Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report 9-27-11
Fall is trying so very hard to show up around the area but, with these weather changes comes ‘weather’ and for the last weeks it’s been in the form of rain. One thing I can tell you is that this is no different than most falls around this area; we get rain around here in the fall. Some years its light some years it’s heavier, every season it different and that is one of the reasons I live here, we (most years) have seasons here! Rain is not always a bad thing you just have got to adjust how you fish when the water gets stained form fall rains!
Well the good news is since my last report one of my favorites is starting to show; the good’ole Speckled trout and I love fishing for these guys! A cool morning in the fall; fishing for Speckled trout is one of the many highlights of my fishing season every year! They are a challenge to catch, but some days you can catch over 100 and you never know just what kind of day you are going to have when fishing for Speckled trout. Trout fishing will only get better as the local waters cool down this fall.
I love to catch Speckle trout on artificial lures and you can catch big Speckled trout on lures, another reason they’re fun to catch. My easy break down of what lures I use are by current flow and water death. I prefer baits like MirrOlure’s 17MR, catch 2000jr and Sebile’s Flatt Shad in waters of two to six feet deep with light or no current. In deeper waters of three to fifth teen plus with or with out current I prefer MirrOlure’s 18MR, 52M & MR and Sebile’s Stick Shadd 90, 114 series. I will use grubs in any water death or current when trout fishing, but I’ll adjust the weight of the jig head for the death or current of the water I’m fishing. Try lures like the Berkley Gulp Fire Tail 3” shrimp or the Ripple Mullet for Speckled trout. Another lure that works well for trout is Saltwater Assassin’s Sea shad series, try colors like chicken on a chain, chart/diamond, copperhead or 10w40 with lime tail.
The Bull Reds are really starting to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets. You never know when you might hook one of these giants! When I fish for Bull Reds, I use fresh cut or live menhaden and mullet. I use fish finder rigs with 8/0 or 9/0 circle hooks and eighty pound Berkley Big game mono leaders. Don’t forget to keep your drag tight when using circle hook so they will do there job. One tip I can give you when fishing for Bull Reds, is don’t use to light of tackle for these bigger Reds. If you fight them to long, there is a chance you can tire them out to much and kill them. Try a med/heavy rod and a reel with at least thirty pound mono or braid, this will help you get the fish in quicker; with a better chance of a good release. Check to see if the Red has a tag in its back; there are a fair amount of tagged Bull Reds out there.
This has been one of the better Flounder years we’ve seen around this area in a while and for that reason I’ve run a lot of Flounder trips this season with good success. One thing we have seen this year is that the Flounder fishing has been good inshore as well as the ocean this season, giving us lots of opportunities to flounder fish. Live bait as well as artificial lures has put lots of flounder in the boat for us. Carolina rigs with Eagle Claw L42 #1 size hooks and forty pound clear mono leader works well. Small finger mullets, small menhaden and mud minnows are our choice live baits. Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in 5” & 6” colors pearl, chart pepper neon or new penny work well too! The flounder are hanging around inlets, channel drops and creeks inshore. In the ocean near shore artificial reefs, ledges and hard/live bottoms are holding some nice numbers of flounder too.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Speckled trout and Flounder: Penn Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes. Bull Reds Fishing reels: Penn Battle 6000 & 7000, Penn 320LD and Torque 12 & 15. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast and Berkley Fireline braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Bull Reds Line: 30 or 40 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Fenwick HMG GS 70M-MF. Bull Reds Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series or Penn Torque jigging series in 30-80 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Bull Reds; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
*Are you on Facebook? Check out my page Capt. Jot Owens/Jot It Down Fishing Charters LLC for lots of good info on local fishing, fishing tips, detailed live reports, photos and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff! Just Fan (like) the page on I’ll have monthly random drawings of Fans for free tackle!
Thanks for reading these reports, if you have any questions or comments just let me know. Don’t’ forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Fishing to you and have a great fall,
Capt. Jot Owens
Penn Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Product Review-EGO S2 Slider Landing Net
As a full time fishing guide I have a lot of tools that I use every day while I’m fishing. One tool most anglers don’t take serious enough as to how important it is; the landing net! You know the tool that actually gets that fish of a lifetime, the tournament winner or your child’s first fish in the boat; yes that tool! Your landing net is very important when you think about it, ‘I mean come on’; how would you get a big Speckled trout, Flounder or trophy large mouth Bass with a treble hook hanging out of its mouth in the boat? I have lost a net before, I have left the net at home and as a guide it’s a bad feeling not having a net! So if you have got to have a net, and for most light tackle fishing you really need one, why not have the most revolutionary landing net on the market? Let me introduce the game changer in landing nets; the EGO S2 Slider Landing Net.
The EGO S2 Slider has everything you need in a landing net and a few things you didn’t even know you needed in a landing net that work! The revolutionary EGO S2 Slider landing net and fishing accessory product system, utilizing the most advanced handle extension technology available, was designed specifically for the freshwater and light inshore saltwater fishing enthusiast. With a simple pull or push of the foam grip, the S2 Slider handle can be easily deployed to net, gaff or release a fish and then be quickly retracted. The innovative modular platform also allows the handle to detach, providing accessory interchangeability and compact storage for anglers with limited boat space.
The game changing aspect of the EGO S2 Slider is all the accessories that you can put on the S2 Slider Handle system. Just think one tool on the boat that can net fish, gaff fish, release fish and help you dock the boat! Let me explain all these great accessories.
• S2 Slider Handles:
-18” Slider Handle Extends to 36”
-29” Slider Handle Extends to 60”
-48” Slider Handle Extends to 108”
All of these handles Float, have a Neoprene foam grip, and lock in 6” intervals.
• S2 Slider Boat Hook:
-Pull/Push arcs fit 1”diameter rails or stanchions.
-Concave surface on hook fingers for better rope control.
• S2 Slider Knife:
-Cut snagged lures free from weeds/small roots.
-Cut weeds away from trolling motor.
-Cut fishing line for quick release of fish.
-Replaceable stainless steal razor blade
(Replacement blades are available from EGO)
• S2 Slider 3” & 4” Gaff Hook
-Angular design reduces hook entry angle
-3/8” #316 Stainless steel hook rod
• S2 Slider Net Attachments:
-Medium-Nylon Mesh
-Medium-PVC Coated Mesh
-Medium-Rubber Mesh (non-tangle)
-Medium-Clear Rubber Mesh (non-tangle)
-Large-Nylon Mesh
-Large-PVC Coated Mesh
-Large-Rubber Mesh (non-tangle)
-Large-Clear Rubber Mesh (non-tangle)
-Large-Deep Rubber Mesh (non-tangle)
There are so many reasons to have this net, but for me it’s the ease of knowing I have a tool on the boat that does so much, it does not take up much room and it floats. Whether you fish for fun on the weekends or fish 250 or more days a year like me, you’ll love having this tool on your boat because it’s not just a net it’s much more!
Check out all the in and outs of the EGO S2 Slider at www.egos2slider.com
Thanks for reading,
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
captainjot@yahoo.com
Product Review-Berkley Gulp Fire Tail Shrimp
The Berkley Company has done it again! Berkley has taken proven Gulp bait and made it even better! Let me introduce you to the Berkley Gulp and Gulp Alive three inch Fire Tail Shrimp. We all know that Berkley Gulp works and works very well. Now Berkley has added proven fish catching color patterns to their Saltwater line of baits like this new bait the Fire Tail Shrimp. The Fire Tail or tipped tail bait is nothing new to the market, but now available in a Berkley Gulp makes it like nothing else on the market!
• Looks, feels and smells like live shrimp!
• Rig and fish using any technique appropriate for live shrimp.
• Extremely durable and long lasting.
• Six hot new colors with high-vis tails.
The new Berkley Gulp and Gulp Alive Fire Tail Shrimp come in many fish catching colors.
The Berkley Gulp three inch Fire Tail Shrimp come in six colors; Cajun Purple/Chartreuse, Glow/Chartreuse, New Penny/Chartreuse, Pearl White/Chartreuse, Rootbeer Gold/Chartreuse and Watermelon/Chartreuse.
The Berkley Gulp Alive three inch Fire Tail Shrimp come in four colors: Glow/Chartreuse, New Penny/Chartreuse, Pearl White/Chartreuse and Watermelon/Chartreuse.
I believe this new bait will be great for many different kinds of saltwater fish like; Redfish, Flounder, Speckled Trout, Tarpon, Triple tail, Striped Bass etc. I personally have had very good luck with the Fire Tail shrimp fishing for Speckled trout, Redfish and Flounder around the Wrightsville Beach and Cape Fear River, North Carolina areas. One good aspect of the Fire Tail Shrimp is its size and shape for pin point casting to sight or tailing fish in shallow waters. The Gulp Fire Tail Shrimp’s size and shape let it slip in the water fast and quietly; so not to scare spooky fish in shallow and/or clear waters.
I’ve had good luck rigging the Berkley Fire Tail Shrimp a couple of different ways, but the best ways that have works for me are: on a jig head in light weights like 1/16, 1/8, ¼ and 3/8 ounce. Keeping you jig heads lighter will give this shrimp a more ‘life like action’! As far as colors of jig heads for the Berkley Fire Tail shrimp, use what colors work well for you in your area, but one thing that has help me over the years with jig head colors is going with darker color jig heads really seems the work better (for me). When I say darker I mean like; reds, browns, grays and greens, I believe the color transition of the lure and the jig head really help attract more fish to bite.
The Berkley Gulp Fire Tail shrimp is also a very good bait under a rattling or popping cork rig. This rig is especially good for shallow water Redfish and Speckled trout, some of my biggest Speckled trout come off rattling corks with Fire Tail Shrimp this year.
Give the Berkley Gulp Fire Tail Shrimp a try, I bet you’ll have some great luck with them. If you have any questions about this Berkley product or any Berkley product please let me know.
Thanks for reading,
Capt. Jot Owens
Penn Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
910-233-4139
www.captainjot.com
Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report September 7th, 2011
Well folks fall has really tried to show its self around the area lately, but as normal we start to enjoy drier cooler air and here comes the muggy warm air again! Hey welcome to southeastern North Carolina; that’s the weather around here always changing! The good aspect to this is the fish really seem not to care; the weather really does not change in the water to much. Another positive to the cooler are is that it cooled the water down just a little bit and it’s been hot all summer, with this small cool down a few things have changed around the local waters. I don’t know if this means a early fall, but I’m already seeing lots of mullets running south and the fall trends of fishing are really starting to show!
When the water started to cool down a bit, I knew it was time to go look for some shallow water Redfish and with the higher moon tides it would be a good time to go looking! Fishing Reds in shallow waters in the late summer and early fall can be very good and very fun fishing. There is nothing like seeing a Redfish hit a surface bait! I look for shallow water Redfish around marsh grass lines, oyster rock edges and creek mouths with a shallow break. Now not every place you look at like these places will have Reds, the one other thing you have got to have is bait/food for the Redfish; if you put these things together you will find shallow water Redfish!
Here are a few of my favorite lures and rigs for catching shallow Reds; top-water lures are a blast to catch shallow Redfish! One thing I have learned over the years using top-water lures is that color is not the most important aspect of top-water lures; the most important aspect is action! If you don’t good action you are going to have a hard time getting that Redfish to come get your lure! Learning the proper way to work a top-water is very important to catch Redfish. Try a MirrOlure Top-pup or She-pup for a simple top-water action lure to learn with. If you want to try something new or a little bit of a challenge try Sebile’s Ghost Walker lure in calm waters or a Sebile Slim Stick is choppy or stained water applications. If you would like to go with live bait; try a Saltwater Assassin Kiwk-kork set up with a ten to fourteen inch leader and a live mullet or small menhaden.
The Flounder fishing has been very good this year and continues to be pretty good with some very nice fish over four pounds mixed in most trips. Most of the Flounder fishing I’m doing is just off the beach and around the inlets, I’m catching a few in the creeks, but most of the flounder coming out of the creeks are smaller. I’ve caught Flounder on both live and artificial baits lately, what I have seen is more numbers on live bait, but more keepers on
artificial baits. Mud minnows and mullets on light Carolina rigs with #one L42 Eagle Claw hooks are catching the numbers of Flounder, Berkley Gulp Jerkshads in five & six inch sizes are getting the most keeper Flounder. Tip of the day: In most cases bigger bait will catch you bigger Flounder, but you will catch less numbers of Flounder by going with bigger bait.
Casting and trolling for Spanish mackerel has been very good lately, when you find cleaner/clearer waters; I’m seeing Spanish and Blues all up & down the beaches in fifth-teen to forty-five foot of water as well as around all the local inlets. There has been a few very nice Spanish in the three to six pound ranger caught around the area too. Spanish mackerel have very good eye sight and to the catch the bigger ones you really should try a fluorocarbon leader, you would be surprised how this can make a difference sometimes!
I’ve had the best luck with deeper spoons on number one planners, yes I’m seeing a few on the top line but the best has been deeper. Clark-spoons in sizes 00 and 0 are doing the trick in colors silver, gold and pink flash. The Spanish hitting the top baits are hitting Blue Water Candy’s Spanish Daisy chains in colors pink, blue and silver; the great thing about this rig is you can pull it off lighter tackle outfits. When the Spanish are jumping I’m casting spoons in sizes one to three inches long with a fast retrieve and keeping my rod tip low to the water to keep the spoon just under the surface.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Redfish, Flounder and Spanish mackerel casting: Penn Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast and Berkley Fireline braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Rods: Fenwick HMG GS 70M-MF. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
*Are you on FaceBook? Check out my page Capt. Jot Owens/Jot It Down Fishing Charters LLC for lots of good info on local fishing, fishing tips, detailed live reports, photos and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff! Just Fan (like) the page and you will be entered in to the monthly random drawing for free tackle!
Thanks for reading these reports, if you have any questions or comments just let me know. Don’t’ forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Fishing to you,
Capt. Jot Owens
Penn Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Article
Article
Posted in Articles on September 7th, 2011 | Comments OffProduct Review
Product Review
Posted in Product Reviews on September 7th, 2011 | Comments OffWrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report 8-20-11 Tarpon, Bull Redfish, Flounder
I hope everybody is enjoying there summer so far and I don’t know about you, but I’m happy to see a little cooler and drier air coming in! It will not be long before we know it and it will be fall; I can’t wait!!! It’s still warm and the summer fishing is good; here is all that info in this months fishing report!
I have got to start with a favorite of mine due to the fact we finally got one to the boat season. The Tarpon fishing has been good this year, but I’ve had a real problem getting hooked up with these high flying, hard pulling and hook proof fish! On August 15 my friend and client Lewis Dunn got his first Carolina Tarpon, the fish was sixty-four inches and around eighty-five pounds. Congrats Lewis!
Tarpon fishing takes time and patients, but put in your time and you’ll get one! I fish for Tarpon on the bottom and free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, mullets, bluefish and Menhaden. I’m rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound mono leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 10/0 depending what hook series/maker you like. I have also had a fair share of Tarpon on my kite rig with live baits like mullets, bluefish and menhaden especially in the ocean.
Flounder have been a big part of our charters lately. We are catching numbers and there size is getting better too! I’ve caught a few Flounder in the last two weeks over five pounds. Most of the action is coming off
Mud minnows and small finger mullet have been the best baits for us lately; there is a lot of bait around now too! Rigging the live bait on carolina rigs with EC 042 1/0 hooks and thirty to forty pound mono or Fluorocarbon leaders. On the artificial side of things; jig heads rigged with Berkley Gulps new Mud minnow/croaker pattern have been great for our Flounder trips in the last few weeks. Also the Gulp Ripple Mullet and the Gulp Jerk shad have caught some bigger Flounder too.
Another bait that is new to the market I just started to use for Flounder that has a good price tag on it is the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig soft plastic lure. This is a bass (fresh water) bait but man when you see this thing you’ll know it is sure to catch Flounder as well as Redfish too! The colors I’m using in the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig are pearl white silver fleck, swamp gas and california. Just remember to work those jigs slowly to cover the bottom well and the Flounders will not be able to resist your lure! The Bull Reds starting to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets. You never know when you might hook one of these giants! When I fish for Bull Reds, I use fresh cut or live menhaden and Mullet. I use fish finder rigs (larger carolina rigs) with 7/0 to 9/0 circle hooks and eighty pound Berkley Big game mono leaders. Don’t forget to keep your drag tight when using circle hook so they will do there job. When you catch one of these Reds keep your eyes peeled for a yellow tag coming out of the back of the Red. Lots of Bull Reds in NC are tagged and you can get a little reward for turning in the info on you Red.
The Sheephead fishing is still going very good and should be good until late October. Rigging is easy for Sheephead; I use a short carolina rig with forty pound mono or fluorocarbon leader about eight to ten inches long. The hook is a number one or 1/0 live bait nose hook; small, sharp and strong, very important for Sheephead! Look for Sheephead around pilings, bulkheads and large oyster rocks that stay covered up by water most of the tide. For bait, I catch fiddler crabs on mud banks on the ICW. Sheephead fishing takes patients and time to catch them but it’s worth the time!
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Flounder and Sheephead casting: Penn Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes. Tarpon and Bull Reds Fishing reels: Penn Battle 6000 & 7000, Penn 320LD and Torque 12 & 15. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast and Berkley Fireline braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Tarpon and Bull Reds Line: 30 or 40 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Fenwick HMG GS 70M-MF. Tarpon and Bull Reds Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series or Penn Torque jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Tarpon and Bull Reds; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
*Are you on Facebook? Check out my page Capt. Jot Owens/Jot It Down Fishing Charters LLC for lots of good info on local fishing, fishing tips, detailed live reports, photos and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff! Just Fan (like) the page on I’ll have monthly random drawings of Fans for free tackle!
Thanks for reading these reports, if you have any questions or comments just let me know. Don’t’ forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Fishing to ya!
Capt. Jot Owens
Penn Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report 7-21-11
Well folks the hot weather continues, but the fishing has been pretty good for the last few weeks; going a little earlier in the day will keep you cooler! As far as fishing goes not much has changed since my last report as far as what I’m catching, I will in include a little more rigging info in this weeks report for you.
The Flounder fishing has been good to very good this season with a fair amount of nice fish coming in over four plus pounds. The name of the game for me this season has been using artificial baits to catch the bigger Flounder. Two baits that have really worked well for me are Berkley Gulp five and six inch Jerkshads in colors pearl white, chart pepper neon and new penny. A new bait I just started to use for Flounder that has a good price tag on it is the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig soft plastic lure. This is a bass (fresh water) bait but man when you see this thing you’ll know it is sure to catch Flounder as well as Redfish too! The colors I’m using in the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig are pearl white silver fleck, swamp gas and california.
When rigging the Jerkshad and Grass Pig baits, I prefer a long shank jig head to hold the baits on securely. Sebile and Blue Water Candy both make a very good jig head with this design of a longer shank. Colors of jig heads for Flounder fishing does not seem to be a big deciding factor, but I stick with mostly gray, red and white (pearl). I prefer forty pound fluorocarbon leader from Stren’s tinted line in Gumsmoke for clear waters and Tannic for brown/river waters. Just remember when you hook that door mat Flounder to take your time and don’t pull his head out of the water, for she may just shake that hook out!
The Spanish Mackerel are biting most days, but the best bite has been earlier in the morning when the sun is lower in the sky; also the fish have been a little deeper in thirty to fifty feet of water for the last few weeks. When you mark big balls of bait with your fish finder this is usually where you’ll find the most Spanish biting. Clark-spoons in sizes 00 and 0 are doing the trick in colors silver, gold and pink flash behind number one planners. The Spanish hitting on top are hitting Blue Water Candy’s Spanish Daisy chains in colors pink, blue and silver; the great thing about this rig is you can pull it off lighter tackle outfits. Another new lure that is working well for the Spanish when I’m casting to them is the River2Sea Sea Rock lure, these little casting jigs are just the right weight and size to get those fast moving Spanish to bite! All the colors that the Sea Rock comes in seem to work and I prefer the two smallest sizes of Sea Rock in the number seven and four-teen. All so the hook that comes on these lures is great, finally a good hook on a lure right out of the package!
Tarpon fishing this season has been hot, with lots of fish being hooked and caught off many of the local piers and just off the beach in boats. Tarpon fishing is not easy; it takes patients and time, but the payoff can be very rewarding! I fish for Tarpon on the bottom or free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, bluefish and Menhaden. I’m rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound mono leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 10/0 depending what hook series/maker you like. I have also had a fair share of Tarpon on my kite rig with live baits like mullets, bluefish and menhaden. Hey give the Silver King a try sometime; you never know the fish god might hook you up with a Tarpon!
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Redfish, Flounder and Spanish casting: Penn Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes. Tarpon Fishing reels: Penn Battle 6000 & 7000, Penn 320LD and Torque 12 & 15. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast and Berkley Fireline braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Tarpon Line: 30 or 40 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Fenwick HMG GS 70M-MF. Tarpon Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series or Penn Toarque jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Tarpon; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
*Are you on Facebook? Check out my page Capt. Jot Owens/Jot It Down Fishing Charters LLC for lots of good info on local fishing, fishing tips, detailed live reports, photos and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff! Just Fan (like) the page on I’ll have monthly random drawings of Fans for free tackle!
The first tackle give away will be on Monday August the first!
Thanks for reading these reports, if you have any questions or comments just let me know. Good fishing to you and stay cool out there!
Capt. Jot Owens
Penn Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report 6-29-11
Can you say hot weather and yes we need the rain, but the fishing has been great for the most part! Going a little earlier in the morning lately and getting back earlier has been my fishing times for the last few weeks! With this heat the water temps have come up a bit and this has changed a few patterns of fishing this last few weeks.
Flounder has been the winner for me in the last few weeks, my clients have caught a few very nice Flounder lately and the bigger Flounder are hitting artificial baits! I have found most of the Flounder just off the beach on hard bottoms, ledges, around the local inlets and docks in the ICW. The Flounder are still mixed in size, but there are some very nice Flounder starting to mix in with the throw backs. I have always been a live bait guy when it comes to Flounder, but let me tell you my clients have caught some big Flounder in the last few weeks on artificial baits.
Barkley Gulp and Gulp Alive Jerkshad are really putting some nice Flounder in my boat for my clients! I am rigging these five inch Gulp Jerkshad on 1/4oz, 3/8ox and 1/2oz jig heads; I use forty pound mono or fluorocarbon as leader. The colors I prefer for the Jerkshads are pearl, chart pepper neon, new penny and root beer gold. If you would rather go the live bait root, try live baits like mud minnows, finger mullets or small menhaden. Rig these live baits on Carolina rigs with Eagle Claw L42 #1 and 1/0 hook sizes.
The Redfish action has been a little slower with all the warm air and warm water temps, but I’m catching a hand full in the early mornings with a little patients. Working scented baits like Berkley Gulp slowly along grass banks and docks has worked the best for me lately. A new Berkley bait that is just getting in to stores now has been very good for me on the Redfish; the baits are the Berkley Fire Tail three inch Shrimp. These are good looking baits with great action and in proven color patterns! The colors I have had the best luck with are the rootbeer gold/chart, new penny/chart and cajun purple/chart; rigging these shrimp on jigs heads in sizes 1/8oz and 1/4oz weights. Thirty of forty pound mono or a better choice fluorocarbon for leader when casting grubs/jigs for Redfish. Tip: when water temps are up try to work your jig a bit slower for the Redfish; “who wants to run in hot weather?”
Spanish Mackerel are hitting very good most days just off the beach in twenty to fifty feet of water, just look for the bait on your fish finder and you are sure to catch some Spanish Macks! I’ve had the best luck with deeper spoons on number one planners, yes I’m seeing a few on the top line but the best has been deeper. Clark-spoons in sizes 00 and 0 are doing the trick in colors silver, gold and pink flash. The Spanish hitting the top baits are hitting Blue Water Candy’s Spanish Daisy chains in colors pink, blue and silver; the great thing about this rig is you can pull it off lighter tackle outfits. When the Spanish are jumping I’m casting spoons in sizes one to three inches long with a fast retrieve and keeping my rod tip low to the water to keep the spoon just under the surface. Tip: most of the Spanish I’m finding are in the cleaner and clearer waters off the beach.
I’m starting to see the first push of Tarpon heading up the coast, last week we jumped off about a seventy pound Tarpon just off Masonboro inlet.
Tarpon fishing in North Carolina can be very fun, but it can be a challenge to get one to bite! I fish for Tarpon on the bottom or free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, bluefish and Menhaden. I’m rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound mono leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 10/0 depending what hook series/maker you like. I have also had a fair share of Tarpon on my kite rig with live baits like mullets, bluefish and menhaden. Keep your eyes peeled for rolling and feeding Tarpon if you’re in the hunt for one of these beasts.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels Penn Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes. Tarpon Fishing reels: Penn Battle 6000 & 7000, Penn 320LD and Torque 12 & 15. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast and Berkley Fireline braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Tarpon Line: 30 or 40 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Fenwick HMG GS 70M-MF. Tarpon Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series or Penn Toarque jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Tarpon; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
*Are you on Facebook? Check out my page Capt. Jot Owens/Jot It Down Fishing Charters LLC for lots of good info on local fishing, fishing tips, detailed live reports, photos and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff! Just Fan (like) the page on I’ll have monthly random drawings of Fans for free tackle!
Hey thanks for reading, have a great 4th of July, be safe and good fishing to ya!
Capt. Jot Owens
Penn Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report 6-9-11
Well folks the heat is on! The temps are staying pretty warm to hot for the last few weeks, but the coolest place to be is on the water; fishing of course! There has been no shortage of bait in the last few weeks and with all the bait the fish have followed and the fishing has been very good most days!
You know me let’s start with one I love to fish for; the Cobia! There has been a good number of Cobia around this season, I have seen one almost everyday I’ve been looking for them and there are some big ones around. My clients put four (keepers) Cobia in the boat this last week and I got to catch one myself this last week too. The two big Cobia in the last week was a 66.5 pounder and my 52.4 pound, the really cool part of my Cobia is I caught it on a medium action rod and a Penn Battle 3000 spinning reel with fifth-teen pound Spiderwire braid. What a fight; I did not ever think I was going to get that Cobia in, after a thirty minute fight I put the heat on the fish and got it to the boat!
I look this time of year for Cobia around inlets, shoals and bait schools; near shore/offshore reefs and ledges are also a good place to look too. With the water being so clear it has been easier to see those brown logs in the water. We are throwing big jigs, swim baits and live bait to the Cobia. Color really does not seem to matter, brighter the better; Blue Water Candy makes some very nice Cobia jigs, check them out at our local tackle shops! When I’m not sight casting for them, we are fishing around inlets, shoals and near shore artificial reefs. I float fish, bottom fish and kite fish in these areas with live menhaden, blues and mullet as bait. Yes sometimes I do chum, but the Sharks and Rays can sometimes drive you crazy it you chum a lot!
Casting and trolling for Spanish mackerel has been very good lately. I’m seeing Spanish and Blues all up & down the beaches in fifth-teen to forty-five foot of water as well as around all the local inlets. There has been a few very nice Spanish in the three to six pound ranger caught around the area too. Spanish mackerel have very good eye sight and to the catch the bigger ones you really should try a fluorocarbon leader, you would be surprised how this can make a difference sometimes!
I’ve had the best luck with deeper spoons on number one planners, yes I’m seeing a few on the top line but the best has been deeper. Clark-spoons in sizes 00 and 0 are doing the trick in colors silver, gold and pink flash. The Spanish hitting the top baits are hitting Blue Water Candy’s Spanish Daisy chains in colors pink, blue and silver; the great thing about this rig is you can pull it off lighter tackle outfits. When the Spanish are jumping I’m casting spoons in sizes one to three inches long with a fast retrieve and keeping my rod tip low to the water to keep the spoon just under the surface.
With this nice hot air around the Flounder are finally showing up in better numbers, there is still a lot of smaller ones inshore, but the bigger ones are showing every day! Most of the Flounder fishing I’m doing is just off the beach and around the inlets, with the new fifth-teen inch rule you just have got to pick through them to get the keepers. I’ve caught Flounder on both live and artificial baits lately, what I have seen is more numbers on live bait, but more keepers on artificial baits. Mud minnows on light Carolina rigs with #one L42 Eagle Claw hooks are catching the numbers of Flounder, Berkley Gulp Jerkshads in five & six inch sizes are getting the most keeper Flounder. Tip of the day: In most cases bigger bait will catch you bigger Flounder, but you will catch less numbers of Flounder by going with bigger bait.
Redfishing for me has slowed a bit, but the bigger fish are starting to show up around the inlets and near shore live/hard bottoms. I have had no real good numbers yet, just some spread out fish here and there while we are Cobia fishing. Bigger scented grubs like six and seven inch Jerkshads are a good bet for catching ocean Reds on artificial baits, live mullets or menhaden are good on the live bait side of things.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels Penn Fierce and Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes. Cobia Fishing reels: Penn Battle 5000, 6000 & 7000, Penn 320LD. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast and Berkley Fireline braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Cobia Line: 30 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Fenwick HMG GS 70M-MF, Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy. Cobia Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Cobia; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
*Hey everybody likes a deal on tackle right?!?! This weekend at Tex’s Tackle it’s the Penn Summer Kick-off Sale! Lots of good deals, here are just a few; Berkley’s new Pro Spec Premium Monofilament line will be on sale for one (1) cent a yard. If you like to King Mackerel fish or troll offshore this is the line for you; super supple, thin diameter and excellent knot & impact strength! Berkley Big Game on sale for one cent, Spiderwire Invisi-braid ½ off! Also deals on Reels and Rods too! I’ll be there on Friday to answer any questions you may have about any Penn products come by and say hello, I look forward to seeing you!
**Are you on Facebook? Check out my page Capt. Jot Owens/Jot It Down Fishing Charters LLC for lots of good info on local fishing, fishing tips, detailed reports, Photos and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff! Just Fan (like) the page on I’ll have monthly random drawings of Fans for free tackle!
Hey thanks for reading and good fishing to ya,
Capt. Jot Owens
Penn Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
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