Hello folks, I hope all is well with you and I hope you got through the snow “storm”. It was nice to see some snow around the area; but I’m ready for spring now. Sunny days, warmer weather and of course FISHING!!! With that said, it is now time to get the tackle, rods, reels and line ready for spring fishing. Not to say that we are not catching any fish now, (we are) you just have got to work for them a little bit! To the Fishing report>>>
Redfish has still been a good bet lately, but the dirty waters from all the rain, snow and wind are making it a bit tough. It looks like we have a dryer pattern of weather coming soon; this should help the bite pick up some. I lure patterns that we are using are the same as the last report. These colors seem to do well for us most winters. I always try new colors and patterns all the time, just to see what works or work better. I always recommend you do the same on any kind of fishing trip.
Saltwater Assassin grubs in colors 10w40 & lime-tail, Chicken on a chain and copperhead are still working well. Also Berkley Power baits; 5” jerkshad in colors new penny and pearl white have worked well. We rig the grubs on ¼ Red jig heads with Stren’s 20# tinted fluorocarbon in tint “tannic”. When the fish are spooky this floro is the trick! When we rig the Berkley jerkshads, we rig them Texas style, with a bass worm hook and a bullet weight.
With all the rain, wind and snow the water has been cloudy to down right dirty lately in the ocean. The good news is that we are starting a dryer tend for the next few days; this should start the process of the water clearing up. With this said the schooling surf Redfish should be a target soon again. A sunny, light wind day and good polarized sunglasses are the keys to catching these Reds. Grubs seem to be the easy go to bait for surf Reds. Lures we are using are SWA 10w40/ Lime-tail and Berkley Powerbait’s Ripple shad in colors New penny and Smelt. You need to use heavier jigs heads, 3/8 and ½ oz plus for casting. Pick a very nice day when looking for these Reds and always be careful in the surf.
There are still a few Cape Fear River stripers biting. The water has really been up and down with water temps; because of all the rain and wind. When the water is warmer due to warmer and sunny days the fishing seems to be better. Most of the fish are in the four to twelve pound range, with a few bigger ones mixed in as well. We are catching the stripers on hard and soft baits. In the hard bait range; X-raps and mid-water crank baits are working well. As far as soft baits; Berkley Powerbait jerkshads in Pearl color and Saltwater Assassin (Blurp) jerk shads in colors pearl and electric chicken. We are rigging the jerkshads Texas style, with a large bass worm hook.
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. A very slow presentation, is working the best on cooler days. On one of our last trips a Carp around fifth teen pounds got in the way of a crank bait; and the fight was on!
Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Fire line crystal braid in 10 and 20#. 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:
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 winter.
February 20, 2010-Cape Fear Christian Sportsman Fish Fest.
http://www.capefearsportsmen.org/Events/FishFest10Registration/tabid/719/Default.aspx I will be speaking on Shallow water Redfishing and working MirrOlure’s. For all the info on this day of seminars, take a look at this link.
March 20-12, 2010 Cape Fear Wildlife Expo, at the Coastline Convention Center. http://www.capefearwildlifeexpo.com Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy two days of hunting and fishing exhibitors, wildlife art, decoys, boats and accessories, truck and ATV displays, Hunter Safety Certification Class, fly fishing demos, camping, guides, outfitters, sportfishing simulator, contests, archery demos and fun for the entire family. I’ll be there with Cape Fear River Watch and will be doing seminars on local inshore fishing.
Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. 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
Well folks, the days are getting longer and winter is more than half way over. I’m really looking forward to this coming spring! With the weather we’ve had lately; so up and down! I think that groundhog needs to get a new job! Hey that’s weather in North Carolina! Don’t forget, this is a great time to check over all your fishing gear. Clean up your rods and reels, oil the reels and put a touch of wax on your rods. It also a good time to put new fishing line on your reels and check those hooks on your artificial lures. A little work now; will make spring fishing a little easier on you! To the fishing report >>>!
Redfish has been the main shot lately for my trips. On some of the warmer days, the bite has been good to even great! The main tips I can give you is get out there and look, lately we’ve hit four to six spots and have not got a bite. The next spot we check, boom cast after cast; Redfish. You have got to cover area to find winter inshore Redfish.
Lure’s that seem to do the trick have been, Saltwater Assassin grubs in colors 10w40 & lime-tail, Chicken on a chain and copperhead. In Berkley Power baits; 5” jerkshad in colors new penny and pearl white have worked well. We rig the grubs on ¼ Red jig heads with Stren’s 20# tinted fluorocarbon in tint “tannic”. When the fish are spooky this floro is the trick! When we rig the Berkley jerkshads, we rig them Texas style, with a bass worm hook and a bullet weight.
The Redfish are schooling in the surf and we are always looking for a nice day to get out and chase them. They are pretty easy to catch; you just got to find them. That part can be a bit harder, trust me! A sunny, light wind day and good polarized sunglasses are the keys to catching these Reds. Grubs seem to be the easy go to bait for surf Reds. Lures we are using are SWA 10w40/ Lime-tail and Berkley Powerbait’s Ripple shad in colors New penny and Smelt. You need to use heavier jigs heads, 3/8 and ½ oz plus for casting. Hold on tight, they fight great even in cold water!
There are still a few Cape Fear River stripers biting. The water has really cooled down. Most of the fish are in the four to twelve pound range, with a few bigger ones mixed in as well. We are catching the stripers on hard and soft baits. In the hard bait range; X-raps and mid-water crank baits are working well. As far as soft baits; Berkley Powerbait jerkshads in Pearl color and Saltwater Assassin (Blurp) jerk shads in colors pearl and electric chicken. We are rigging the jerkshads Texas style, with a large bass worm hook.
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Speckled trout fishing has been more miss than hit lately but, it should get better with the warmer weather we have coming. The best bet for the trout this time of year is mud minnows and working artificial baits very slow. MirrOlure’s 17MR and 52M are a good bet this time of year. I like the colors 11, 51, CFPR and EC. SWA grubs in colors chicken on a chain, chart-diamond and silver-ph & chart tail. I use twenty pound Stren tinted fluorocarbon leader; I prefer gun smoke tint for clear water applications.
Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Fire line crystal braid in 10 and 20#. 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:
The second annual Cape Fear River Watch Striped Bass Tournament was held Saturday Jan 16th. This Tournament is an effort to raise awareness of the declining number of striped bass and other fish native to the Cape Fear River and to tag CFR Stripers for fishier studies on rebuilding the stocks of native fish.
Winners of this year’s tournament were: Capt. Jamie Rushing, along with fishermen Robert Bungard, and Kevin Bloom caught 10 Stripers winning most tag fish award. The largest fish of the day was a 27.5-inch striped bass caught by Capt. Jot Owens and fisherman Duane Auman, followed closely by a 26-inch striped bass wrangled in by Capt. Owens and fisherman Todd Byrd. First aggregate honors (meaning total length of collected fish) went to Capt. Owens, Auman and Byrd with a collected length of 53.5 inches. Second aggregate went to Capt. Stu Caulder and fishermen Phil Metz and Bruce McGunahan, with a collected length of 50 inches.
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 winter.
February 12-14, 2010 – Raleigh Convention Center Boat Show – Raleigh, NC. www.raleighconvention.com/boatshow/ This is a great show with lots of the “top of the line” boats form around the world. I’ll be there with other Ranger Pro’s to show you all the great benefits to the Ranger Saltwater line of boats.
February 20, 2010-Cape Fear Christian Sportsman Fish Fest.
http://www.capefearsportsmen.org/Events/FishFest10Registration/tabid/719/Default.aspx I will be speaking on Shallow water Redfishing and working MirrOlure’s. For all the info on this day of seminars, take a look at this link.
Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Don’t forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats and
Pure Fishing Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
Hello form “finally starting to warm up” Southeast North Carolina! It has been cold; to cold, we did have some local fish kill. It was a little worse north of us, but it s not good for anybody! We are very happy to see warmer temps for the next five plus days. The good part of all this is we have been doing pretty good fishing lately. Let’s go over that in this weeks fishing report>>>
When the weather or more important the wind has been right, we have done very well on the winter Redfish. These large schools of Redfish hang in the ocean around bars, inlets and shoals. We have seen schools as small as ten fish to over 1000 fish; and some times more! It’s a really cool thing to see, but you need to be careful; these fish can be hard and dangerous to get too. A good par of polarized sun glasses and a reel that you can cast a country mile will help to catch these winter Reds.
We are catching the Reds in the surf on Saltwater Assassin sea shad grubs; in colors 10w40 with chart tail and chicken on a chain. We rig the grubs on ¼oz and 3/8oz; red or new penny color jig heads. We have caught them on MirrOlure’s as well; 17MR and 27 MR, in colors 26, 808 and BNSBO are working for us.
The Cape Fear River Stripers are biting from time to time; it got a little cold for them as well. The Stripers are hitting Berkley gulp jerk shad in colors pearl, new penny and electric chicken. We rig the jerk shad Texas style, with a large bass hook. Rapala X-raps work too, in colors glass ghost and green back.
Speckled trout fishing has been more miss than hit lately but, it should get better with the warmer weather we have coming. The best bet for the trout this time of year is mud minnows and working artificial baits very slow. MirrOlure’s 17MR and 52M are a good bet this time of year. I like the colors 11, 51, CFPR and EC. SWA grubs in colors chicken on a chain, chart-diamond and silver-ph & chart tail. I use twenty pound Stren tinted fluorocarbon leader; I prefer gun smoke tint for clear water applications.
Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Fire line crystal braid in 10 and 20#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S “Best Trout rod I ever have fished”
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 winter.
February 12-14, 2010 – Raleigh Convention Center Boat Show – Raleigh, NC. www.raleighconvention.com/boatshow/ This is a great show with lots of the “top of the line” boats form around the world. I’ll be there with other Ranger Pro’s to show you all the great benefits to the Ranger Saltwater line of boats.
February 20, 2010-Cape Fear Christian Sportsman Fish Fest.
http://www.capefearsportsmen.org/Events/FishFest10Registration/tabid/719/Default.aspx I will be speaking on Shallow water Redfishing and working MirrOlure’s. For all the info on this day of seminars, take a look at this link.
Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Don’t forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats and
Pure Fishing Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
Well Folks, the rain has slowed down a little but; now here comes the COLD weather!!! Welcome to southeast North Carolina fishing and weather, everyday is different and the fishing will be different as well! You can catch fish during colder weather and/or winters; you just have to change your style a little. I think this is going to be a little colder winter than the last one. So here is the fishing report>>>
The speckled trout have been hit and miss lately, some days we catch them good some days not as many. When we do get them; live shrimp has worked, as well as grubs have. Just lately I’ve had a few friends catch some bigger trout around the Masonboro jetties. When I’m looking for bigger trout, I turn too the live shrimp, not to say that big trout will not hit lures; they will! But for ease of fishing with charters; live shrimp do the trick time and time again!
When we are using grubs these are some of the patterns that are catching trout. Grub colors by Saltwater Assassin’s that have really done well are chicken on a chain and chart-diamond. Some other colors that are producing well are salt & pepper, space guppy and pearl. We rig the grubs on jig heads in colors black and red; in sizes 1/8 and ¼; with a twenty pound fluorocarbon leader. I don’t use a lot of floro, but I do for speckled trout fishing; trout have very good eye sight.
We are catching some small trout, Redfish and Striped bass in the Cape Fear River. These fish are hitting grubs, jerk shad and hard baits. The grubs and jerk shads that are working for us is. Saltwater Assassin and Berkley gulp in colors pearl, new penny and chartreuse. We use red and white jig heads in weights 1/4, 3/8 and ½ oz for the grubs. When we use jerk shads, we rig them Texas style with a 4/0 to 6/0 wide gap bass worm hook.
Redfish are schooling in the surf, we are always looking for a nice day to get out and chase them. They are pretty easy to catch; you just got to find them. That part can be a bit harder, trust me! A sunny, light wind day and good polarized sunglasses are the keys to catching these Reds. Grubs seem to be the easy go to bait for surf Reds. Saltwater Assassin “Blurps” in pearl and molting color work very well. We’ve also had good luck with Berkley gulp alive in jerk shad pattern; in colors new penny and pearl white. You need to use heavier jigs heads, ½ and 5/8 plus for casting. Color of the head is not a big deal Red, white and black all work just fine. Hold on tight, they fight great even in cold water!
There have still been good by-catches while we are trout fishing; these include some Tautogs, Sheephead, Flounder and Black & Red drum. These by-catches are hitting the grubs and live shrimp we are using for the trout. The great thing is they are all good eating! My favorites are the Tautogs and Sheephead. If your bait gets close to the bottom, you’ve got a good chance at picking up one of these guys.
Remember when the water gets cold, slow down your presentation. This will greatly help you catch more fish during the winter mouths!
Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Fire line crystal braid in 10 and 20#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S “Best Trout rod I ever have fished”
In Other Fishing News: Don’t forget starting in early January; 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 winter.
January 8-10, 2010 – Raleigh Bass & Saltwater Fishing Expo NC State Fairgrounds – Raleigh, NC. www.ncboatshows.com This is a GREAT show, with over 160 booths offering everything from the latest lures, plastics, jigs, custom rods, apparel, knives, product sample booths, hard-tops, saltwater fishing guides, fresh water guides, cast nets, gaffs…..by far one of the best shows of its kind in the Carolina’s and Virginia. I will be there along with other Ranger pro staff members who include; Capt. Jeff Cronk and Capt. Mike Taylor, as well as many others fresh and salt water pros! I will speak on Cobia and Tarpon fishing during Saturday’s seminars.
February 12-14, 2010 – Raleigh Convention Center Boat Show – Raleigh, NC. www.raleighconvention.com/boatshow/ This is a great show with lots of the “top of the line” boats form around the world. I’ll be there with other Ranger Pro’s to show you all the great benefits to the Ranger Saltwater line of boats.
Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Don’t forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats and
Pure Fishing Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
Hello form a wet Southeast North Carolina, boy we’ve have had some rain lately! The good thing is the fish are still biting well to great some days! I talked with a few other fishermen lately and a lot have asked what to do about dirty water Speckled trout fishing. That is what I’m going to go over in this weeks fishing report>>>
The Speckled trout fishing continues to be pretty steady most days but we have had to change up a few things in our presentation for dirtier waters. What grubs do I use in dirtier waters; colors (Chicken on a chain), (10w 40/lime tail), (S&P SLV.PH/Chart.TL), (Blurps Rootbeer) and (Space Guppy) all of these are Saltwater Assassin colors in sea shad pattern. If you like to use Gulp Ghost shrimp (Chart Belly), (New Penny) and (Natural with sparkle). Now I’m not real big on scents for Speckled trout fishing, but when the water is dirty it can help bring a bite or two. Of course Gulp already has the scent but if you like none scented grubs try some BANG shrimp and/or BANG Texas tea spray scents. I don’t really change the color of my jig head; I use a little more red then black when the water is dirty. One thing I always do when the water is dirty is slow down my presentation; work the grub a little slower!
To the hard baits we use in dirtier waters. MirrOlures are great dirty waters bait; because you can work them so darn slow! This gives the trout longer to see and eat the MirrOlure. So which MirrOlures; 17MR, 27MR and S52MR all of these MirrOlures have rattles one more thing to draw in a bite! MirrOlure colors I like in dirtier waters; EC, 11, 26 and 808. One trick that has worked for me in the past is; steeping up in lure size when the water is dirty. Try a 27MR or a S52MR instead of a 17MR; this gives the trout a bigger target to see. Rapala’s X-rap in chartreuse is a good dirty water lure too.
Let’s not forget those good ole’ live shrimp; they work in clear or dirty waters. But I have seen lures work well when the water is dirty and sometimes better then live shrimp, I still don’t leave the dock with out them (shrimp).
There have still been lots of good by-catches while we are trout fishing; these include some Tautogs, Sheephead, Flounder and Black & Red drum. These by-catches are hitting the grubs and live shrimp we are using for the trout. The great thing is they are all good eating! My favorites are the Tautogs and Sheephead. If your bait gets close to the bottom, you’ve got a good chance at picking up one of these guys.
I hope some of these tactics help you catch more Speckled trout this season. Remember slow down your presentation, go with a little bigger lure and have some patients; you’ll get’em!
I’m going to offer a VERY GOOD but limited offer for the next few weeks or until they sell out. ½ price (50% off) 1/2 day (4 hour) charter gift certificates. That’s right; $150.00 for four hours of fishing; yes you can buy them for you or as a gift. They a good for all of 2010. E-mail captainjot@yahoo.com or call 910-233-4139 for details of to purchase. Also my special winter rates are in affect till the first of April.
Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Fire line crystal braid in 10 and 20#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S “Best Trout rod I ever have fished”
Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Don’t forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats and
Pure Fishing Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Posted in Fishing Reports on August 18th, 2011
