The Spanish have arrived....

Well a little bit to our south anyway. There were a few nice Spanish Mackerel caught today at Sheepshead Rock off Fort Fisher. That's were they usually show up first in these parts every spring. So they should be up here next week sometime. The Bonito are still here and are biting mainly on deep trolled and jigged lures - not much surface action latley.

We should be catching Spanish and bonito next week as well as blues fish! I love spring fishing!

The Spanish are coming!

The Bonito and blues have been strong the past few weeks. Some of the best bonito fishing has been around Diver’s rock just a few miles from New River Inlet. They also have been caught on nearby ledges and on the south end of the island at AR360 and Dallas Rocks.

One of the most amazing sights I have seen this year occurred while I was bonito fishing earlier this week near Dallas Rocks. I saw several bluefin tuna chasing bonito right out of the water. Both the bonito and the bluefin were airborne. What a sight to behold. The bluefin probably weighed in the 200 – 300 pound class. Simply amazing to see such a sight only a few miles off shore.

Soon that favorite target of near-shore anglers, the Spanish mackerel, will invade our waters. Often called simply "Spanish," this fish is the smaller cousin of the king mackerel, and there is a strong family resemblance. In fact, a mature Spanish looks very much like a juvenile king mackerel. The easiest way to tell them apart is to check the front portion of the first dorsal fin -- on the Spanish the bottom front part of the fin is black, on a king it is not.

It is very important to distinguish this difference, as the creel and size limits are different for the two species. The current regulations for state coastal waters require a minimum length of 12 inches for Spanish with a daily limit of 15 fish.

Spanish mackerel are migratory and return to our coastal water sometime in May when the water temperatures reach into the high 60s and above. They usually stay until early fall. These fish travel in schools and sometimes can be picky about their meals. At other times they are less discerning. Occasionally they will even hit bare gold hooks in the late afternoon sun.

These tasty fish are often caught off our piers as well as in small boats trolling close to the beaches and inlets. One of the favorite lures used by many anglers is the Clark Spoon -- a metal spoon that comes in several colors, including gold and silver. It can be cast or jigged from a boat or pier. Boat anglers often pull them on a trolling weight or behind a Booney bird for that extra edge. Another favorite for targeting Spanish (and blue fish) is the ‘Gotcha’ Plug.

The big Spanish, those that are five pounds and up, will also be here soon. However they only stay in close for a few weeks. After that they can be found in 10 – 20 mile range. A good way to target them is with live bait much like fishing for king mackerel.

Catching report

The bonito and blues are running strong right now near shore. Blues can be found in the inlets and nearby channels too. Some nice catches of black sea bass and gray trout are also being caught. In the sound some nice black drum, red drum and a few flounder are being caught along with an occasional sea mullet.

The piers are reporting good catches of sea mullet, black drum and blue fish. Surf City Pier had an angler land a 28 pound black drum this week!

Off shore kings are out in the 20+ mile range and should be moving in closer each day as the water continues to warm. Further out some nice mahi are being landed as well as a few wahoo and yellowfin tuna.

Tight lines!

Bonito Report

We finally got a break in the marine weather forecast so I decided to try and find some bonito. I left the dock 30 minuetes before sunrise and headed for a spot off Topsail Beach. I decided to troll two Yozuri deep divers at about a 9mph clip and watch the screen for bait and fish.

I tried the first spot for about 30 minutes with no luck. I moved out and north a few miles to another spot and deployed the deep divers again.

Wham! within 5 minutes I had a double hook up. Being alone I decided to set the hook on both and leave one in the rod holder with the engine in gear at idle speed. I reeled in the first line landing a nice 4 pound Bonito! Okay now for the second line but I was half expecting the fish to be gone. To my surprise he was still on! Another 4+ pound Bonito.

I trolled that spot for another hour. Nothing. tried another spot nothing. Decided to call it a morning as I had some work to do and now I had some fish for supper!

Fishing report - 4/17/07

The fishing is definitely picking up. The catching too! We were dealt a little bit of a set back from the Nor’easter and cooler air that blew through here earlier. But that hindered our ability to go fishing. I don’t think it bothered the fish. They are biting just fine now that we can get back out to them.

My understanding is that a fish can go several days without eating a substantial meal. But otherwise they need to eat pretty regular just like most animals. However how much they eat can vary with the metabolic rate which is influenced by many factors.

Some folks claim the barometric pressure influences a fish to eat or not eat. Others make a case for the tide direction or strength of the tidal current. I’ve heard others claim the time of day, the phase of the moon and many other factors.

I’m certainly no expert in that area but I have given it some thought. When it comes to saltwater game fish, I think they are opportunist more than anything else. When there is plenty of food around, they eat. Of course on any given day, the time of day and the period of eating activity will vary.

Which leads me to the best advice I know about fishing and this comes from a friend of mine’s wife. She says about fishing, “nothing to it, just find a hungry fish!”

Speaking of hungry fish, we seem to have a lot of those around once again!

Inshore red drum are biting real well but are starting to scatter a bit. Look for them on the sand flats near inlets and good tidal flow areas. The black drum are starting to show up and can be found near inlet channels. I’ve heard of a few nice trout being caught but only a few. The ocean piers are reporting good catches of sea mullet. A few blowfish and small spots are also being caught. The snapper blues have been biting pretty well too.

Near shore Atlantic bonito have been very active off of New River inlet especially in the early mornings. They are biting sting silvers, Maria jigs and other flashy metal lures. The blues continue to be aggressive and some nice catches of sea mullet and a few grey trout are being reported. No reports of Spanish mackerel yet but they should be coming soon.

The kings are still way out but a few are being caught in the 30 mile range. Some very nice grouper are being caught in the 40 mile range with nice catches of grunts and b-liners in the same spots. Wahoo and Yellowfin tuna are being caught hard out in the Gulf Stream when the weather allows boats to get out there.

Tight lines too all!

Looking for Bonito

I went out this morning looking for Bonito - left out of Rich inlet at 6:10 (30 minutes before sunrise). Headed to the AR off Figure Eight Island - worked that for about a half hour. Few birds but none diving. No Bonito either.

Talk to some buddies on the radio that were fishing south of me at th eLiberty ship. Same report from there. So decided to head over to Dallas Rocks. Fished there for an hour or so. No luck except a couple of blues. Seas started getting sloppy so I headed to the liberty ship. There was half a dozen boats there - no bonito.

They were catching them earlier in the week up near New River, should be here any day. Water temps on surface was still about 60 - needs to be 62 or better.... getting close.

DMF enforcement & a catching report

Most folks are aware that as of January first of this year a coastal recreational fishing license is needed to fish on NC’s coast. There are a few exceptions. The public piers have a blanket license and so do most charter boats but check with the captain before going out. He isn’t required to have the blanket license so you may need your own anyway.

One of the items the money from the license is supposed to fund is enforcement of our fishery rules. Most of that enforcement is done by the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). Not that enforcement is new to them. Quite the contrary, they have been enforcing the laws all along. It’s just that now they should be able to beef up the force and perform more enforcement activities.

If my experience is any indication, it’s working. I have been stopped four times in the three months since the year began. Last year I was stopped once in the entire 12 month period. Two of the four times there was an “officer in training” with the veteran officer. They were very pleasant but did seem to be in a bit of a hurry.

I’m all for it. Let them check as often as they can. The more often they check the more likely folks will comply with the size and bag limits. I think most fishermen adhere to those regulations but I know some that don’t.

A few weeks ago I was fishing about 35 miles off shore for grouper. Another boat pulled up and anchored almost on top of us. We could easily hear them talking and see their catch. Both boats were catching plenty of grouper but only 1 in 3 was legal keeper size. They kept them all. We never saw them put a single fish back. And to top it off, we saw them catch at least 25 fish. The legal limit is 5 red grouper per person, there were only 3 of them on board. I’m sure they kept on fishing after we left too.

Growing up here on the coast, we felt like anything we caught was ours to keep. But the fisheries can’t keep up with the kind of fishing pressure it is receiving without quotas and limits. Unlimited harvests just aren’t sustainable.

Another thing the license money is supposed to pay for is additional research in preserving and maintaining sustainable harvests of our resources. Again, I’m all for that!

Catching report

The piers are reporting good catches of sea mullet, some blowfish and a few croaker. There have even been a few black drum and speckled trout caught recently. The blues have been showing up early and late in the day.

A few bonito have been caught around the north end of the island and out toward AR355. The large schools haven’t shown up as of this writing but should be here any day now. Black sea bass are still being caught in the 3- 10 mile range with some nice gray trout being caught too.

Off shore reds, gag and scamp grouper are being caught in the 30 – 40 mile range. Some nice pinkies and grunts are being caught too. Wahoo and some nice size yellowfin tuna are being caught near the Gulf Stream.

Tight lines to all!