I had a pretty bad migraine this morning so I didn't go with Dad to Surf City Pier where the spots have been biting for a couple of days. This is not a "BLITZ" now, but a nice yellow belly spot every ten minutes or so isn't a bad morning. Dad came home with 20 nice yellow belly spots, and only fished for a few hours. Shrimp wasn't the bait of choice today however, and Dad visited the bait shop at the Surf City Pier and bought a bag of Fish Bites, Shrimp Flavor. This stuff is like candy to spots. They love it! And the great thing about Fish Bites, is you can catch as many as half a dozen spots on one little piece. So they don't cost very much in the long run when you figure how many spots you can catch with a bag of them. Spots isn't the only fish biting although they are the star of the show. There are also a few black drum, croaker, puppy drum, and the occasional flounder showing up in a few coolers on the pier also.
Now, as for the BEAUTY at the top of the page, I caught this one tonight (Wednesday) while fishing off my back porch. I did't weigh the BEAST but she was 22 1/2 inches long. She bit what is fast becoming my favorite bait for drum as well as flounder, Berkley Gulp Saltwater 3 inch Shrimp. I bought these at Herring's Outdoor Sports. Herring's has all the Gulp Saltwater line in stock. Herring's also has some beautiful bloodworms FRESH from the farm in Maine! They have the LARGE worms in stock, and at Herring's, you get a full DOZEN, NOT JUST 10, like you might get at some other places.
My Mom and Dad, sometimes referred to as "Momenem" (southern speak) are visiting this week from Burlington, North Carolina. I wanted to take Dad out in the kayak, but it's been too windy so far this week. As I said earlier in the post, I woke with a migraine this morning, and Dad went to the pier and wore the spots out. Later in the day, I was feeling better and the wind had died down a bit, so we loaded up the kayak and headed up the creek to see if we could locate a couple of red drum. We scored with a couple of flounder, both just a bit too small, but we couldn't find any reds, So we headed back home just before dark anticipating the fish dinner we had planned for the evening. After the "yak" was unloaded and put away, we went inside getting ready to go out for our meal. We were taking our catch from earlier in the week to Batt's Grill for a "Bring Your Own Feast". Just as we were leaving, I tossed the Berkley Gulp Saltwater Shrimp I had been fishing with earlier in the afternoon, into the creek and set the rod down on the porch. We gorged ourselves on fish, fries, hushpuppies, slaw, and a gallon of sweet tea. The fish was cooked to perfection, and the fries, slaw and hushpuppies were cooked just crispy enough. We ate our fill, Mom and Dad went back home, and I walked down to IGA and waited with Donna until she finished work, then rode home with her.
After we returned home, I went to the back porch to get in my fishing rod and reel, and as I reeled in the slack, I was supprised with a blistering run by the nasty old drum at the end of the line. It was dark by now, and I couldn't see into the water to see what I had hooked. I called for Dad to bring a flashlight, and to our suprise, we saw the beautiful red, shinning in the light. She had been hooked up by the circle hook for a while I think, because she didn't have much more fight left in her. The one long run was the all she had left, or so I thought, until I tried to pick her up from the waters edge in the grass. Off she goes again. Not a long run, but flopping one side to the other, making it almost impossible for me to get hold of her. I thought I was going to loose her before I could get her landed.
So, now I have another fish tale for the pier, during the slow times, and for when I call the grandchildren, especially Zack. He always ask if I am catching any fish. So this time, I can say, "Yea man, wait 'till you hear about the big one I caught from the back porch!"
Until next time....
Tight Lines!
Johnny
