East Coast Tackle Fishing Report

I haven't been fishing lately, so I don't know much about what is going on. I have heard that speckled trout are out there at sunrise. Also bunches of small mullets and black drum. Lots of flounder are being brought in by the night time giggers. A few reports of boats getting their limit. If you are set up for flounder gigging, now is the time. Go towards the inlets where the water is more clear.

Capt. Chris Medlin has just posted his Topsail Island fishing report at www.eastcoastsports.com.

Check it out. Lots of cool info about fishing, inshore and offshore, dredge and inlet reports, and even links to up to date weather reports.
Till next time,
Tight Lines!
Johnny

Slow Down

Fishing has slowed down a bit from the frenzy of the last few weeks. Piers are still reporting some spots and mullets, but the big ones haven't arrived yet. It's late in the season, and I'm not sure they haven't bypassed us this year. I am hearing of big spots around Morehead City, so maybe they will make it down to Topsail. Pier anglers are also catching some specs (speckled trout) and puppy drum. Surf anglers are doing well, catching spots and lots of black drum, with some mullets and speckled trout mixed in. Winds have been out of the south for the past week. A front moved in last night and today bringing cold temps and wind changes. Wind will be out of the north for the next couple of days, so we will see if the wind change makes a difference. Took the boat out Sunday afternoon. Donna and I cruised the waterway and talked to several anglers, none were catching anything but pin fish. I am still hearing about trout in the creeks, but I haven't been able to find them.
Till next time,
Tight Lines!
Johnny

Our inlets are in trouble. The current administration has cut funding to the Army Corps of Engineers who is responsible for dredging our inlets and waterways, especially the Intra-Coastal Waterway. New River Inlet on the north end of Topsail Island was actually closed for a time this summer. There is now some money allocated for dredging for 2006, but it is not nearly enough to keep the inlets and the waterway open. I have never given a second thought to the maintenance of the ICW. But it is apparent now that we need to get involved to make sure we have these waterways available in the near future. Not years from now, but months from now. Click on the Frying Pan Tower link below for links to contact your congressional representatives and urge them to take action on this important issue.

Rod Man Charters Report

Thanks to Capt. Rick Bennet and Rod-Man Charters for this report. Sounds like I need to be fishing the inlets and creaks.



Rod-Man Charters Fishing Report November 10, 2005:

Hi Folks,
Only one word is needed to describe inshore fishing around Wrightsville Beach...HOT!!! Virtually everything is biting well and the moderate temps we are experiencing should keep the fish biting. The Rod-Man and his guests in the Cape Fear Red/Trout Celebrity Classic did not take home any trophies this year, but we did catch a bunch of trout and had lots of fun doing it.

Now here's my report:

Inshore: Speckled trout are about to bite the bottom of the boat out. Grubs, Gulp, twitchbaits, mirrolures, live shrimp...all are catching trout in the inlets and the creeks. Red drum are biting in the inlet along with some black drum. You can also find them in the creeks. Plenty of blues are in the inlet, particularly at high tide. While you'll have to buy your live shrimp there is some live mullet around in the shallows and the creeks on the falling tide.

Nearshore: Gray trout are biting at the nearshore reefs. Jigging spoons work best along with live or cut bait. Some big reds are patrolling the surf and will hit just about anything.

Offshore: Reports are that kings are still around in good numbers in the 20-25 mile areas. Grouper fishing has been super.(Let me know and I can "hook" you up with a VERY GOOD grouper charter.

Gulfstream: Wahoo and tuna, mostly blackfin, are biting well.

Sponsor's Corner: Reports from Bug-em Bait state they are selling cigar minnow rigs for only $4.00...time to stock up. I cannot begin to count the number of fish caught on Berkley's Gulp this past weekend...just awesome. The Rod-Man Fishing School is selling fast. Be sure to get your seat soon.

Don't miss this week's pics of the week:
http://www.rodmancharters.com/report.htm

LOT'S of great fishing ahead..so...
Let's Go Fishing!!!
Capt. Rick Bennett
Rod-Man Charters

Fishin' Still Good

Haven't posted in a while due to a killer migraine. However, I am hearing that fishing on the beaches of Topsail Island is still good. Lots of trout are being caught in the surf as well as the ICW and creeks with grassy banks. I heard one report from Chris at East Coast Sports (http://www.eastcoastsports.com)that lots of puppy drum and trout were being caught around the marker 98 area of the Intracoastal Waterway.

Spots, mullets, black drum, trout, and blues are being caught everywhere on the surf and piers. A few spanish were caught at the SeaView Pier in North Topsail Beach, but I haven't heard of any on the other piers. Flounders are coming out of the water in numbers that are impressive, not just on the piers and backwaters, but in the surf as well. Anglers are having good luck with big blues on gotcha plugs from Surf City pier.

Before this last migraine put me down, I had good luck fishing with beef liver. Dad and I caught mullet, spots and black drum from the surf on the liver. I am excited about this because of the high cost of bloodworms. About $11 for 10 worms, and they keep getting smaller and smaller. The bloody beef liver is about $1.49 a pound. Give it a try. Someone suggested salting it down so it will keep longer, but I don't know if that would be necessary. I talked to an angler on Surf City Pier that salts his shrimp. He buys large quantities early in the season when shrimp are cheap, heads and cuts them into small bait size pieces, salts them down, then puts them in quart freezer bags and freezes them. When he heads for the pier, he just tosses a bag in his cooler and his bait is ready. Just a note, he was catching just as many fish as I was on fresh shrimp. Sounds interesting.

Thanks to fishin bud Ken for keeping me up to date on the fishing reports while I have been incarcerated.

Till next time,
Tight Lines!
Johnny

Wanted! Northeast wind!

The wind changed last night and blew the fish out of our area. I don't know why the wind direction makes such a difference when it comes to the spot bite. But spots have been in the water all this week until last this morning when the wind changed from NE and NW to SW. It would take dynamite to get them up now. However all is not lost. Big blues were hitting gotcha plugs good this morning from the Surf City Pier. No kings or spanish have been caught recently, the last one was caught last Friday morning by Adolfo. So it looks like it's blues or nothing.

Rod Man Charters Offshore Report

Thanks to Captain Rick Bennet and Rod Man Charters for this fishing report. Rod Man Charters home port is Wrightsville Beach. Contact Rod Man Charters and Captain Rick Bennet at (910) 799-6120 or on the web at www.rodmancharters.com.

Rod-Man Report November 3, 2005:

Hi Folks,
Wow the fishing has been good lately. Trout are most everywhere. Red drum and black drum are biting. Fall fishing is in full swing I will be fishing the Cape Fear Red Trout Tournament this weekend and hopefully we will do well.

Now here's my report:

Inshore: Speckled trout are everywhere! You can find them from the inlets to the marsh banks in the creeks. Gulp baits are working well as are Mirrolures. Black drum and red drum are biting. Bluefish (nice fat ones) are biting at the inlets on high tide. Just watch for them running baitfish.

Nearshore: Some nice flounder are biting around the reefs and inshore wrecks. Gray trout are hitting jigs and live bait. Big drum are hitting live or cut bait.

Offshore: Kings are generally biting well around 10 to 20 miles out. Bonito are in the 7 to 10 mile areas. Bottom fishing has been good from 15 to 25 miles out.

Gulfstream: Wahoo and blackfin tuna have been biting well. A few billfish have added to the mix.

Our inlets are in trouble. The current administration has cut funding to the Army Corps of Engineers who is responsible for dredging our inlets and waterways, especially the Intra-Coastal Waterway. New River Inlet on the north end of Topsail Island was actually closed for a time this summer. There is NO MONEY allocated for dredging for 2006. I have never given a second thought to the maintenance of the ICW. But it is apparent now that we need to get involved to make sure we have these waterways available in the near future. Not years from now, but months from now. Click on the Frying Pan Tower link below for links to contact your congressional representatives and urge them to take action on this important issue.

Mullets, Black Drum

No trout in the surf this morning. Got started about 6, but friend Ken was there about 5:30 and He didn't catch any either. We fished until noon, and caught a nice stringer of mullets and black drum with a couple of pompano mixed in. I couldn't find any sand fleas this morning. Others on the beach said they were scarce today. I saw one black drum caught that was probably 6 or 7 pounds. It was bigger than the guys cooler. Gotta go clean fish.
Until next time,
Tight Lines!
Johnny

Trout in the Surf

Monday morning. 7AM. Surf just north of Surf City Pier. As fishin bud Ken and I hit the beach, A couple of guys are fighting fish on light spinning rods. Turns out to be trout. He says "They were everywhere, Man! Every cast we caught one!" At first I thought about some of my embelishments about a good fishing day. You know the saying, "I fish, thus I lie." But then I saw him and his friends walking around with a cardboard box picking up the trout they had caught. "Here's another bunch!" the young man screamed to his buds as he picks up 3 trout and a blue laying in a pile on the beach. One trout still flopping. I cast my mirro-lure into the surf and immediately hooked up. I landed a nice 18 inch speck. That was the last one I caught. They just quit. I saw no less than 25 trout that had been caught that morning. We fished on and caught a dozen large mullets and a black drum before lunch break, but not another trout.

The wind is going to be right in the morning. NE about 5 mph. Air temp will be about 55 and water temp is about 62 and the tide will be almost high incoming. I WILL be on the beach before sunrise waiting for the specks to return. I am hearing the hot color for mirro-lure is rainbow. I don't have one, so I will try the closest color I have.

Oh, by the way, pier anglers were slaying the spots this evening. A friend, Nick, says some blues were biting got-cha plugs early in the day from Surf City Pier. They have caught a couple of kings this week also.

Till next time,
Tight Lines!

Johnny