only managed one short puppy drum this morning. blew up my spook jr. four times before he finally found the hooks.

9/23/2012 7:22:18 PM

Friday...I caught a buzz and the fish.

Pulled some handlines behind the boat in the inlet.



Caught some spanish Saturday and today. Went flounder gigging last night, no flounders the water was too muddy but we got about two cases of ballyhoo....which is crazy.

9/23/2012 10:46:31 PM

damn bluefish ain't good for anything but king bait

9/23/2012 10:49:32 PM

so i haven't been fresh water fishing since high school and I decided to pick up a spinning reel and medium action rod today at gander mountain. I went to a small neighborhood pond this evening and caught 2 small bass. anyone got any tips about what they bite best and when? I used a small grub to catch one and a long "worm" to catch the bigger of the two.

9/30/2012 8:45:51 PM

i like topwater baits this time of year. buzzbait, pop-R, zara spook, etc.

[Edited on September 30, 2012 at 9:04 PM. Reason : anytime i can get a fish to bite on top, i'm gonna go that route. fun way to fish.]

9/30/2012 9:02:24 PM

i caught 6 or 7 1-2 pound pass in new hope creek sitting around a really heavy flow

them suckers were stacked up

9/30/2012 11:42:34 PM

crushed the fish on the 48hr trip...no grouper for me but plenty of big AJs and fat beeliners. Kept my limit & gave away the rest. We mined at least 200 15"+ beeliners from one wreck alone. Fished the northeast side of big rock in anywhere between 180-500 ft.

my friend fishing next to me landed a 27# scamp(pending NC record) & 20# pudding head. He caught the damn scamp right after I pulled up a 70# sand tiger...grr

the boat caught 32 different species...here are some highlight pics


27.02# scamp(pending NC record)

19.6# red

75# cuda

18# ARS

20.9# red(citation)

1 of 4 ~20# wahoo on the high speed troll

10/1/2012 8:11:49 PM

Just got back from a week at Hatteras. Had great weather and really good fishing. We caught Reds, Specks, Flounder, Black Bass, and a few blues. We caught over 200 red drum that were too small for the slot and 5 that were over the slot. Pics of some of the keepers below. Also went flounder gigging one night and got 5, with the largest being just over 23 inches. Overall a good week.

10/2/2012 12:01:59 PM

just purchased a new fly rod for my trip to the mountains and 100 nymphs and dry flies..ALREADY DEBARBED!


[Edited on October 2, 2012 at 12:44 PM. Reason : e]

10/2/2012 12:43:45 PM

I'm looking to buy a few inshore reels. What do you guys recommend? Right now, I'm leaning toward the Shimano Stradic line.

10/2/2012 1:52:27 PM

the stradics are excellent bang for the buck. what size are you looking for? intended purpose? "inshore" can be a lot of things.

10/2/2012 2:21:09 PM

Can't go wrong with the shimano. The stradic reels are good. I have a couple of sustains and a calcutta baitcaster that i use for inshore. The 4000-5000 series are perfect size. Throw on some braided line and you are all set. I started using braid about 7 years ago and you can feel every nibble on it.

10/2/2012 3:00:51 PM

I also wanted to share a few pics from a trip I took in Aug to Kenai, AK. Lucky enough to get a work trip planned during fishing season there. Went out on a fly out trip Silver Salmon fishing and a Halibut charter. Landed a 105 lb Halibut after a 45 min fight from 205 ft deep. Amazing trip, loaded my freezer with 76 lbs of halibut and salmon. Will be eating good for a while.









[Edited on October 2, 2012 at 3:08 PM. Reason : Picture Lineup]

10/2/2012 3:08:09 PM

I'm fish mostly for specks and reds. What is the difference between the number/size? ie 2500 vs 4000

10/2/2012 7:49:01 PM

i like 2000 (2500 for some models) size reels for trout fishing. a 4000 is too big for that kind of finesse fishing.

10/2/2012 8:10:08 PM

Kings are in.









[Edited on October 2, 2012 at 10:03 PM. Reason : .]

10/2/2012 9:54:41 PM

allow me to help



nice

10/2/2012 10:04:29 PM

The difference between the 2500 and a 4000 would be the size and line capacity. For example a 2500 sustain will hold only 95 yards of 30 lb braid while a 4000 will hold 175 yards. For specs and reds, I would recommend the 4000 size. If you get a big one on, you want to be able to control them. Also, you will probably run across the occasional skate, don't want to get spooled every time that happens.

10/3/2012 10:07:35 AM

10 lb braid on a 2500 with a 6'6" or 7' medium or medium-light is enough for any speckled trout and most any puppy drum you're gonna pick up while trout fishing. using 30 lb line doesn't gain you anything because you have to run the drag so light for a trout's soft mouth anyway. i keep a 4000 with 30 lb braid on a 7' medium-heavy rod in the boat in case i get into some bigger drum or if i want fish some live bait, but for me it's not sensitive enough for bouncing a 1/4 oz jighead on the bottom, especially in December when a trout bite feels like you bumped into a leaf. skates aren't really an issue if you're fishing artificials, except i have had hung a few on Gulp! baits. i just chase them down with the trolling motor.

but i'll have five 2500s in the boat and one 4000. i don't know any NC trout anglers that prefer a 4000 for trout.

[Edited on October 3, 2012 at 11:59 AM. Reason : tl;dr get one of each and swap it up depending on what you're catching and how you're fishing]

[Edited on October 3, 2012 at 12:01 PM. Reason : aef]

10/3/2012 11:58:16 AM

Got 14 good sized adult drum in the boat the weekend before last fishing out of Oriental. At one point all four of us were pulling in a fish when the fifth rod took off. Had to just let that one stay on the line for a while until we could get the first four out of the water.

10/3/2012 12:40:59 PM

were they in the slot or overslot? the bay river was full of underslot "rat reds" when i was down there a couple weeks ago.

10/3/2012 1:08:28 PM

I agree with you Neuse. I think a lot of it comes down to personal preference. I like the feel of the larger reel and the balance of it on the rod I use. I do have some small reels and do use them on occasion for certain situations, I just like the 4000 size because of the versatility. If I had to own only one reel, it would be a 4000. I can catch trout and small reds and can also take it out striper fishing with a bucktail and drag in 40 lb fish.

10/3/2012 2:53:28 PM

Speaking of the rat reds, we must have caught 300 of them at hatteras last week. Hopefully that points to a couple of good years of slot fish down the road, if the don't get wiped out by netters.

10/3/2012 2:54:26 PM

i remember back several years ago we couldn't get away from the rat reds. any cast near the bank would get you one. then the past few years they almost disappeared. didn't pick any up while trout fishing for years. now in the past month they've just exploded. once they get big enough to stop slipping through the gill nets, they'll disappear again.

this spring everyone was catching all the 10-12" trout they wanted. now we're having a pretty good Fall with plenty of legal fish and a lot of them being 17-20". i think it's mostly due to the mild winter last year. if we have another warm winter with no big freezes in the creeks, next spring will be outstanding for trout and Fall 2013 will be one for the books.

[Edited on October 3, 2012 at 3:12 PM. Reason : hell, i got snagged on a crab pot, pulled it up to retrieve my lure and there was a rat red in there]

10/3/2012 3:11:01 PM

Quote :

"were they in the slot or overslot? the bay river was full of underslot "rat reds" when i was down there a couple weeks ago."

They were all over slot size. 25-45 lbs with most in the 35 lb range. The guide couldn't find his scale unfortunately, but they were some good fish.

10/3/2012 3:22:33 PM

Quote :

" a 105 lb Halibut"

nice catch! i got to experience alaska May '11 -- halibut are one of my fav tasting fish, i made chowder out of most of it

10/3/2012 4:16:48 PM

fwiw

http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/03/researchers-worlds-fish-to-get-smaller-as-oceans-warm/?hpt=hp_t3

10/3/2012 4:34:39 PM

more of that damn global warming crap, this aint the thread for it

10/3/2012 9:16:41 PM

Sweet shark caught in the surf with good storytelling

Quote :

"Originally Posted by yakattaxx83 After a day of sanding and finishing drywall I was ready to hit the beach after work. Matt and I got out to the spot and my buddy Wayne and his boys were out there trying there luck for sharks but didnt have any luck. Matt sent out his first bait and then I sent mine out and as I was walking back to the rod holder I see Matt already bowed up on a shark. Wayne looks like what am I doing wrong but I told him to just get used to it cause Matt has a lucky reel, horseshoe, or just knows how to block your bait lol. After a long fight in the surf I was able to go out and try to tail rope it but Matt spilled oil on the rope making it impossible to pull in. If you saw the shark in our post last night that shark didnt have near the shoulders this one had. Measured just over 7' but man it was heavy! We snapped a pic gave it a name and off she went. We decieded to go with Marjory Stewart-Baxter. We baited back up and it was a little slow for a while til Matt got another run just after dark. This time it wasnt a big shark but one of those wirery guys that shoot all over the place. Got it up to the surf and I go out and grab the 400lb mono and I see one of our hooks about 4 feet from the shark and I thought it was one of ours we lost before. But when I went to pull it on the beach a line snapped. What happened was the shark had a mouthful of other peoples bottom rigs and it got tangled with the leader of Matts rig. Baiscly he fought the shark with a wad of 20lb mono in its mouth. It was a nice quick release and we named it R J Wellington The Third! Nothing much happened after that and we packed up and went home. Ohh and no lifesavers were harmed in the catching of the sharks lol. Brad Photo of Matt With Marjory Stewart-Baxter."

http://www.ncangler.com/forums/entries/693-Another-Large-Shark-Down!

10/5/2012 12:28:33 PM

Following the advices on reels, I ended up getting the Daiwa Advantage 4000a and Stradic 2500 ci4 reels, both with Daiwa Procyon rods. So far so good, took the Daiwa to the bridge and caught some trouts last night. Can't wait to test the Stradic out.

10/6/2012 7:19:51 PM

trout bite is extremely hot right now. i'm stuck at work getting picture messages of nice trout from my buddy.

10/24/2012 8:15:25 AM

my dad and his neighbor got 7 keeper trout and 1 keeper puppy drum today. biggest trout was 22". caught a lot of small trout as well.

10/25/2012 6:26:18 PM

Headed to wilmington for our annual week fishing trip. Hopefully the spots are running. But I have a feeling this hurricane is gonna screw us over. What is the fishing like after a hurricane?, never been during/ right after one.

10/26/2012 12:13:00 AM

With the seas as big as they are going to be, the fish will move and hold offshore for a while, dont expect much good fishing.

10/26/2012 7:17:14 AM

the water will be muddy and fishing will suck

10/26/2012 7:26:34 AM

I just got back from ocracoke a week ago, I spent 4 days down there with my dad, a friend of mine and his dad. We didn't have the best timing, a little too late for the blues and too early for the kings, but we had a blast. We caught a little bit of everything; flounder, sea bass, spots, blues, puffers, trout. I can't remember what else, but we didn't get to go offshore because of the approaching hurricane. Definitely gonna plan the trip again next year, but this time a full week. 4 days just wasn't enough time...

11/3/2012 4:21:16 PM

late october was too early for kings? o.O

when exactly do you believe they show up?

11/3/2012 9:59:24 PM

Catch em year round, they're nearshore this time of year

It's primetime wahoo offshore

11/3/2012 10:30:52 PM

october is prime time for kings. folks are always talking about "big Fall kings".

11/3/2012 10:32:31 PM

My knowledge of salt water is kind of slack, as was my description of the trip...it was actually early October (damn time is flying), but all my buddies in the area were talking about how they should start tearing into the kings in another week or so

11/4/2012 2:07:20 AM

small ones start showing up in april and may and they catch them right on into november. it's all about water temp.

11/4/2012 9:02:04 AM

Heading to myrtle beach for a fishing reel collectors show mid Nov. There is a mini tournament off the pier, I'm def going for a king

11/4/2012 10:49:28 PM

Went surf fishing on the outer banks this weekend. Friday was pretty good caught a ton of small blues and drum. Several 16-17" drum but none that quite made it to 18" . Saturday was terrible as the wind shifted and the water was just full of debris. After every cast resulting in a line full of sticks and random objects for an hour or two we left.

11/5/2012 8:44:38 AM

Went last week during the end of the hurricane, wasn't that bad. We were pinned in the house through mon afternoon. Caught some nice black drum. 2 good reds and went flounder gigging. Didnt get many until thursday and we caught 15 nice size 18-22inch.

11/6/2012 2:25:35 PM

dont be eating shark you redneck. its full of heavy metals.

11/6/2012 7:45:34 PM

i had to miss out on a fly fishing trip for false albacore

11/6/2012 10:24:57 PM

i was fishing near the fort macon coast guard station one day and there was some fly fisherman getting all into it trying to cast into a school of false albies. i took a spinning rod with a stingsilver on it, chunked it over in there, jigged it twice and had one on.

11/6/2012 10:47:33 PM

maybe they were first timers

either way, more fun on a fly rod

11/7/2012 9:42:01 AM

caught a bunch of trout and a few puppy drum this weekend. ended up keeping 14 trout and 1 drum. several of the trout were in the 17-19" range. good weekend.

11/11/2012 7:28:05 PM

11/12/2012 10:15:47 AM