The ol' timers say it's the influx of fresh water from the recent nor'easter, resulting in muddy, murky water, that has slowed the speckled trout bite Monday and Tuesday. Anglers are still picking up one here and there, and there are still some small ones in the surf, but the big ones we have seen recently are no where to be found. Anglers are jumping from trout hole to trout hole searching for the specks, and if they are finding any, they are being even more secretive than usual. I am hearing nothing, and I am catching nothing. I ask for information on fishing in the backwaters, and received an email from an angler from Wilmington. He said he caught one nice one Friday, and lost a couple more. He didn't say what he caught it on, only that it wasn't a MirrOlure. Thanks to the reader for the information. I heard today that specks were biting again at the end of.... wait for it...... Trout Street, down south at Topsail Beach. They bit really well there last year.
I haven't bottom fished at all in over a week, and I have seen a few nice whiting yesterday and today, caught mostly on fresh cut shrimp, as sand fleas are getting almost impossible to find. An surf angler today said he dug for two hours Sunday afternoon and found only eight fleas. On a positive note, it seems that most of the sea mullet and whiting being caught are keepers, so bait isn't being wasted on the little fish. A few black drum are still in the surf, but the size of the fish being caught is decreasing a bit. For you angles that love puffers, or toad fish, they are starting to bite. I have seen several in the last week. Nothing real big yet, but I am sure they are on the way in.
Recently, I have had a few problems with the pictures on my blog. Blogger has made some changes that I had no control over. If you wouldn't mind sending me an email, let me know if you can see the pics, and what browser you are using. Some friends using INTERNET EXPLORER are having problems getting the pics to load. I am using MOZILLA FIREFOX and they are loading fine on my computer. I need to know this information, so I can get the tech's at Blogger to work on the problem. Thanks for your help.
Till next time....
Tight Lines!
Johnny
