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. So far this year we’ve had a very up and down weather pattern so when the mild runs are here; that’s the time to go fishing! Here are a few species I target around Wrightsville Beach other areas of Southeast NC.
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 and six inch jerkshads and Berkley Havoc grass pigs should get you a bite or two from a Striped Bass. I prefer white and chart pepper neon for the jerkshad and pink, swamp gas and chartreuse silver flake in the Havoc grass pig. I rig my jerkshad and grass pigs on swim bait hooks, in 1/4oz 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 crank bait starts to hit the bottom let it float up a bit or trust me you’ll lose it to a log! 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.
Another fish that can bite well in the River during the winter months is the Blue Catfish. 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 a TroKar Circle hook in 4/0 to 7/0 depending on bait size with fifty or sixty 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’!
There is one fish that can be caught very easily during the winter months; if you find them! This Redfishing 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 good weather, clam seas and bright sunny skies for the ocean schools. I use Berkley Gulp Ripple Mullet in colors Pearl/chart tail, New Penny and Rootbeer gold/chart tail; also the Berkley Gulp 2” & 3” Shrimp work well too. Also MirrOlure Catch 2000Jr lures work well for winter Redfish. 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!
With the late fall we had, water temps are a bit higher this winter than past winters and the Speckled trout bite has been a good pick most of the winter! 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 (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). 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 and Jerkshad a try. Rig the Gulp or Saltwater Assassin Sea shad’s on lighter jig heads, here too for the trout so you can work them just a bit slower due to the colder 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 Spinning reels sizes 2500, 3000 & 4000 for the Redfish, Speckled trout and Striped Bass. Battle II or Clash 5000 & 6000 for Catfish. PENN Battalion in 6’6” & 7’ medium and med/hvy action; and Battalion 7’ 15-30 class for catfish; line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten, fifth-teen and twenty pound; Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon leader for leaders.
~Capt. Jot’s Inshore Fishing schools are sold out, but I’ll do them again next year so keep your eye here for the announcement during late November 2017.
Thanks for reading, stay warm or cool and good fishing to ya!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on February 3rd, 2017
Really? Thanksgiving is over here comes Christmas??? Yes it’s December and December can be a good fishing month. Pick your days and the fish will bite! If we get a big cool down, give it a day to moderate a bit to a warmer trend; this will greatly help you to get more bites! I look for warmer days, sunny days and less windy days during December if possible for better bite rates around Southeast NC.
In December I catch some of the biggest Speckled trout all year, but you need to know which lures work better for bigger trout. Hard baits like MirrOlures have put some big trout in the boat for me and for many other anglers over the years. MirrOlure’s 52M, 52MR and TT series are great big trout baits. Try these lures in colors: 11 (redhead), 11FGO (Flo.orangehead), 21 (blackback), 26 (redback), 51 (white/white), 704 (pink/yellow), 808 (black/gold/orange), CFPR (chart/pearl), HP (hotpink), Capt. Jot Custom color only available at Tex’s tackle and for great night fishing; PD (purple demon).
Good looking scented lures that have been working very well for me are Berkley Gulp’s three inch shrimp and there newer four inch Ripple mullet. All the colors have worked well for me, but here is a few that I like for trout (shrimp pattern); Sugar spice glow, rootbeer/gold, pearl white and new penny. Berkley Gulp’s Ripple Mullet in colors glow/chartreuse, pearl, rootbeer gold/chart, and Chart pepper are all good trout baits. All of these baits have Gulps great scent, great action and come in some great colors too! Don’t forget the good’ole five inch pearl white jerkshad as well.
The grub (soft plastic) has been around forever in the fishing world! These days they come in so many different colors, here are few that work well for me when trout fishing. Saltwater Assassin makes a load of different grubs; I prefer the sea shad four inch pattern in colors chicken on a chain, rainbow trout, copperhead, green moon, sweet pea, pink diamond and silver
phantom/chart. I rig all these grubs with 1/8oz, ¼ oz and 3/8oz jig heads in colors gray, red and brown. Don’t forget that I rig all of my Speckled trout lures with fluorocarbon leaders; trout have very good eyesight and later in the season like December the water can get very clear! Get yourself a good fluorocarbon like Berkley Pro Spec or Berkley Vanish; both of these work great in twenty pound test.
Don’t count out live bait if you enjoy fishing 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 and a small treble hook. In deeper waters of six to ten plus I rig them on light Carolina rigs with a small number one J-hook (EC L42). Just wait until you feel that trout take off with the bait and lightly set the hook, remember trout have very soft mouths slow hook sets work best! Live bait will be harder to get and keep alive during later December, but on warmer days it will be a little easier to find and fish it.
In December another fish I really like to hunt for on sunny, warmer and light wind days is schooling Redfish. I find these schools on oyster rocks/flats, sand bars in the surf and shallow flats on the ICW. In December the Reds are not hard to catch when you find them, but some times finding them can be a challenge. My go to bait for the winter Redfish are scented grub like the Berkley Gulp Ripple Mullet or fire tail shrimp; Redfish love these things. Rig grubs with thirty or forty pound mono or fluorocarbon and a darker colored jig heads like red or brown should get the redfish to bite for you.
Not too far from Wrightsville Beach in historical down town Wilmington runs the Cape Fear River and in the Cape Fear there are some cold weather biting Striped Bass. These fish are not the easiest to catch, but they fight very well even in cold water. Working drop offs and grass lines on the edge of the river is where you can find the Stripers, using swim bait lures and Berkley Power Bait, Berkley Havoc Grass pig lures and Berkley Gulp Jerkshad should put a few Cape Fear Stripers on you line. Rig these lures on swimbait hooks for weedless fishing, (lots of hangs in the river). Fishing ares with not so many hangs, try a Rapala X-Rap X-10 size in colors Ghost white or green back. Don’t forget that the Cape Fear River Striped Bass Fishery is closed; catch and release only!
Tackle run down: PENN Battle II, Clash Spinning reels sizes 2000, 2500& 3000 for the Redfish & Speckled trout 2500, 3000 & Slammer III 3500 for Striped Bass Rods: PENN Battalion 6’6” & 7’ med/light and medium action; line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in eight, ten and fifth-teen pound or in eight, ten or twelve pound test for Speckled trout fishing.
Thanks for reading Marry Christmas, Happy New Year and good winter fishing to you!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on December 5th, 2016
November is the gateway to winter but don’t let that get you down! November is my month to really get some big’ole Speckled trout to bite! Weather in November can be tough some days, cold and rainy or sometimes just to warm. Only time will tell as far as the weather goes, but no matter what happens with the weather it’s a great month to fish around Southeast NC!
In early to mid 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; weather its 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! Look for places where there is a slight current break and those trout will be close by! Later in November all of the above places will still hold trout and the inlets will start to hold more trout as the month goes on.
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 lots of big 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 Southeast NC area waters. MirrOlure color codes: 11, 21, 26, 51, 704, CFPR, CH, EC, HP and Capt. Jot Custom color in 17MR & 52MR (only found at Tex’s Tackle shop) Any local tackle shop can help you with these color codes. Fishing Depths to use these lures; 17MR, 27MR & Catch 200Jr. 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 with current. If your lure is hitting the bottom a lot go to a shallower running lure.
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! Berkley Gulp three inch shrimp pattern is one of my go-to lures. I prefer colors sugar spice glow, pearl white and pearl white/fire tail. Saltwater Assassin’s 4” sea shad in colors chicken on a chain, sweet pea, mullet, rainbow trout and cantaloupe are all good choices in November as well.
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 in clear, thirty pound if the blues show up in numbers.
Don’t count out live bait if you enjoy fishing 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 and a small treble hook. In deeper waters of six to ten plus I rig them on light Carolina rigs with a small number one J-hook (EC L42). Just wait until you feel that trout take off with the bait and lightly set the hook, remember trout have very soft mouths slow hook sets work best!
Here is one of my best tips I can give you for Speckled trout fishing around the Wrightsville area in November. The water gets clear, sometimes very clear around Southeast NC in November. I always use Fluorocarbon leaders for Speckled trout fishing; for artificial as well as live bait fishing! You will catch more trout using fluorocarbon leader; trust me! I use Berkley Pro Spec fluorocarbon leader material in twenty and thirty pound test. Give it a try; you’ll be happy you did! *PS: Also keep your eyes peeled for trout with yellow or red belly tags, I’ve tag a fair amount from south Topsail to Carolina beach inlet this year and last. Yellow tags are worth $5 and Red tags are worth $100!
The bigger Reds start to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets during September and run until later November; this year has been a epic early fall Bull Red bite. 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 a TroKar AP 8/0 or 9/0 circle hook and eighty pound Berkley Big game mono leaders. Don’t forget to keep your drag tight when using circle hook so they will do their 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.
If you like to catch Bluefish there are just about as many as you like around during November. Fishing around and just outside of the inlets you can catch just about all the Blues you want in the one to four pound range. Casting metal jigging spoons or diamond jigs is a no brainer for getting some Bluefish. Just look for the birds working and cast in that area. Watch those teethe Blues they do bite hard!
Tackle run down: PENN Battle II & Clash Spinning reels sizes 2000, 2500 & 3000 for the Speckled trout. Rods PENN Battalion in 6’6” & 7’ med/light and medium action; line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in eight, ten and fifth-teen pound. Bull Reds PENN Fathom 20LW and PENN Rampage Jigging Rods.
Keep your eyes on my FaceBook page for I’ll be releasing the two dates of my inshore fishing school this month. I’ll have one school day on a March Saturday and one on an April Saturday. This school is limited to 32 anglers each date and it will sell out within two days of release date.
Thanks for reading, good luck fishing and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on November 2nd, 2016
September is the start to Fall; one of the best times of the year to go fishing around Wrightsville Beach. When cold fronts start to make their way across Southeast North Carolina, fishing really picks up. Most of the fish we catch around Wrightsville in the summer are still biting during September but they are biting better. Nice cool temps and light morning breezes; make for some great fishing weather. Another great thing about September is much less boat traffic!
When the water starts to cool down the Redfishing will heat up. Look for the Reds to be in the creeks, along the ICW docks and oyster rocks. Carolina rigs with live bait or fresh cut bait is a good bet to catch a Redfish. If you want to go the artificial root, try Berkley Gulp three inch in color sugar spice glow or molting rigged on a 1/8oz or 1/4oz jig head should get’em to bite. Early mornings or late afternoons the top water bite should be good; cast MirrOlure Top Dog Jr’s and Top Pup’s for the best bite. Look for the top-water reds to be along marsh grass lines and shallow oyster rocks. You can also use rattling or popping corks in the same areas you use top-water plugs, just rig them with eight to fourteen inches of forty pound fluorocarbon, 1/0 hook L42 Eagle Claw and a live figure mullet.
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 larger carolina rigs with TroKar 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 their 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 Flounder fishing has been good this season so far, with this said it looks like September should be a great mouth for Flounder too. We look for Flounder in the fall around the inlets, in the creeks; up and down the ICW. We also will find some very nice Flounder just offshore of Wrightsville/Topsail on live/hard bottom as well artificial reefs. Mud minnows and small finger mullet will be the best live baits for Flounder in September. Rigging the live bait on carolina rigs with EC 042 1/0 hooks is a good choice of rigs for Flounder. If you prefer to use artificial baits; scented and none scented grubs will do the job. Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in six inch with colors chart pepper neon and pearl white seem to work the best for me. Rig these on jig heads with longer hook shanks with will help with a better hookup ratio.
Spanish mackerel fishing can be great during September. The Spanish run the biggest all year during the fall. You can cast or troll for them and the fly fishing can be great as well. The Spanish will be around the inlets and near shore artificial reefs. Look for jumping Spanish and diving birds; that is where you will find the Spanish mackerel. Casting small spoons or jigs on light spinning tackle will put some Spanish in the boat for you. If you would rather troll, give a Blue Water Candy Daisy Chain a try on top and a #1 planner down deep with a Clark spoon. If you would like to give fly fishing a try, use a five to eight weight set up with floating line with a small minnow pattern fly or epoxy minnow pattern; my favorite!
Shark fishing will be good until late September. We see lots of different kinds of Sharks in September; Black tip, black nose, Sandbar, Hammerhead and Tiger. Best baits for the near shore sharks are fresh/live Bluefish, Mullet and Menhaden. We use spinning reels for Shark fishing with 300+ yards of thirty and fifty pound Spider wire Ultra-cast braid. Rigging the baits; eight feet of 80 pound mono leader; some will wind on to the reel. Connected to the 80 pound mono is a fifty pound swivel, then Two to three foot of #9 SS wire and an TroKar 8/0 or 9/0 circle hook. (I push down the barb for easy release) If you prefer Fly fishing, I like Striped bass flies in Menhaden patterns with 4/0 and 5/0 hook sizes. We use ten to twelve weight set ups; have lots of extra flies with you!
Good September fishing to you, don’t forget to take a kid fishing and thanks for reading!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 31st, 2016
