Trip report - Nov 24, 2006

Decided to take a quick trip out this morning and explore some of my favorite fishing holes. we have a a LOT of rain the first of the week and I figured the water would be stained. It was, major league. Tried fishing near the inlets where the water was cleaner, even there it was a murky greenish brown. No luck fishing either. Well try again tomorrow.

Weekly Column - November 20, 2006

You may have heard that North Carolina will implement its new coastal recreational fishing license (CRFL) on January 1, 2007. Beginning on January first most recreational anglers will be required to have this license to fish in the state's saltwater estuaries and coastal waters. The license is regulated by the NC Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) but will be sold by the Wildlife Resource Commission (WRC).

What you may not know is that the license can’t be purchased until January 1^st. Up to very recently the state planned to make the license available for purchase on December first to avoid a New Year Day rush on the license. However plans for advance sale of the license have been scrapped for several technical reasons according to Lisa Holcutt, customer service manager at WRC.

So if you plan to fish on January first you will need to buy the license that day. All of the current WRC license sales location will also sell the new CRFL and new sites along the coast are being added. You can also purchase the license from the WRC web site - http://www.ncwildlife.org - starting on January first at midnight. On-line purchasers will be able to print out the license.

The coastal fishing license also will be available on Jan. 1 by calling WRC at 1-888-248-6834 or 919-707-0391 from 8 a.m until 5 p.m. Customers will receive a confirmation number, and the sale will be immediately entered into the license database used by marine patrol officers.

The license is available for short or long term periods. A short-term license covers 10 consecutive days, and costs North Carolina residents $5 and non-residents $10. An annual license costs residents $15 and non-residents $30.

Anglers on charter-boats and piers will not need an individual license if those businesses purchase a blanket license that covers all of their customers. It is anticipated that most pier and charter operations will purchase the blanket license but check with them first to make sure they have one. If they don’t have the license, you will need a CRFL to fish with them.

Fishermen under 16 years of age, subsistence fishermen with a waiver issued through a county department of social services, and persons who purchased certain lifetime WRC licenses before 2006, are not required to buy the new license.

The license is not required for the recreational harvest of shellfish. It is required to land fish in NC that were caught in federal waters (3 -200 miles off the coast).

I hope that each of you have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Tight lines to all!

A MirroLure technique for Specks

One of my favorite lures for catching speckled trout (spotted sea trout) is the MirroLure made by the L&S Bait Company. There are several different models and many techniques for using them ranging from trolling to casting to pitching them.

My favorite way to target specks with mirrolures utilizes the MR series and is best described as a modified cast. I'll explain in more detail below. These lures have been around for decades and are a favorite of many speck fishermen. The MR series is considered a sinking twitch bait. That is because it slowly sinks if left alone and the best action comes by giving the rod tip a twitch from time to time.

L&S recently introduced an updated version of the MR52 series. The updated model is called the MR52 Series lll. Same shape, weight and sink rate as the original but it features a holographic foil on the side of the lure and sports red hooks instead of the original silver ones. The original and the series lll are currently available and both have some new color combos. The series lll costs slightly more than the original model.

Sometimes I locate the specks by trolling. But more often than not I try to find them by reviewing my logbook before I leave home. I take note of current conditions (tide, temp, solunar conditions, etc) and match those to similar conditions when I caught specks, take note of the locations and head there. If I don't find the fish there then I troll usually pulling the Rapala X-Rap series lures or a grub.

Once I find the fish trolling or get to my destination, I anchor up and bring out the trusty mirrolures. My favorite colors are the EC (hot pink back, silver side, chartreuse belly) and the 808 (black back, gold side, orange bottom). I try to anchor up parallel to the structure I'll be fishing and slightly down current.

I use a lightweight spin outfit, something in the 8-10 pound class with a soft tip (fast action) and loaded with 10# test braided line. The braid gives you better sensitivity for feeling that soft speck bite while the fast action rod helps soften the hook set which is especially helpful when using the non-stretching braided line. I put 3-4 feet of fluorocarbon on the end to make the line less visible. I tie the lure directly onto the fluorocarbon (no swivels or snaps).

I then cast the lure up-current but in line with the structure I'm fishing. To help visualize this, from the bow of the boat and facing the direction of the structure you are working, cast at about 1 o'clock. Let the lure drift back toward the structure. Keep the line taunt but do not retrieve the lure, let it float down current. The lure will begin sinking as it floats in the current. Every once in while give the line a slight "twitch", how often depends on the speed of the current. The twitch will raise the lure in the water column and give the impression of a "sick" fish. Experiment with the hardness of the twitch and the frequency, it won't be long before you get the feel for it based on conditions.

If you are fishing when there is no current, you may need to anchor in line with the structure and slowly retrieve the lure toward you over the structure. Use this pattern and vary as needed - cast, retrieve a few feet of line, wait wait wait, twitch, wait wait wait, retrieve a few feet of line, etc.

If there are feeding trout nearby they likely will not be able resist this combination of lure and action. There is nothing quite like a trout exploding on a slow sinking mirrolure - I'm sure after you catch the first one, you'll be back for more using this technique!

Skunked - well almost

The weather forecast looked so good, I took the day off to go fishing. The weatherman got it right. Sunny, warm, 1-2 seas and less than 10 knot winds. Beautiful. The only thing missing was the King Mackerel.

Two of my fishing club buddies went out as well. The three boats all were on the way before 7AM this morning. We went to the first set of box cars adn jigged up some bait. There wasn't much bait around so we headed to the third set. There we found some bait but it wasn't real thick.

We started trolling around 8am and trolled till about 12:30 - We moved spots several times fishing Emery Ledge, 14 mile rock and getting as far out as 200/200 and SE rock. One of the boats had a couple knock downs. The other boat as well as myself caught a shark. No Kings.

Finally I had had enough trolling and left them heading northwest. I went about 5 miles to do some bottom fishing. I tried that great spot my buddy told me about and I fished with great success a few weeks ago. I put a chum bag on the bottom and dropped baits down to the ledge.

One shark and a few small black sea bass. Very slow fishing today.

I headed in about 3pm and hit a few speckeled trout spots on the way. I caught a couple between 12 & 14 inches which I released. But at least I got the skunk off the boat!

Column - November 6, 2006

Eat fish, live longer. Eat oysters, love longer.

I grew up hearing that said many a time. Perhaps it was dreamed up by some marketer, but it sure seems like good advice to me. At least it’s an enjoyable creed to follow.

As an avid recreational fisherman, I have a healthy respect for the environment. It only makes sense that we can’t constantly draw down the fish stocks to a level at which they can’t sustain themselves.

The Department of Marine Fisheries is responsible for keeping an eye on the fisheries. The minimum size and creel limits they set for different species are meant to allow the stock to stay at a sustainable level. They don’t always get it right the first time, but their fishery management techniques have made a positive impact on the recovery of several species.

Red Fish is a prime example of successful management and restoration of a "depleted stock." In fish management circles, a depleted stock is one that has dropped below sustainable levels, not one that has disappeared totally.

Catch and release fishing has become very popular with many fisherman. With this method, fishermen can still enjoy catching fish but don’t put as much "pressure" on the stock. Many anglers keep cameras with them so they can "prove" it really was "the biggest trout you ever saw in your entire life."

I practice catch and release on many occasions, but I still remember the little jingle at the beginning of the article -- eating seafood is good for you!

I bring home my fair share of fish. I often throw back "keeper" size fish preferring to throw back the smaller ones to catch them some other day. I only keep what I plan to eat, freeze or give to a friend.

But keep a fish or two, I do! Nothing like a fresh batch of fish or crabs or clams or oysters or ... Well, you get my point.

If the oysters I ate last week are any indication, the local oyster crop is going to be stellar this year -- if not in numbers, then certainly in quality. I had two occasions last week to eat Stump Sound salties. Yum, yum. They were plump, meaty, juicy and, of course, salty!

So get yourself a plate of fresh fish and oysters so you too can live and love longer!

Catching report

Fall fishing is in full swing! Some nice size speckled trout are being caught in good numbers; they are biting shrimp, soft baits and mirrolures. Plenty of flounder, spots, red drum and mullet are being caught, too. Surf City Pier reported an 8-pound black drum this week.

The kings have moved offshore just a bit but can be found from 8 miles out to about 20. The bite has been hot with them taking frozen or fresh bait. Look for false albacore schooling near the inlets and artificial reefs. They are busting bait in large numbers and can be found early in the day.

Grouper are being taken in about 80 to 90 feet of water with plenty of black bass and nice size white grunts being caught too. Offshore, a few tuna have been reported and the wahoo are still biting.

Tight lines to all!

Fishing Trip - Nov 4, 2006

I had planned to King Mackerel fish today in my fishing club's monthly inner-club tourney. I made it three miles out of the inlet when I hit a pair of 6 footers mixed in with the 4's. I said one more of those and I'm turning back. 30 seconds later I was doing a 180 and heading back for the inlet. Weather man missed it again.

But of course I had my trout/flounder gear with me too. I headed to one of my favorite spots for mid tide, strong current (with an almost full moon, mid tide was producing some white water rafting style currents). It's a nice little area with some V shaped sand bars that cause slow eddy currents, something trout just love.

I caught 4 keepers but only keep the 2 biggest, one 17 3/4" and the other over 16".



Then I went to our club meeting and ate steamed oysters till I about popped. These were also Stump Sound salties. The guys down here are having a great start to the season!

Fishing Trip - Nov 1, 2006

The weatherman was calling for a beautiful day today and I had the itch to fish. So I decided to get a quick trip in BEFORE work. I launched the boat at 5:30am with my friend Chris meeting me at the ramp. We headed to our first stop for some trout.

Chris had just finished saying, I've never caught a Speck on a top water lure, when you guessed it, he caught a speck on his top water lure! That came at before first light at 6AM. Unfortunatley that would be the last speck for the day. We tried some other spots, but no luck on the trout or drum.

We then headed over to one of my favorite flounder holes. There we managed to catch six, keeping three that were 15 inches or more. Chris did most of the "catching" but we both had fun and there was no "skunk" on the boat today.

Then back to reality and work..........