Well Folks, fall is really trying to show and then it gets warm and dry! A real roller coaster of weather: one day with hot temps and dry; very next day cool, breezy and rainy! Hey that’s what gets those fall fish biting so we can’t complain too much. With that said lets talk fall fishing!
I’ve had some very good Spanish mackerel and False Albacore runs lately. Most of the Spanish and Albacore 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 SeaRock jigs casting when the fish get on top to feed. The Spanish are very nice in size; most fish are two to some over four pounds “nice fall size”. They are biting around the inlets, just off the beach to about two miles off. The water has been very clear some days, so I’ve used fluorocarbon leaders on these days and it has really helped me get more bites. I don’t know how much longer they will be here with the cooler air moving in; will just have to see!
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 sand flats. 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 your in a boat, you really have got to watch the waves and try not to run over the school with your boat!
We’ve caught some bigger bull Redfish on hard/live bottoms just off the beach and around the local inlets. We are catching Reds in the 24 to over 40 inch range, some days their over the slot some days their in the slot. Most of the Reds are hitting 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 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.
And last but Not lest, 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 had such a mild winter; “I Can’t wait, I love Trout fishing”! The best trout bites lately have been on grubs and hard baits, but we have caught some on the good ‘ole live shrimp as well. As the weather cools the trout fishing will get much better!
The best grubs I’ve had luck with lately are Berkley Gulp three inch shrimp in colors pearl white, new penny, and new penny flick/chart tail. I also have caught a good fair amount of trout on Saltwater Assassin’s four inch sea-shad in colors greenback shiner, chicken on a chain 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 bringing the trout to the boat are Mirrolure’s 17MR, Catch 2000 Jr, 52M and Sebile’s Koolie minnow & Magic swimmer 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 and Conflict spinning in sizes 2000, 2500 and 3000. Rods: PENN Legion 6’6” and 7’ Med/light and Med. Line: Spiderwire Ultracast in 10, 15 and 20 pound. Bull Redfish: PENN Spinfisher V 5500 and PENN Fathom 20LW. Rods: PENN Legion 1530S70 with the Spinfisher V 5500 and PENN Bluewater Carnage 700ML 20-40 class with the Fathom 20LW. 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 these 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 October 9th, 2013
Folks here is this months fishing report and forecast. I’m a little late on getting this one out, so this one is for late August and early September. The rain will just not stop this summer, I hope with the approach of fall the fronts will push the rain by a little faster than lately! The fishing has still been pretty good most days even with all the rain we’ve had. Here are a few of the fish I like to target late August and early September.
Red Drum fishing has been good this season and I’m seeing lots of over slot Redfish this year. I’m catching Reds mostly two different ways; live bait and artificial baits. When I’m fishing live baits I prefer mullets and menhaden in sizes three to six inches long. I rig these live baits on carolina rigs with a 2/0 to 6/0 circle hooks. Remember when using circle hooks, let the fish hook its self; don’t jerk the rod, just come tight with the line. If you do this you’ll never miss a Red and the fish will be hooked in the corner of the mouth for easy release. The artificial baits that are working for me are Berkley Gulp’s three and four inch shrimp rigged on red or gray jig heads. I’m casting these shrimp around docks, grass lines and oyster rocks.
Early mornings and late afternoons has produced some nice Redfish on top-water lures and rattling corks for me. The best luck I’ve had has been with MirrOlure’s Top-dog Jr and Top pup top-water lures. Another good one I’m having luck with on very calm days (slick waters) Sebile’s Ghost walker top-water lure. When I’m using live bait in shallow water a Salt Water Assassin Kwik Cork has been working very well too, with a small live mullet or menhaden under it.
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 because Sheephead are good to eat and I’ve had a few nice Black drum lately while Sheephead fishing!
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 (clearer waters). 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 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. I rig these jigs on forty pound Berkley Pro Spec clear fluorocarbon leader.
The flounder fishing this season and last has been some of the best I’ve ever seen around these waters, it did start later this year! There has been a good number of keepers, little ones and some very nice fish over five pounds caught just about everywhere this year. The bait I’ve had the best luck with this season has been Berkley Gulp Jerkshad: especially for the bigger flounder. I’m rigging five and six inch Jerkshad in colors pearl white, new penny and chart-pepper neon on 1/4oz, 3/8oz and 1/2oz dark colored jig heads (red, gray, brown etc). I prefer forty pound Berkley Pro Spec fluorocarbon leader material in clear or tannic tint for stained waters. I fish for the flounder around inlets, creeks, docks and near shore reefs. Remember when it comes to flounder fishing; “you can work the lure to fast, you can never work it to slow”!
Tarpon fishing this season has been so/so, with a few fish being hooked and caught off some of the local piers and just off the beach in boats. I jumped off a nice one just off Masonboro inlet two weeks ago. 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.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Redfish, Flounder and Spanish casting: PENN Battle and Conflict spinning in sizes 2000, 2500 & 3000 sizes. Tarpon & bigger Reds reels: Penn Battle 6000 & 7000, Penn Fathom 25N and Torque 12, 15 & 25N Tarpon) conventional reels. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Tarpon Line: 30 or 40 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Penn Legion spinning 6’6” to 7’6” Med/light to Med /hvy. Tarpon/bigger Reds Rods: Penn Bluewater Carnage jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Tarpon; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Berkley Pro Spec 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 and fishing trivia questions to win free tackle. There is a link to my Facebook page on my website. https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Capt-Jot-OwensJot-It-Down-Fishing-Charters-LLC/134340373310487
Thanks for reading these reports, if you have any questions or comments just let me know. Good fishing to you and stay cool & dry out there!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 14th, 2013
Folks the weather has not been good at all here lately and I’m just about over it all! This rain is killing my charters, but there is sun at the end of the tunnel (mid week)! The forecasters say better weather soon! Here is my July Fishing Forecast/report, have a great forth of July and stay safe!
The Flounder fishing has been fair to 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 the Berkley Gulp five and six inch Jerkshads in colors pearl white, chart pepper neon and new penny.
Another bait I started using last year with good success was the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig soft plastic lure. This is a bass (fresh water) lure but man when you see this thing you’ll know why it’s sure to catch Flounder as well as Redfish! 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 design with a longer shank hook. Colors of jig heads for Flounder fishing does not seem to be a big deciding factor, but I stick with mostly gray and red. I prefer forty pound fluorocarbon leader from Berkley Pro Spec clear for clear waters and tannic for brown/river/stained waters. With the waters being pretty lately stained I have slowed down my presentation down, to give the flounder time to see the lure! Just remember when you hook that door mat Flounder to take your time and don’t pull its head out of the water, for the flounder may just shake that hook out and nobody wants to lose a nice flounder!
The bigger Reds are starting to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets. You never know when you might hook one of these hard fighting fish. We were flounder fishing just last week and got a 44 incher on a PENN SpinFisher V 4500 reel; what a fight! 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 hooks 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 yellow tag in its back; there are a fair amount of tagged Big Reds out there.
The Spanish Mackerel are biting good 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. Fishing deeper has helped us to find cleaner water with all the rain we’ve had. 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 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! The colors that I like to use are purple, white and blue; 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 good already and it’s early! Florida had a good Tarpon season and these fish have come up from Florida, let’s hope they are still very hungry and ready to bite! 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, mullet and menhaden. I’m rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound fluorocabon leaders (Berkley Vanish or Pro Spec). 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.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Redfish, Flounder and Spanish casting: PENN Battle or Conflict spinning in sizes 2500 (Conflict), 3000 & 4000 sizes. Tarpon & bigger Reds reels: PENN Battle 7000 & 8000, PENN Fathom 25N and Torque 25N conventional reels. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Tarpon Line: 30 or 40 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: PENN Legion spinning 6’6” to 7’6” Med/light to Med /hvy. Tarpon Rods: PENN Bluewater Carnage jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Tarpon; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred 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 and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff! Just Fan (like) the page, I have fishing trivia questions to win free tackle monthly. There is a link to my Facebook page on my website.
www.facebook.com/pages/Capt-Jot-OwensJot-It-Down-Fishing-Charters-LLC/134340373310487
Thanks for reading these reports, if you have any questions or comments just let me know. Good fishing to you, stay cool out there and happy forth of July!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Fishing Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on July 1st, 2013
Finally school is out and summer fishing is getting good! The warmer weather has really gotten the fish bite fired off in the last two weeks and I’m super excited about it!!! My customers have put some very nice fish in the boat the last few weeks; three Cobia (largest 63.2 pounds) dozens of over-slot Redfish and a few keeper sizes. All the Spanish mackerel you could just about want and the Flounder really started to show this week! Here my report/forecast for June>>>
The Spanish Mackerel are biting good 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 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! The colors that I like to use are purple, white and blue; 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!
I love to catch Cobia; here are the ways I target the big brown beasts. This time of year I look for Cobia around inlets, shoals and bait schools; near shore/offshore reefs and ledges are also a good place to look too. I throw big jigs, swim baits and live bait to the Cobia when I see them. 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! Tip your Cobia Jig with a six inch curly tail grub or six inch Jerkshad from Berkley Gulp; this will help get that Cobia to eat that jig! 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.
The hot weather has really brought out the Flounder and they are finally showing up in better numbers, there are 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. 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 Jerkshad in five & six inch sizes are getting the most keeper Flounder; ‘yes a nine pounder last year’ came off a six inch Jerkshad in pearl white color! I’m rigging these Jerkshad on 1/4oz, 3/8oz and 1/2oz jig heads with longer hook shanks in red or gray color.
The bigger Reds are starting to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets. 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 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 yellow tag in its back; there are a fair amount of tagged Big Reds out there.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Reds, Blues and Flounder: PENN Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes PENN Conquer 2000. Cobia fishing reels: PENN Battle 5000, 6000 & 7000, PENN Fathom 20LW (Great Cobia and Tarpon reel). Line: Reds, Blues and Flounder: Spiderwire Ultra-cast 15# Cobia Line: 30# Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: PENN Legion Medium and Medium heavy. Cobia Rods: PENN Bluewater Carnage 20 to 40# class 7’. Leader material: Cobia; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Reds, Blues, Flounder: Berkley Pro-Spec Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
If you would like to get real time and on the water reports, as well as free tackle giveaways each month; check out my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Capt-Jot-OwensJot-It-Down-Fishing-Charters-LLC/134340373310487\
Thanks for reading this report, if you have any questions just let me know!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
PENN Reels Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on June 4th, 2013
Summer has really been showing its face around here lately and with the warm air comes more bait and more means more fish to catch! I’ve seen a big change in water temps in the last few weeks, the waters around Wrightsville Beach are hanging around 65` inshore most days; it will not be long before we are swimming! The warm water has really brought out the bait fish, which is always a good thing for fishing! The water will only get better as May temps start to really hit summer time!
The Bluefish are really starting showing just off the beaches from twenty feet to forty feet of water; you should have no problem catching them. 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. I’m using thirty and forty pound clear Berkley Big Game mono for all my trolling leaders. Tip: keep your trolling and casting speed up; faster moving baits seem to get more bites, I troll around five knots or six mph. There is a few Bonita and False Albacore around too and more should start to show soon!
When the Bonita and Albacore are on top feeding; cast Sea Rock and Sea striker jig-spoons. The colors that seem to work the best are pink/purple, white, green and blue. I use a forty pound Fluorocarbon leader; about twenty to thirty inches long. I really like Berkley’s Pro Spec tinted (gunsmoke) fluorocarbon leader material for clear water conditions. A good light seven foot rod is very important for casting to these fish: the reason for this is the further you can cast equals more chance’s you will hook up. When there are a lot of boats chasing the Bonita, they get wearer of boats. If you can cast farther; you will cover more area and you will catch more fish!
The Cobia should be here most any day and you know I’m always looking for them! 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 wind and rain we’ve had lately it will be a little harder to see those brown logs in the stained water, but that does not mean they are not around and hungry. I like 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. If you hook one of these beast, take your time fighting them, they don’t tire out easily; a green Cobia can really tear up a boat and/or you!
The Redfish have slowed a little bit over the last week due to the waters warming up, but we are still catching them; going earlier in the morning seems to help the bite some. Fishing top-water baits like MirrOlure’s Top Dog Jr or Top Pup also Sebile’s Ghost Walker are catching me some really nice Reds in shallow water. When I’m fishing in deeper water for Reds like around docks, creek mouths and deeper grass lines; I’m casting Berkley Gulp products like the four inch Ripple Mullet or the three inch Gulp shrimp. The colors I prefer in the Ripple Mullet are rootbeer gold/chart tail, goby magic chart tail, new penny and pearl white; in the three inch shrimp new penny, sugar spice glow and natural colors.
Rig these baits on a red, black, brown or gray jig head with a thirty to forty pound mono or fluorocarbon leader. I have had some good luck lately with spinner baits for the Redfish and the trick that seems to work for me is a Ripple Mullet in the color rootbeer gold/chart tail as the grub on the spinner bait. Remember reel that spinner bait; just fast enough to keep it off the bottom.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Reds, Blues, Bonita: PENN Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes Penn Conquer 2000. Cobia Fishing reels: PENN Battle 5000, 6000 & 7000, PENN Fathom 25N. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast Cobia Line: 30 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Reds, Blues, Bonits: PENN Legion Medium and Medium 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. Reds, Blues Bonita: Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon.
If you would like to get real time and on the water reports, as well as free
tackle giveaways each month; check out my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Capt-Jot-OwensJot-It-Down-Fishing-Charters-LLC/134340373310487
Thanks for reading this report, if you have any questions just let me know!
Good Luck Fishing,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
Posted in Fishing Reports on April 29th, 2013
