August fishing around Southeast NC can be great, but due to a few different weather scenarios; high heat, super dry, super wet etc… you may need to tune how you fish during August. Go earlier or much later in the day, if we have had lots of rain, look for cleaner waters to fish etc… By making adjustments will increase your chances of catching more during August hot dog days!
Flounder are a great hot weather fish because it really does not seem to matter how hot it gets they still bite! Live bait is the key for catching higher numbers of Flounder, but if you want to catch bigger Flounder try artificial bait. Mud minnows and small finger mullet will be the best live baits for Flounder in August. Rigging the live bait on carolina rigs with Eagle Claw L42 1/0 or 2/0 hooks is a good choice of rigs for Flounder. If you prefer to use artificial baits; scented and none scented grubs as well as spinner baits will do the job. Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five and six inch and colors of new penny, pearl white and chart pepper neon are all good. Also try Berkley’s Havoc Grass Pig lure in colors, chartreuse, pearl white silver and swamp gas. I rig these lures on long hook shank jig heads in 1/4oz, 3/8oz and 1/2oz weights in colors red, gray or white.
One fish that is always on my hot weather list is the Sheephead. The Sheephead is a good challenge to catch and they fight hard, but they are also good to eat! Another great thing about Sheephead fishing when it’s hot outside is that you can hide under a bridge out of the sun and catch them. Just think; fishing somewhere out of the sun and you’re catching great eating fish! All you need is some fiddler crabs or sand fleas for bait. A medium/heavy action spinning or casting rod with Spiderwire twenty or thirty pound braid for line will help you bring in that big Sheephead in. Tie on a short carolina rig with forty or fifty pound fluorocarbon leader and a small live bait J hook (sharp/strong)! Drop that fiddler crab down beside a piling on the carolina rig and when you feel that little bump; set the hook and hold on!
North Carolina is not really known for Tarpon fishing but we do see a few pushing just off Masonboro inlet and the lower Cape Fear River form time to time. If you want a good challenge, give Carolina Tarpon fishing a try this August. The best times are very early morning or late afternoon and in to the night. I fish for Tarpon on the bottom or free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, mullet and Menhaden. I rig these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound fluorocarbon leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 9/0 depending what hook series you like. It not easy to catch a NC Tarpon, but I promise if you do or even just jump one off; you will try again!
I also enjoy shark fishing later in the summer (late July to early September). Sharks on light tackle are always a good pull and boy the kids love to catch’em! I drift live and fresh dead bluefish, Spanish mackerel, mullet or menhaden in thirty to forty five feet of water offshore. I rig these baits with a 7/0 circle hook with one foot of ninety pound wire and six to eight feet of eighty pound mono leader. I push down the hook barb on my shark hooks for easy release of the shark if you like. You can free line the bait and /or put a small egg sinker on to keep the bait close to the bottom. You’ll know when you get a bite! Most sharks are in the ten to one hundred plus pound range.
Last but certainly not lest is Bull Redfish (big Red Drum). The Bull Reds will start showing up in good numbers around inlets and hard/live bottoms just off the beach to about ten miles out in early August. Live or fresh dead bait is the key to catching these brutes. Most fish will be twenty-eight to over forty inches in length, very fun to catch size! It’s not hard to rig for the Bull reds; short carolina rigs with a 9/0 to 12/0 circle hook will do the trick. Remember if your catching larger Drum, please use heavier tackle; these Drum will work so hard when the water is hot and it is easy to kill them using to light of tackle (fighting them to long).
Have a good August, stay cool and thanks for reading!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Tackle Elite Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on July 28th, 2015
May around Wrightsville Beach is when most of our summer species really start to bite well and by June the fishing is in full swing! I love May and June because there are so many different fish to target, if ones not biting that day you can easily go target a different species. Here are some of my “goto” Wrightsville May & June fish.
As the weather stabilizes and the temps go up in May we see a lot more days where we can get out in the ocean and look for those high speed, and good eating Bonita in earlier May and Spanish mackerel all May & June long. These fish are a lot of fun to see busting the surface of the water and even more fun to see on the end of your line! Casting small spoons or using fly gear in weights six to eight can make for a great challenge on this light tackle. Look for these fish to be hanging around near shore artificial reefs, ledges and inlets. Trolling Clark spoons and small deep driver lures can be the key to success some days for the Bonita and Spanish mackerel. When using the Clark spoons, I would recommend the pink flash spoon in sizes #00, #0 and #1; the pink flash series has really helped me put more fish in the boat. You might come over a few False Albacore and Bluefish mixed in with the Bonita and Spanish from time to time.
Redfish; May & June go hand and hand, these months are some of my favorite for casting artificial lures to them. Reds really start to settle down in their summer spots by mid May. Casting Berkley Gulp Shrimp in three inch size on light jig heads is one of my go to baits for early summer Redfish. My go to colors are sugar spice glow, new penny, Rootbeer gold/chart tail and natural. Another fun way to catch Redfish is casting top-water plugs like MirrOlure’s Top pup and Sebile’s slim Stick; cast these plugs along mash grass lines and oyster flats. You can also cast popping or rattling corks in these shallow areas with a Berkley Gulp three inch and catch the Redfish too. If you would rather go the bait route; try some fresh cut Mullet or Menhaden on a light Carolina rig. Try fishing fresh cut bait around docks in the ICW or along creek mouths when the tide is moving this should work for most of the summer.
The bigger Reds are starting to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets by late May. You never know when you might hook one of these hard fighting fish. When I fish for bigger Reds, I use fresh cut or live menhaden and mullet. I use fish finder rigs with 7/0 or 8/0 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 their 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 yellow tag in its back; there are a fair amount of tagged Big Reds out there.
May & early June is a great time for gator (bigger) Speckled trout; some of my personal largest Specks have come in May to mid June. Most of the bigger trout I see in this month’s come off top-water plugs. My favorite is the MirrOlure Top dog, She dog and Sebile’s slim stick; these noisy baits really make the trout come right out of the water after them! Another great bait for bigger trout is the Berkley Gulp five or six inch Jerkshad in colors pearl white and new penny; rigging on light swim-bait hooks. Live Shrimp, small Mullets and Menhaden on float rigs or very light Carolina rigs will also catch those gators!
By mid to late May the Cobia start to show up around Wrightsville; one of my favorites and will run good until early July most years. I look 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; but “go bright”! 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. Sometimes a great bonus fish when fishing for Cobia is a nice bull Redfish. You can chum if you like, but the sharks and Rays will come and they will come in numbers!
With the warmer weather the Flounder will finally start showing up in better numbers, there are still a lot of smaller ones inshore, but the bigger ones will really start showing up in May! Most of the Flounder fishing I’m doing is just off the beach and around the inlets. I’ve caught Flounder on both live and artificial baits in May, 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 will catch the numbers of Flounder. Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five & six inch sizes will get the most keeper Flounder. I rig these Jerkshad on 1/4oz, 3/8oz and 1/2oz jig heads with longer hook shanks in red or gray color.
Tackle run down: PENN Battle II & Conflict Spinning reels 2000, 2500, 3000 and 4000 sizes. Rods: PENN Battalion 6’6” and 7’ Med-light and Medium rods. Line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen pound. Cobia/Bull Reds Reels PENN Fathom 20LW or 25LW with a PENN Rampage Jigging rod 50 to 100 pound class.
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on April 14th, 2015
This winter has been up and down; really 74` one day and 47` the next day, am I seeing double??? The fishing overall even with this weather has been pretty good most days. I’ve said once, I have said it 1000 times; you really have to pick your fishing days during the winter months here in Southeast NC! Trust me give a day or two and the weather will be warmer and drier, just give it some time; you’ll see!
The Red fishing lately has been pretty good most days when the wind is not howling and we’ve seen some nice schools of Reds. Warmer, sunny and lower wind days can be the key to catching these inshore winter Redfish. It’s not hard to catch them once you find’em, look for these Reds in creeks with dark colored bottoms and oyster rocks never hurt. Scented soft plastics like Berkley Gulp should do the trick to get these Reds to hit. Patterns in Gulp like Shrimp in sizes 2” and 3” are my go too; I’m keeping the baits smaller. Colors that seem to work the best are pearl, molting and new penny; the new Fire tail colors work great too! When the rains come down and stains up the water try to go to darker color patterns, this will help you get more bites.
Try lighter jig heads like 1/16oz and 1/8oz when winter fishing; lighter jig heads help you to work the lure much slower and will still look natural. On warmer light wind days you can also find some nice schools of Reds in shallow water oyster flats and rocks. The Reds will sun on these dark colored bottom areas for a little extra warm up; this is also where you’ll see some bait fish doing the same thing (warming up). Work these baits slowly in front of the Redfish schools; not right through the school, all this will do is spook the Reds and will make it very hard to catch them. If the Reds are hungry they break away from the school and eat your bait!
Surf Reds have been hit or miss; I believe that a lot of the Reds are still up in the creeks due to all the up and down weather this season. I have caught a few good days of surf Reds when the weather is just right. Casting Berkley Gulp Ripple mullets on 1/4oz and 3/8oz jig heads in colors Rootbeer gold and New penny’ or MirrOlure Catch 2000’s; don’t forget that fluorocarbon leader this time of year the water is super clear most days!
I’ve made quite a few trips to the Cape Fear River year; there are three different kinds of fish to chase in the Cape Fear, Catfish, Striped Bass and even a hand full of nice Redfish most all winter long. Here is a few ways to put a CFR Striper on your line. Try Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five and six inch size; in pearl white or new penny colors and Berkley Havoc Grass Pigs. Work these baits slowly and always rig them weed-less; there are many hangs in the Cape Fear River. Try a Moaner swim bait hook with the Berkley Jerkshad or grass pig; this is a great hook at a great price. www.moanerhooks.com I use the weighted Stroker hook in 1/4oz 5/0. Look for Stripers on drop-offs, dock pilings and reed-grass lines. The Cape Fear River Striped Bass fishing is a closed fishery; all Stripers must be released.
If you would like to give the Catfish a try, use baits like cut mullet, chicken livers and cut eel. I use heavy Carolina rigs when I fish for catfish. Try an Eagle claw L42 2/0 to 4/0 hook with fifty or eighty pound mono leader to make your carolina rig. Look for the catfish on drop-offs from five to twenty feet of water. We have seen some blue cats over thirty pounds caught in the river so try not to use to light of tackle; these are not always your ‘farm pond channel cats’!
Tackle run down: PENN Battle II & Conflict Spinning reels sizes 2500, 3000 & 4000 for the Redfish and Striped Bass. PENN Battalion in 6’6” & 7’ medium and med/hvy action; line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen pound; Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon leader for my leader material.
If you have any questions about the tactics I use fishing the local waters please e-mail me or catch me on Face Book at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Capt-Jot-OwensJot-It-Down-Fishing-Charters-LLC/134340373310487
Thanks for reading and have a Happy New Year!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Fishing Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on December 30th, 2014
Where has this year gone??? Wow its November already, hey the good news is it’s time for another one of my favorites to fish for; Speckled trout. These fish are a challenge to catch “sometimes” and it’s a light tackle fishery! Here is how I catch trout and a few other species during November.
In early November I look for Speckled trout in the creeks and channels just off the ICW; any where water is moving with tide flow and bait. Speckled trout like current; whether it’s hard current in a main channel or light current up a creek. You need current flow to catch trout; rising and falling tide can be good for trout don’t let the tide keep you form going trout fishing! Marsh grass banks with oyster rocks that run in to a channel or along a marsh grass bank with oysters and drop-offs in channels are all good places to find Speckled trout in November. Later in November I start to find the trout in the above area as well as around the inlets in good numbers.
One key point to trout fishing I’ve found is that most days Specks will bite, but what are they hitting that day? I’ve found that hard baits work through November and catch all sizes of speckled trout. This is when you need to know where to start; what lures to try? One of my favorites is the good’ole MirrOlure; it’s been around a long time and it is still catching fish. The patterns I prefer are the Catch 2000, 17MR, 18MR, 52M and 52MR. Colors; MirrOlure makes a lot of different colors but here are some of my go too colors around Wrightsville Beach area waters. MirrOlure color codes: 11, 21, 26, 51, 704, CFPR, CH, EC and HP. Any local tackle shop can help you with these color codes or go to www.MirrOlure.com for a color chart.
If you have ever done any trout fishing at all you know that a grub (soft plastic) lures work very good for Speckled trout too! Berkley Gulp shrimp three inch is a great bait form Berkley, I really like these baits. The colors I prefer in the Fire tail shrimp are rootbeer/gold chart tail, Cajun purple/chart tail, watermelon red glitter/chart tail and glow white/glow chart tail. In non fire tail color I like sugar spice glow. Saltwater Assassin’s four inch sea shad in colors chicken on a chain, sweet pea, mullet, Green moon, rainbow trout and cantaloupe are all good choices in November as well. Remember when it comes to color; try light colors in clear water and darker colors in stained or dirty waters. The color chicken on a chain is great when the water gets stained from rain; which sometimes we get lots of in the fall around here!
Don’t count out live bait if you would rather fish with it. Try live smaller mullets, mud minnows and live shrimp. In shallow waters of two to five feet I like to float these live baits with a cork. In deeper waters of six to ten plus I rig them on light Carolina rigs with a small #1 J-hook. Just wait until you feel that trout take off with the bait and lightly set the hook, remember trout have very soft mouths.
The Redfish bite can be good during November, sometimes while trout fishing I find nice schools of Redfish. November can also be a very good mouth for large schools of Reds in the surf or the creeks. Casting lures to these Reds like Berkley Gulp Ripple mullets or five inch jerkshads will surely get you a bite! Most all the time when I find Redfish in November they are hungry and ready to bite.
The Flounder fishing starts to slow down in later November, but you can still catch some big ones during November. A couple of years ago I had a client put a eight and a half pounder in the boat while we were trout fishing during November; talk about a fight on very light tackle!
There will also be just about all the Bluefish you can handle during November as well. Just look for the birds and bait schools close to the local inlets and cast metal spoons at these bait schools. 99.9% of the time there will be Bluefish there, just about every cast! Don’t’ forget to beef up your leader when catching Bluefish; I use forty or fifty pound fluorocarbon or mono when casting to Bluefish. You surely do not want to lose those trout lures to a bluefish!
Tackle run down: PENN Battle II or Conflict Spinning reels sizes 2000, 2500 & 3000 for the Bluefish, Redfish and Speckled trout. Rods PENN Battalion 6’6” & 7’ med/light and medium action; line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in eight, ten and fifth-teen pound. Leaders: Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon leader material in 20 or 30 pound.
*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, videos and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff!
Thanks for reading these reports, if you have any questions or comments just let me know. Don’t’ forget to take a kid fishing and have a great Thanksgiving!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on October 31st, 2014
Well Folks, fall is trying to show and then it gets warm and wet! A real roller coaster of weather: one day with hot temps, breezy and wet; very next day cool and sunshine! Hey that’s what gets those fall fish biting so we can’t complain too much. With that said let’s talk fall fishing!
I’ve had some very good Spanish mackerel runs lately, most of the action has been a little off the beach in thirty to fifty feet of water (clearer water). Most of the Spanish are hitting Clark spoons on number one planners; a few nicer fish have hit live bait on top as well. I have also caught some on Fly’s and Hogy epoxy jigs casting when the Spanish get on top to feed. The Spanish are very nice in size; most fish are two to some over four pounds “nice fall size”. There has been a good amount of False Albacore mixing in as well, which are always fun on light tackle.
The Flounder fishing has been good for the most of the year, on some trips I’ve caught over eight keeper fish. The Flounder are mixed in size to just under keeper size to a few over five pounds. I have caught most of the Flounder on artificial baits and it seems that most of the bigger flounder are hitting bigger artificial baits. I’ve had the best luck with Berkley Gulp five and six inch jerkshad in colors pearl white and chart-pepper neon. I’m rigging these jerkshad on a red or black jig heads with forty pound fluorocarbon leaders for best results. I’m working the jerkshad slow, making sure the lure stays close to the bottom.
Redfish schools are starting to show up in the surf. You can find these schools of twenty to over a thousand Redfish around inlets, outer sand bars and jetties. Once you find these schools there pretty easy to catch if the weather is calm. I cast 1/4oz to 1/2oz jig heads with five inch Berkley Gulp jerkshad or four inch Berkley Gulp Ripple mullet; in colors new penny or pearl white. Be very careful in the surf if you’re in a boat, you really have got to watch the waves and try not to run over the school with your boat!
I’ve caught some bigger bull Redfish on hard/live bottoms just off the beach and around the local inlets. I’m catching Reds in the 24 to over 38 inch range, some days their over the slot some days there in the slot. Most of the Reds are hitting live mullets and fresh menhaden on Carolina rigs; using heavier egg sinkers with circle hooks 6/0 to 9/0. Don’t forget to keep your drag tight when using circle hook so the hook will do its 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. I see it over and over again; anglers using to light of tackle and they “release” a floating dead Redfish. Check to see if the Red has a tag in its back; there are a fair amount of tagged Bull Reds out there.
And last but Not least, Speckled Trout are starting to show and bite! The Speckled trout fishing has gotten better and better around this area every year! It looks like it will be the same this year as well; especially since we have seen a lot of fish already this year and there is plenty of bait around; “I Can’t wait, I love Trout fishing”! The best trout bites should be on grubs and hard baits, but good ‘ole live shrimp will work just as well too.
The best grubs I’ve luck with are Berkley Gulp three inch shrimp in colors pearl white, new penny, and new penny flick/chart tail. I also catch a good amount of trout on Saltwater Assassin’s four inch sea-shad in colors greenback shiner, chicken on a chain, copper head and silver mullet. I Rig the grubs and shrimp patterns on a red or black jig heads and I always use fluorocarbon leader for trout fishing!
Hard lures that seem to be bring the trout to the boat are Mirrolure’s 17MR, Catch 2000 Jr, 52M and 18MR lures in colors pink, chartreuse, and white. Most of the trout we have caught have been in the creeks and main channels connecting to the ICW and inlets as well as the Cape Fear River.
The Fishing gear I use:
Reds, Trout and Flounder: Reels PENN Battle II’s and Conflict spinning in sizes 2000, 2500 and 3000 Rods: PENN Battalion 6’6” and 7’ Med/light and Med. Line: Spiderwire Ultracast in 10, 15 and 20 pound. Bull Redfish reels: PENN Spinfisher V 5500 and PENN Fathom 15. Rods: PENN Rampage Jigging rods in 30 to 80 pound class. . Line: thirty pound Berkley Big Game mono.
*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, videos and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff!
Thanks for reading my reports, if you have any questions or comments just let me know. Don’t’ forget to take a kid fishing!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on September 8th, 2014
