Atlantic Bonito

Usually one of the first migratory species to visit us in spring is the Atlantic Bonito (Sarda Sarda). The bonito is related to both the tuna and mackerel families and shouldn't be confused with a similiar fish, the False Albacore, that also visits our coast in the spring. To further confuse the two fish, in Florida they commonly call the False Albie a Bonita (notice the A instead of the O).

It is one of my favorite fish and really gets my fishing blood warmed up in the spring. The bonito arrive on our coast around the first to middle part of April and usually stay until about the middle of May. Once the water gets above 62 degrees you can start looking for them. When they first appear they usually are in schools by themselves but toward the end of their stay they sometimes will be mixed in with schools of Spanish mackerel.

They visit most of the NC coast but seem to congregate mainly in Onlsow Bay and off the Brunswick County beaches. They will come very close to the coastline and seem to prefer underwater structure that breaks up the currents. The near shore artificial reefs are a great place to hunt for them as well as some of the natural reefs and ledges in 40 - 50 feet of water.

The best time to target them is early in the morning around first dawn but you can find them at other times too. They usually travel in large schools and often can be seen busting on balls of baitfish at the surface. Often you can find them by looking for large flocks of birds that will be swarming and diving on the bait. Quite a sight to behold for a set of winter-fatigued eyes!

They spook fairly easy so you should approach them from up current and then drift toward them. Never run into the middle of the school or the busting birds, they will scatter and go deep if you do.

If they aren't on the surface, use your fishfinder in combination with a vertical jigging rig to find them in the water column. Once you have located them and get close enough, they are fairly easy to target. They are a bit leader shy so I use a fluorocarbon leader, never metal or heavy monofilament.

You can fish for them much like you would for Spanish mackerel. I like to use a fast action, light duty rod and reel, much like a flounder or sea trout combo with 10 or 12 pound test line. Many fishermen like to use a light metal jig like a Maria lure or a Lurh Jensen crippled herring to target them on the surface. Anywhere from ½ to 1 ½ ounces usually works well depending on the water conditions. If they are deeper in the water column try using a diving type lure such as the Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow Deep Diver or pull a Clark spoon on a trolling weight.

The bonito will at first bite seem almost an easy pull, but when the fish realizes it is being pulled away from the school, it will make a FAST run trying to catch up. Then they will begrudge you every inch of line as you reel them in. Once they see the boat it starts all over again, only this time the run isn’t quite as far.

The bonito is a great tasting fish especially if treated properly on the boat. Much like a tuna, they are warm-blooded. Bleed them while they are still alive and then ice them down right away. I like to use a slush made from two parts ice to one part sea water. It will cool them down faster than ice alone.

You can catch a bunch of fish in hurry when the bite is on. While they are a tasty fish, they spoil within several days of being caught. They do not freeze well even in a vaccum pack. The flesh becomes very mushy. So keep only what you plan to eat within a couple of days and release the others.

Tight Lines and catch 'em up!

Off shore grouper trip 3/24/07

I headed out this morning at 4:45 to go off shore grouper fishing. There were six of us in two boats (identical 19' Maycrafts). We left the inlet around 6AM and headed straight for an area 30 miles SSE of the inlet. We fished there and a couple spots 8 miles east of there. We caught a bunch of red grouper, some keeper size but no huge ones. Also caught a bunch of short ones and some short Gag grouper.

Water temp out there was 64 degrees on the surface. We had very calm seas in the morning but was a bit snotty for the ride home.

Spring is in the air!

Ah. Spring is in the air, can you feel it? I can. Warmer days, the southwest winds have started to blow and the Azaleas are about to bloom. All these point to spring fishing ahead.

I, like many resident anglers, fish the NC coast year round. I’ll admit I don’t get out as often in the winter. For one I dislike the cold but even on cold days I’ll head out if the weather and seas allow.

Winter fishing for me is mainly limited to speckled trout and drum on the inside and bottom fishing in the ocean for black sea bass, grouper and flounder. Bottom fishing is often referred to as “meat fishing” because rather than sport, it fills the freezer. Don’t get me wrong, I eat some of those specks and an occasional drum but most get released.

Earlier this week I went bottom fishing and caught some nice grouper and black sea bass. It makes my wife happy, she loves to eat fresh fish. It makes me happy, I love being on the water with the sun in my face and the tug on the fishing line. Even my dog is happy about my fishing trips as she enjoys eating those fish tails when I clean the fish.

However what really gets me excited is chasing a sport fish. On my way back to the inlet from this week’s trip, I noticed hundreds of birds working a patch of ocean. Diving, circling and diving again, it looked like something from a WWII war movie. That is usually a sign that some predator fish has the bait fish all “balled up” near the surface. When this happens birds feast on the opportunity. So do anglers.

With the water temperature in the mid 50’s it is too early for Bonito and Spanish mackerel. I headed over thinking maybe it was some nice bluefish chasing that bait. A decent size blue will tighten up your line and gets that adrenalin flowing.

I stopped a few hundred yards away from the birds. I still couldn’t see what they were chasing but they were still very active. I needed to change the lures on a couple of rods to ones more appropriate for that type fishing. As I tied the last knot and looked up, to my dismay all the birds were resting on the water’s surface.

Just sitting there they were. Oh there were a few “lookouts” flying in search patterns near the flock. But no diving, no flurried activity. My heart sunk. I was looking forward to the “battle”. I trolled around the edge of what seemed like acres of birds for about 15 minutes with no bites then headed home. Still a smile on my face, after all I had a cooler full of fresh fish and memories of a wonderful day on the water.

But it won’t be long now. Spring fishing is just around the corner.

Catching report

The speckled trout and red drum activity has picked up with the warmer days. Look for them at the mouths of creeks and on sand flats. There are a few being reported in the surf too. Some sea mullet are being caught along with toad puffers, skates and small sharks.

Offshore the grouper and black seas bass continue to bite well. Wahoo and yellowfin tuna are being caught out near the Gulf Stream.

Seaview Pier and the Jolly Roger pier are open and ready for the new season. Surf City Pier will open on March 30th and as in previous years will award a free season pass to the first person catching a sea mullet from their pier to start the new season.

Tight lines to all!

Fishing Trip - March 19, 2007

Weather man hit it on the head today! I left the dock before sun rise reaching the inlet just as the sun was peeking over the horizon. The ocean was like a lake - flat with maybe a 6 inch ground swell, very little wind but what wind there was came from the SE, it shifted to the south and picked up some in the afternoon.

Headed out to a set of ledges/reefs in the 15 mile range cruising at 26 knots all the way out, made great time (esp. for my little ole boat). Anchored up over one of my favorite spots and caught my limit of Gag groupers (2) and Black Sea Bass (15). Caught a few other gags but had to put them back (you should have been there to increase our limit.....lol). The grouper and most of the BSB were caught on chunks of Northern mackerel. The rest of the bass came on stingsilvers.

Stopped at the box cars on the way back to see if the flounder are still there - pulled up two undersize ones but by then I was tired and ready to come in so I left them for another time.

Quick trip

I couldn't stand it any longer - had to go fishing. I checked yesterday and still no shad and the lock & dam so I stayed close to home and fished for some reds near Figure Eight Island. I found a big school of red drum, maybe 75 or more fish. Everytime I would cast in their vicinity, a few would rush over and take a look at the bait, even nudge it occasdionally. But no takers. I tried every bait I could muster - Gulp, slurp, top dogs, shad raps, rattle traps, even some live mud minnows. Nothing, nada.

After I put the boat away, I ran up to the Food Lion for some groceries. As I was getting out of my truck, some one called my name. Expecting to see a familiar face I turn and saw..... Joe. I didn't know him, he reads this blog, lives in Hampstead and recognized me from my pictures on the site. It was very nice to met you Joe! Thanks for saying hello and introducing yourself.

It was nice day to get out and enjoy the water even without a bite. There's always....... the next time.

American Shad

The weather has started to warm a bit but the fish inshore are still a bit sluggish. Further offshore has been hard to reach because of all the wind and high seas the past few months. For those of you whom cabin fever is taking its toll, there is relief in sight. It is spelled S-H-A-D, as in American Shad, also known as white shad.

American shad is a saltwater fish and is highly migratory. They spend most of their time up north in large schools in the Gulf of Maine. They move into deeper ocean waters for the winter. However they are anadromous, meaning they swim up rivers to spawn. They can be found in most of the coastal rivers from St. Lawrence to Florida.

Many of them spawn in the coastal rivers of North Carolina, including the Cape Fear and Northeast Cape Fear rivers. They start showing up in the river in late February and run through March before returning to sea.

One of the best spots to find them is a lock and dam #1 in East Arcadia, about 30 miles above Wilmington. The locks are still functional and the lockmaster does lift a number of them up the lock and past the dam but very few in comparisons to the number that migrate to that point. This makes for good fishing in the vicinity below the dam.

The site is one mile off of highway 87 on the right shortly after you pass the East Arcadia city limit sign. There is limited shore fishing at the dam site so it’s best to fish from a small boat. There is a public boat ramp right at the dam facility and plenty of parking.

It can get rather busy in that area when the shad are there but you should be able to find a spot with no problem. Just be considerate of your fellow boaters and fishermen. You will want to anchor up as there is a heavy current below the dam. I recommend you use a concrete block for an anchor as there is a lot of debris on the bottom and you likely would lose an anchor.

American shad range in size from around 2 pounds up to eight pounds with mainly females reaching the larger size. The males are called bucks and the females, roe. Shad are a re good eating fish and a favorite to smoke. The roe is also considered excellent table fare. They also put up a good fight on light tackle. When the bite is on, they will wear you out with a hook-up on just about every cast for hours on end.

Most folks use what is a called a shad dart, a small lead jig with a 1 – 2 inch grub threaded on. Small spoons are also popular lures. It seems shad are fond of bright colors like chartreuse and pink, often in the same lure.

One of my favorite things about shad fishing is the catfish and striper fishing. Yup! The stripers follow the shad schools and are often found mixed in with them or nearby. So you will want to keep at least one rod rigged and ready for striper.

You’ll also want to have a heavier rod rigged up for bottom fishing to target the blue catfish that hang below the shad waiting for a meal ticket. These cats get big with fish in the 20 pound plus range not being uncommon. My favorite rig is a tube jig with strips of fresh shad threaded on a 4/0 hook. Just cast it out and let it rest on the bottom. Make sure your rod is secure though, because these cats will fight like the dickens!

Catch all three in one trip and we'll call that a river slam! And we'll call you tired but happy.

Tight lines to all!