Double up on reds – Redfish king and his first lady have Carolina Beach redfish under their spell

Topwater baits give way to soft plastics as fall weather really cools off.

Rennie Clark of Carolina Beach zigged and zagged through the creeks behind Bald Head Island on his way to a pocket he was sure was holding redfish, and he didn’t slow until he was about 100 yards from the spot he intended to fish, switched off his outboard, lowered the trolling motor, plucked a spinning outfit from a rod holder and handed it to his wife, Shannon.

Tied to the end was a topwater plug, a pink Skitterwalk. Tied to his own outfit was a smaller version of the same plug, with an orange belly and gold sides.

“This water is still a little dirtier than I thought, and a little gold flash should help get it noticed,” Rennie Clark said.

On her third cast, she laid the bait about four feet in front of a redfish pushing down the bank. A red immediately rolled up and grabbed the lure, bending her rod and causing her Shimano reel to scream as it was forced to give up a little line.The tug-of-war only lasted a few minutes before Rennie Clark netted a fat, 26-inch redfish.

“We fish with more drag than most fishermen. We fish right next to grass and oysters most of the time, and you can’t let a fish get in the grass or up on an oyster bar,” Rennie Clark said “They know they can run into the grass and pull the lure free or rub their belly on oyster rocks and cut the line. We feel like we will lose fish in those situations, so we fish strong drags and add a little pressure if they get too close to grass or oysters.”

Friends love to rub it in that Shannon is always holding the bigger fish in photos from the tournaments they fish,  but Rennie doesn’t mind as they’re holding winning fish, and that’s happened plenty of times.

The Clarks, who run Tournament Trail Charters out of Carolina Beach, met when Shannon and friends booked Rennie’s guide service for a trip many years ago. Last year, the couple won the 2013 Lowcountry Redfish Cup are were top seeds entering the 2014 tournament. He has fished with Drew Arndt on the IFA Redfish Tour; the pair has been regional team of the year several times and national team of the year once.

“Look at this oyster bar over here coming out of the water,” Rennie said, pointing to a spot the tide was exposing. “I’m going to work us across here, and you start casting as soon as you can reach those swirls coming off the end. There should be some bait caught in that current with reds feeding on it.”

Shannon landed a cast among the swirls and began walking her lure. A big wake pushed up behind it as a drum attacked and missed. She kept the lure moving, and the fish struck but missed again. Rennie cast into the same area, and a redfish engulfed his smaller lure and took off. When he got it to the boat, it had the plug completely in its mouth. He thought it might be the same fish because of the intensity of the strike, emphasizing that reds often get mad if they miss a lure and will come back and attack again.

The Clarks caught several more redfish and a couple of trout feeding on bait washing out of the creek before they left to beat the falling tide. The point where they moved marked an area where several creeks came together, with a mud flat with broken oysters extending to the left — a great staging area for reds waiting for the tide to roll in to get into the marsh.

A redfish followed Shannon’s first cast almost back to the boat before striking and missing. She whipped a quick cast about halfway back to the bank and the fish struck it before it had settled. It was netted and released after a short fight.

Rennie Clark lofted a cast just off the point. The lure’s splash spooked a fish feeding nearby, but it didn’t move far. Clark walked the dog a few feet and stopped the lure for about 5 seconds. When he twitched the lure to move it again, there was a big splash and his rod bent deeply.

“When these guys are actively feeding, sometimes their curiosity gets the best of them,” Rennie said. “He had to come back and see what that was, and when I moved it again, he had to have it.

“Did you notice how the lure sat nose up and tail down when I stopped it. That is one of the things I like about Skitterwalks. I think sitting like that when stopped looks like an injured minnow, and it’s obviously something the fish like.”

The next move was to a section of a creek where two smaller creeks fed into the deeper, main creek. After a redfish followed Shannon’s topwater bait but wouldn’t hit it, Rennie picked up a rod rigged with a soft-plastic bait and fired a cast just behind Shannon’s plug. That fish slammed the soft-plastic bait before he had moved it a foot. When Shannon netted the fish, it was the biggest of the trip.

The Clarks’ favorite soft plastics are Category 5 Outdoors Manic Minnows and Shrimp Minnows. They’re rigged weedless on VMC swimbait hooks that allow them to sink more naturally and not nosedive they way they would if threaded onto a jighead. As the fall weather continues to cool, reds will become less likely to hit topwaters, and that’s where soft plastics take over.

DESTINATION INFORMATION

HOW TO GET THERE/WHEN TO GO — Carolina Beach is most-easily accessed from much of North Carolina by I-40, with US 421 continuing from Wilmington to the beach, which is served by three public ramps: one at Snows Cut just south of the US 421 bridge, on at Federal Point at the terminus of US 421 at Fort Fisher, and one in Carolina Beach State Park that is a fee ramp. Redfish are most-actively feeding in the fall as the water cools and the bait moves toward the ocean.

TACKLE/BAITS — Most fishermen use light to medium-action spinning tackle, with rods of 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 feet and reels in the 2500 to 4000 class. Baitcasting or fly-fishing tackle will also work well for fishermen who have mastered it. Reels should be spooled with 10- to 20-pound line, either braid or monofilament; braid is currently preferred because its smaller diameter allows for longer casts and its limited stretch helps with hooksets. A 15- to 24-inch leader of 20-pound fluorocarbon is common. Live mullet minnows, small menhaden and shrimp are great when available; as the water cools, however, they become less available. Topwater baits including Rapala Skitterwalks can be extremely good, as well as soft-plastic baits of various shapes, styles and colors fished on light jigheads or swimbait hooks and spoons.

FISHING INFO/GUIDES — Island Tackle and Hardware, Carolina Beach, 910-458-3049, www.islandtacklehardware.com; Capt. Rennie Clark, Capt. Shannon Clark, Tournament Trail Charters, 910-465-8943, www.tournamentrailcharters.com. See also Guides and Charters in Classifieds.

ACCOMMODATIONS —  MainStay Suites, Wilmington, 910-392-1741, www.mainstaywilmingtonnc.com; Sleep Inn, Wilmington, 910-313-6665, www.sleepinwilmingtonnc.com; Cape Fear Convention and Visitors Bureau, 877-406-2356, www.wilmingtonandbeaches.com.

MAPS — Capt. Segull’s Nautical Charts, 888-473-4855, www.captainsegullcharts.com; Sealake Fishing Guides, 800-411-0185, www.thegoodspots.com; GMCO’s Chartbook of North Carolina, 888-420-6277, www.gmcomaps.com.