Hello from southeast North Carolina; the wind is finally not blowing and the fish are biting!!! Finally some nice weather on a holiday weekend; (a fishing guides dream)! We had a great week of fishing and those good’ole Cobia have started to really show up here. Let’s talk about that in this fishing report>>>
Well if you know me at all, there is one fish that drives me crazy besides Tarpon; it’s Cobia! I love to fish, catch and eat them. We saw good numbers of Cobia the last fives days of fishing; with a few catch’s and one big loss! On Saturday we saw five Cobia; hooked two, got one small one and released it. The one that got away went 70# plus, ran 100 to 150 yards and pulled the hook; “I wanted to cry”! That’s fishing!!
Most of the Cobia fishing I’m doing now is sight fishing up and down the beach strands. The water has really started to clear up, making it 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!
We are really starting to see some good numbers of Redfish inshore the last two weeks. The Reds we are getting are hitting fresh cut, bait live and scented Saltwater Assassin (Blurp) grubs in colors; drunk monkey and molting. We’ve been rigging these on weed less hooks for grass fishing in some of the bays and flats. There is also some live bait starting to show up around the area. We’ve caught a few nice Reds float fishing with Assassin (Kwik-corks) on the shallows and flats.
This week we also got in to some nicer keeper Flounder in the south Wrightsville areas. We’ve also caught some small to just over keeper size in some of the local creeks and creek mouths. Most are hitting on a falling tide where the bait comes pouring out of the shallows. Mud minnows are work well now; that is until the little mullets show up in good numbers. We are using light Carolina rigs with #1 L42 Eagle claw hooks; going very light on the egg sinker: ¼ to ¾ oz.
The Spanish and Blues are still chewing up and down the beaches. The Kings are showing them self’s a little better this week too. The kings have been in the five to twenty mile range and there are a few Mahi’s showing too!
Keep your eyes peeled on some new tackle from Penn that will come out soon; (Hint) If you like to catch big fish on spinning tackle; you will not want to miss these reels!
Gear used: Spanish, Blues, Reds and Flounder: reels Penn Sargus SG2000 and SG4000 Rods: Ugly Stick Lite 7’0″ Med light and Med act. Line: Fire Line crystal in 10 and 20 pound test. Cobia: Penn spinning reel 760L (Live Liner) Rod: Penn Torque 6’6” 30-80 class. Line: forty (40) pound Berkley Big Game braid.
Thanks for taking the time to read this report, don’t forget to take a kid fishing!
Capt. Jot Owens
Ranger Boats and
Pure Fishing Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
Hello folks, I hope everyone is enjoying this fishing season so far; except all the WIND lately!!! Man, one week of light winds and pay with two plus weeks of hard southwest! That is North Carolina Spring for ya! The big (bar highs) will be here soon: “I hope”! Will let’s talk about the windy weather fishing report>>>
The water has really gotten dirty with all the wind lately; when we find clearer water, we are finding the fish. Most of the Spanish and Blues 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 plan silver and pink flash. When the Spanish are on top feeding and jumping, Maria jig spoons have been the trick. 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!
I’ve seen a few Cobia around the inlets and near shore reefs. Live bait fishing is the best bet for these great fighting fish. Fishing live baits on top as well as on the bottom will get you the best chance at catching a Cobia. I prefer bluefish, mullet and menhaden for bait; what ever is easier to get. To catch a Cobia you’ve got to put your time in, sometimes you catch one right away; sometimes you don’t. That’s why they call it fishing! The Cobia should keep getting better later in to May. It’s time now to book you Cobia trips.
We are seeing a few more Redfish around; most fish have been in the water way, bays and around some of the inlets. As more live bait shows up, more Reds will come out of the ocean and in to the sounds. This is starting to happen, the fishing should pick up in the next few weeks. The Reds we are getting are hitting fresh cut, bait live and scented Saltwater Assassin (Blurp) grubs in colors; drunk monkey and molting. We’ve been rigging these on weed less hooks for grass fishing in some of the bays and flats.
There are some Flounder around, we’ve not caught any great numbers yet, but this should change very soon with the bait showing up. We’ve caught some small to just over keeper size in some of the local creeks and creek mouths. Most are hitting on a falling tide where the bait comes pouring out of the shallows. Mud minnows are work well now; that is until the little mullets show up in good numbers. We are using light Carolina rigs with #1 L42 Eagle claw hooks; going very light on the egg sinker: ¼ to ¾ oz.
Gear used: Spanish, Blues, Reds and Flounder: reels Penn Sargus SG2000 and SG4000 Rods: Ugly Stick Lite 7’0″ Med light and Med act. Line: Fire Line crystal in 10 and 20 pound test. Cobia: Penn spinning reel 760L (Live Liner) Rod: Penn Torque 6’6” 30-80 class. Line: forty (40) pound Berkley Big Game braid.
Thanks for taking the time to read this report, get out there and go fishing!
Capt. Jot Owens
Ranger Boats and
Pure Fishing Pro 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 are two to three weeks ahead on water temps at this time last season. It has showed too; good catch’s of Spanish mackerel in April! On that note let’s talk fishing!
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 thirty 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. 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 five to ten mile range for the bottom fish.
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; Saltwater Assassin’s sea shads in colors chart/diamond and silver mullet work real 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 scented Saltwater Assassin (Blurp) grubs in colors; drunk monkey and molting.
Gear used: Reels Penn Sargus SG2000 and SG4000 Rods: Ugly Stick Lite 7’0″ Med light and Med act. Line: Fire Line crystal in 10 and 20 pound test.
Thanks for taking the time to read this report, get out there and go fishing!
Capt. Jot Owens
Ranger Boats and
Pure Fishing Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
Good day to everyone. The weather is starting to finally get right; we are having more warm days than cooler ones. The forecast has warmer days for the rest of the week. Wind wise a little better everyday, we’ve finally started to get out on the ocean and start looking for those Bonita’s. Let’s talk about that.
Those high speed Bonita’s should show up any day now; there has already been a small push of Spanish in the last few days. I think this is a push of fish and warm water; these fish will probably move out of here. The Bluefish are mixed in with them too. We’re catching them by trolling and casting. The trolling rigs that we’re using are; a number one planner with thirty to forty feet of forty pound mono leader. Tied to the leader is a Clark spoon in size’s 0, 1 and 2, I like to use the gold and pink flash Clark spoons. Troll them about five to six knots. You can also troll small deep diving plugs too, but you need to slow down your speed to around three knots.
If you would like to try casting or jigging for the Bonita’s, Blues and Spanish I would use Maria jigs. They do have a price tag on them, but when the bite is tough these jigs will pay off! Maria’s that I have the best luck with are size’s seven and fourteen grams. The fourteens are easier to cast. Colors to use; green, blue and pink seem to work the best for me. I put a small shot of forty pound mono leader 12 to14 inches.
There has been a very good Black drum bite the last two weeks, most days I’m catching 14+ plus on a half day. Most of the drum are biting around docks and creek mouths in the ICW. The best bait “by far” has been fresh cut shrimp in small pieces. We are using small two hook drop rig, with a number 2 bait holder hook and one or two oz bank sinkers.
The Speckled trout have decided to bite from time to time the last few weeks. Most fish are coming out of creeks, flats and channels around the waterway and inlets. Best bet for the trout so far has been grubs, working the grubs slow in holes and drop-offs. The grubs I like in the spring mouths are Saltwater Assassin sea shad in 4”. Colors silver mullet, chart diamond, Chicken on a chain and salt/pep shad. I like to use shrimp (Bang) scent in the spring too, this helps because there is not much bait in the water yet. I don’t use a lot of scents for Trout, but in the cool spring mouths it can really help.
Gear used: Reels Penn Sargus SG2000 and SG4000 Rods: Ugly Stick Lite 7’0″ Med light and Med act. Line: Fire Line crystal in 10 and 20 pound test.
Thanks for taking the time to read this report, get out there and go fishing!
Capt. Jot Owens
Ranger Boats and
Pure Fishing Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
Hello everybody, I hope spring is treating you well! Not to bad around here, two days warm then one day cool. Hey that’s spring for ya around the Carolina coast! One day breezy, two days calm sometime it’s the other way around! That’s why I love the Carolina coast we have real seasons around here! Enough about weather, to the fishing report we go!
On some of the windier days when it’s been hard to get out on the coast to fish we’ve been doing a little bit of fresh water fishing. The large mouth Bass have been biting well. Most trips we are catching nine to over fifth teen bass a day. The size of the Bass are running one to over five pounds, most fish are two to three pounds. Bass are hitting Bass Assassin rubber worms in colors black and red shad “red and black”. We are also catching some of the bass on senko worms. Rigging the worms Carolina style seems to work the best.
On the coast fishing has been a little hit or miss for the most part. Some days we go out and get over ten Redfish some days it’s less. The best bait for the Reds lately has been fresh shrimp or live mud minnows. I have had the most luck rigging the shrimp and minnows on Carolina rigs. We are using EC L 42 style hooks in number “one” size. The Reds are running in the sixteen to twenty-five inch range with a few bigger ones mixed in from time to time.
If you would like to go the artificial root, I would recommend using scented grubs. The best bet is to use Saltwater Assassin “Blurps” in Colors Molting and good penny. These Blurps are really well scented to put out one great scent trail. Those Reds will find them, trust me! 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.
There are a few trout and flounder around as well, they are not very big, but some times you can pull out a keeper. Mud minnows and grubs are the ticket for these fish. Rig the minnows on Carolina rigs, go light on the leader fifth teen to twenty pound line. Grub colors that we’re using; Chart. Diamond and Silver mullet with red head jigs. Work’em slow on shore lines and drop off on the grass lines.
Fishing Gear we use:
Pflueger Medalist spinning reels in size 7035 great for trout and light Red fishing. Rods: Ugly Stick Lite. Med act 7’ Braid line in the test of 10 and 20 pound. Thanks for reading this report, if you have any questions or comments drop me a line at www.captainjot.com
In Other Fishing News: There are a few great boat and fishing expos still 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 winter.
March 21, 2009 Saltwater Fishing School Saturday, 2615 Jefferson Davis Hwy (US 1 South) – Sanford, NC. www.northcarolinasportsman.com
This all-day event will feature successful tournament anglers, prominent charter captains, top notch guides, knowledgeable pro team members, experienced local fishermen and well-informed industry professionals giving tips, plus explaining lures and techniques used to catch everyone’s favorite fish. “Just a few weeks away”!!
June 5, 6 and 7 “In the Water Fishing School” Capt. Rick Bennett, myself and six other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! The school is limited to the first 25 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/2009-inthewater-fishing-school.htm
I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!
Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Charters
Wilmington, NC Charter Fishing
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
