Pier Bad, Kayak Good

Title today a little bit over simplified, but true about the fishing conditions for today. Pier fishing has been off for the last couple of days. I was out today with grandson Zack and nothing much was going on. We saw only a couple of sharks, small ones, caught while we were out. Zack who had never held a black tip shark threw one of these back in the water, and was quite excited that he got to hold one. We took a little kayak trip out this morning, and we were skunked, but we left the dock late, around 11:00 am. I felt that if we had left a little earlier that we would have had better luck, which was confirmed when we talked to Keith, a kayak angler from Rocky Mount, now living in Wilksboro, that went out in his kayak earlier in the morning than Zack and I did. Keith said that he hooked up with three flounder using the new Gulp saltwater shrimp that everyone is talking about. Keith also says he caught a couple of puppy drum. I can't recall the bait that he used to lure the drum into biting, but Keith said he saw the fish "tailing" which puppy drum anglers know is a term referring to the fish feeding in shallow water, water that is so shallow that when the fish turns his head and mouth to the bottom to feed, the fishes tail sticks out of the water. It's really exciting to see. Keith said he spooked several more fish from under the kayak as he paddled along. Congratulations Keith for a sucessful and peaceful day on the water.
Till next time......
Tight Lines!
Johnny

Migraine, Trip, Rain

The migraine I have had all weekend has subsided a bit this morning. Saturday was a travel day to pick up Zack in Burlington for a visit to the beach. I forgot Jesse's birthday. Sorry Jess. It's still misting rain, so fishing hasn't been a priority. Maybe I can rest a bit more before Zack wants to go fishing. With the migraine, the trip, and the rain, I don't have a fishing report. Other than neighbor and friend Tommy caught a black drum in a creek behind the island.
Till next time.......
Tight Lines!
Johnny

Fishing slow, slow, slow

It's a good thing I don't have to fish for my living. I feel for the comercial guys if their catch is as bad as mine. This was the worst spring I have seen in several years. The largest whiting I have caught was 11 inches long. Less than one pound. Last year I had caught 10 that was 2 lbs or better. No puppy drum this year. Last year I caught only one that made the slot, but I had caught others I had to let go. I have caught only a few flounder. NO KEEPERS at all this year.I have caught only a few spots, none that I would brag about. I hope everyone's luck is better than mine. Our grandson Zack is coming to visit, I hope fishing picks up for him. Family members Dave, Danny, and I went on a red drum charter couple weeks ago, and got nothing but a big skate. The guide said to us as we were heading back to the dock empty handed, "That's why they call it fishing and not catching." A pretty cold statement to folks that had just drove 300 miles and spent $375.00 for a day trip to marker 98 and back. I guess he tried to put us on the fish. We moved several times during the morning. Still, an offer of another trip at a small discount, on a day when he didn't have another charter, or even a t-shirt, would have been better than what we got.
Ok, got that "water rage" out of the way. I don't know what the problem is, or if there is a problem. Maybe I am not hearing about the fish being caught. But last year and the year before, and the year before that, I did hear, and I caught some nice fish, and a lot of fish. I even talked about buying an extra freezer to put the catch in. But I ended up giving the extra away. There were plenty of folks that enjoyed them.
Maybe they are just late this year. Yea, that's it. They are just late. I'm going to grab my gear and head to the beach. Maybe I'll head'em off at the pass, before they get too far down the beach for me to catch. Got my fishing rod, my sand spike, and my sand flea rake, and my..............
Till next time.......
Tight lines!
Johnny

Rough Surf and High Wind

I tried to go surf fishing this afternoon around 5 pm. Tide was going out and the surf was extremely rough. It was kind of unusual because for a while my rig was being pulled out instead of side to side. Only got one bite, and I missed the fish, loosing my bait, which was a piece of cut mullet. There were sand fleas in the surf, but there were so many people in the water that I only put out one rig. There were several others fishing up and down the beach, but I didn't see anything being caught. I didn't talk to anyone at the piers today, so I don't know what was going on there. I'll post as soon as I find out something, probably in the morning.
Until next time.......
Tight Lines!
Johnny

Blues and Something Big in the Surf

I went surf fishing near Barnacle Bills old pier last evening. I caught several nice blues and nearly lost a nice surf rod and reel when something really big tried to run off with it. The monster pulled my sand spike over and I caught the rod just as it touched the sand. The line broke just as I put pressure on the unknown devil from the deep. I think the line broke where I had tied my shock leader to my 12 lb test stren line. There was no roughness on the line, just a break. I probably should have retied it, as it had been tied for several weeks. I also had my drag set too tightly, but I had a problem getting the blue I had caught previously in, so I had tightened it, and then failed to loosen it up after the blue was landed. I'll try not to make that mistake again. Surf City Pier is still producing some small spanish and blues in the daytime, and some small croakers, sea mullets, and spots at night. Surf anglers are getting blues and mullets, which are getting a bit bigger, and some black drum as well as some puppy drum. There are still some nice puppy drum being caught in the sounds and bays behind the island.
Until next time......
Tight lines!
Johnny

I have had some problems with my computer again, so my next post may be a while. Please accept my apoligies.

Kayaks and Piers

When you get down to Topsail Island, go to Herrings Outdoor Sports at 701 North New River Drive, where you can rent or buy a kayak and go out in the sounds and creeks and try your hand at fishing for puppy drum, flounder and trout. Steve or Jessi can set you up with a kayak, bait, tackle, and anything else you may need to have a fun filled and restful day of fishing or just exploring the bays and sounds behind Topsail Island. I tried kayak fishing for the first time today, and I have to tell you, I am hooked! It was one of my most satisfying fishing experiences. I landed only one 11 inch flounder, not a keeper, but the trip was a blast! Click here the Herrings Outdoor Sports website or call Steve or Jessi at 910-328-3291 for an exciting and fun filled day on the water.

Todays Fishing Report
Folks are catching lots of small mullets from Surf City Pier. LOTS of mullets. However, they are small. Ken and Karen, and Andreas and Karen carried their catch to Batsons Galley and had them cook the mullets for their dinner. I love to catch large mullets, but let me tell you, small ones are delicious to eat. The three or four inch strips of mullet filets breaded and fried crispy on the outside and tender on the inside are wonderful and hard to beat when eating fish. Throw in some french fries and homemade horse radish sauce, and you have a meal. My thanks go out to these folks for thinking of me. I enjoyed some for lunch today, and will probably finish them off for supper tonight.

Other action on the pier and surf include small spots with a few larger ones mixed in, still not as large as this time last year. I have seen some nice black drum and pig fish, some folks call them hog fish, pulled in from around the old leftover pilings on the south side of the pier. There have been some spanish everyday, with a few nice ones, and a few cobia. The flounder are still scarce, with one being caught occasionaly. The blues are still out near the end most every morning for the gotcha pluggers. It seems the best time to bottom fish is the night.
Behind the island, there are still lots of puppy drum, some really nice ones. Fishing bud and neighbor Tommy caught another one yesterday weighing is at 6 and a quarter pounds. He caught one the day before that was 19 inches long. It seems Tommy has found a "puppy drum honey hole" somewhere behind the island.
I am going to try surf fishing sometime this afternoon, probably closer to evening depends on the tide, with some cut bait I had in the freezer. I am hoping to get a drum or flounder.

Till next time.....
Tight Lines,
Johnny

11625

Some nice spots

Donna and I went for a walk on the pier tonight after supper. I saw some nice spots being caught along with some pretty good size mullet. Glenn caught a 1.8 lb va mullet and a couple of spanish. Glenn had a good day. Ken and Karen, and another friend Karen and her dad were catching small mullets, sand perch, and croakers. Andreas didn't make it out tonight. I hope to see him out soon. There were also some sheephead caught, and the usual small mullet, croaker, sharks, and stingray. A school of batray had moved in just as we were leaving. A couple of anglers lost there rigs when they got hooked up with them. After all the rain and wind we have had, we are due for some good fishing weather.
Till next time........
Tight Lines!
Johnny

11537

Rainy Wednesday

No fishing today. Rain, Rain, and very windy.

Doctors, Migraines, Trips to the Port City

Haven't fished in several days. I haven't had the time, or I haven't felt like getting off the couch, or into the sun, depending which day we are talking about. I am hearing that I haven't missed much. I keep hearing about the big mullet or whiting, which should show up any day. Maybe tomorrow. Where are the flounder? A few are being caught, but not many. Definitely no door mats. There are some blues and a few spanish in the mornings being caught from the piers. Check out Surf City Ocean Pier for a report from there.While you are there check out the pics of the pig fish my grandchildren caught while fishing with me a couple weekends ago. They also caught several mullets and spots. We had fun, but didn't catch anything worth cleaning and cooking.

6-13 11,388

Big Black Drum Caught from SCP

Saw a really nice black drum caught from Surf City Ocean Pier yesterday. My guesstimate of the weight is three to three and a half pounds. Just big enough to make a nice meal. There have been some nice cobia taken at the end of the pier. Kings are still scarce. Spanish are biting gotcha plugs early in the morning off and on. Blues up to two pounds are a regular visitor to the end of the pier early mornings. Elsewhere on the pier, anglers are catching small mullets and small spots with the occasional small flounder and speckled trout. Check out Surf City Pier's new website. I think you will like it. http://surfcityoceanpier.com
Till next time........
Tight Lines!!
Johnny

Surf City Pier

Had a report from Ken today. He fished at Surf City Pier and caught a few but nothing big enough to bring home. I am going to the pier tomorrow morning, so I will have some news, good or bad. Thanks for sticking with me.
Until next time......
Tight Lines,
Johnny

Nothing to report

Nothing to report the past few days. Bad, bad, migraine. Felling better. Hope to be fishing soon.

Spanish, Cobia

Spanish are biting on Surf City Pier and Jolly Rodger Pier at Topsail Beach. There have been some nice ones caught in the three and four pound range too, not just the one footers. I also had a report of several cobia being landed at the Jolly Rodger Pier. There are still plenty of blues for the got-cha chunkers out near the end of the piers. The crowds have increased such that the king anglers have brought out the barricades to keep us "regular guys" off the end of the pier, but we can still get close enough to get to the spanish. Some are being caught just halfway out the pier. Friend and neighbor Tommy caught another puppy drum from his kayak today, this one was a 19 incher! Caught it on a beetle spin again. I have got to find out where his secret fishing hole is. I caught spot and mullet in the surf last evening at almost dead low tide just before sunset, but none were braggin' size.

I loaded my trusted old pen peer #9 that I use with my 11 foot surf casting rod with 12 lb Shakespeare line. It is cheaper than a lot of lines, just as sturdy, and doesn't seem to tangle and backlash as bad. I use a 15 Ft. shock leader and a fish finder rig with a circle hook for red drum, but I had forgotten to take my circle hooks with me to the beach and didn't want to walk back to get them, so I used a size 1 xl long shank tru-turn. I cut a spot up and made bait chunks to fish for drum. I got two nice hits, but forgot to set the hook both times, as I am accustomed to using circle hooks and don't have to set the hook when fishing for drum. I WILL remember to take them with me next time.


Till next time.......
Tight Lines!
Johnny