Posting this in the general section to encourage other groups to connect up, but Zika, feel free to move if you want.
We had our fitst ever meet and greet of the folks in the Cape Fear area yesterday. This long convoluted planning process started on that other forum and took awhile to pin down a date so i wasn’t sure how it was going to go. Thanks to @Birdyshooter , @CapeFearFly , @CoffeeRun.Jeff , and @Goose , it went perfectly. Next time, more beer, more cigars, and more folks, and maybe some food might make it even better, but it was pretty close to perfect for a dry run. Special thanks to @Birdyshooter for bringing the cigars, beer, and project healing waters guys - they really added to the crew. 5 boats, 7 guys, and a few funny stories to walk away with.
The plan was to keep it simple. Everyone did their own thing in the morning, with the plan to meet up on an island between 12 and 1.
I launched at 530 and headed into the marsh armed with a flyrod and gurgler shrimp. Mullet were tailing everywhere and the conditions were absolutely perfect. Managed a really feisty 24” red on the fly that took me deep into my backing. Had another blow up that missed before the tide dropped out too far.
With a few hours to spare, I headed up river to look for flounder on the fly, managed 3 in quick succession - 21”, 18”, and a “skipper”. With 2/3 of a slam done, I went looking for trout but failed to find them.
At 11, birdyshooter shot me a text that he was at the island, and cape fear fly was in the area. Coffee run was making an epic journey from downtown, and Goose was extracting himself from birthday preparation. By 12:30, everyone joined up, put faces and real names to forum names, and the BSing commenced.
All was well until the “Ling Ming” cargo ship headed our way. For those unfamiliar, these massive ships first suck all the water out from under you (3-4 feet of depth becomes dry ground), then send tsunamis in that are plenty big to surf - or flip a skiff.
Anchors up, we repositioned on the back side of the island and Coffee Run learned about sand bars and I learned about the importance of attaching an anchor rope to your skiff BEFORE you toss it. All ended well and we hung out until mid afternoon.
By all accounts, it was a great tome and good to get to know other fishermen in the area. We will do it again and hope others can join as well.
