While the sport of fly fishing may conjure freshwater scenes like those found in Robert Redford’s 1992 classic “A River Runs Through It,” local anglers and guides like Seth Vernon have made a living tailoring the fishing technique to coastal saltwater environments.
Fly fishing began in the 15th century as a way for English anglers to catch freshwater trout by making lures to imitate flies to fish. Early lures were made using fibers like wool and feathers from fowl and livestock. Now a variety of materials are available to tie flies, but the goal of mimicking the fish’s prey remains the same.
While freshwater fly fishermen have the ability to see what kind of bugs the fish are eating, coastal fly fisherman have to depend on local knowledge of what is going on under the water’s surface.
“Just like freshwater fly fishermen are bound by entomology, the study of insects and their life cycles … saltwater fishermen and guides like me have studied the prey that saltwater fish feed on and then we imitate that in the flies we tie,” Vernon said. “Seasonally I will tie fly patterns that resemble crabs, bait fish and shrimp. There is a wide array of ways to hand tie these flies that imitate any of the bait fish, shrimp and crabs that are available around here.”
Vernon has a handful of shrimp, bait fish and crab flies that are ambiguous enough to mimic any of the varieties of those species available in the lower Cape Fear. Each fly can also be manipulated to resemble other flies as well.
“I love flies that have some ambiguity,” he said. “If I pull it fast across the surface it may look like a shrimp but if I slowly drag it that may look like a crab.”
Fly fishing relies on physically seeing where fish are and the clarity of water in the waterways around the lower Cape Fear is what sets the area apart from other coastal zones in the South.
“Unlike Charleston and other points south of us, our water is clear, even in the summer months,” Vernon said. “Until you get south of Jacksonville, Florida, you don’t have the clear water to sight fish and you see the fish and cast to it.”
Vernon said there is no limit to the areas prime for fly fishing in the lower Cape Fear and that the technique has certain advantages to conventional fishing methods.
“It can be advantageous in times like winter when the fish are heavily concentrated in small spots and the heavy clunk of a lure could scare them off but the delicate presentation of a fly would not,” he said. “If those fish are moving rapidly with a fly rod you have the ability to cast 60-80 feet of line, and if it is not where you wanted you can pick it up and cast it all again, but you can’t do that with conventional tackle.”
A fly fishing cast takes at least 20 hours of practice to develop. Vernon said the pursuit of casting excellence takes a lifetime for those patient enough to stick with it.
“For people who like a challenge and like to challenge their athletic ability, it is great,” Vernon said. “It is like developing a golf swing where it is a lifelong pursuit, which is the allure for many people.”
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