Well Folks, the weather has been a little better lately; but with that said here comes a low pressure heading up the coast! It’s a little early for this kind of weather. With all the East/Northeast wind lately the water just off the beach has gotten very clear and has helped the fishing for my clients! Let’s talk about this in this weeks fishing report>>>
The inshore fishing is really picking up; the last two weeks have been very good inshore! We are catching Redfish on fresh bait as well as artificial lures. The best bait lately has been fresh cut menhaden and small live menhaden. Using carolina rigs with 1/0 EC L42 hooks and forty pound Berkley Big Game mono leader. A 1/2oz to 1oz egg sinkers is doing the trick for weight on the carolina rig. Fishing in the ICW, creeks and on docks with carolina rigs for deeper water Redfish has been a good trend lately. When fishing with live bait for Redfish in shallow water we are using Saltwater Assassin Kwik-Cork with twelve to sixteen inches of forty pound Berkley BG mono leader and a 1/0 EC L42 hook.
When we are casting artificial’s for the Redfish we are using a few different kinds of baits. In deeper waters scented grubs have done very well; Berkley Gulp and Powerbait have been the favorite. Gulp 3” shrimp and 2” peeler crabs on 1/4oz to 3/8ox red jig heads with a thirty pound Stern tinted Fluorocarbon leader (gunsmoke). We use the same setup for the Powerbait in shrimp and jerkshad patterns as the Gulp grubs. The swallow water artificial bite is really picking up; casting lures in one to three foot of water. MirrOlure’s Top Dog Jr and Top Pup in colors 11(red head/white body) and 808 (black/gold/orange) have been the choice top waters for us. When the sun is high and the sky is clear we cast spinner baits in shallow waters; we prefer gold spoon and new penny grubs on our spinner baits.
Sheephead fishing is starting to pick up as well around the area. The best bet is fishing around bridges, docks and bulk-heads. Fishing in water from six to fifth-teen feet for Sheephead seems to work the best for us. We fish mostly using small Carolina rigs, with forty pound mono leader and small but strong live bait hooks. Baits we are using; fiddler crabs and sand fleas have worked just fine. Give it a shot, it takes time but you’ll get one; Hold-on tight! We have also caught a hand full of very nice Blackdrum while Sheephead fishing.
Flounder fishing is really picking up around the area. Most of the Flounder are eating little menhaden and Mud minnows on light Carolina rigs. The Flounder are mixed in size to just under keeper size to a few over five pounds. We have caught some Flounder on Artificial baits as well. We have had the best luck with Berkley Gulp 3” pogy in pearl white and smelt colors. Rig the grubs on a red or black jig head for best results. Flounder fishing should stay consistent right through the summer and fall.
We have started to catch a few very nice Speckled trout lately, summer Specks are not always easy to catch. The great thing about summer trout is they love to hit top water lures as well as grubs! This last week we had one over five pounds and few others in the two to three pound range. Casting topwater’s like the Top Dog Jr and She Dog early in the morning and late afternoon have produced some nice Trout. When we are not using topwaters, Powerbait shrimp grubs and 17MR’s are working well. Just remember Trout have very eyes, always use a fluorocarbon leader when Trout fishing. We prefer twenty pound Stren tinted Fluorocarbon leader material in tannic for brown/river colored waters and gumsmoke for clear water conditions.
Last but never lest; Cobia are starting to show up around the area waters. We 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; “go bright”! When I’m not sight casting for them, we are fishing around inlets, shoals and near shore artificial reefs. We float fish, bottom fish and kite fish in these areas with live menhaden, blues and mullet as bait. You can chum if you like, but the sharks will come and they will come in numbers!
Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lite 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.
Cobia: Spinning setup Penn Conquer 7000 with an Ugly Stick Tiger lite Jigging rod 6’ 6” and Penn 320LD Reel and a Tiger lite jigging rod.
Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
Hello from Southeast North Carolina, I hope everybody is having a good fishing season so far this year! I’ve had a good one so far myself; the water temps are going up so fast this year. We have had a lot of up and down weather lately, but the water temps are still going up fast. I thought we were going to be late on water temps this year but we are very close to being on time with past seasons.
The real winner for me lately has been those Spanish mackerel. My charters have done very good in the last few trips, with catches of twenty or more Spanish in a half day. Most of the Spanish are biting Clark spoons trolled behind #1 planner’s. The Clark spoons that are working the best for us are sizes; 00 and 0 in silver and pink flash. I really like the pink flash series, these spoons have worked very well for my charters. If you would like to go lighter; you can pull small deep diving lures as well.
When the Spanish are on top feeding and jumping, Maria jig spoons have been the trick. The colors that seem to be working are pink, green and blue in sizes seven & fourteen gram. (Hint): keep it to smaller lures when the weather gets hot! We also caught a few Bonita’s mixed in with the Spanish.
There has also been plenty of blue fish up and down the beach as well. Trolling or casting small deep divers has produced lots of bluefish around the inlets. We have also caught a hand full of chopper blues too. These choppers are running in the six to over fifth teen pound range. The choppers are biting big poppers and mid water stick baits. Color really does not seem to matter to those big blues, just a lot of action from the lure!
Bottom fishing just off the beach has produced some nice Black bass, grunts and small Grouper, of course on the lighter wind days! Jigs and squid are the trick, fishing the squid on simple two hook bottom rigs. Jig fishing using two to five once jigs in colors pink, green and red/white. We are fishing mostly hard and live bottom areas, in the one to ten mile range for the bottom fish. There has been some small and keeper Gray trout showing up on hard bottoms closer to the beach.
The flounder bite is picking up some too; we are starting to see a few fish inshore as well on the near shore reefs and wrecks. Most of the flounder inshore are mixed in size, but the fish in the ocean are a little better in size. Live bait and grubs are the best bet. Carolina rigs for the live bait and heavy jig heads for the grubs. I prefer bright grubs; Berkley Powerbait jerk shad and Saltwater Assassin’s sea shads in colors chart/diamond and silver mullet work very well.
Red fish have been hit or miss for me lately, some days we get a few some days we don’t. This should change when more live bait shows up in the creeks and channels. What Reds we are getting are hitting fresh bait and Berkley Gulp shrimp and peeler crabs (2”) size; on Carolina rigs and jig heads. We are starting to see a few Reds on the Flats, when we are fishing shallow waters for Reds we use Rattling corks. Rigging the Rattling corks with a Berkley Gulp 3” Shrimp, really seems to get there attention.
Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.
In Other Fishing News:
June 5-6, 2010 “In the Water Fishing School” I, Capt. Rick Bennett and four other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! There will be one day of hands on classroom instruction and the next day on the water, real-time fishing experience. The school is limited to the first 24 participants! If you want to learn from the best local guides and see how we do it, take the time to check it out; http://www.rodmancharters.com/inthewater-fishing-school.htm *We only have a few spots left for this School!!! I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!
Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
Folks the weather has really been changing a lot lately. With ups and downs in temps, winds and cloud cover. We have had some very nice days and we’ve had some very windy days as well. Over all, the fishing has been good and we are seeing different kinds of fish showing up as the water warms up. We are even starting to see a few Spanish mackerel around just off the beach. To the Fishing Report>>>
On the nice days; light winds and sunny skies the ocean fishing has been good. We have been targeting lots of different fish like; Gray trout, Sea bass, Blues, and Flounder. Jigging has been the most productive for this kind of fishing. The best lures have been metal jigging spoons and grubs. One once jigging spoons and ½ oz grubs with Berkley Gulp as a tip on the jigging spoons. We have caught most of the fish on hard/live bottoms and artificial reefs just off the beach to six miles off the beach. There has been a hand full of very nice Sea bass, with a few over three plus pounds; that’s some great eating!
We are seeing Bonita, Blues and a few Spanish when we are trolling off the beach from one to five miles. Trolling Clark spoons and small deep driver lures has been the key to success. 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 us put more fish in the boat. A bird rig on top with a Clark spoon about five to six feet behind it or a Blue water Candy Spanish daisy chain have worked very well on top too. Look for birds working or marking bait on you fish finder is the way to find the feeding fish.
When the Bonita, Blues and Spanish are on top feeding; cast Maria and Sea striker jig-spoons. The colors that seem to work the best are pink, green and blue. We use a forty pound Fluorocarbon leader; about fifth teen to eight teen inches long. I really like Stren’s tinted (gunsmoke) floro leader material for clear water conditions; “this stuff really works”! A light weight 7’ rod loaded with ten to fifth teen pound braid is important for casting to these fast 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 far; you will catch more of these fish!
Redfish are really starting to fire off; we are starting to see a few bigger fish in the area from Topsail down to the Cape Fear River. When we are casting lures; grubs are doing the trick. Berkley Gulp and Powerbait in colors molting and new penny; fishing them around docks, oyster rocks and grass lines are catching drum well. Bait fishing is still good and will continue right through the summer. Red and Black drum are hitting cut shrimp and mullet on Carolina rigs around the same area; dock oyster rocks etc… You never know how big or little the drum will be when you are bait fishing; we’ve had reds as small as fourteen inches and as big as over thirty inches.
Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.
In Other Fishing News:
June 5-6, 2010 “In the Water Fishing School” I, Capt. Rick Bennett and four other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! There will be one day of hands on classroom instruction and the next day on the water, real-time fishing experience. The school is limited to the first 24 participants! If you want to learn from the best local guides and see how we do it, take the time to check it out; http://www.rodmancharters.com/inthewater-fishing-school.htm *We only have a few spots left for this School!!! I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!
Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
Man, we have had some great weather here lately! I hope this is the trend for the rest of the summer! Light winds, sunny days; with a little rain here and there. The water temps have really started to go up fast inshore, the ocean is going up but it’s taking its time getting up. Both inshore and near shore fishing will continue to get better with warmer air and water temps. To the fishing report>>>
The near shore bottom fishing has been good lately; with catches of Black bass, Grunts, Ring tails and a few small groupers. We also are starting to see some Bluefish and Gray trout closer to the beach. The best luck for the bottom fishing for us has been; cut squid on two hook bottom rigs. We are using 1/0, 2/0 and 3/0 EC bait holder hooks. Bank sinkers in weights one and two ounces are working well for holding the rigs to the bottom. Finding these fish is not hard, look for them on ledges, hard/live bottoms and wrecks from three to fifth teen miles offshore.
False Albacore fishing lately has been very good the days we are trying for them. We are finding the Albacore from five to twenty miles offshore. There has been a few Bonita mixed in with them form time to time as well. It should not be long before we are catching good numbers of Bonita around the area waters. The #0 and #1 pink flash Clark spoon has caught most of our fish lately. Trolling these spoons on #1 planner and up top with bird rigs; we use thirty to forty feet of forty pound Berkley big game mono as leader on the planners. On the bird rig, we rig it with five to six feet of leader to the spoon. Don’t forget to put a ball bearing swivel on the bird and planner; this will keep tangles from happing (well most of the time!)
When the Bonita and Albacore are on top feeding; cast Maria and Sea striker jig-spoons. The colors that seem to work the best are pink, green and blue. We use a forty pound Fluorocarbon leader; about fifth teen to eight teen inches long. I really like Stren’s tinted (gunsmoke) floro leader material for clear water conditions; “this stuff really works”! A light weight 7’ rod loaded with ten to fifth teen pound braid is important for casting to these fast 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 far; you will catch more of these fish!
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 that 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 combo PECHSP50-2UL loaded with six pound Berkley Fireline crystal braid. A two shad dart rig with twenty pound mono or floro leader; darts in colors pink and green. On our last trip we caught well over fifty shad. If you have not ever tried it; you need too!
Fresh water large mouth Bass fishing is still going strong, we’ve had some great day’s bass fishing in the last two weeks. We are fishing local lakes, pond and the NE Cape Fear River. The best lures have been; sinko worms rigged with no weight in colors green pumpkin, watermelon and black/red fleck. I prefer Berkley’s 5” & 7” heavy weight fat sinkworm series, I rig the worms on 7/0 wide gag worm hooks. We have also had some luck with the 17MR MirrOlure in colors 18, 49, 50 and BKGCH. I really surprised at how many saltwater lures work so well for fresh water fishing, but also how many people don’t try’em! We are catching eight to over fifth teen bass a day; sizes of a pound to over four pounds.
The Redfish and Black drum bite in the ICW and creeks just off the ICW is still good. We are starting to see a few smaller Reds 14” to 21” in some of the creeks on warmer days. Most reds and black drum are hitting mud minnows and “fresh as you can get shrimp”. We use two hook bottom rigs with 2, 1 & 1/0 bait holder hooks, with the fresh shrimp. If you would like to go the artificial root, I would recommend using scented grubs. The best bet I’ve used has been Berkley Gulp and Berkley Powerbait shrimp in colors Pearl & New Penny. Jigs heads for the grubs in ¼ to 3/8 oz, colors red and black seem to be the trick. Work’em slow around docks and drop-offs on grass lines and oyster rocks. The best tides have been falling or raising but fishing closer to the lower parts of the tides.
Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire
Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S. Fresh water gear: Pflueger Spinning reel Supreme XT 9035XT.
In Other Fishing News:
Don’t forget; there are some great boat and fishing expos coming to North Carolina. If you like fishing and boats you don’t want to miss these shows and fishing seminars! Here are the one’s that myself as well as other Ranger boats pro staff members will be at this spring.
April 23-25, 2010 Tex’s Tackle Spring Tackle Sale and Show. I’ll be there with PENN Reels and Pure fishing. We will have some of the new Tackle from Penn and Pure Fishing, if you have any questions about any products from Penn or Pure fishing we’ll be happy to answer them for you.
June 5-6, 2010 “In the Water Fishing School” I, Capt. Rick Bennett and four other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! There will be one day of hands on classroom instruction and the next day on the water, real-time fishing experience. The school is limited to the first 24 participants! If you want to learn from the best local guides and see how we do it, take the time to check it out; http://www.rodmancharters.com/inthewater-fishing school.htm I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!
Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
I hope everyone is enjoying this very nice weather we’ve had lately. We have had a few cooler days and the wind has been blowing but for the most part; it’s a lot better than the stuff we had this winter!!! The water temps are coming up with good speed and it looks like we are getting on track for normal water temps for this time of year.
There has been a good bite of Redfish and Black drum in the ICW and creeks just off the ICW. We are starting to see a few smaller Reds 14” to 21” in some of the creeks on warmer days. Most reds and black drum are hitting mud minnows and “fresh as you can get shrimp”. We use two hook bottom rigs with 2, 1 & 1/0 bait holder hooks, with the fresh shrimp. If you would like to go the artificial root, I would recommend using scented grubs. The best bet I’ve used has been Berkley Gulp and Berkley Powerbait shrimp in colors Pearl & New Penny. Jigs heads for the grubs in ¼ to 3/8 oz, colors red and black seem to be the trick. Work’em slow around docks and drop-offs on grass lines and oyster rocks. The best tides have been falling or raising but fishing closer to the lower parts of the tides.
We are seeing a few small Speckled trout around Wrightsville, south of Wrightsville the bigger one’s should really start to bite any day. Grubs have been the best bet for the trout; we’re using Saltwater Assassin sea shad and shrimp patterns. Colors that have worked lately; Elec. Chicken and Chart Diamond and Chicken on a chain. Don’t forget those never fell; Mirrolure’s, in colors silver mullet and white on white. Mirrolure I like are the 17MR and 27MR in the spring. The water is still cool so don’t forget to work the lures a little slower. Look for the Specks around marsh grass lines that have oysters on the edges of them.
Fresh water large mouth Bass fishing has really picked up lately, we’ve had some great day’s bass fishing in the last two weeks. We are fishing local lakes, pond and the NE Cape Fear River. The best lures have been; sinko worms rigged with no weight in colors green pumpkin, watermelon and black/red fleck. I prefer Berkley’s 5” & 7” heavy weight fat sinkworm series, I rig the worms on 7/0 wide gag worm hooks. We have also had some luck with the 17MR MirrOlure in colors 18, 49, 50 and BKGCH. I really surprised at how many saltwater lures work so well for fresh water fishing, but also how many people don’t try’em! We are catching eight to over fifth teen bass a day; sizes of a pound to over four pounds.
Near shore bottom fishing is good now with catches of sea bass, ringtails and tautogs. The dog sharks are thick just off the beach too, we had over 25 sharks on the last near shore bottom fishing trip. Squid has been the bait of choice, I like squid because it stays on the hook and it’s easier to catch the bigger fish with it. I like to make my own bottom rigs for bottom fishing. I use sixty pound mono with three way swivels and 3/0 off set J hooks. A two to four once bank sinker tied to twenty pound mono, that way if it gets hung-up you can get your rig back. This kind of fishing is great for kids and beginners because it’s instant gratification; drop down and get a bite!
Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire
Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S. Fresh water gear: Pflueger Spinning reel Supreme XT 9035XT.
In Other Fishing News:
Don’t forget; there are some great boat and fishing expos coming to North Carolina. If you like fishing and boats you don’t want to miss these shows and fishing seminars! Here are the one’s that myself as well as other Ranger boats pro staff members will be at this spring.
April 23-25, 2010 Tex’s Tackle Spring Tackle Sale and Show. I’ll be there with PENN Reels and Pure fishing. We will have some of the new Tackle from Penn and Pure Fishing, if you have any questions about any products from Penn or Pure fishing we’ll be happy to answer them for you.
June 5-6, 2010 “In the Water Fishing School” Myself, Capt. Rick Bennett
and four other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! There will be one day of hands on classroom instruction and the next day on the water, real-time fishing experience. The school is limited to the first 24 participants! If you want to learn from the best local guides and see how we do it, take the time to check it out; http://www.rodmancharters.com/inthewater-fishing-school.htm I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!
Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
