Capt. Jeff Cronk nets a redfish caught by Capt. Rick Patterson. The fish fell for a walk-the-dog topwater lure fished on a calm day in a tidal creek. Photo by Mike Marsh.

The water was still as glass and nearly as clear. The sun was low in the morning sky, showing yellow-white through the haze near Hammock's Beach State Park.

"Mullet are everywhere," Capt. Rick Patterson said. "Wherever there are mullet, redfish are nearby."

Mullet schools navigated in and out of the grass at flood tide. Suddenly, a squadron of the small, shiny baitfish leaped, showering back to the water like shards of a broken mirror. A big shape lurched from below, disrupting the school as if someone were flailing a sodden burlap oyster bag against the water.

"There's a big redfish," he said. "Let's see if we can catch him."

Patterson used a trolling motor to ease his boat within casting range. For the lures he uses, walk-the-dog topwater lures similar to the topwater lures that freshwater bass anglers use for largemouth bass, that distance was well beyond 100 feet. He shot one of the big floating lures in the direction of the savaged mullet. The lure landed just beyond the big boil and he instantly began his retrieve.

A follow-up cast got attention. A small pod of redfish pursued the lure, competing over which fish would eat it. They followed the lure several yards until one struck, missed, struck again and stuck. The drag screeched and Patterson shouted, "Fish on!"

Soon a big redfish lay exhausted beside the boat. The fish was 30 inches long and weighed about 8 pounds.

"I fished bass tournaments until I caught my first red drum on a topwater plug," he said. "It changed my life. You're using the same lures and techniques, but you're catching huge fish that pull harder than any freshwater bass."

Capt. Jeff Cronk often fishes with Patterson. Cronk has always lived near Swansboro and knows the waters like the back of his hand.

"We catch reds almost everywhere," Cronk said. "They're in the surf, sounds and rivers. But these tidal creeks no one ever thinks about are just awesome because they're full of reds between 16 and 30 inches long. You might even hook a 36-incher. If you do, you've got all the fish you can handle on a light rod."

Most professional anglers and guides use baitcasting rigs for topwater fishing. But a spinning rig works nearly as well. A baitcaster allows a more precise presentation for landing the lure near a point of grass or just beyond a tailing fish.

The most important piece of gear, however, is the rod. Imparting just the right action to a big spook- or dog-type lure demands a certain rhythm. Many anglers have rods they will use for nothing except a walk-the-dog lure. It takes a stiff tip to impart just the right twitch to make the lure alternate back and forth. The sense of feel it takes to make it work the lure properly is different for each angler.

"A walk-the-dog lure is unique because it doesn't have any action other than what you give it," Cronk said. "I know one fisherman who works a topwater lure incredibly slow. He twitches it and lets it sit until the ripples die away, then twitches it again. I don't have that much patience. But when he gets a strike, the fish nearly always finds the hook. He doesn't pull the lure out of the fish's mouth."