Southeast NC in May, when fishing really gets cranked up! Many different species of fish start to show up and it’s when I feel like summer fishing has really started. And we all really need that right now in our lives!!!
As the weather stabilizes and the temps go up in May I see more days where I can get out in the ocean and look for those high speed, and good eating Atlantic bonito in earlier May (even early April this year) and spanish mackerel all May 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 seven to nine 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 or small deep driver lures can be the key to success some days for the bonito, spanish mackerel and even king mackerel. When using the Clark spoons, I would recommend the pink flash or regular silver spoons in sizes #0, #1 and #2; 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 bonito and spanish from time to time; sometimes too many bluefish are mixed in!
Redfish and May go hand and hand, this month is a favorite for casting artificial lures to Reds. Redfish really start to settle down in their summer spots by early/mid May. Casting Berkley gulp shrimp in three inch size on light jig heads is one of my go to lures for May redfish. My go to colors are sugar spice glow, new penny, rootbeer gold/chart tail or natural. Another Redfish lure I like is the Berkley Powerbait Grass pig for fishing shallow waters of one to three foot. I rig the Grass pig lures on TroKar 1/8oz swimbait hooks. Catching redfish on top water lures is so much fun; casting plugs like MirrOlure’s top pup or top dog jr. You can also cast popping or rattling corks in these shallow areas with a Berkley Gulp three inch shrimp which will catch the Redfish in shallow waters. 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.
By early/mid May the cobia start to show up around southeast NC; one of my favorites! I forecast that the cobia will be here a little early this season. I look for cobia around inlets, shoals and bait schools; near shore/offshore reefs and ledges are all good places to look. When the water is clear it will be easier to see those brown logs in the water. I throw big jigs like (Berkley Fusion 19 bucktails) or live bait to the Cobia. Color really does not seem to matter, but go bright; I always put a Gulp five inch grub on a bucktail for Cobia. If I’m casting live bait to Cobia I use a TroKar TK5 AP 8/0 or 9/0 circle hook with at least three feet of sixty pound fluorocarbon leader. When I’m not sight casting for Cobia 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, pinfish or mullet as bait. Sometimes a great bonus fish when fishing for Cobia that would be 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 (wrecks/ledges) 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 (inshore) and 1/2oz, 3/4oz & 1oz (ocean) jig heads with longer hook shanks in jig head colors red, white or gray. Also Berkley Fusion bucktails with a five inch Gulp grab is a killer rig for ocean flounder as well, I use a 1.5 ounce bucktail for this. *Keep in mind Flounder season is August 16th to September 30th 2020, no possession of flounder until those dates; all catch & release until then.
Tackle run down: New PENN Clash II & SpinFisher VI Spinning reels 2000, 2500, 3000, 3500 sizes. Rods: PENN Allegiance II and Fenwick HMG Inshore series rods 7’ Medium class 8 to 15 pound test rods. Line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen pound braid. Cobia Reels PENN Fathom II 20LWcasting or Slammer III or SpinFisher VI spinning 5500 or 6500 spinning reels, with a PENN Rampage Jigging rod 50 to 100 pound class. Tackle Bags/storage I prefer the Plano Guide series tackle bags in 3700XL and 3600 sizes with Plano EDGE tackle trays inside.
Thanks for reading, stay safe, fish smart and #FishThroughIt !
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
Posted in Fishing Reports on May 6th, 2020
North Carolina springs can be anything but predictable, that is about the same for spring fishing around these parts as well. So far we’ve had a pretty good winter temperature wise; I think we are three weeks to a month ahead on spring temps and fishing. Fishing wise here is what I look to target during April around Southeast NC area waters.
The Atlantic Bonito and False Albacore have already shown up just offshore of Wrightsville, Carolina and Topsail beaches in the one to ten mile range. Trolling Clark spoons on planners or small deep driver lures can be the key to success some days for the Bonito and False Albacore. When using the Clark spoons, I would recommend the pink flash spoon in sizes #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 these feeding fish. When the fish are not on top, I’ve caught some nice Blues and a few Bonito by casting a spoon out and letting it sink down before reeling it in. I’ve found that sometimes these fish are deeper and you can get them by getting down to deeper depths. If the fish are jumping and busting on top, try casting Big Nic Spanish candy lures in 1/2oz to 1zo sizes in colors pink, blue or green. I use a thirty pound fluorocarbon leader at two to three foot long when casting these lures.
Another fish that really starts to show up around the inshore creeks and inlets of Southeast North Carolina is the good’ole Bluefish and during April you can catch some bigger Bluefish too; like ten pounds plus big! These blues will hit Berkley Gulp six inch jerkshads and Berkley Havoc grass pig lures in bright colors, I rig both of these lures on TroKar 1/4oz swim bait hooks. Hard baits like big poppers and MirrOlure Top Dog’s work well too for the big Blues. 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 lure on the end of your line and not in a bluefish’s pocket! I catch Blues in the one to fifteen pound range during April.
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 great to eat! On top of all that they are also easy to catch; use a light two hook bottom rig with number two or number three size eagle claw bait holder hooks. I make my own rigs with thirty pound fluorocarbon leader by making two overhand knots to put the hooks on. I prefer as fresh as I can get shrimp for black drum fishing. Fish these rigs around docks, oyster rocks and inlets for Black Drum; you might even get a Redfish mixed in as well. I will sometimes catch two Black Drum at the same time on the same rig; that’s what I call good fishing!
Cape Fear River Striped Bass can bite very well into April, but the fish move around a lot more during April, you’ll find them at one spot one day and the next day they have moved on. In April the Stripers will start to move in to shallower waters, I look for the Stripers in three to ten feet of water in the early spring. This is when you need to also shallow up your presentation, go lighter with you tackle. I prefer Berkley Powerbait grass pig lures; I use colors green back and swamp gas. Rigging the grass pig lures on TroKar TK170 swim bait hooks should put a Striper on the end of your line. Look for Cape Fear River Stripers around mud-flat edges, bulk-heads and shallow reed-grass edges on sunny warmer days.
Also in the Cape Fear River I really enjoy heading to Lock & Dam #1 or #2 on the Cape Fear River during April to catch large American shad on light tackle and Fly tackle. Casting shad darts in bright colors and shad flys is the way to catch these shad. I use a double shad dart rig, this makes it easier to cast the light darts and sometimes you get two shad at the same time! The shad run in the one to a few over four pounds; super fun on fly and light tackle setups “poor man’s Tarpon”!
Tackle run down: PENN Clash II, Clash II 3000 HS (high speed Bonito) & Conflict II Spinning reels (1000 & 2000 shad fishing), 2500 & 3000 sizes. Rods: Fenwick HMG Inshore 7’ medium/light (shad) and medium action. Line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in (six pound shad fishing) ten and fifteen pound. Berkley Pro Spec fluorocarbon leader material for all my leaders. Tackle storage Plano Z-series & Guide series tackle bags with Plano EDGE Stowaway boxes.
I know we are in a very different and not in my life time kind of scenario with Covid-19. I know personally I need outside time and of course fishing time as well! Please get outside when you can safely and fishing if you can safely & legally. We are in this together and if we are smart about it we can get through it safely faster.
Thanks for reading, good spring fishing to you and we will get through this!
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on April 1st, 2020
March is a month of watching the weather forecast and like the weather the fishing can be the same too. One day bad fishing the next they are jumping in the boat! Here are the species I like to look for during March around Southeast North Carolina.
In March the Redfish finally start to move around a little more than they have all winter. Not that they don’t move around in the winter; they just start to show up in place’s they like more during warmer times of the year. This is the time of the year you need to get out and find where the Redfish are going and showing up. In the cooler months I’ve seen crustacean patterns work better for Redfish; due to the fact that these baits are a little easier to catch, than say baits like fish patterns. A good handful of our local shrimp has wintered over because of the mild winter weather, also some of the little baitfish stayed too. All of this will make for a better March fishing scenario for sure!
On warmer days the crustaceans and baitfish will move a little more; these are the days you need to be looking for Redfish in March. Working scented baits like Berkley Gulp and Gulp Alive in patterns two and three inch shrimp, two inch peeler crab and 3” hollow shrimp should get the Redfish to bite. These baits don’t have paddle tails so you can work them very slow, which is still very important because the water still be pretty cool in March. Find those banks where the sun can warm up shallows just a little more than other places. Look for dark bottom banks and places with less current these are the areas where the water will be warmer and the Redfish will be feeding. Remember to keep your eyes peeled in the shallow water areas for Reds, March can be a very good sight fishing month; just make sure you work the baits a little slower with a fluorocarbon leader (twenty pound) for those clear spring waters. A high quality pair of sunglasses can pay off big for spring sight fishing Redfish, I prefer Smith optics for this.
March is another month when Cape Fear River Striped Bass fishing will pick up. The Striper size is very mixed during early spring. In March the Stripers will start to move in to shallower waters, I look for the Stripers in three to eight feet of water during early spring. This is when you need to also shallow up your presentation, go lighter with you tackle. I prefer Berkley Gulp jerkshad and Berkley Powerbait grass pig lures (five inch size); I use colors pearl, chart pepper neon, Crazy chrome Violet (Powerbait) and new penny (swamp gas). Using swim bait hooks size 6/0 or 7/0 in ¼ or 3/8 ounce I use TroKar TK170 hooks, should put a Striper on the end of your line. You can also cast mid-water crank baits that dive three to eight feet, don’t let the lure drag the bottom to much or you will lose your lure to a stump or log! Look for Cape Fear River Stripers around mud-flat edges, bulk-heads, creeks and shallow reed-grass edges on sunny warmer days. CFR Stripers are closed to keep; catch and release only.
Don’t count out a nice Speckled trout during the month of March! But what is a trout going to hit in March? 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, but its cold so work them SLOW! The patterns I prefer are the 17MR, 18MR, 52M and 52MR. Colors; MirrOlure makes a lot of different colors but here are some of my go too colors in clear area waters. MirrOlure color codes: 11, 21, 26, 51, 704, CFPR, CH, EC, HP AND Capt. Jot Custom color #1 & #2 (only found at Tex’s Tackle shop). Any local tackle shop can help you with these color codes. Best depths to use these lures; 17MR use these lures in two to six feet of water. 18MR, 52M & 52MR use these lures in four to fifth-teen plus feet of water.
If you have ever done any trout fishing at all you know that a grub (soft plastic) lures work very well for Speckled trout too! I also really like the Berkley Powerbait Pro Twitchtail minnow in three inch; color Chartreuse Ice, Pink Ice and pearl white. Berkley Powerbait Minnow in colors Chartreuse shad and Emerald shiner in three & four inch sizes. Also another new bait I’ve had luck with this winter is the Berkley Powerbait Ca$h Out lure in colors cotton candy, morning dawn silver and Chartreuse shad. I rig all of my trout grubs on 1/16oz, 1/8oz and 1/4oz jigs heads in colors red, gray or black; always use a fluorocarbon leader when trout fishing, I use Berkley Pro Spec twenty pound.
There is another kind of fishing I like to try in March but there is no saltwater involved. I like to hit the upper Northeast Cape Fear River and Sutton Lake the do a little Large-mouth bass fishing. If you want to try something different try some bass fishing, they are a lot of fun to catch on lighter tackle. Most of the time I use heavy sink worms from Berkley Powerbait MaxScent in colors black, cinnamon purple, purple and green pumpkin candy red. I rig these sinko style worms with a 5/0 wide gap eagle claw L092G worm hook with no weight. Work these worms very slowly off banks and stump beds. If you like to fly fish, try slow sinking small minnow patterns along the grass flats in Sutton Lake on cloudy or foggy days.
Tackle run down: PENN Fierce III & Clash II Spinning reels sizes 2000, 2500 & 3000 for the Redfish, Speckled trout, Largemouth Bass and Striped Bass. PENN Battalion & Fenwick HGM inshore series rods in 7’ medium action. line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen pound; Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon for my leaders in twenty to thirty pound. Tackle Storage systems I use: Plano Z-series and Plano Guide series tackle bags with EDGE Stowaway Boxes.
Thanks for reading, get outside and I hope March fishing is good to you!
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on March 6th, 2020
February in Southeast NC is one of the tougher months to get out and fish, the weather windows are much smaller and the temp can be downright cold some days. But it’s not all doom and gloom, fishing can be great during February especially when we have mild runs of weather. Hey we are starting out February very mild, hopefully this will be the trend for later winter. Here are some of the species I target around Southeast NC during February.
Cape Fear River Striped Bass are one of my favorites for winter fishing in our area. I look for the Stripers on drop offs, around pilings and creek mouths. Working baits like Berkley Gulp five or six inch jerkshads and Berkley Powerbait grass pigs in five inch should get you a bite or two from a Striped Bass. I prefer white and chart pepper neon for the jerkshad and swamp gas and chartreuse silver flake in the grass pig. I rig my jerkshad and grass pigs on swimbait 7/0 TroKar TK-170 hooks, in 1/4oz or 3/8oz weight. Mid water crank baits work too, try lures that dive from three to eight feet deep for best results, Rapala X-raps work well. If the Stripers are sitting shallow a MirrOlure 17MR can get a bite or two as well. If the crank bait starts to hit the bottom let it float up a bit or trust me you’ll lose it to a structure! Don’t forget that the Cape Fear River Striped Bass fishery is a closed fishery and is catch & release only; you must release all Striped Bass. Keep your eyes out for tagged Stripers there are a lot of tagged fish out there.
There is one fish that can be caught very easily during the winter months; if you find them! The Redfish bite can be some of the best of the year for catching numbers of fish; the deal breaker for this fishery is you have got to have good weather, calm seas and bright sunny skies for the ocean schools. I find the winter ocean Reds around the inlets, sand bars, up and down the beaches in the surf line. I use Berkley Gulp swimming mullet in colors pearl white; also the Berkley Gulp three & four inch Shrimp work well too both rigged on 3/8oz jig heads. A MirrOlure Catch 2000Jr or 2000 lures work well for winter Redfish in the ocean as well.
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!
There is one fish that a lot of anglers over look during the winter months, 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 can be fairly easy to catch; all you need is a little fresh (as you can get) shrimp. I use a light Carolina rig with an Eagle claw L42 #1 hook. Light meaning using as light as you can get away with sinker wise to not spook the drum. Fish around docks, oyster rocks and inlets for these Black Drum; often you’ll catch Redfish and Sheepshead mixed in as well.
What a rollercoaster of weather this winter so far, like most winters in Southeast NC. You can find a good winter Speckled trout bite, but it takes the right weather pattern for good results. Here are some ways I like to target Speckled trout into later winter months. A lure that always comes to mind for winter Speckled trout is the MirrOlure in the 52M, 52MR and TT series. MirrOlure color codes I prefer are: 11, 21, 26, 51, 704, CFPR, CH, EC, HP AND Capt. Jot Custom color #1 & #3 (only found at Tex’s Tackle shop). Most any local tackle shop can help you with these color codes (a lot easier than spelling them all out here). As far as colors go I try to use light colors in clearer waters and darker colors in stained/river or dirty waters.
Working MirrOlures slowly in deeper water breaks and drop offs can produces some very nice trout. If the water gets a bit dirty due to winds or rain/ice/snow, give Berkley Gulp 3” shrimp, fire tail shrimp, Berkley Powerbait Pro Twitchtail minnow or a Cash Out a try. Rig the Gulp shrimp or twitchtail on lighter jig heads, here too for the trout so you can work them just a bit slower due to the cooler water temps. Don’t rule out a nice Gray trout mixed in during the winter while speckled trout fishing. Look for the bigger trout to be sitting close to the current, but just off and out of it. Remember these fish are not going to burn calories they don’t have too swimming against the current.
Tackle run down: PENN Battle II & Clash II Spinning reels sizes 2500 & 3000 for the Redfish, Speckled trout and Striped Bass. Fenwick HMG Inshore 7’ medium rods 8 to 15 pound class and line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten or fifteen; Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon leader for leaders; 20 pound for trout and 30 for all other species. Tackle Bags and Organization, I prefer Plano Z-series and Guide Series tackle bags. I use Plano Edge Stowaway boxes for organization of my tackle in these tackles bags.
Thanks for reading, stay warm or cool and good fishing to you!
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on February 6th, 2020
January is the kind of month that I watch the weather forecast very closely. Weather changes much quicker during the winter around our area and can be a big influence on the fishing. I look for warmer, lighter wind and mostly sunny days, even better if we get a few of these kinds of days in a row. January is definitely a pick your fishing day kind of month for the best possible bite chances. I’ll tell though you can have epic fishing days during January, they are just harder to come by because of weather. January is starting out mild and this could setup a good winter season start, but watch that forecast closely; winter could show up any day!
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. You can also 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; also a high quality pair of polarized sunglasses will help big time seeing the schools of Reds I really like Smith optics. 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 three or four inch shrimp in colors sugar spice glow, natural and new penny fleck for the flats Reds. When I targeting the inlet and ocean bar Reds I like to cast five and six inch Berkley Gulp jerkshad in colors pearl white and Chart pepper neon. Sometimes you may need to work the bait a little slower during colder months, so try using a lighter jig head; this will allow you to work the bait slower. Jig head weight; Inshore Reds 1/16oz to 1/4oz, ocean Reds 1/4oz to 3/8oz.
You can also use as fresh as you can get cut shrimp or mullet on a light Carolina rig with a Eagle Claw #4 Bait holder hook if you prefer to use bait. I only use cut bait for the inshore Reds not the ocean fish. Don’t rule out a Black drum or sheepshead while using fresh cut shrimp during the winter months. Typically if you find one Black drum there are others around, I’d stick around a little while if you catch one.
During January you can find some of the big Speckled trout, you’re not going to find big numbers, unless they are smaller fish; but the big ones will bite when it gets colder! Work your lures slower and know that you’ll fish for hours, but the payoff can be great! Try to have patients when winter fishing!
A lure that always seems to help me find more winter Speckled trout is the MirrOlure in the 51M and 52M or MR. Fishing lighter colors due the clear water we sometimes get during the winters here. Working MirrOlures slowly in deeper water breaks and drop offs can produces some very nice trout. If the water gets a bit dirty due to winds or rain/ice/snow, give Berkley Gulp three inch shrimp, fire tail shrimp and five inch Jerkshad a try. Another winter lure I like Berkley Pro Twitchtail’s on lighter jig (weight 1/6oz) heads; here again work them just a bit slower due to the colder water temps. Don’t rule out a nice Gray trout (weakfish) mixed in during the winter while Speckled trout fishing. Look for the bigger trout to be sitting close to the current, but just off and out of it. Remember these fish are not going to burn calories so they don’t have to be swimming against the current. Remember with clear cold water it’s very important to use a high quality fluorocarbon leader material, it will make a difference; trust me!
Not too far from Wrightsville Beach in historical downtown Wilmington runs the Cape Fear and North East Cape Fear Rivers. During the winter months usually starting in December the local population of Striped Bass start to bite in the rivers. 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, docks and creek months is where you can find the Stripers. I prefer using swim bait lures like Berkley five inch PowerBait Grass pig or Berkley Gulp Jerkshad rigged on weighted swim-bait hooks. Colors that I prefer are pearl white, swamp gas (grass pig) and chart pepper neon. Mid-water diving crank-baits work too; I use Rapala X-raps. Be careful around pilings to not get hang-ups and lose your lures, it’s very easy to do in the Cape Fear with all the timber on the bottom. You can catch these Stripers on any tide, as long as it’s moving. Don’t forget that the Cape Fear River Striped Bass Fishery is closed; catch and release only.
Tackle run down: PENN Fierce III & SpinFisher VI series spinning reels sizes 2000, 2500, 3000 & 3500 for the Redfish, Speckled trout and Striped Bass Rods: PENN Allegiance II in 6’6” & 7’ med/light and medium action; line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in eight, ten and fifth-teen pound. Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon leader material, twenty pound trout fishing, thirty or forty pound Redfish and Striped Bass. Tackle Storage and organization Plano Z-series Tackle Bags with Plano EGDE Stowaway boxes.
Have a Happy New Year and thank you for reading!
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on December 30th, 2019
