Anyone know of any good starting spot for fly fishing the surf around topsail & Emerald Isle?
Thank if you can help coming down in July and would like to hit the surf with the fly rod!

Very interesting question. First I have to say that "Most" do not consider Emerald Isle or Topsail part of the Outer Banks. Therefore most people on this Board including Fishermen would be most familiar with what is commonly called the Outer Banks from the Virginia Line through Ocracoke Island. Further down names like the Crystal Coast and Core Banks is used amongst others. Okay this is not a Geography lesson. Surf Fly Fishing, meaning the Atlantic Ocean = Wow. Unless it was extremely Calm or the Fish were right behind a very mild Surf Break I can't see how you would do it. Possibly small Bluefish if they are schooled up and feeding. I'm not a Fly Fisherman, but am aware of heavier Fly Tackle that is used on Salmon, with heavy "Flys". I would think any of the Sounds down that way being suitable, but the Atlantic is on the average rougher than the Gulf and Pacific. My suggestion is hire a small guide boat that does Fly Fishing to gt you to productive Sound spots. We have several up this way out of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center and some trailered boats. Puppy Drum, Speckled Trout, Bluefish .Good Luck.

You can catch very large fish on a fly, Salmon are nothing. People catch Marlin, Sailfish, Tarpon, Shark, Tuna, etc etc on fly rods.

I know people do flyfish in the surf in the Outer Banks, it's just not common. There were some guys slaying the Specks last fall in Nags Head area IIRC.

I talked to a guy Sunday who saw a guy fly fishing the surf in Nags Head early Sunday morning that caught a trout on a fly.

I have seen folks do this in the summer. About 20 years ago in July I watched a guy catch lots of specks in the surf on a fly near NH. At the time I thought he was some kind of fish wizard, lol.

When the water is colder I suspect you may not have as much luck since the fish are likely to be lower in the water column. But who knows? Just try it and If it's not working switch to a spinning setup with hi/lo rig or fish finder.