By Capt. Craig Hansel
What’s going on guys and gals, Capt. Craig here with AWOL Fishing Charters. I hope that everyone is doing well out there and catching lots of fish. This Summer has been pure torture on us all with the heat and humidity, but we have managed to keep working through it as we countdown the days to fall. I am probably more ready for cooler temperatures than I have ever been in 38 years.
Hurricane season gave us an early visit this year with Tropical Storm Debby that dumped quite a bit of rain on us here on the east coast of North Carolina. The rivers are swollen, some of the lakes are at extremely high levels, and more is coming from what the Weather has been saying but we all know how that is. But guys let’s jump right into what has been going on with all this freshwater, and high water levels.
I got the opportunity to be on The Weather Channel a few days ago for an interview about the Cape Fear River. If you guys missed it I have it posted on my Facebook Page AWOL Fishing Charters. Shoot over to Facebook and check it out. It was very informative, and educational. Be sure to drop a like and follow and comment as well. I would greatly appreciate it.
The fishing in this high water has been very good, as most of my following knows that I love fishing in flooded and high water. I’m actually getting ready to go out right after writing this article, I cannot wait. The catfishing has been on fire on the Cape Fear River as we are being able to fish in locations that are flooded where fish can get in and hide out from the extreme current out in the main river. I pulled into someone’s back yard last week and tied off to a swing set that was flooded and fished this person’s back yard while the homeowner stood on his back porch and spoke with us briefly in amazement that we were fishing in his backyard. It was wild to say the least.
We boated a few smaller catfish before finding another spot at a flooded creek mouth where we caught several decent sized catfish. I have yet to target bass and crappie in these flooded waters but today we are going to give it a try. Most anglers would choose not to fish in these types of conditions which is completely understandable if you do not have the proper vessel, and experience in high water. It can be dangerous. However I do not encourage it, I just choose to do it because I know how good the fishing is and have more experience in high water being that our river is up and down so much. I have had no choice but to learn how to navigate safely and find fish over the past 20 years. The learning never stops that’s for sure.
I’m actually not looking forward to the water levels dropping because these fish are on such a hard feed right now when the water levels get back to normal the bite will fall off for a bit until they readjust. But at the same time I do want water levels to drop because if we have another tropical storm system or hurricane it would just add more water and could cause devastating affect’s and effect’s on our river system just as it did during Hurricanes Mathew and Florence. So we have to take the good with the bad at this time.
But guys, stay tuned for more footage on my social media platforms, Facebook, Tik Tok, and YouTube. I have recently started to repost content on YouTube. So if you haven’t already, please shoot us a Like, Follow, and Subscribe. Be sure to share if you would. I would greatly appreciate it. I look forward to seeing you all on the water. Drop some pictures in the comment sections of where you guys are at and what you’re catching.
Until next time… keep those lines tight, drags set, rods up, and catch a big one. We will see you one the next one!
Capt. Craig
AWOL Fishing Charters Inc.