April is here; finally some warmer weather, better fishing and the list of fish species starts to really grow the month of April! Now I’ll tell you that there is some very good day’s weather wise in April around Wrightsville Beach, but the wind can really blow sometimes during April. With this said you need to pick your days of fishing and be ready to move your days around sometimes. Fishing during April can be very good around Wrightsville Beach; here are some of the species I target during April.
I know I talk about the Redfish (Red Drum) a lot, but hey they are one of my favorites to catch! In April we are going to see the Redfish really start to move around and one thing I’ve found is if there moving around they are looking for food. If they are looking for food then they are probably going to bite your hook! There is not a lot of bait around Wrightsville in April so I rely on artificial baits to catch spring Reds. You can not go wrong with Berkley Gulp 3” Shrimp in colors molting, new penny/chart tail, sugar spice glow and pearl. Rigging these Gulp baits on light jig heads (1/8oz & 1/4oz) in colors reds and gray should get the Reds to bite for you! Look for the Reds on the edges of oyster rocks, mash grass edge lines and creek mouths. Darker bottoms that warm up faster will hold more Redfish during April.
I love saltwater fishing but, I like any kind of fish pulling on my line salt or fresh and this time of year you can catch some really nice fresh water fish. I have run a few fresh water trips in the last few weeks with some pretty good success; we even got a few very nice bass on a fly rod early last week that went just over six pounds. Fishing local lakes, ponds and the Northeast Cape Fear River has been producing good catches of large-mouth bass. The best baits lately have been Berkley Powerbait 5” Sinkworms in colors green pumpkin/watermelon, black with red flake and watermelon. I’m rigging these worms Texas and wacky style on 4/0 wide gap worm hooks. When we are casting the fly rod we are using; six to eight weight rods with floating line and eight to twelve pound tippets.
Something that I love to do this time of year (late March to early June) is go up to lock & dam #1 and fish for Shad. These fish are so much fun to catch; they run, jump and run some more. Light tackle and fly fishing is the name of the game here! I see so many people fishing for shad use to heavy of tackle. Lighter tackle equals more bites and more fun! All you need is a light rod and reel; I use a Pflueger Echelon or a PENN Battle 1000 combo loaded with six pound Berkley Nanofil line. A two shad dart rig with Fifth teen or twenty pound mono or fluorocarbon leader; darts in colors pink and green; also some days Berkley Powerbait two inch grubs work great too. If you have not ever tried it; you need too! Also while your shad fishing you can put out a catfish line and sometimes catch a very nice Blue catfish using cut shad for bait.
Another fish that really starts to show around the inlets of Southeast North Carolina is the good’ole Bluefish. The good news of this is you can catch some choppers (big blues) this time of year. In mid April to mid May I look for chopper blues around the inlets and just off the beach. These blues will hit Berkley Gulp 7” jerkshad in colors pearl and pearl/chart pepper; hard baits like Sebile’s Koolie Minnow ML and spoons like Sebile’s Ondu spoon will also get these choppers to bite. Don’t forget the steal leaders for these fish or they will get a free lure form you every time! Try light single strand wire in sizes #2, #3 or #4 will keep your lures on the end of your line and not in a bluefish’s pocket! You can also use live baits like shad, pinfish or menhaden in King mackerel rigs to catch these bigger blues.
There is one fish that a lot of anglers over look in April and that is the Black Drum. What I love about these fish is you can catch them in good numbers this time of year and there pretty darn good to eat! On top of all that they are also easy to catch; all you need is a little fresh as you can get shrimp. Use a light two hook bottom rig with number two or number three size eagle claw bait holder hooks. Fish around docks, oyster rocks and inlets for these Black Drum; you might even get a Redfish mixed in as well! Sometimes I
catch two Black Drum at the same time on the same rig; that’s what I call good fishing!
Towards mid April the Bonita should show up just offshore of Wrightsville. Trolling Clark spoons and small deep driver lures can be the key to success some days for the Bonita. 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. A bird rig on top with a Clark spoon about five to six feet behind it or Blue water Candy Spanish daisy chain (blue, silver, pink) have worked very well for me on top too. Look for birds working or marking bait on you fish finder is the way to find the feeding fish. When the fish are not on top, I’ve caught some nice Blues and a few Bonita by casting a spoon out and letting it sink down before reeling is in. I’ve found that some times these fish are deeper and you can get them by getting down to deeper water.
Tackle run down: PENN Battle Spinning reels 3000& 4000 sizes. Rods: PENN Legion 6’6” & 7’ medium and med/heavy action. Line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen pound.
If you would like to get real time and on the water reports 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! If you would like to go fishing drop me a line; I’m booking now for this coming summer fishing season and 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 April 5th, 2013
Well folks, as soon as the weather got warm, it got cold again, but wait here comes another (little) warm up? And then cold again; welcome to North Carolina winter weather! There are good things to this up and down weather, if you time it right the fishing can be good on the warmer weather times or just as it starts to cool off again! I can tell you not much has changed since my last report/forecast. I’m going to give a little more detail info on what I’m doing this time of year to keep y’all reading my reports!
The Cape Fear River Striped Bass fishing has been pretty steady for much of this winter and I’ve seen a hand full of very nice Striped Bass come form the river; a few over fifthteen pounds and one or two over twenty pounds. The most important tip I can give you for these fish is as its gets colder (water temps) you really need to slow down your presentation while fishing. I truly slow down just how fast I work my lures and it really will get you more bites when the water is colder.
Here are the ways I fish for Cape Fear River Striper’s. Try Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five and six inch size; in pearl & new penny colors. 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; this is a great hook at a great price. www.moanerhooks.com I use the weighted Stroker hook in 1/4oz 5/0. If you would like to cast hard baits, try casting X-raps in color green back or glass-ghost or MirrOlure 17MR or 27MR’s. Look for Stripers on drop-offs, dock pilings and reed-grass lines.
As the waters cool down it gets a little harder to catch Redfish, but they are still here! One very good tip I can tell you about winter Redfish is; when you find a school that won’t bite for you, take some time and try to get a bite. Most of the time if you get one Red to bite the others will fire off too! Warmer, sunny and lower wind days can be the key to catching these inshore winter Redfish.
Look for these Reds in creeks with dark colored bottoms and oyster rocks; anywhere the water may be a bit warmer. 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, colors that seem to work the best are pearl, sugar spice glow, molting and new penny. Try lighter jig heads like 1/16 and 1/8 when winter fishing; lighter jig heads help you to work the lure much slower and still look natural as possible. I always use fluorocarbon leader when I’m fishing cold water fish; the water is almost always clear during the winter months!
When the weather warms up a bit during the winter months, you can sometimes find a good Blackdrum bite up in some of the local creeks. I find these Blackdrum in creeks from Topsail down to Bald Head Island. Look for creeks with dark mud bottoms and good oyster rocks running down the edge of a hole in the creek. These are the places on warmer days you will find red and black drum. Try smaller well scented baits like Berkley Gulp 2” shrimp on very light jig heads. You can also try light Carolina rigs with small pieces of shelled shrimp, take the shell off the shrimp; trust me! Cast down the edges of these holes and drop offs in creeks.
Fishing gear I use:
Gear used: Redfish, Blackdrum and Striped Bass: reels PENN Conquer 2000 and Battle 3000 & 4000 spinning reels. Rods PENN Legion or Regiment in med 8 to 15# class. Line: Spiderwire Ultracast ten and fifth teen pound. Fluorocarbon leader material, Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon in tints Gunsmoke for clearer waters and Tannic for river or stained waters in thirty.
Thanks for reading and good luck fishing!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on January 30th, 2013
I hope everybody is making through this winter so far, the weather been up and down and that is an understatement! There are some fish biting but you just need to go on the right days to catch them. If you’re settled down for the winter and don’t feel like fishing, hit a local or regional fishing school or boat show; you never know what you might learn or see!
The Redfishing 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 creek 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, colors that seem to work the best are pearl, sugar spice glow, molting and new penny. Try lighter jig heads like 1/16 and 1/8 when winter fishing; lighter jig heads help you to work the lure much slower and still look nature as possible. Don’t forget fluorocarbon leader in thirty pound, the water is very clear most days in the winter!
I’ve made quite a few trips to the Cape Fear River this year; there are three different kinds of fish to chase in the Cape Fear, Catfish, Redfish and Striped Bass most all winter long. Here is a few ways to put a CFR Striper or Redfish on your line. Try Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five and six inch size; in pearl & new penny colors. Work these baits slowly and always rig them weed-less; there are many hangs in the Cape Fear River. I like www.moanerhooks.com weighted Stroker hooks in 1/4oz 5/0 size; great hook for the money! Look for Stripers on drop-offs, dock pilings and reed-grass lines. I catch the river Redfish on the same rigs for the Striped Bass. Remember the Cape Fear River Striped Bass Fishery is closed and all Striped Bass 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’!
Fishing gear I use:
Gear used: Redfish and Striped Bass: reels Penn Conquer 2000 and Battle 3000 & 4000 spinning reels. Catfish: PENN SSV 4500. Rods PENN Legion or Regiment in med 8 to 15# class. Line: Spiderwire Ultracast ten and fifth teen pound. Fluorocarbon leader material, Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon in tints Gunsmoke for clearer waters and Tannic for river or stained waters in thirty pound for Redfish and Striped Bass.
Thanks for reading and good luck fishing!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on December 30th, 2012
Well folks as soon as it gets colder; here comes some more mild weather, hey I’ll take it! November was a cold, windy and rainy month; we need it and deserve it! I have got to tell you not much has changed since my last report as what fish are biting and what they a hitting. One thing that has changed is I’m starting to see some very nice size trout biting, with trophy trout coming in the boat on most of my trips!
This season has been a very good grub/jig season with hundreds of trout coming to the boat on grubs. The two hot grubs this season for me has been the Berkley Gulp Fire tail 3” shrimp and Saltwater Assassin 4” sea shad pattern. The colors that are catching the most and biggest trout in the fire tail shrimp are watermelon red fleck, pearl and new penny. In the sea shads; chicken on a chain, salt&pepper silver with chart tail, sweet pea, greenback shiner and rainbow trout. If you really just want to target bigger trout try a Berkley Gulp 6” Jerkshad or a Gulp 4” Shrimp pattern; you’ll need to work these baits a bit slower, but it might just put that five pound or bigger trout in the boat for you.
Live baits like Shrimp, mud minnows and small finger mullet have caught my charters some big numbers of keeper trout lately. I rig these baits on float rigs in shallow waters of three to five feet and light Carolina rigs for deeper waters of six to over ten foot deep. Lively bait is very important to getting Speckled trout to eat your live bait, take care of your live bait. The livelier the bait the more bites you will get; trust me!
There have still been lots of good by-catches while we are trout fishing; these include Tautog, Sheephead, Flounder, Black drum and Red drum. These by-catches are hitting the Gulp, minnows and live shrimp we are using for the trout. The great thing is they are all good eating! My favorites are the Tautog and Sheephead. If your bait gets close to the bottom, you’ve got a good chance at picking up one of these guys. One trip last week put four Tautogs in the boat with Berkley Gulp Fire tail shrimp!
When the waters start to cool down the Cape Fear River Striped Bass start bite; these fish are not the easiest to catch, but they fight very well even in cold water. Working drop offs on the edge of the river is where you can find the Stripers, using swim bait lures and Berkley Power Bait and Berkley Gulp Jerkshad should put a few Cape Fear Stripers on you line. Don’t forget that the Cape Fear River Striped Bass Fishery is closed; catch and release only!
Large winter Redfish schools are one of my favorite fish to look for during winter mouths. On calm, light wind days you can find these Reds on dark mud flats and oyster rocks. Also you can find large schools around inlets and sand bars just off the local beaches. When you find these schools approach very slow and quietly, for they spoke very easily.
Most of the time the winter school Reds will bite pretty easily, but one thing that will help is scented baits like Berkley Gulp! I prefer Berkley Gulp Ripple Mullet in colors Pearl/chart tail, New Penny and Rootbeer gold/chart tail; also the Berkley Gulp 5” and 6” Jerkshad work well too. Sometimes you may need to work the bait a little slower during colder months, so try using a light jig head; this will allow you to work the bait slower.
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
I give lots of daily fishing reports and photos coming right from the boat on my Facebook page.
Fishing Gear I use:
Speckled trout, Striped Bass and Redfish: Reels PENN Battle 2000, 3000 & 4000 spinning reels. Rods: PENN Legion rods Line: Spiderwire Ultracast Invisi-Braid; I prefer eight and ten pound for trout fishing and ten to fifth teen for Redfish and Striped Bass. Fluorocarbon leader material, Berkley Pro Spec Tinted Fluorocarbon in tints Gunsmoke for clearer waters and Tannic for river or stained waters in twenty pound test.
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget take a kid fishing and good fall fishing to you!
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on December 5th, 2012
Can you believe October is over?!?! We made it through Sandy pretty good over all (here at least)! Here it is already November and if you know me when it comes to Wrightsville beach, NC fishing in November you know I’ll be Speckled trout fishing most days! November is by far the best Speckled trout month around Wrightsville Beach area waters. Big trout and good numbers all the way through the end of November and most years in to December too!
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 lines, oyster rocks that run in to a channel and drop-offs in channels are all good places to find Speckled trout in November. Almost any grass lines with oysters will hold some trout during November.
One key point to trout I’ve found is that most days Specks will bite, but what are they hitting that day? I’ve found that in early November hard baits work well. 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 17MR, 18MR, 27MR, 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 MirrOlure.com.
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 Fire Tail shrimp is a new 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.
Saltwater Assassin’s 4” 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.
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.
Don’t count out Redfish in 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 too. Casting lures to these Reds like Berkley Gulp Ripple mullets or 5” 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. Last year I had a client put a eight and a half pounder in the boat while we were trout fishing; 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.
Tackle run down: Penn Battle Spinning reels sizes 2000& 3000 for the Bluefish, Redfish and Speckled trout. Rods PENN Legion in 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!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on November 1st, 2012
