Donna's rehab is going nicely. A lot of the stiffness and swelling was going down. We took a walk to the beach this evening, and upon returning we discovered that the swelling had returned. The ice packs are back on tonight. Thanks again for the emails.
Now for the fishing report.
Flounder, some really nice flounder in the two to five pound range are being caught on Surf City Pier . Also the few brave souls who hunt the wiley and strong sheephead are having a great time. There have been some three to five pounders caught using sand fleas (mole crabs). These are not rumors, I personally have seen the pictures on the wall at the pier. The talk is about the spots. There have been almost none. One here and there, but the spring run never materialized. Everyone is wondering if the fall spots that everyone loves so much will bypass us also. We certainly hope not. I haven't seen or heard of anything coming out of the ICW or the surf. The winds are out of the south and light, except at night when we seem to have a blow and some lightning most every evening. I'll post more when I get some more information.
I would like to say a few words about the new salt water fishing license that is coming for North Carolina anglers this coming January. As a child, I was always in the woods with my Dad, uncles, or older cousins, hunting. Ours was a family of hunters. Every weekend we hunted. Every type of game you can think of, we chased or our dogs chased.
My point is, I was an adult and married before I saw my first white tailed deer. This was only after the state started collecting a tax, or a license fee for deer hunting. Some may say that the license had nothing to do with this at all, but I believe, strongly, that it did. Now white tails are everywhere. Overrunning gardens in sub-divisions, and even showing up in heavily populated business districts. A large number of accidents in North Carolina are caused by collisions with white tail deer.
The fee for the license will be small, about the price of one days fishing on a pier. If pier fishing is your thing, the license will be included in the price of your pier pass. For out of state anglers, there will be a weekly license available. The funds generated by the salt water fishing license will be used to study and improve the health of our salt water fisheries. It will also be used as a lobby in congress to represent the interests of North Carolina anglers. In my opinion one of the problems facing us as saltwater anglers in North Carolina is the fishing boats that drag the huge nets so close to our beaches. This doesn't happen in our neighbors territorial waters. Virginia and South Carolina prohibits these large boats from fishing close to shore. Some are even prohibited from fishing in the sounds and waterways. If the nesting grounds are disturbed or destroyed, the fishing will suffer as fewer and fewer fingerlings reach adulthood.
Like all of you, I feel we are taxed to death, and everytime we turn around we are hit with another tax. I don't like it any more than you do. But I really feel this license will help our fishery, and a few years down the road, we will reap the benefits of the influx of dollars to the Marine Fisheries Budget. I urge all of you to get involved and make sure that these dollars are used where they should be used, in the Marine Fisheries budget.
Thanks for listening to my rant.
Until next time....
Tight Lines!
Johnny
