape Fear Coast

Rumors of Bluefin tuna got me and Robert out on the water. So we hit some near shore rocks and ledges looking for signs of the big fellas. While out there we decided to drop for some sea bass and found these two nice fish. Also caught one nice 15" flounder all in 60' of water. The fish were all caught dropping jigs. We messed around searching for the giants and dropping on ledges, we found lots of cigar minnows, pin fish and ringtails. Looking for Blue fin is like searching for a Yeti, then around 2:00pm while moving to another ledge the ocean opened up and about 20 giants were blowing up, skying and slamming bait on the top. This was an awesome sight and as quickly as they showed they disappeared and were never seen again. We trolled for about an hour or so and found several large schools of bait but no giants. Although fishing was a little slow you gotta love a 20" sea bass and the sight of 6' Bluefins free jumping.

Booking trips for December and January Stripers in the Cape Fear River and Atlantic Sea bass while they last. If Bluefin Fishing from a 21' Seamark skiff sounds exciting to you give me a call.

Get out and Fish,

Capt. Danny Wrenn

96 Charter Company

Wilmington, N.C.

910.619.2224

Cape Fear Stripers

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast:

November 22, 2008

Stripers were the target and we landed to one around 20" and one 25"er. Robert had several strikes and so did I but we only got the two. Mine hit a Bomber diver and Roberts hit a trolled X-rap. There have been reports but I had not caught in two short one hour trips. Today was a cold weather marathon. At 7:00am this morning it was 31 deg. We got started at around 10:30 and had the first one in the boat at the first spot. It was my first cast, I hate it when that happens. Then at around 3:30pm Roberts hit as we turned around on a nice current rip and the x-rap line came straight behind the boat.

Booking trips for December and January Striper Trips.

Lets Go Fishing,

Capt. Danny Wrenn

96 Charter Company

910.619.2224

wrightsville beach trout drum and flounder

Greeting from the Cape Fear Coast:

The surf is alive at Wrightsville Beach this past week. Here is a sample of some nice slot size (18"-27") drum that is cruising in the surf along with some super sized roe mullet. This nice surf red was right at 24" and was as pretty a fish as you would like. There have been some random schools of above slot reds but most of the schools have been slot fish. The wind was blowing all week but Monday through Wednesday it was W-NW and the surf bite was awesome. Two gentlemen, I was fishing near, were using sand fleas and crushing the Red Drum, Virginia Mullet, Black Drum and Pompano. They landed one Pompano right at 4 pounds and a mullet 2.5 pounds.

Sunday 11/01/08 Capt. Travis Dant and I went exploring some the nearby barrier islands near Wrightsville Beach to see if we could find some of those schools of reds cruising. There was light N-NE wind and there was some swell but it was still fish able. As we backed off the throttle there they were 5 mins and we had two slot reds and we looking for the school again.

This is combat fishing at it best. Cruising just outside the breakers with one set of eyes on the fish and the other set on the incoming sets of swell. Knee to waist high waves will flip your boat and getting slammed on a bar with a rising tide will make for a bad day, especially when the tide begins to fall and your boat is high and dry in the surf zone. We lost the school for a while and cruised the beach for a while to see if we could find a school of bigger fish. After an hour of looking and no luck we came back to the same spot and they were there again. So for two more hours we picked off one and two at a time on goldspoons and Calcutta Flashfoil Swimbaits.

We lost the schools for a while in a slough and even though we thought they were there we could not see them for sure. I had a 5" Zara Super Spook and said, "What the heck." Sure enough they were hiding and came out like a pack of wolves attacking that Spook. We ended up with four more fish caught on topwaters and had two hooks straightened out from these slot reds in the surf.

Sorry for the lack of proof but taking pictures, while fighting incoming swell and surf caught red, seemed not so important at the time.

More fish stories, Stripers are biting in the river along with specks, although I have not been yet trying to go this week. Stayed tuned for Cape Fear Striper Reports. There have been some nice schools of False Albacore in the five mile area and Kings are still in 18 mile areas (schoolhouse, etc.). Finding 67-68 degree water is probably a good place to start.

Still booking dates in November for inshore drum and trout, nearshore False albacore and River Stripers. Call me for available dates.

Get outside and See the Cape Fear Coast,

Capt. Danny Wrenn

96 Charter Company

Wilmington, N.C. 28403

910.619.2224

Wrightsville Beach Fishing Report

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast,

I fished as a guide in the Cape Fear Redtrout Celebrity Classic October 15-16. I guided Bruce and Steve Campbell to some 3 speckled trout and 4 (3 of which were under slot) red drum not enough to win but enough not to finish last. It was a good time and we raised a lot of money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I prefished the whole week and the drum fishing was great in the waterway. All drum caught were slot fish and hit DOA Terroreyz or Red Magic Spinnerbaits.

Fall is pushing in as a cold front passed in yesterday afternoon and the temperature dropped about ten degrees in about an hour. Fishing has been getting better and better every week. I went surf fishing yesterday morning for an hour and landed one keeper flounder and one shorty at Crystal Pier. Lures of choice today were a gold Mirrolure and a white 4" X-rap. I talked with a man that was leaving and he had landed four drum and one black drum during the falling tide. He was fishing live sand fleas. I got there at the end of the falling tide and most of the water was already on the inner bar. There were some nice troughs and holes that should make the late rise and early falling tide more productive with small tackle.



I went back this morning and caught one nice Jack Crevalle and a 19" Speckled Trout. The jack hit a 52m-54 Mirrorlure and the trout hit a 4" Calcutta Flashfoil swim bait. The drum were not here today but they same man was there and he was crushing the Virginia mullet on sandfleas. His buddy landed a mullet over 2#. They were nice enough to allow me to share some cooler space to ice down the trout. At 10:ooam I called it quits and will wait for the rise this evening to hit it again.

I am currently booking trips for November sound and surf fishing trips and if you want to test your angling skills for some Cape Fear Stripers give me a call.


Get out and enjoy the Cape Fear Coast,
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Fall Fishing

Greetings From the Cape Fear Coast:

It has been a while since my last post, a broken computer and a new schedule has kept from posting as much as I would like. Oh yeah and two tropical storms/hurricanes (Cristobal and Hanna) produced some nice swell and I did some surfing, about twenty days in September. Now I got a new speedy computer that does not turn off every five minutes and the skies are blue and the wind is to my back.

The fishing has been good despite my lack of it the last month. The month of August, The assault on sharks and drum continued. Allen and I landed another 20-30 blacktips night fishing with the occasional night with a 30-32" drum thrown in the mix. We made one trip down on down to the shoals of Bald Head and managed to land some nice Blacktips and saw some Tarpon rolling but could not get them to bite.

The beginning of September was some what slower fishing wise as after a twenty year haidas I tried my hand at surfing again and that bug bites your hard. Especially when you start out swell produce from a passing storm Cristobal threw some nice waves at us for about 10 days and the water was packed. I did managed to squeeze in a day or two in between Cristobal and Hanna and was surprised by a few nice trout on topwater while targeting drum at the end of some high tides.
The end of last month we watched Ike pass into the Gulf but his push through the Caribbean sent us some more waves and then a little surprise Low, tropical depression or Nor'easter popped up off the Coast last week and gave us some more nice waves.

With all this surfing I have seen some huge schools of bait in the water and many LARGE holes appear in those schools. Makes me a little nervous, all the shark fishing and all, sitting out in water as a school of menhaden or mullet passes by that is bigger than my house. Anyway, there have been some nice Spanish and Kings seen skying. The weekend I did not see as many free jumping near the surf, maybe because after that low pressure blow in two days before the New Moon really got the water dirty right along the beach.















Thanks for Looking and Let's go Fishing,
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Wrightsville Beach Fishing Report

Greeting from the Cape Fear Coast:

We have been night fishing for the last 9 days. Getting started at 8:00p.m. and ending anywhere around 1 a.m. - 2 a.m.. We started Sunday night and Ladyfish were the target and we caught one on a Crystal minnow and I had one on a broke-back Rebel but he jumped straight into the bridge and shook the hook. It was none

stop busting of ladies and blues but we only got those two hook ups. Monday night it was time for sharking and Tarpon. We got very small menhaden and headed for the sound. We only got one 3' Sharpnose. Tuesday night we got some large menhaden, which have been hit and miss around Masonboro all season, and hit another spot for the big boys. We picked up one nice drum after about 20 mins. and the next fish was a nice Tarpon exploding out of the water into the light of the almost fullmoon. This is an image that I will never forget. It leaped three more times and disappeared into the darkness. We cleared all the lines and began to give chase. Then I felt something else on the line, it was Allen's line that had gotten caught in mine as he was trying to reel in. He cut his line and I was reeling in the slack, because the fish had stopped his first run. My line got tight and I couldn't move the reel. I felt the beast take off again and the line parted 12" out of the rod tip. I have no idea what happened everthing worked after the line broke. RULE #1 Night Fishing: Always have a good LED Headlight.

Fishing in the dark is hard enough, but 100lb+ Tarpon and Blacktips in the dark on 15# class gear is really hard. Some may say crazy but damn it sure is exciting. Tuesday night ended with one lost Tarpon and two 4-5' Blacktips landed oh yeah did I mention one slot Red Drum around 25". Over the next 7 nights we lost another Tarpon as it danced in the moonlight and 6 more beasts most likely Blacktips. We boated around 10 Blacktips in all. All these fish were caught in near and round Masonboro and Wrightsville Beach.

Today, I heard at the Tex's Tackle, two sails were boated in the 10 mile box car (AR 376) area. Plenty of Kings and some Cobia are also in the area. The trout and drum bite is going off in Southport. If topwater fishing is your thing you best hit the flats behind Bald Head and Oak Island.

Good Luck and Get Out,

Capt Danny Wrenn

96 Charter Company

Wilmington, N.C.

910.619.2224

Wrightsville Beach Fishing Report

Greetings From The Cape Fear Coast:


Fishing Wednesday July 2, 2008 at 23 Mile Rock. Brock, Travis and myself were hoping for some Kings and Mahi instead we got Amber Jacks and Grouper. We also jigged up some nice Grey Snapper (White Grunts). As we headed out the water temp fell, around 15 miles from 79.9 to 77.9 degrees. It did warm up to 78.5 at 23 Mile Rock. We were soaking live Pogies and within 5mins around the south rock these AJ's were ruling it. Brock got the first rod and with a light drag he was in for a fight. After about 15 mins he landed this nice 20+ pounder. Line back out and around the rock we picked up this 25+ pound fish and I landed it pretty quick as I put the drag to it and broke it will Mark Sosin style. After messing with these AJ's we decided to drift and jig some and I was hitting the Grunt hard with a spoon style Shore Lure and Brock got a short Grouper in a Stingsilver (2 oz.). We moved offshore a little and Travis got another AJ on a River to Sea Jig (notPictured).


Friday July 5, 2008: We hit 10 mile Box Cars and it was slow. We caught 2 sharks and lost a citation Spanish at the boat. We saw 1 King landed. We moved North to 10 mile rock and had a lot of the same, it was slow. We ran inshore to the Liberty Ship and had four shots a Cudas and could not set the hook. As the wind increased even more we called it a day.



Monday July 7, 2008: Travis and I went for some Reds and got'em on topwater during the early part of the rise. I got this one on a home made plug I made this Spring. We watched a nice storm roll up through Wrightsville Beach as we caught fish. After hitting another flat and watching two more storms roll through we called it a day.


Get out and Fish
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Wrightsville Beach Fishing Report

Inshore:Flounder are hitting the sound pretty well now. Move around and fish grass islands and edges of oyster beds. Spanish are all over the beach to 10 miles. Nearshore they are falling for 00 clarkspoons trolled on top and behind #1 planers. Red Drum are on the docks and oyster rocks as well.

Nearshore: The King bite is improving and are still hitting cigar minnows better than live bait right now. Barracuda and AJ's are still on the wrecks will go for live baits and popping lures. 15-40 lb Cobia are mixed in so be ready to pitch skirted live baits and hold on.

Offshore:Mahi are starting at 25 miles out to the break. They are hitting ballyhoo and cigar minnows. The Wahoo are starting in the 80-82 degree water in 100-150' of water. Make sure to keep a spinning rod loaded with a topwater to pick those straggler Mahi when bringing fish to the boat. Gag and Red Groupers are stacked on rocks and ledges starting in 90-120' of water. They will hit cigar minnows and deep jigs.

Get out and Good Luck,

Capt. Danny Wrenn

96 Charter Company

Wilmington, N.C.

910.619.2224

Wrightsville Beach Fishing Report

Friday June 6, 2008

Went fishing with my 4 year old. Fishing off Masonboro Island jigging for Spanish. We saw fish breaking but could not get hooked up. The boy ended up catching a 16" Blacktip Shark and a nice 10" Seabass. Helping him fish did not leave me much time to do anything until he fell asleep. I anchored up and fished for some bottom dwellers and caught some more Seabass and Croakers but no Flounder.

Saturday June 7, 2008

The forecast was for 2-3' seas and winds around 10kts. Allen and I were ready for some calm seas and some Kings. We were loaded with an assortment of livebaits and some dead ones as well. Is 15-20kts. SW around 10kts? I guess so. We pounded our way to the Schoolhouse and was accompanied by 20-30 other boats. I hate fishing around all those people. So we jigged a few baits and headed to the 12 fathom ledge. We put out baits and started trolling the ledge. After about 45mins to an hour with no takers we moved inshore 3miles to some livebottom and dropped the anchor. We caught one 17" Grunt and some short Beeliners and a lot of bottom. I destroyed a perfectly good #13 Hooker as I tried to reanchor one time. We decided to keep moving inshore to lessen our ride back to the house in the afternoon.

The radio talk was the Kings were biting okay at the Wr4 but we had already committed our move inshore and we were to far inside to turn and run 8 more miles offshore. After hitting some more ledges and rocks we had only boated one 4' shark on a large mullet. Eight hours is a long time with only one take down trolling. We moved inshore and were now at the Dredge Wreck fishing around four dive boats anchored around the wrecks. This place must have been run over all day because there wasn't anything biting at all. So we decided to start making the run to the house and we would hit the 5mile boxcars on the way home. We jigged one Croaker and one Lizardfish on the ledge just inshore of the buoy. Time to go to the house. As we approached the Sea buoy a nice King skies about 4' in the air. Wow, maybe we should have stayed here all day.

Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Wrightsville Beach Fishing Report

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast
Friday May 30, 2008:

The phone rings at 09:30, Pete wants to know if I want to go wading for some Red Drum. Even though I was supposed to be packing for a trip to Richmond, I said, "Sure, what time?" He would pick me up at 11:00. At 11:30 he shows up and we take off to the landing. We arrived as the tide was already rising and started throwing Strike King Red Fish Magic and Berkley Gulps. We made we hit every bend and oyster bank for about a mile and nothing. Finally, at about 14:30, the tide was creeping into the grass and we were casting to an oyster bar in some deep water when the 18" red slammed the spinnerbait. I tried to ease the fish to the bank without Pete hearing. I wanted to surprise him as I held up the fish, but as it hit the grass it began to splash and my cover was blown. We stayed for about 20 more minutes and with the tide flooding into the grass it was time to take the long walk back to the landing.

Monday, June 2, 2008:

New moon rising and approaching the 2nd closest perigee of the year, 357250 km, the tides for the next two days are going to be crazy high and super low. I decided to hit the kayak and do some exploring and see if I could find some fish. I headed out to Masonboro Sound and the tide has already begun it's long fall. I paddled around the creek and found some nice areas to fish on higher tides and blew out some fish, probably mullet maybe Reds, as I move through the creek. I cast around for a while with no takers. I decided to move out into the sound.

As I moved out of the creek bait was stacking up near the mouth. I paddled across the ICW and began wading through the nearly isolated creek. Birds, Crabs and mullet abound as the mouth of this creek was slowly being cut off from the ICW. Wading and casting to pushes I realized these pushes were really just super-sized mullet and they were unlikely to hit my Strike King spinnerbait. So I continued moving back into the now dried up mudflat to check out the lay of the land for future use.

I ended up back in the ICW fishing a dock when the phone rang as I was hooked up on a small Red Drum. There were two boats near me and I was trying to land this fish and not get spotted by the other boats. I got the fish off of the Strike King and released it but got spotted by the other guy in a kayak. I returned the missed call and turns out my son was sicked and I had to end the trip.

Wednesday June 4, 2008

More evening fishing, with Allen and Pete this time, tried to hit some Spanish at sunset but the seas were to big and no fish in sight. So we decided to hit some docks. After several unsuccessful stops, the last dock produced this little Redfish. It hit, you guessed it, a Strike King spinner with a Bass Assassin rootbeer shad attached. I think Allen is going to go get himself one or two of these spinners for the next trip.

Capt. Danny Wrenn

96 Charter Company

Wilmington, N.C.

910.619.2224

Red Drum at Night

Greetings From the Cape Fear Coast
Went fishing with my buddy Allen last night and hit some docks around Wrightsville Beach. I landed this overslot Red Drum on a Stirke King RedFish Magic spinnerbait. It hit right after sundown and put the Shimano 4000 to the test. After a 2-3 min fight and several runs to the pilings, we got him in the net. The fish appeared to be really light colored. Maybe the drum are moving in the sound now. Hopefully a sign of some great night fishing to come.

Capt. Danny Wrenn

96 Charter Company

Wilmington, N.C.

910.619.2224

Cape Fear Fishing Report

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast:

Monday May 26, 2008

Went riding on Cape Fear River up to the Black River. Man it sure is nice riding through the lowland of the New Hanover County. We saw some alligators and all types of birds on the ride up. As we approached the junction of the Black and Cape Fear a large fished launched about 4' out of the water. I was too far to see what it was but it was large. Arriving at the Black river we drifted along some waterlilies and caught a small crappie on a Strike King Red Magic spinner bait. I also missed a nice little bass on a Bomber crankbait. It was a great day on the water with the family on Memorial Day

Tuesday May 27, 2008

Fished out of Masonboro Inlet on some livebottom. We vertical jigged Gotcha Plugs, drifting and anchored, and bagged some nice Spanish Mackerel. We also caught a short Flounder, 13" Seabass, some Croakers and 2 4' Sharpnose sharks. Four species all caught on Gotcha Plugs. We did pick up one Spanish pulling some Bomber and Yozuri Plugs.

Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Wrightsville Beach Fishing Report

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast,

Friday May 23, 2008:

I was fishing with my good friend Capt. Travis Dant of Flat Out Flying and his brother Chuck. We started out fishing near Masons Inlet casting for Spanish with no success. There were a few of other guides out in the area and we did see one boat pick up a small one trolling a hand line. After about 20 mins casting and not seeing any breaking fish we made a move to Rich's Inlet. Same story here and after 30 mins we decided to run offshore to AR 362. We arrived and started jigging some structure and I picked up a 22 1/2" gag on a Gotcha Plug bouncing it off the bottom. We picked up an assortment of small fish and decided to move off a bit and hit some livebottom.

Drifting the livebottom Chuck and I continued to drop the Gotcha Plugs and Travis was dropping some metal jigs, we picked up some nice grunts aka Grey Snapper. The smallest one was about 10" and the biggest about 18", nice sized for grunts. After about 30mins we moved AR366.

We moved around and pulled around some plugs for about 45mins and did not locate any good baitor fish marks and decided to move off to AR368 thinking that AJ's would probably be stacked up like AR386. We arrived and hit the buoy throwing a Yozuri Magpopper. After the first drift we pulled off the school of AJ's and on the second drift Chuck struck the first blow.

Rip'em up and Let some go,

Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company

Wilmington, N.C.

910.619.2224

Wrightsville Beach Fishing Report

Greeting from Wrightsville Beach



Fished today from AR 376 to AR 386. We started the morning at 376 and fishing was slow, we hit a few sharks around the wrecks and just south of where the buoy used to be. We slowy moved offshore and found one area holding some bait, our first drop we hit a 19" gag and we thought we were on them but after that one grouper, we only hit beeliners and bait fish. Moved offshore to 386 and found nothing but A.J.'s. They were thick but would not bite. We were pulling the entire school of jacks (50+ fish) off the wrecks but they would only sniff our livebaits. Trying to get one on fly, I threw a hookless popper in hopes to fire them up and it was engulfed several times but they still did not want the fly. After an hour of messing about with the AJ's the wind began to howl and pump the seas. It was time to go and with a 325 deg heading and SW wind we were going to get wet. Wet we got.

If kings are on the agenda best pull some frozen baits, plugs or spoons to cover some ground until you find some fish. If a hard tug is want you want then venture a bit offshore and hit some wrecks and fire up on some AJ's.

Rip'em up and Let's some go,
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Fishermans Post Inshore Challenge

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast:

To insure a positive experience in work, sports, boating and fishing tournaments preparation is the most critical part. A large amount of preparation does not always insure success but practice and hard work help you deal with situations as they arise. This is when you should get a chance to have multiple scenarios to encounter the situation you are in at the time. Now you can use this to help for develop a strategy when Plan A gets smashed or just does not pan out.

As you may have figured out the tournament did not go well at all. I did a poor job of preparing for the event and fished an area that I had been to in over a year. There were a lot of "I'm gonnas" but they never got done. I did not pre-fish the area in question, I did not secure bait the few days before the tourney, I did not prepare gear and otherwise prepare for the event properly, Things of this nature often ensure poor performances in most cases, unless a horseshoe happens to fall from the sky. That does not happen very often, though.

Moving during tournaments is a necessary event but when and where are always in your mind and the best success I have had is not to make crazy long runs to areas unknown. Don't move for the sake of moving. The mindset during an event, no matter what it is, changes from your preparation time but you must work hard to succeed.

I think Allen Iverson said best, "We talking about Practice? We talking about Practice! Practice? Practice!"

We did catch a 3-4 foot Bonnetthead Shark (new species for the boat).

Rip'em and Practice,
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

cape fear fishing reports

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast:



Saturday May 10, 2008

The fishing today was a go. West wind and blowing but fishing near the hill was a go. Two days ago Spanish, Bonito and Kings were at AR370. Today twenty boats hit it early and nothing was caught. One friend of mine ran off to the 10 mile area, where the king mackeral were biting all week and did not get a strike. He ended up bottom fishing and had a mixed bag of bottom dwellers. Another friend I saw in the afternoon at the ramp fished AR386 (the schoolhouse) and said he caught 12-15 kings, although I did not see his catch.
I spent the morning drifting the ocean near Wrightsville Beach and landed 4 sharpnose sharks. Then drifted the jetty with live bait and had no success. The afternoon was spent fishing inside catching croakers, grunts (aka gray snapper), spots and pinfish with a couple of kids ages 6 and 9. It was a good afternoon the kids had fun busting open clams and chasing the mullet in the livewell. Sorry no pictures this time, not sure why I did not take any. It won't happen again.

Rip'em up and let some go
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Carolina Beach Fishing Report

Greeting from the Cape Fear Coast


Tuesday May 6, 2008:

Guides day out, went fishing with my longtime friend/fishing buddy and fellow guide Capt. Travis Dant of Flat Out Flying. We planned to go check out reports of Spanish at Carolina Beach and catch'em on fly . The winds were from the NE @6 mph, according to the weatherman, wrong, wrong, wrong. ENE @ 10-15mph was more like and the seas were a tad bit swollen. We arrived at our spot, after a mildly dry ride, and saw a spanish bust right in front of the boat as we came off plane. That was the last one we saw. Our first 200 yrd drift took about 45 secs. and every drifted after that was a bit quicker, it was not ideal for fly fishing or another kind for that matter. On one of our upwind resets we decided to throw out the trolling plugs and did manage to pick up a blue and a seabass but those were our only fish in about three hours. It was time to pay for our "easy" ride down the beach as we headed back to the inlet and into the wind and swell. Eight miles later and several mouthfuls of water we arrived at Carolina Beach "CB" buoy and shot the inlet.

Once inside we decided to give the Cape Fear River a shot for some Red Drum or Speckled Trout. We ran through Snows Cut and headed north toward downtown Wilmington. We hit several island and I managed only one small but colorful red drum on a Cotton Cordell small spot. At 14:00 we decided to call it a windy day.


Capt. Danny Wrenn w/ Cape Fear Red Drum

Wednesday May 7, 2008:

What a difference a day makes. Travis and I decided to try it again with the promise of better conditions. We approached Carolina Beach inlet and the ocean looked like a lake compared to yesterday. We made our run down the beach and saw Spanish skying everywhere, but we had a plan. We arrived and there were four other boats around and one off the the NE all by himself. We made several unproductive drifts and noticed that we were now all by ourselves. Everyone else was over to the NE with that lone boat. Turns out that was where the fish were.

sunfish eating jellyfish
I spotted something finning and thought it might be a shark or cobia so we went over to investigate and discovered sunfish eating jelly balls. Then we moved over to the NE and joined the other boats. That's when the spanish erupted everywhere at about 9:30 and the frenzy continued in small pockets for about 3 hours. We were fly fishing and had multiple hook ups but Travis was the only one to land a single spanish. After 2-1/2 hours Travis finally relented on the fly fishing only rule and I land a nice spanish on a gotcha plug on the second cast and the bite was over. We trolled, cast and dredged for another hour and nothing. We decided to move back to the inlet and fish some structure. We jigged and cast and caught some blues and seabass. Finally we anchored and I picked up this nice flounder on a "Gotcha Plug."

Capt. Danny Wrenn w/flounder on a gotcha plug

Rip'em up and let some go,
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

cape fear gar

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast.

Thurday May 1, 2008:

Made an evening run for Bonito. The buoy data showed 1.7' / 7secs and winds 10mph from the South. AR372 (5Mile Box Cars www.ncdmf.net/reefs/ar372a.htm) here I come. When I broke the Masonboro Inlet it was 2'/4secs. and it was like that all the way to the 5mile. It made for a wet ride in the Gosling and 30 mins later I was there. I made several very fast drifts and managed to land two 20" Bluefish. There were no signs of life in the water or in the air. I always get moving on the mind when the conditions are like this. I make three more drifts with nothing on the line or the scope. Time to make a move.

I arrive at AR370(Liberty Ship http://www.ncdmf.net/reefs/ar370a.htm) and a school of approx. 300 birds was working just West of the buoy. It was now about 18:45 and not much time left. I picked out the Thomas and Thomas 10wt. with 350grain sinking head and get at it. Sure enough if you are not the only boat out, there will always be one trolling right through the birds and sounding the fish. There were four other boats all of us upwind drifting and one Igmo trolling right through the middle round and round. I just don't get it. Anyway, I made several unsuccessful dredge drifts with the flyrod and decided to cast some jigs for the last drift as the sun was disappearing behind Wrightsville Beach. Again the Bonito elude me, damn fish.

Friday May 2, 2008:

Another Cape Fear River run in search of reported speckled trout around Wilmington. The tide was well into the fall when Pete and I arrived at the ramp around 12:30. The SW wind had a nice rolling swell by the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge all the way up to the Point Peter. We start fishing at the USS North Carolina and hit all the structure up to the 421 Bridge. There was no trout but the gars were rolling everywhere. Pete had on a white Rapala X-Rap and I was throwing a Berkely Frenzy (Tennesse shad). We kept on working structure down to Point Peter and got no strikes. We kept working structure around downtown. I told Pete to throw up into a dock and the sceond cast wham! Fish on at it was a nice one as the fish made it to the boat it was a nice gar. After forty or fifty more casts we decided to move up the Cape Fear River and speculate on

some new areas. After about a five mile run up river we found a small creek with a nice rip right out front and made some long cast into the mouth of the creek. A fortunate stop because the first cast gets slammed, as my fish heads for Southport, Pete gets hooked up. I could barely turn my fish and as I moved to back the boat off the hill I dropped the rod tip and my fish escaped the two treble hooks. I helped Pete land his first Cape Fear Striper. This creek was loaded with Rockfish. The were all around 20" fish but fun to catch. We landed 5 Rock and missed six or seven more. No trout but still a great day fishing with Rock and Gar.

Rip'em up and let some go

Capt. Danny Wrenn

96 Charter Company

Wilmington,N.C.

910.619.2224

Stripers and Dogfish

cape fear hybrid

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast

Wednesday April 23, 2008 was spent fishing in the Cape Fear River around Downtown Wilmington, N.C.. I had heard reports of Speckled Trout in the area and decided to give casting some structure a try. I was armed with two new lures and wanted test them out for hitting deep structure and surface fishing. There was a strong NE wind blowing on the hill and threats of rain offshore but not inland and as usual never listen to the weatherman. I was dodging rain showers almost immediatly of getting on the water.
After casting for about an hour or so and hitting every piece of structure I could see I managed a couple of fierce strikes but could no get the hooks in. So I tied on one of my new lures and started over fishing a deep diver. I felt a bump along the bottom after a long retrive and decided to fish this bottom area a little more throughly. Five more casts and I had three soild strikes and on the sixth cast a fish hit that did not feel like a trout. As I lowered the rod tip to the water to break it's will, the hooks pulled and I never saw the fish. Three more casts and I landed a soild 24" hybrid.
I ended up fishing for about another two hours and had several more missed fish and landed another 20" hybrid on a shallow diver up in some structure but no speckled trout. I"ll take two nice hybrids any day. The new lures did there jobs nicely.

Thurday April 24, 2008 the forecast was calling for the ocean to lay down and a chance for Bonito again. I got the boy off to daycare and waited for my neighbor to decide if 3-5' seas and the end of a smallcraft advisory at 09:00 was okay for him to fish. He decided not to go and I was off by 08:30. This was later than I wanted to go but you go when you can. The inlet was rolling and the ride out to the Liberty Ship was a bit wet but totally do able. I made multiple drifts and only managed three blues. No signs of life at all in the water or the air. After about 09:45 the wind began to lay out and so did the swell but fishing did not improve. Time to make a move and I ran to Masons Inlet in search of life. There were random birds flying but none diving on any bait and I found no bait on the scope. I drifted and trolled around the inlet for a while and decided to make another move.
I hit Masonboro jetty and caught some blues. I cut up some bait and started bottom fishing the jetty where the Dogfish still rule the roost. I decided to call it a day and headed for the hill.

masonboro jetty dogfish

Rip'em up and let some go
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Bonito at Sunset

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast

Saturday morning my sister-in law and I hit the river in search of bait and fish. After about 30 minutes of bait searching we decided to go artificial and see what we could do. We drifted several banks and flats casting a variety of plugs and grubs near the mouth of the Brunswick River and had no luck. We decided to make a move and started fishing some structure near downtown Wilmington and was able to bring one 20" Striper to the boat. The little bass hit an all white Rapala X-rap. We got the skunk off the boat and it was time to leave. It was off to the annual Airshow at Wilmington International.

Sunday morning had plans to run to Ar370 in search of Bonito. The alarm went off at 05:15 and the lighting and rain put a quick stop to that trip and man I was bummed all day. At around 17:00 the phone rang and an afternoon run was on. Boarded my buddy's 17' Whaler and we were off to the Liberty Ship. I showed up with only my Scott 8wt. and my Thomas and Thomas 10wt and guilted my friend into a fly rod only trip. The wind was blowing SW 10-15 knots and a 3-5' swell meant fishing would difficult. "These are perfect conditions for the Bonito to appear," I said. Past years the best Bonito blitzes have occurred went the sun is going down and the seas are sloppy. We approached the wreck and two large "schools" of birds were working the surface South and West of the buoy. We started upwind to get a long drift and sure enough the sea was alive with Bluefish and Bonito ripping the surface as bait fish showered the air trying to escape as the birds worked them from above. We could not get our flies in the water fast enough as the school pasted us by. We drifted another 100 yards and returned upwind. Another drift produced several strikes for Allen but not positive takes and all I had were some tugs on my 6" one fly




(more on that in a later post). Another upwind run and as the boat turn with the wind the water erupted with bait, blues and Bonito right in front of the boat. I loaded the back cast and as I let go of the double haul the 10wt. unload completely. I looked down and the guides were empty with only a 12" tag of the running line hanging from the reel. Daggum Bluefish bit my line on the previous drift and now I lost the sinking head, leader and the One-Fly. Lucky for me I had my 8wt, loaded with an intermediate Cortland 555 rocket and a green and white clouser, but I could only get down to the blues with the drifts going fast and the topwater bite turning off as the sun had gone below the horizon. We made two more drifts and ended up with about 15 blues and $60.00 worth of lost gear and the sight of a setting sun and slashing Bonito all to ourselves.


Rip'em up and let some go
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wimington N.C.
910.619.2224

Got The Blues

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast

Four days of wind and the forecast called for 10-15 NW and laying by afternoon. A friend got out to AR 370 yesterday and said the water temp was 58 deg. The map is a large difference from the March 20, 2008 posted map. The North wind blew in some cold air and water. We hit the water a 07:30 and got out to 7mile rock after about 45mins. We did see a large whale breach near the Masonboro Sea buoy but could not get a picture. The wind was blowing WNW and no Bonito or Blues were to be found. Rolled off to AR 376 ( Ten Mile Box Car ) and marked large schools of bait but nothing larger feeding, water temp was 62.4 deg.

We ran back to the Liberty Ship and did find some blues but no Bonito. So we took it to the house. One day the water will get right and stay that way.

Rip'em up and let some go
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Blues but no Bonito

Greeting from the Cape Fear Coast

Yesterday afternoon there was a chance to get off the beach, in search for the Bonito, the wind was laying down and suppose slick out by evening. So I got on the water around 12:00 and waited for some friends. The wind had not slackened and as I approached the inlet for a look at the ocean the ride out to the Liberty Ship was going to be wet and sloppy. Finally my guys arrived at 15:30 and it was out Masonboro Inlet we went. It was a wet ride out and the wind had picked up since I got out on the water.

Arriving at AR370, there were was only one other boat on scene and not doing much as far as we could tell. We drop some Stingsilvers and begin to search for signs of life. The Bluefish were willing to fill the void of February ocean fishing. After several hours of we had boated and landed about fifteen blues, several rat seabass and a couple other bottom dwellers. Most of the blues were released but a couple went in the cooler for a tasty dinner. The sun was setting and time to head for the hill. The forecast for tommorow morning was looking and maybe the only shot before the Monday next week.

Today the wind was still laid out and the ocean was going to be nice. So I kept the boy out of daycare and took hin to catch some blues. We arrived at the wreck at 07:45 and the fog was building up with overcast skies and three boats fast trolling and two other boats drifting and not catching it was going to be a slow day. You catch more Bonito drifting with the engine off than zooming at 4-8 knots all over their heads, that has typically been my experience. Anyway, my hunch was correct. We landed to small blues in about two hours and headed for the hill. Two hours is typically enough fishing time for my son, so we cruised in and went in search of floatsom and the new moon high tides had pulled some cool stuff " trash" out of the marsh. Finally there are some fish in the ocean that a skiff can reach and it only going to get better, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Rip'em up and let some go,

Capt Danny Wrenn

96 Charter Company

Wilmington, N.C.

910.619.2224

New Plug

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast

After a missed shot yesterday it looks like the next day will be Wednesday. The water temps coming up (63 reported Sunday) and Bluefish are here. I can't wait to throw this creation in a school of Blues or Bonito. It dives to about six feet and has a slow wobble. We'll have to see how it tracks on the troll. It may be strickly a casting plug. I stop at a creek on Masonboro Sound and tested it today and spotted a lot of one inch bait cruising the creek when I saw a huge tail and swirl. Although I did not get a good look at the fish if it was a mullet it was a four to five pounder. I'll say it was ol' Red and we'll all feel better.

Rip'em up and let some go,
Capt Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Missed a Shot

Greatings from the Cape Fear Coast,

The wind does howl and has for two weeks. Some Bonito have shown up down in Southport about a week ago but yet to show off of Wrightsville Beach. This morning I missed a shot at the Liberty Ship, as the wind came around from the Southwest to the North, when the wind and the sea laid this morning. The phone rang a my buddy Allen woke me up at 07:00. "Masonboro is laid out and it's do-able" he said but I did not get the hint as I recovered from the sudden awakening. "Let me know how you do," I said knowing I a commitment at 11:00 and hung up. Luckily all I missed was some bluefish and a boat to the Liberty Ship and Johns Creek.

The forecast looks like Wednesday afternoon might give me a shot and I plan to take it hopefully the Bonito will reciprocate and get to the hill even though the water temp looks cool on the map. You don't have a shot sitting on the hill.
If the wind does blow the Lock and Dam #1 will see me again and those feisty American Shad will see me again. The bite continues and the big cats and Stripers should make their appearances soon if the water slows after all this rain. Stay tuned and one day there will be pictures of fish.

Rip'em up and let some go
Capt Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Getting ready for Altantic Bonito ( Sarda sarda )

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast,

The Azaleas and Dogwood are blooming and bright yellow pollen covers everything in sight, well it must be Spring. The shad are at Locking Dam #1 and reports of bluefish at Johnny Mercers Pier. Someone even said Sunday,"the bonito are all ready at the Liberty Ship." No one else has confirmed that sighting so I thought I might give it a shot. The wind blew hard NE all weekend and rolled SE 15-20 today. The buoy at Frying Pan Shoals report eight foot seas every nine seconds at 08:00.

I had to go look at it myself. I had my trusty Scott Heli-ply 8wt. Teton reel loaded with my Cortland 555 Rocket and a hand full of my favorite flies.

I confirmed the ocean report as I passed through Masonboro Inlet at 10:00 and as swell broke over the bow and I had to turn around before I couldn't. The ride to the Liberty Ship was not going to happen today.

Time to go to Plan B and that was hitting crab pots and try to find some trout in Masonboro Sound. I hit twenty to thirty pots and found no bait or fish. As the rain bands passed through all day it was not greatest fishing and not even a good day to be outside but I had to get on the water and smell the salt.

The water temp has dropped back to the upper fifties. The birds were even laying low today. There is always tomorrow, well maybe not tomorrow. How about the next day? Where are those Bonito? It won't be as long as it has been.



Rip'em up and Let some go
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910.619.2224

Lock and Dam #1, Cape Fear River, N.C.

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast
First time fishing at Lock and Dam #1 for American Shad. Water flow @ 5000cfs and 16' water level with flood stage @24'. The water was discolored and flowing well over the dam. I walked the bank throwing and swimshad/fly combo and had nary a strike. I did see one boat hooked up several times and it looked like the were dead drifting silver shad darts. They were well below the dam. Another boat with two young guys caught a 57# blue catfish but I could not get a picture. Shad darts or 1/16 oz. tandem jig heads with matching curly-tail grubs were the reports from others fishing the bank. I will hit it as this water level begins to fall and lighten up my tackle as well. I might even take a boat to try some flies.


Rip'em up and Let some go,
Capt. Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Co.
910-619-2224

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast

As high pressure system builds into the Cape Fear Region and the winds were howling NW all day long. There wasn't much fishing going on today unless you were a seagull behind a ship moving up river today. The pressure system is due to stall SE of us over the weekend as the winds continue to blow. Hopefully this map will look better by next week. Maybe a trip will follow if the wind lays as well. Stay tuned.

Rip'em up and let some go

Captain Danny Wrenn

96 Charter Company

Wilmington, N.C.

910-619-2224

Greetings from the Cape Fear Coast





The Spring season is upon us as the March winds are blowing. Praying for ESE winds to blow more warm eddies in off the shelf to bring in an early April season. A few weeks ago a strong front push in a large eddy and delivered Kings and Bonitos (Sarda sarda) to the commercial fleet within twenty miles of the hill. The Schoolhouse (ar386) and Wr4 fired up and the bite was strong as the 68 degree water turned the bite on in full force. As the eddy pushed up the coast the bite deciepated and returned back to 30-40 mile range.

The Winter season has had it ups and downs. The Bluefin bit all over the Morehead region but never really moved down Onslow Bay onto Frying Pan Shoals. So it was North to Morehead for about ten days of fishing over the December and January Season. Only one strike after hours, wait, after hours, wait, days of trolling will test your ability to entertain yourself for eight to ten hours in a 21' Seamark Skiff with two other men each day. Yeah, ten miles offshore in a 21' skiff and not really sure of what we were doing in late December and January meant we had to pick our days and it was still a bit chilly each time. Those big sporty boats really looked warm but where is the challenge in that. They were catching fish and we were not. As January 31 approached (the end of commercial BFT season) the weather and lack of capital kept the crew and I on the hill with nothing but bills to show for our effort. That's BFT fishing in a skiff.

After the effort for tuna, Seabass, oysters and Striped Bass dominated my mind. The Seabass held nearshore until mid-February and then offshore they went and now it is oysters and Stripers. Oystering is okay they never really move that much and catching them just means getting up and going for the grind. Selling them however can be a challenge as I found out late into my checkbook. Now eating these little salty Masonboro gems that was easy and quick.

Stripers it is and some success followed with four nice fish this season in five trips and several 15" - 25" this has been an okay winter. This year has produced some small fish while trolling, which I absolutely dislike (hate) but I made myself do it when ny casting arm could not take another throw. My favorite form is to cast and cast Rattle Traps, Mirrolures, swimbaits and
Bombers until the cows come a'knocking. There is nothing like the smack of a fatty Cape Fear Striper on ten pound test. Back to now and even with the Striper bite still going well and the shad running up to Lock-n-Dam #1, the mind wanders back to the salt and Spring, it is almost here.















Rip'em up and Let some go
Captain Danny Wrenn
96 Charter Company
Wilmington, N.C.
910-619-2224