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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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
Fishin' Topsail's Topsail Island Fishing Blog Message Board
Fishin' Topsail's Favorite Links
Fishin' Topsail's Pictures
Freedom isn't free! Someone has paid, for you and for me.
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
