Well Folks, fall is really trying to show and then it gets warm and wet! A real roller coaster of weather: one day with hot temps, breezy and wet; very next day cool and sunshine! Hey that’s what gets those fall fish biting so we can’t complain too much. With that said lets talk fall fishing!
I’ve had some very good Spanish mackerel runs lately. Most of the Spanish are hitting Clark spoons on number one planners; a few nicer fish have hit live bait on top as well. I have also caught some on Fly’s and SeaRock jigs casting when the Spanish get on top to feed. The Spanish are very nice in size; most fish are two to some over four pounds “nice fall size”. They are biting around the inlets, just off the beach to about two miles off. The water has been very clear some days, so I’ve used fluorocarbon leaders on these days and it has really helped me get more bites. I don’t know how much longer they will be here with the cooler air moving in; will just have to see!
The Flounder fishing has been good for the most part, on some trips I’ve caught over twelve keeper fish. Most of the Flounder are eating Mullet and Mud minnows on light Carolina rigs. The Flounder are mixed in size to just under keeper size to a few over five pounds. I have caught some Flounder on artificial baits as well and it seems that most of the bigger flounder are hitting bigger artificial baits. I’ve had the best luck with Berkley Gulp five and six inch Jerkshad in colors pearl white and chart-pepper neon. I’m rigging these jerkshad on a red or black jig heads with forty pound fluorocarbon leaders for best results.
Redfish schools are starting to show up in the surf. You can find these schools of twenty to over a thousand Redfish around inlets, outer sand bars and jetties. Once you find these schools there pretty easy to catch if the weather is calm. I cast 1/4oz to 1/2oz jig heads with five inch Berkley Gulp jerkshad or four inch Berkley Gulp Ripple mullet; in colors new penny or pearl white. Be very careful in the surf if your in a boat, you really have got to watch the waves and try not to run over the school with your boat!
We’ve caught some bigger bull Redfish on hard/live bottoms just off the beach and around the local inlets. We are catching Reds in the 24 to over 38 inch range, some days their over the slot some days their in the slot. Most of the Reds are hitting mullets and fresh menhaden on Carolina rigs; using heavier egg sinkers with circle hooks 6/0 to 9/0. Don’t forget to keep your drag tight when using circle hook so they will do there 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 tag in its back; there are a fair amount of tagged Bull Reds out there.
And last but Not lest, Speckled Trout are starting to show and bite! The Speckled trout fishing has gotten better and better around this area every year! It looks like it will be the same this year as well; especially since we had such a mild winter; “I Can’t wait, I love Trout fishing”! The best trout bites lately have been on grubs and hard baits, but we have caught some on the good ‘ole live shrimp as well.
The best grubs I’ve had luck with lately are Berkley Gulp three inch shrimp in colors pearl white, new penny, and new penny flick/chart tail. I also have caught a good fair amount of trout on Saltwater Assassin’s four inch sea-shad in colors greenback shiner, chicken on a chain and silver mullet. I Rig the grubs and shrimp patterns on a red or black jig heads and I always use fluorocarbon leader for trout fishing!
Hard lures that seem to be bringing the trout to the boat are Mirrolure’s 17MR, Catch 2000 Jr, 52M and Sebile’s Koolie minnow & Magic swimmer lures in colors pink, chartreuse, and white. Most of the trout we have caught have been in the creeks and main channels connecting to the ICW and inlets as well as the Cape Fear River.
The Fishing gear I use:
Reds, Trout and Flounder: Reels PENN Battle and Conquer spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 and 4000. Rods: PENN Legion 6’6” and 7’ Med/light and Med. Line: Spiderwire Ultracast in 10, 15 and 20 pound. Bull Redfish: PENN Spinfisher V 5500 and PENN Torque 12. Rods: PENN Legion 1530S70 with the Spinfisher V 5500 and PENN Bluewater Carnage 700ML 20-40 class with the TRQ12. Line: thirty pound Berkley Big Game mono.
*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 October 3rd, 2012
Fall is trying so very hard to show up around the area but, with these weather changes comes ‘weather’ and for the last few weeks it’s been in the form of rain. Hopefully the rains have slowed down and this break of cooler weather is a sign of good things to come; cooler, dryer and good fall fishing weather!
With all this talk of cooler fall weather, one fish that pops up on my radar is the very fun to catch Speckled trout and will not be long before they are here in good numbers! My easy break down of what lures I use are by current flow and water death. I prefer baits like MirrOlure’s 17MR; catch 2000jr and Sebile’s Flatt Shad in waters of two to six feet deep with light or no current. In deeper waters of three to fifth teen plus with or with out current I prefer MirrOlure’s 18MR, 52M & MR and Sebile’s Stick Shadd 90, 114 series.
I will use grubs in any water death or current when trout fishing, but I’ll adjust the weight of the jig head for the death or current of the water I’m fishing. Try lures like the Berkley Gulp Fire Tail 3” shrimp or the new 3” Ripple Mullet for Speckled trout. Another lure that works well for trout is Saltwater Assassin’s Sea shad series, try colors like chicken on a chain, chart/diamond, copperhead or 10w40 with lime tail. One thing I really believe in is using fluorocarbon leaders for Speckled trout fishing; these fish have very good sight. Using fluorocarbon will help you catch more trout; try Stren’s tinted fluorocarbon or Berkley’s new Pro Spec fluorocarbon leader.
The Bull Reds (over slot) are really starting to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets. You never know when you might hook one of these giants! When I fish for Bull Reds, I use fresh cut or live menhaden and mullet. I use fish finder rigs with 5/0 to 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 there 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 tag in its back; there are a fair amount of tagged Bull Reds out there.
This has been one of the better Flounder years we’ve seen around this area in a while and for that reason I’ve run a lot of Flounder trips this season with good success. One thing we have seen this year is that the Flounder fishing has been good inshore as well as the ocean this season, giving us lots of opportunities to flounder fish. Live bait as well as artificial lures has put lots of flounder in the boat for us. Carolina rigs with Eagle Claw L42 1/0 size hooks and forty pound clear mono leader works well. Small finger mullets, small menhaden and mud minnows are our choice live baits.
Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in 5” & 6” colors pearl, chart pepper neon or new penny and 4” Ripple mullets if you would like to use artificial baits. The flounder are hanging around inlets, channel drops and creeks inshore. In the ocean near shore artificial reefs, ledges and hard/live bottoms are holding some nice numbers of flounder too.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Speckled trout and Flounder: PENN Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes. Bull Reds Fishing reels: PENN Battle 6000 & 7000, PENN Fathom 12 & 15 or Torque 12 & 15. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast 10 and 15 pound. Bull Reds Line: 30 or 40 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: PENN Legion. Bull Reds Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series or PENN Bluewater Carnage jigging series in 30-80 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Bull Reds; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
*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 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 September 11th, 2012
Folks here is this months fishing report and forecast. Fishing this season so far has been very good most days and I am really enjoying the somewhat cooler weather we have had a few days. The rain is a welcome site too, the inshore waters are starting to get to warm and the rain will help cool things down a bit.
The flounder fishing this season and last has been some of the best I’ve ever seen around these waters. There has been a good number of keepers, little ones and some very nice fish over five pounds caught just about everywhere this year. The bait I’ve had the best luck with this season has been Berkley Gulp Jerkshad: especially for the bigger flounder. I’m rigging five and six inch Jerkshad in colors pearl white, new penny and chart-pepper neon on 1/4oz, 3/8oz and 1/2oz dark colored jig heads (red, gray, brown etc). I prefer forty pound Berkley Pro Spec fluorocarbon leader material in clear or tannic tint for stained waters. I fish for the flounder around inlets, creeks, docks and near shore reefs. Remember when it comes to flounder fishing; “you can work the lure to fast, you can never work it to slow”!
Red Drum fishing is very good this season and I’m seeing lots of over slot Redfish this year. I’m catching Reds mostly two different ways; live bait and artificial baits. When I’m fishing live baits I prefer mullets and menhaden in sizes four to seven inches long. I rig these live baits on carolina rigs with a 5/0 to 7/0 circle hooks. Remember when using circle hooks, let the fish hook itself; don’t jerk the rod, just come tight with the line. If you do this you’ll never miss a Red and the fish will be hooked in the corner of the mouth for easy release. The artificial baits that are working for me are Berkley Gulp’s three and four inch shrimp rigged on red or gray jig heads. I’m casting these shrimp around docks, grass lines and oyster rocks.
Another tip I can give you that I have seen lately while fishing for Reds, especially bigger Reds is anglers using to light of tackle and wearing out fish by fighting them to long and killing over slot fish. Try to use heavy enough tackle to get the Red in good time; this will greatly improve the likeliness of the Red surviving after the fight. When the water temps are hot like they are now, its very easy to over fight and kill a bigger Redfish. Also keep your eyes peeled for tagged Redfish; I have tagged a lot of over slot Reds this year.
The Sheephead fishing is still going very good and should be good until late October. Rigging is easy for Sheephead; I use a short carolina rig with forty pound mono or fluorocarbon leader about eight to ten inches long. The hook is a number one or 1/0 live bait nose hook; small, sharp and strong, very important for Sheephead! Look for Sheephead around pilings, bulkheads and large oyster rocks that stay covered up by water most of the tide. For bait, I catch fiddler crabs on mud banks on the ICW. Sheephead fishing takes patients and time to catch them but it’s worth the time because Sheephead are good to eat!
The Spanish Mackerel are biting most days, but the best bite has been earlier in the morning when the sun is lower in the sky; also the fish have been a little deeper in thirty to fifty feet of water for the last few weeks. When you mark big balls of bait with your fish finder this is usually where you’ll find the most Spanish biting. Clark-spoons in sizes 00 and 0 are doing the trick in colors silver, gold and pink flash behind number one planners. The Spanish hitting on top are hitting Blue Water Candy’s Spanish Daisy chains in colors pink, blue and silver; the great thing about this rig is you can pull it off lighter tackle outfits.
Another new lure that is working well for the Spanish when I’m casting to them is the River2Sea Sea Rock lure, these little casting jigs are just the right weight and size to get those fast moving Spanish to bite! All the colors that the Sea Rock comes in seem to work and I prefer the two smallest sizes of Sea Rock in the number seven and four-teen. All so the hook that comes on these lures is great, finally a good hook on a lure right out of the package!
Tarpon fishing this season has been hot, with lots of fish being hooked and caught off many of the local piers and just off the beach in boats. Tarpon fishing is not easy; it takes patients and time, but the payoff can be very rewarding! I fish for Tarpon on the bottom or free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, bluefish and menhaden. I’m rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound mono leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 10/0 depending what hook series/maker you like. I have also had a fair share of Tarpon on my kite rig with live baits like mullets, bluefish and menhaden. Hey give the Silver King a try sometime; you never know the fish god might hook you up with a Tarpon!
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Redfish, Flounder and Spanish casting: Penn Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes. Tarpon & bigger Reds reels: Penn Battle 6000 & 7000, Penn Fathom 25N and Torque 12 & 15 conventional reels. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Tarpon Line: 30 or 40 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Penn Legion spinning 6’6” to 7’6” Med/light to Med /hvy. Tarpon/bigger Reds Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series or Penn Bluewater Carnage jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Tarpon; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
*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 and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff! Just Fan (like) the page on I’ll have monthly random drawings and fishing trivia questions to win free tackle. There is a link to my Facebook page on my website.
Thanks for reading these reports, if you have any questions or comments just let me know. Good fishing to you and stay cool out there!
Capt. Jot Owens
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 1st, 2012
Well folks the summer weather of up and down temps is here; with some hotter weather in the forecast. Hey summer is here to stay for awhile; its time to go fishing! With the warmer weather the bait has really started to show up and the fishing has really gotten in its summer pattern. And just as I’m really starting to catch some nice Cobia the silver king (Tarpon) show up earlier then normal this season! Hey welcome to North Carolina fishing!
The Flounder fishing has been good to very good this season with a fair amount of nice fish coming in over four plus pounds. The name of the game for me this season has been using artificial baits to catch the bigger Flounder. Two baits that have really worked well for me are the Berkley Gulp five and six inch Jerkshads in colors pearl white, chart pepper neon and new penny. Another bait I started using last year with good success was the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig soft plastic lure. This is a bass (fresh water) lure but man when you see this thing you’ll know why it’s sure to catch Flounder as well as Redfish! The colors I’m using in the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig are pearl white silver fleck, swamp gas and california.
When rigging the Jerkshad and Grass Pig baits, I prefer a long shank jig head to hold the baits on securely. Sebile and Blue Water Candy both make a very good jig head with the design of a longer shank hook. Colors of jig heads for Flounder fishing does not seem to be a big deciding factor, but I stick with mostly gray and red. I prefer forty pound fluorocarbon leader from Stren’s tinted leaders in Gumsmoke for clear waters and Tannic for brown/river/stained waters. Just remember when you hook that door mat Flounder to take your time and don’t pull its head out of the water, for the flounder may just shake that hook out and nobody wants to lose a nice flounder!
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 fish finder rigs with 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 hooks so they will do there 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 Spanish Mackerel are biting good most days, but the best bite has been earlier in the morning when the sun is lower in the sky; also the fish have been a little deeper in thirty to fifty feet of water for the last few weeks. When you mark big balls of bait with your fish finder this is usually where you’ll find the most Spanish biting. Clark-spoons in sizes 00 and 0 are doing the trick in colors silver, gold and pink flash behind number one planners. The Spanish hitting on top are hitting Blue Water Candy’s Spanish Daisy chains in colors pink, blue and silver; the great thing about this rig is you can pull it off lighter tackle outfits. Another lure that is working well for the Spanish when I’m casting to them is the River2Sea Sea Rock lure, these little casting jigs are just the right weight and size to get those fast moving Spanish to bite! The colors that I like to use are purple, white and blue; I prefer the two smallest sizes of Sea Rock in the number seven and four-teen. All so the hook that comes on these lures is great, finally a good hook on a lure right out of the package!
Tarpon fishing this season has been good already and it’s early! Florida had a very good Tarpon season and these fish have come up from Florida, let’s hope they are still very hungry and ready to bite! Tarpon fishing is not easy; it takes patients and time, but the payoff can be very rewarding! I fish for Tarpon on the bottom or free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, bluefish, mullet and menhaden. I’m rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound fluorocabon leaders (Berkley Vanish). Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 10/0 depending what hook series/maker you like. I have also had a fair share of Tarpon on my kite rig with live baits like mullets, bluefish and menhaden.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Redfish, Flounder and Spanish casting: Penn Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes. Tarpon & bigger Reds reels: Penn Battle 6000 & 7000, Penn Fathom 25N and Torque 12 & 15 conventional reels. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Tarpon Line: 30 or 40 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Penn Legion spinning 6’6” to 7’6” Med/light to Med /hvy. Tarpon Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series or Penn Bluewater Carnage jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Tarpon; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
*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 and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff! Just Fan (like) the page on I’ll have monthly random drawings and fishing trivia questions to win free tackle. There is a link to my Facebook page on my website.
Thanks for reading these reports, if you have any questions or comments just let me know. Good fishing to you and stay cool out there!
Capt. Jot Owens
Penn Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on June 26th, 2012
