Column - Sept 18, 2006

Spots, Spots. I’m seeing spots.

‘Bout now you can hear those words from folks up and down Topsail Island. They are of course referring to the fish by that name. This tasty pan sized fish is a favorite with locals and visitors alike, many claiming they would just as soon eat a spot as a steak.

A friend of mine that works at Surf City pier says this time of year, 9 out of 10 phone calls are folks wanting to know if the spots are biting.

The fish get their name from the distinctive black spot just behind their gill. The fish looks similar to a croaker but have little barbell-like bumps under their chins, are smoother and wider, and have forked tails. Like a croaker, when caught the spot will make a croaking sound but usually softer and less frequently.

An occasional spot will be caught about anytime in the summer and fall. However this month is prime time for the little fish. They are caught from ocean piers, the surf and on the sound side from boats and the shore.

They often travel in large schools. At times you can fill a cooler full of the tasty fish in a short period. Other times, the bite can be, well, spotty.

Blood worms and shrimp pieces are two of the best natural baits. “Fish Bites” is a favorite artificial used to catch this fish. In either case, use a two hook bottom rig with a pyramid sinker is most often used. When the bite is hot, anglers will pull the fish up two at a time!

Hampstead holds the annual “North Carolina Spot Festival” each September. This year is the 43^rd festival and is being held September 22 – 24. The festival has moved it’s location a few miles further south this year. It is being held off of Hwy 17 on the southbound side about a quarter mile south of the intersection with 210 west.

In addition to plenty of spot dinners – spot, French fries, slaw and hush puppies – there is plenty to do at the festival. Featured are musical performances, arts and crafts, static displays, and many vendors that are out supporting our community. All proceeds go to benefit local schools and volunteer fire departments.

Catching report

The king bite has been very slow with mostly small kings being reported and very few at that. Bottom fisherman working the ledges and reefs from 10 miles and out have been experiencing good catches of grouper, snapper, black sea bass, grunts and other bottom species. Further out, the wahoo bite has really picked up on days when the seas are calm enough to make it out there.

Inshore the flounder bite remains good on the nearby ledges. Many old red drum are being caught and released in the surf. When you can find clear water, the speckled trout have been biting early in the morning and on a turning tide. Pompano, black drum, croakers, gray trout and of course spots are all being caught as well.

Tight lines to all!

Fishing Trip - September 16, 2006

We had a lot of rain this week and the seas have been kicked up so I wasn't sure what to expect. There had been a few big kings caught from the Topsail piers earlier in the week and the forecast was for 2-3 foot seas with a north wind of 10-15 knots.

I headed out earlier and couldn't find good bait, neither could my buddies in a couple of other boats. I had been toying with the idea of using blue fish for bait when fishing near the beach so this seemed a good time to try that experiment.

I easily caught a half dozen or so blue fish in the 12-14 inch range with one around 16 inches...perfect. I had rigged up some special tackle already (been planning to do this for a few weeks when the time was right). These rigs are much like the live bait rigs I make for use with menhaden, cigar minnows and the like. However I used a #5 wire instead of #4 with a 3/0 live bait single hook (heavy) for the nose and then two #2 trebles for stingers.

I pulled these up and down Topsail Ledge (the nearshore one), Old Smokey ledge and a few other in the area, nothing. Then I moved over a bit and pulled across the inlet and the sea buoy. I had one knock down, took two thirds of the blue fish but missed the hooks! Must have been a big King by the looks of what was left. I tried backing off the throttle to let the remaining bait drift back but he was long gone.

Anyway, the baits stayed alive a long time and ran natural, so I think I got the rigging right. The water is still very dirty near shore so maybe this technique will work better in clearer water.

There were a lot of birds and Spanish working bait close in so I decided to do some sight casting and chased the schools. Caught a dozen or so decent Spanish and a bunch of small ones. I have a lot of fish this week already so I didn't keep any, I don't like frozen Spanish either.

Seas were flat to start but the wind picked up around 10 O'clock and put some chop on the water. Sunny too. Nice day on the water!

Spots, I'm seeing spots......

The reports of large schools of spots near the beaches this week-end brought cheers from the the pier crowd. The much anticipated arrival of the Spot has materilized on the ocean side. The sound side should see schools of spots invade the inshore waters very soon as well.

Around these parts, the Spot is held in high regard and is a favorite of many locals. In fact Hamsptead has an annual Spot Festival to celebrate the fishes annual pilgramage to the area. This year it is being held Sept. 22-24.

Reports from the three piers on Topsail Island indicate that at times during the past few days, the spot bite was strong enough to fill the coolers of a number of anglers. At times they were even being caught two at a time.

So if you like spots, grab a pole and GO FISH!

Column - Sept 11, 2006

Some of the best fishing of the year for coastal North Carolina is in September, October and the early part of November. This is the time of year that the north-south migrations bring those fish south from the cooler northern waters as they head south for the winter. It’s also the time of year that many of the east-west migratory fish move into the shallow waters of our coastal sounds and creeks.

The result is spectacular catches of a variety of fish. One of the favorite fall species of many inshore anglers is the speckled sea trout or commonly just called “speck”. In fact the specks are nearby all year round. This time of year they are more active in our channels and creeks because the bait they feed on is so readily available. In fact I caught some nice 2-3 pound specks this past week-end.

This prized catch has been on a rebound in recent years but still has not reached the levels seen before the 1970’s. One thing I have noticed about speck fisherman is they are very closed lipped about where, how and if they are catching fish. In fact they can be quite elusive and might even down right tell a lie to prevent someone from fishing in “their” favorite spot.

Here’s a conversation you might encounter with an ole salty speck fisherman while he is on top of his favorite fishing spot:

(Visitor) V. How's the fishing today?
(fisherman) F. Just got here myself (translation - "just" can mean anytime up to a full tide cycle).

V. Having any luck lately?
F. Nary a bite (translation - he's only referring to the time since you arrived).

V. Nice looking trout rod you have there, you have much luck with it?
F. That ole thing? trout you say – ah, so that's what it’s for. (translation - his most prized possession).

V. Well have a nice day, hope you catch some specks.
F. Aye-up (translation - I will just as soon as you get out of my sight).

Now if this happens to you, don’t take offense. I wouldn’t try to move in on his spot either. But you might want to find a similar spot and try your luck there.

One thing that will help you catch specks is to take notice of the conditions when you catch fish and keep a log. Specks follow certain patterns and if you keep track of those patterns you can look for them in the same place when those conditions re-occur each cycle. Items you will want to keep in your log include: location, tide, current, time of day, moon phase and the type of underwater terrain where you caught the fish.

Catching report

Seaview pier reports good catches of Spanish, black drum and spots with a few reds and flounder also being taken. Spots, flounder, speckled trout and some Spanish are being caught at Surf City Pier with a few kings also being caught. Jolly Roger Pier angler’s have seen very good catches of spots as well some nice black drum and Virginia mullet.

Big red drum are being caught in the surf and shoals around the inlets with some over 40 inches in length being reported. Founder and speckled sea trout are being caught in the creeks and channels. Grunts, black sea bass and gag groupers are being caught in the offshore reefs and ledges. The kings have been elusive the past few weeks but some have been caught near shore.

Tight lines to all!

Fishing trip - Sept 9, 2006

Inshore fishing has been good this week, offshore is a different story.

I went out early this morning and pulled pogies for some kings...nada. It was pretty bumpy and windy but decided to anchor eup and bottom fish for a while. Caught some nice black sea bass and some grunts, after about 2 hours being anchored up with 4-5 foot swells I headed inshore. Caught a three nice speckeled trout, all around 15-16 inches. Also caught a bucket full of shrimp! The creeks are full of white shrimp, some really ncie size ones too.

Reports I received from others: King fishing was dead just about everywhere today. A few blues and sharks were caught. Big Drum are pounding the surf and shoals. If you've never done this, you ought to try it! Nothing like catching a 35" fight-like-the-dickens Red Drum on surf tackle! Plenty of flounder being reported, a few spots and croakers in the waterway and channels. There are some nice Pompano being caught in the surf too.

Grab a rod and go fishing!

Recent Fishing trips

This past labor day week-end I fished several days and then last night I went fishing on Surf City Ocean Pier. Even though we received a lot of rain from Ernesto, the fishing has been pretty good, espicially in and near shore. I think think the east winds had a lot to do with shutting down the off shore bite last week.

On Saturday we hooked up on some small kings adn a nice Spanish but the trolling was very slow so we switched to bottom fishing and caught some nice grunts and black sea bass at Dallas rocks. On Monday we trolled near the beaches with no action so we headed further out where we managed to get one knock down and one hook-up of a small king.

Then we headed for Dallas rocks. We had a nice king on the hook and almost to the boat when a barracuda struck and took half the fish. He then came back for the other half and got hooked up. A 45 minute fight pursued before my buddy Mark landed him.

Last night I went to the SCP. The fishing action was steady. I saw some nice catches of pompano, blues, flounder, black drum and one undersize puppy drum. I caught pompano and a 2.1 pound flounder.

This week-end looks promising. Grab your rod and go fish!

Topsail Angler column - Sept. 4, 2006

It’s one of the best tasting fish in this neck of woods, but you won’t find it at the grocery store. It’s not on the menu at any of our local restaurants. Don’t look for it at the fish markets. If you could find it, you would pay a small fortune for it.

The fish I speak of -- Florida pompano.

This prized fish is caught only on hook and line, and while they run in schools, they are not caught commercially in large numbers. An occasional pompano can be caught in the summer here any time the water temperature is above 70 degrees. However, they show up in the biggest numbers in September when the northern waters begin to cool down, and they head south to their winter home off the coast of Florida.

An average pompano weighs about a pound, with some of the bigger ones reaching more than two pounds. They feast on small crabs and shrimp, and the sand flea (sand mole crab) is their favorite meal.

They can be caught in the surf or from the pier. Anglers catch them in the shallow water right at the base of the breakers where they hang out waiting for the sand fleas to be washed out in the surf.

To catch them, most anglers use a surf rod with a two- or three-hook bottom rig. Get a small shovel and dig up some sand fleas in the shallow water on the beach. Some folks use rat wire (hardware cloth) to sift them out, but running your hand through the loosened sand works just as well.

I like to use a #2 or #4 khale hook to hold the sand flea and about a 3 ounce sinker to hold the bottom. Cast the rig out just past the breaking waves and hold on. Believe it or not, they put up a great fight for a small fish, especially if you hook up with two at once.

Sometimes you can fill a small cooler on a single tide; at others you might only catch a mouthful. In either case, you’ll enjoy this tasty fish!

Catching report

While Ernesto made a mess out of the coastal water with all the floodwaters, fishing has recovered quickly. The bait fish are more plentiful than I can remember in years, so the predator fish are also here in big numbers. Fall fishing this year promises to be one of the best seasons in a long time.

Anglers are catching black drum, red drum, flounder and pompano on the beaches and piers. There are few Spanish and blues still hanging around near shore. In the marshes and ICW, drum, flounder and speckled trout are being caught; a few spots have starting to show up, but their numbers remain few.

Off shore, the king bite remains strong, but mostly small fish are being caught close in. Grouper have been caught as close in as 10 miles, and the grunts and black sea bass have also been biting.

Tight lines to all!