Daily Bible Verse

December 25, 2007

Christmas Fishing Report and Prayer Request

Hello from Surf City! I haven't heard of much from the surf or the piers this week. But, there are fish out there to be caught. I heard of a two pound whiting Christmas eve, from the surf, and a couple of one pounders from Surf City Pier. Also a few puffers, but small ones. They all bit cut shrimp. I saw a 14 or 15 inch speckled trout that came off Surf City Pier. This one bit a christmas tree grub on a red lead head. The guy said he had fished several days with no luck. Then he painted white eyes on his red jigs, and the result was the trout. But that's about it. If you had a boat, the reds seems to be everywhere off the intracoastal waterway, on a falling tide on and around oyster beds. Sorry I don't have more to tell you.

On a personal note, Donna's mom, Bernice Reece, aka Miss Lee, as the locals around Surf City know her, has had a setback and she is in the hospital. Her kidneys have failed, and it doesn't look good for her. All prayers are appreciated.


Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna


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December 20, 2007

Merry Christmas from Surf City!







Another Christmas is here, and Donna and I are wondering where this year has gone. It seems we have worked too much, and fished too little. But we have made it through another year, and upon reflecting on the past year, we have a lot to be thankful for. We would like to thank all our readers for their loyalty to the blog. Your input has kept us going this year. We appreciate all the kind words and encouragement that you have given us. We were fortunate to meet many of you this past year, and we hope to get to know even more of our readers this coming year.

This time of the year it is easy to get caught up with the whole commercial idea of Christmas. Lets all try to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. Excuse the cliche, but I can't think of a better way to say it. I am bothered that some folks and businesses are concerned about calling Christmas what it really is. Christmas! Why do they find it necessary to call it a "family tree" or a "holiday tree"? And even more disturbing, why do we as Christians keep silent as the vocal non believing minority remove Christ from everything that we celebrate? Make your voices heard. Say it loud, and say it often.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!






Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny


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Inside Action HOT!





Hello from Surf City! Reds seem to be everywhere behind Topsail Island. I have had reports of some great catches the last couple of days. I am posting one email from fishin bud Jim I received today. If you don't start loading the boat after you read this, something is BAD wrong with you! Enjoy.

(quote)
YESTERDAY, ONLY GOT 4 BUT THEY WERE SMALL, FOUND ALOT OF THEM BUT THEY WOULD NOT HIT ANYTHING. SO TODAY I THOUGHT I WOULD TAKE SOME SHRIMP TAILS AND SEE IF THEY WOULD HIT THEM. WELL CAUGHT 2 ON THE SHRIMP, AND THEY WERE BOTH THROAT HOOKED, SO I DECIDED TO GO BACK TO THE GULP SWIMMING MINNOW, CHARTREUSE. STARTED FISHING AT 10:25 THIS MORNING. I HAD TO QUIT AT 1:15. I WAS WORE OUT. FIRST 10 WERE SMALL 16 OR SO INCHES. THEN I HIT THE BIG ONES, ALL 24 INCHES OR OVER, BIGGEST WAS 31 INCHES. THEY WERE HITTING ON EVERY CAST. AND I DO MEAN EVERY CAST. SAME PLACE ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE ISLAND IN THE OYSTER BEDS. THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE FISH I CAUGHT TODAY. ALL PICTURES ARE OF DIFFERENT FISH BUT THEY WE ALL ABOUT THE SAME SIZE SO IT IS HARD TO TELL. WILL SEND MORE LATER.
(END QUOTE)

Now that is some fine fish!
Thanks for sharing.


Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny


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Update on New River Sewage Spill

Hello from Surf City! The following is an email I received from Tess Sanders of the New River Foundation. As sport fishing enthusiasts, we need to be involved and informed about conditions that may affect our sport fishing resources. Thanks for taking the time to inform yourself of the New River conditions.

(quote)
Dear Johnny,

First off, Happy Holidays! I hope you are enjoying these hectic days leading up to the most wonderful time of the year.

I have attached a letter from the Riverkeeper, Brian Wheat, updating you on the recent sewage spill. Brian finally secured a meeting with base officials on December 12th to air our concerns. It was a productive meeting, and I believe that a cleaner river will be the result of some changes that are at hand over on Camp
Lejeune. Brian feels that it is important to update you on his progress, since you are the people that “pay the bills.” He works for all of us that want clean water, and we’re grateful that we can count you among his many employers!

Hopefully you have received our Annual Appeal letter already. I want to thank you for taking the time to review the letter during this busy season, and hope that
you will join us in our fight for a clean river. We have received many responses already. If one of those was yours, THANKS!! If you haven’t sent in your membership gift or other donation yet, please take another look. We can’t continue our work without your support.

For the river,
Tess Sanders

FROM THE RIVERKEEPER--
To our members and friends:

On December 12, 2007, Tess Sanders and I met with officials from Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune to discuss the actions surrounding the raw sewage spill that polluted portions of Northeast Creek and the New River. The meeting was attended by the base utilities director and members of his staff, a representative from the environmental department and public affairs officers and touched upon several areas.

What caused the spill?:
The lift station located on Northeast Creek failed some time during the afternoon of November 19th and was not discovered until shortly after 7PM that same evening. The timing that is now being released is different than what was originally released by the base public affairs office. Because the lift station emergency power was being tested earlier in the morning, several alarms were received and silenced at the monitoring station. Among them was the alarm sent when the lift station failed.

Why did it take so long to discover the spill?:
The lift station is normally unmanned and is, along with all other major lift stations, inspected every 8 hours. Since the alert of a system failure was improperly
silenced no one was aware of a problem.

What is being done to prevent sewage spills from reaching public waters in the future?:
The base is installing a new, state-of-the-art fiber optic data network that will not allow an improper silencing of an alarm. This new equipment will provide real time video monitoring of wet wells and pump rooms. The lift station located on Northeast Creek is scheduled to have this upgrade completed by late February 2008. Additionally, the base is now looking into installing diversion channels to prevent raw sewage from reaching public waters.

In addition to discussing the spill, considerable time was spent addressing the need for more aggressive steps being taken to alert the public of a potential
health hazard. Thougt the state allows for announcing a sewage spill 48 hours after the fact it was agreed by all parties that more timely notification is needed and
the base would look into speeding up that process.

Respectfully,

Brian Wheat
New Riverkeeper

Tess Sanders
New River Foundation Onslow

(end quote)

Links:

The New Riverkeeper and The New River Foundation Onslow;


New River Foundation Onslow Blog



Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny


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December 19, 2007

Reds and Flounder Still Biting on the Inside!



Hello from Surf City! At least someone is catching fish! Got this from fishin' bud Jim Tuesday evening. Thanks Jim!



(quote)
FOUND SOME BIGGER DRUM TODAY BEHIND TOPSAIL ISLAND IN THE OYSTER BEDS, IN VERY SHALLOW WATER NOT 2" DEEP. YOU COULD SEE THEM SWIMMING AROUND. BOATED 33", 27", 25" AND 24". LOST 4 MORE BIG ONES. EVEN MANAGED TO SCRAPE UP A BUCKET OF OYSTERS FOR SUPPER. GO GET UMMMM.
(end quote)

Jim fishes from a boat in the waters behind Topsail Island. There are still fish back there, so load up the boat and (as Jim says) GO GET UMMM!


Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny


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December 15, 2007

Today on the Inside


Hello from Surf City! Fishing bud and blog reader Jim sent this picture today in an email. Jim had a pretty good day on the water, but any day on the water is a good one, right? OK, here is the email...
(QUOTE)
FOUND THE DRUM ON THE BACK SIDE OF TOPSAIL ISLAND IN THE OYSTER BEDS, STOPPED COUNTING AT 15, KEPT THIS NICE 24" FOR THE WIFE, LOST 2 MORE BIG ONES , ONE BREAK OFF ONE WRAPPED ITSELF AROUND A DOCK PILEING , COULDN,T HOLD HIM OR KEEP HIM OUT FROM UNDER THE DOCK, ALL HIT 4 " SWIMING MINNOWS CHARTRUSE GULP. GOT TIRED OF CATCHING DRUM AND WENT UP A CREEK LOOKING FOR TROUT ABOUT 3 PM, DID FIND THIS NICE ONE, BUT ONLY FISHED FOR AN HOUR, NO FISHING FOR THE NEXT 3 DAYS THEY SAY WITH THIS WEATHER COMMING IN , BUT WHEN YOU CAN GO GET UMMMMM.
(END QUOTE)

Nice fish Jim. Thanks for the picture.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny


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December 12, 2007

Speckled Trout at Topsail Beach

Hello from Surf City! I am getting reports of Specks in the surf south of Jolly Roger. I wish I could go Thursday morning, but prior commitments will keep me away from the beach most of the day. If you like black drum, they are biting at Jolly Roger Pier. They aren't very big, but plentiful. There have been some puffers, but not as many as this time last year. Maybe they will show up soon. Go gettum!


Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny


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December 9, 2007


Hello from Surf City! Here is an email and picture I received from fishin buddy Jim.
(quote)
SURE HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I HAVE CAUGHT THE FISH I CAUGHT TODAY, FISHED FROM I TILL 4, TIDE WAS OUT AND FALLING. FISHED THE GULP NEW PENNY FOR ABOUT AN HOUR, NOTHING. THEN SWITCHED TO CHARTREUSE SWIMMING MINNOW. FIRST CAST THIS NICE 24" 4LB 9 OZ TROUT BUSTED IT. CAUGHT ONE OTHER SMALLER TROUT THEN MOVED. I RAN INTO A SCHOOL OF PUPPY DRUM, CAUGHT ONE AFTER THE OTHER TILL 3:45. KEPT THIS NICE 19" FOR MY WIFE. SHE LOVES DRUM.

NEW MOON TOMORROW, SO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY, NO FISH BITING FOR 5 DAYS. WE'LL FIND OUT IF THAT IS TRUE AS I PLAN ON GETTING RIGHT BACK OUT THEIR. GO GET UMMMM.
(end quote)

Thanks Jim for sending this report and the picture. We hope you get another nice one.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

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Dean of Pier Anglers

Hello from Surf City! Here is an article about Angelo Depaola. Angelo has been fishing at Jolly Roger Pier for over 50 years. He recently landed his 500th king mackerel.



87-year-old has been fishing off the Jolly Roger since it was erected in 1954


(quote from Charlotte Observer)Story by JACK HORAN Special Correspondent to Charlotte Observer.

TOPSAIL BEACH --Angelo DePaola began catching fish from the Jolly Roger Fishing Pier when Eisenhower was president, gas was 21 cents a gallon and Alaska and Hawaii were still U.S. territories.

Today, DePaola could claim to be the dean of North Carolina's ocean pier anglers, striding along his wind-swept domain nearly every day from April through December, a fixture among king mackerel anglers who camp out at the end of the pier.

Now a sprightly 87, DePaola continues to land kings, tarpon and sharks from the 850-foot-long, salt-weathered pier 35 miles north of Wilmington.

Six weeks ago, he reached one of many fishing milestones when, just after dawn on Halloween, he landed king mackerel No. 500. Or so he thought.

"I had caught No. 499 the day before," DePaola said. "The next morning I got up early anticipating this. A half hour after daylight, I had the king on. Later that morning I caught another one. (But) I had 500 the day before and I didn't know about it."

Here's why. DePaola went home and began sifting through the scraps of paper that hold his fishing records. He counted each fish, starting with his first king in 1958, then did a recount. To his surprise, king mackerels Nos. 500 and 501 turned out to be Nos. 501 and 502. That's his current tally of kings, now that the fish have gone south or to the Gulf Stream for the year.

Over the past 53 years, and perhaps 10,000 days of walking the planks of Jolly Roger, DePaola estimates he's caught 800 big game fish, including cobia, red drum and even a sailfish. Plus "35 or 40 sharks that were over 100 pounds," he said. That doesn't include countless spotted seatrout and Spanish mackerel.

Robin Orr, whose family has owned the Jolly Roger since it was erected in 1954, said DePaola draws respect from pier anglers for his prowess, knowledge and willingness to help others.

"He's a unique individual," Orr said. "We have a tremendous repeat clientele, third generation. "(They ask) Is Deep still out there? Is he still around? Still fishing?"

Deep is DePaola's nickname. He picked it up serving in the Marine Corps from 1940-1946. He later became a civilian firefighter at nearby Camp Lejeune and, in 1953, started surf fishing on his 24-hour-long off days. DePaola left the beach to fish on the Jolly Roger in 1954. It was then called the New Topsail Ocean Pier. Hurricane Hazel destroyed New Topsail in October of that year and DePaola returned to the surf until the pier was rebuilt.

Fish were abundant then, he said. "You could catch so many spots (a panfish) it was ridiculous." He and his buddies caught and kept 30-, 40-, 50-pound red drum, a long-lived fish that is making a slow recovery from overfishing. "We should have been releasing them. We didn't know any better. They were so plentiful."

DePaola retired from Camp Lejeune in 1975 at the age of 55. He recalled a conversation with a colleague that went like this:

"What are you going to do?"

"Go fishing."

"You can't fish every day."

"You watch me."

DePaola and his wife, Janie, moved from Jacksonville, N.C., to Topsail Beach in 1979. Over the years, DePaola has devoted most of his time to king mackerel fishing. He caught 11 this year; his largest ever was 39 pounds.

Using two rods, king mackerel anglers tie 6- or 8-ounce bottom anchors to lines on their 9-foot-long "anchor rods" and heave the anchors 300-400 feet.

Then they put a live bluefish or mullet on their "landing rod." They attach the 30-pound test line to a clip or clothespin on the anchor rod and lower the baitfish into the water. The rig allows the baitfish to swim freely along the clipped line. The clip pops off as soon as a fish hits.

"I think it's a challenge off the end of the pier to catch a big game fish," DePaola said of his passion for kings. "When one of those things takes off, (the reel) sounds like a buzz saw."

Often, it's not a king mackerel. In 1978, he caught a 7-foot-long, 40-pound sailfish, a Gulf Stream fish rare to inshore waters. The sailfish hangs from a wall in his house along with the jaws of a thieving lemon shark he caught in 1976.

"This shark had been cruising the pier for a week, maybe longer. One of those days I had a tarpon on. Got it 50-60 yards from the pier. (Then) the water just turned red in a circle. I felt another tug and everything went slack."

The shark not only devoured the tarpon but also cut the wire leader. DePaola soon would again encounter the lemon shark.

"A couple of days later, I hooked that fish. It was a hot day in July. I had him on for maybe an hour or so," he said. The shark made a wide turn and DePaola walked his line down the pier to the beach and fought the fish for another 1 1/2-2 hours.

A friend ran ahead and yelled to swimmers to get out of the water because of the shark. "Nobody paid attention," DePaola said. Suddenly the swimmers spotted the 10-foot-long shark thrashing in the surf. "That ocean," he said, "cleared out."

Jack Horan: jhoran@charlotteobserver.com


Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny


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A Word About Immigration

Hello from Surf City!


This is a quote from Theodore Roosevelt. Think about what he said, and apply it to what is going on NOW, with immigration. We as a nation, haven't learned much with all our liberal policies. Please keep this going. Every American citizen needs to read this!

The year is 1907, one hundred years ago
Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.

(quote)"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
(end quote)






Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny


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December 7, 2007

Specks at North Topsail Beach

God Bless Our Troops. Remember to thank all our veterans today, Pearl Harbor was attacked this day in 1941.



Hello from Surf City! The picture above is my Dad and the nice trout he caught on Jolly Rodger Pier. The speck hit a Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet, white, four inch size. Dad also caught a few flounder on the same bait, but none were keepers. We caught a ton of black drum, filling our freezers and giving a bunch away. We also had a mess of black drum at Batt's Grille on the island in Surf City. They will cook your cleaned catch, and furnish french fries, slaw, and hushpuppies, for $4.50 per person.

I heard today that the specks are biting in the surf near New River Inlet at the north end of Topsail Island. I still haven't heard of many in the Surf City area. There have been a few keepers caught in the surf at the south end of Topsail Island. Reports from the inside continue to be good. With specks, flounder, and reds being caught on gulp, mirro-lures, live shrimp, and finger mullets. Yea, there are still a few finger mullets, but they are not easy to find.

Speaking of hard to find, I dug for a solid hour looking for sand fleas and found only two. The surf and piers are also producing some nice sea mullets, specifically whiting. I have seen some over two pounds, and a lot of smaller ones. I met one angler on the beach that was catching huge whiting on live shrimp! There have been a few big toad fish caught and a bunch of little ones from Surf City Pier and Jolly Rodger. Sorry, I don't have any reports from Seaview Pier.

I am going to try to get out Saturday, for a couple of hours. I will throw the mirro-lures and lead heads with Gulp Baits. I will let you know how I do. Oh, I almost forgot. A friend emailed me about his catch on the inside. He and his son limited out on trout fishing the tidal creeks off the waterway. I had no luck trying to get him to narrow down the area where he was fishing. Go get them while they are around.

I would once again like to thank you all for your emails concerning my Mother In Law, Bernice Reece, aka Ms. Lee, as she is known around the island. She is doing well, the best since her illness started last December. She is getting stronger every day.

Lets not forget to support the local bait and tackle shops by getting our fishing tackle and supplies from the locals. The prices are as good as Walmart. Thomas Seafood on hwy 50, just before the swing bridge has some nice fish for sale, as well as some beautiful shrimp. Owner Doug Thomas also had shell fish and "gator tail". Surf City Crab still has beautiful shrimp and shellfish. Jeff at One Stop has fresh caught shrimp and some beautiful speckled trout. East Coast Sports and Herrings Outdoor sports are having their end of season sales with lots of great specials. If you are thinking of buying a kayak, now is the time. Prices won't get any lower. Visit these local shops and share some fish stories.

I am sure a lot of you know Mr. Doug Haste, Doug's Tackle near Holly Ridge on Hwy 50. Mr Doug has been in poor health, and is just home from the hospital. Let's keep Mr. Doug in our prayers. We miss him at the tackle shop.

My migraines have been really bad the last couple of weeks, so with the headaches and my helping care for Ms. Lee, I haven't made it to the beach chasin' trout but a few times. So please send emails and photos of your catches. I am getting cabin fever! Guess I will have to settle for cyber fishing until I can get out.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny


Baby Jesus



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