Saturday, December 31, 2005

Fishing Report - Dec. 31, 2005

Dec 31, 2005 11:15am - 1:30pm
Tide: High at 2:43pm
Water Temp: 51 degrees
Air Temp: 62-65 degrees
Moon: New Moon
Location: South Topsail area
Pressure: 29.85
Wind: 10-15mph, SW
Sky: Partly Cloudy
Fish Caught: 11 Specks (kept 1)
Biggest: 16"

Fished the Solunar Major period for today and it paid off. I was by myself today and most of the fish were small but did get one nice 16" fish. Again, slow retrieve was the key.

Fishing Report - Dec. 30, 2005

Dec 30, 2005 7:00am - 1pm
Tide: High at 6:49
Water Temp: 50 degrees
Air Temp: 37-54 degrees
Moon: New Moon
Location: South Topsail area
Pressure: 29.96f
Wind: 5-10mph, West
Sky: Sunny
Fish Caught: 25 Specks (all released)
Biggest: 13"

My buddy J.W. went with me today. Caught some fish all through the period but the by far the best fishing was between 10:30 & Noon which coincides with the SOLUNAR major feed time for today. That time outfished the Sunrise with Tide change period (two big Trout bite factors). So it seems like for today, the Solunar method wins.

Had to retreive very slow. No use in making the lure "jig" so just a straight retreive. Once I felt a light fish tap, I stopped, let the bait settle for a second, then gave it a soft jig upwards, the fish would hit it on the fall (I call this "the drop in mouth method") Most of the fish were dinks but we released even the legal sized ones in hopes for some bigger ones.

Cape Fear River - Striper Scouting

December 29, 2005.
I've been hearing good reports of Stripers being caught in the Cape Fear up near Wilmington so I wnated to scout out the River this week while I had some time off. A Friend and I headed ot the launch ramp beside the Memorial Bridge and launched at 12:15. Low Tide in the River was at 3:06 so this allowed us to fishing the falling tide and keep an eye out for submerged structures. We spent most of our time below the Bridge. We searched the docks, near the ships, the mouth of the Brunswick and some of the islands. No luck. When we got back, we were informed the fish were north of the bridge up at Peter's Point, Smith Creek and the north docks. Figures. Well we will have to try it again and go North (you need a fresh water license above the Memorial Bridge).

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Fishing Report - Dec 28, 2005

Dec 28, 2005 11:30am - 2pm
Tide: Low was at 12:30pm
Water Temp: 46-49 degrees
Air Temp: 57 -63 degrees
Moon: Waning Crescent (6% of full)
Location: South Topsail area
Pressure: 29.96f
Wind: 7-14 mph, SSW
Sky: Mostly sunny

Went out later than usual as I had some errands to run so decided ot fish the tide instead of the sunrise. Didn't catch any trout but did catch some Puppy Drums. It was warm and mostly sunny but a bit windy at times. Fishing is slow but still enjoyable.

Monday, December 26, 2005

Fishing Report - Dec 26, 2005

Dec 26, 2005 6:45am - 11am
Tide: Low was at 10:30pm
Water Temp: 46-49 degrees
Air Temp: 47 -51 degrees
Moon: Waning Crescent (20% of full)
Location: South Topsail area
Pressure: 29.69r
Wind: 14-24 mph, West & WSW
Sky: Mostly sunny

Went out early - launched in the dark and was near Topsail Inlet by first light. My Son and one of his Army buddies are home for the holiday and went out with me. It was very windy. We started at Black Mud Channel, fish there then moved to several spots along Howard's Channel and then wound up in Mill Creek. We caught small sized Drum in the creek (all released).

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Fishing Report - Dec 24, 2005

Dec 24, 2005 6:45am - 10am
Tide: Low was at 8:11pm
Water Temp: 49-53 degrees
Air Temp: 29-47 degrees
Moon: Last Quarter
Location: Masonboro Jetties & John's Rock
Pressure: 30.09
Wind: 1mph Calm
Sky: Sunny

Went out early - launched in the dark and was on the Jetty 20 minutes before sunrise. Fished all up and down the jetties, no trout. I did catch a puppy drum (he went back in). After two hours went out in the ocean and fished a patch of hard bottom in John's creek (a sumberged shallow valley), no luck out there, only marked a few fish.

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope you have a blessed Christmas Day!

Friday, December 23, 2005

Fishing Report - Dec 23, 2005

Dec 23, 2005 12:30pm - 3PM
Tide: Masonboro Inlet High was at 1:06pm
Water Temp: 49 degrees
Air Temp: 55 degrees
Moon: Last Quarter
Location: Masonboro Jetties (Southside)
Pressure: 30.11
Wind: 4mph N
Sky: Sunny

Well this time of the year it's time to move to deep but protected waters to find the Specks, so I decided to try the jetties at Masonboro Inlet. It was a very calm and Sunny day. When I got there there was only one other boat, by the time I left there was a dozen or so. I caught 3 puppy drum all in the 18-20 inch size, didn't keep one though. No Trout. One other boat caught some Drum too, no reports of Trout, but then again the sun was high above and it clear.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Fishing report - Dec 17, 2005

Dec 17, 2005 7:00am - 10:00am
Tide: NT Inlet High was at 8:32am
Water Temp: 50 degrees
Air Temp: 38-44 degrees
Moon: Wanning Gibb, 90% full
Location: South Topsail
Pressure: 30.41
Wind: 7mph NNE
Sky: Overcast

The Speck bite is still on but you have to retrieve VERY slow and pick your spots. I caught a few today but no large ones. I heard they have been catching some large ones at the Jetties so may try there next week.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Flounder Tips - techniques

This section of my Flounder fishing tips regards where to find the flounder. As with most fishing topics, there are lots of variables. Let's start with their habitat. Flounders are predators and their favorite tatic is the ambush. They have a great camouflage in their flat body and spotted topside, even their eyes are hard to detect. The shade of their skin can change depending on the enviroment. They lay on the bottom and wait for a potential meal to get close then they attack, they usually do not chase a meal far at all perefering to wait for it to come to them.

So you will need to put bait "on top" of them, so casting or drift fishing works best. You will want your bait to be on or close to the bottom. If you are casting, after you cast and tighten your line, let it set on the bottom for a 10-15 count then just pick up the rod tip and let it drop back down. Wait another 10 count then retreive a few feet of line and then pick up the rod tip again, repeating this until time to cast again. Another technique is the slow retrieve, just use a steady but slow retrieve with possibly an occasional pause. With either of these techniques, don't be surprise to get a "pick-up" on the downward movement of the bait.

Drift fishing for flounder is simliar to casting but you just leave the line out. Be sure to hold the rod, the flounder usually will not run with a bait so if you set the rod down you may not know if a flounder gets on until to late. When you feel him pick up your bait, let out a little bit of line to keep him from sensing the weight of the sinker. Then after a 30 count, gently tighten the line and set the hook. (see section on the hook-up).

Flounder are likely to spread out over a wide area so don't anchor in one spot for hours on end. On a falling tide drift around the mouths of inlets, rivers, and the edges of channel, rather than anchoring. On rising tides work the pilings around piers and docks by drifting past them as well.

Often you'll find them on the flats when there is enough water or up against the oyster rocks (little fish hang out there so flounder hide nearby waiting for a meal). Flounder like structure, sloughes, channels, holes, ledges and man made things like piers and bridges. When the water turns colder, look for them to move into deeper water and up on the mud bottoms instead of the sand (mud holds heat longer). Where small creeks and tidal ditches empty into bigger water can be productive places too.

Remember...think ambush....where would an ambush loving fish be found?

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Fishing report - Dec 10, 2005

Dec 10, 2005 6:30am - 1:30 PM
Tide: NT Inlet Low was at 9:30am
Water Temp: 51 degrees
Air Temp: 29 -54 degrees
Moon: 1st QTR plus 2
Location: South Topsail
Pressure: 30.22s
Wind: 5mph NNE
Sky: Sunny

Was on location (BM2) by 6:40 (30 minutes before sunrise). Caught 5 Specks in 20 minutes starting about 7:10am. All were in the 12-15" range. First two where caught on Jigheads with gulp, last 3 on Tsunami split tails. They took the Tsunami's hard and hooked deeper into their mouth whereas the Jighead/gulp always seem to hook them in the lip (weakest part of their mouth). Will have to try them again and compare results. Fished all over S. Topsail rest of the morning - no hits. Tried "chasing the tide" but today was not a good day for that as after the sun was up fully, no one was getting hits - not even the guys I spoke to using live shrimp.

Made a dash outside for an hour to Smokey's Ledge #1 and Inner Topsail Ledge to try to jig for Greys and Black Sea bass. I marked a few fish on the bottom but had no hits. To be honest it was a half hearted attempt, I wanted to get back inside and try for some more specks on the tide change.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Sea Trout


I've really been getting into the trout fishing the past couple of years. I'm still learning but I've had pretty good luck this year. I've caught a lot of Specks, mainly 12-15 inch ones, in the inland waters and caught some nice gray trout (weakfish) just on the outside of the inlet.

Monday, December 05, 2005

Flounder Tips - The hook-up

From time to time I plan on posting some fishing tips that I have picked up over the years . This is the first of a planned series this winter.

Flounder are one of my favorite inshore fish to catch. They are fun to catch and they taste great! Catching them with any consistency takes practice though.

Flounder are opportunistic feeders not hunters, they wait for food to come to them, then they pounce. They use their great disguise to blend into the bottom and wait for a meal to pass near by and then they attack. However, once they take the fish, they often settle back down on the bottom to enjoy the meal, they usually do not run. This is where it can get tricky, especially if you are using live bait. If you try to set the hook before the flounder has swallowed the bait completely you will pull the fish out of his mouth and not set the hook. When the flounder first takes the fish you will sometimes only feel a slight tension on the line or a light tug, at this point, keep the rod still or play out line if needed and count to 20 or so, then take up any slack in the line and set the hook with a smooth short snap (not too hard). I think more flounder bites are lost because the hook set is attempted too soon than just about any other reason. It takes patience and attention to the line but its well worth the extra effort and patience.


Now keep the line tight and reel him in, be ready for the flounder to take off once he gets close to the boat or shore. Let him run a bit, this is where ensuring your drag is set properly beforehand is very important. Then pull him in again. A very large flounder may run several times before you should try to net him. Be patient and keep the line taunt.

(more tips to come in future posts)

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Fishing report - Dec 3, 2005

Dec. 3, 2005
6:45AM - 9:00AM
Tide: Last two hours of the incoming
Water temp: 48 - 55 (surface)
Air temp: 36-42
Moon phase: New
Location: BM1
Pressure: 30.00s
Winds: ENE at 3 mph
Mostly Sunny

Went out just before daybreak and fished the last two hours or so of the incoming tide. Fished the slough on black mud at BM1 using gulp on a red jighead. Caught the limit (10).

Went back out this afternoon for an hour or so just before sunset (4-5pm). Caught a few Specks (released) but the bite was slower and they were up closer to the marsh grass. All the fish today were 15" or smaller.

Found lots of bait (pop-eye mullet) in the afternoon in Mill Creek.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Fishing Report - Nov 30, 2005



Date: 11/30/2005
Time: 4:45 PM (just before dusk)
Place: WA Ramp
Water Temp: Unknown
Air Temp: 67
Tide: Rising 2h-bH
Moon phase: new -1
Pressure: 29r
Wind: NW 5mph

Just had a few minutes to make a few casts trying out a new rig. Caught a 21 1/2 inch flounder weighing over 4 pounds on a 1/8 ounce red jighead with a forked white pork skin. The rig is sweet too. It's a Shimano Compre spinning rod with a Shimano Stradic 2500FH reel.

About the author

I grew up in Jacksonville, NC and learned to fish at a very early age. I fished the sound, the surf and from piers as well as some fresh water fishing in the creeks and ponds in the area. I learned to bass fish at my grandparent's farm pond in Knoxville. I also went to the Smokey Mountains with my grandparents, both avid fishers, and fished for Trout.

These days I mainly fish in the coastal waters with a once a year trip to the mountains for trout. I own a 19' CC and do a lot of inshore and nearshore fishing and on a good weather day will venture 8-12 miles offshore.

I'm still learning a lot about fishing from a boat as growing up almost all my fishing was from shore or a pier. I consider myself an accomplished flounder fisher having caught many State Citation sized flounder over the years. I'm learning alot about SeaTrout fishing - weren't many around when I was a teenager and young man. They are making a strong come back now as are the Red Drum. I also have done a fair amount of Striper (Rock Fish) fishing but not in the Topsail area, further north. I hear the stripers are moving back into this area too. WOOHOO - they are a great catch and good eating too!

I also learned a lot about King fishing this year and look forward to the season cranking up again next year. They are a lot of fun to catch.

Welcome message

Welcome to Hampstead Fishing, the blog devoted to documenting my fishing experiences. I wanted to record my fishing outings as a way to track trends and decided to use a blog to make the infomation available to others too. I hope to add helpful tips as well and to get your tips via comments and email. As we are entering the slower part of the year fishing wise, things may take off a bit slowly on the blog too, but check back often.