Daily Bible Verse

December 10, 2008

YAUPON PIER UPDATE and TOPSAIL TROUT


Yaupon Pier, Oak Island, NC

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
2008 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide


Hello from Surf City!

Check out the post (below this post) from Capt. Jot Owens. Capt Jot has been pulling in the stripers in the river in Wilmington. If you want in on the action, give him a call and he can make it happen. Thanks to Capt. Jot for keeping us informed with his posts to our blog.

I have been getting emails asking about the trout bite at Topsail Island. So here is what I found out today. Not verified, but here it is anyway. Although the water was rough as a cob and the wind was blowing hard near the New Topsail Inlet, trout were busting Mirro-lure baits NON STOP! Almost every cast would result in a legal keeping size speckled trout. The angler I talked to ask not to be identified, so I won't. He says that although the specks were thick, no one was keeping the fish, with the exception of a couple of 16 inch to 20 inch fish. Along with the speckled trout, there were some stray puppy drum, but all on the small size. I am still hearing of a few, now very few, large whiting or sea mullets coming from the surf. Mostly on live shrimp, while fishing for speckled trout. A sea mullet that can swallow a live shrimp has got to be a big 'un! Lots of small puffers (good eating!) can be caught on cut shrimp. The fillets on a small puffer isn't very much meat, just a small bite, but some folks will spend the time to clean even the small ones. Can't much blame them, (I'm just lazy I guess) they are so good to eat, but can be time consuming and uncomfortable in the cold wind with mist and rain. So if you want them, they seem to be there.

UPDATE ON YAUPON PIER ON OAK ISLAND

Here is an article from the starnewsonline.com website. Worth the read.

[quote]
By Shelby Sebens
Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 7:40 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 7:50 a.m.

Oak Island | A divided council on Tuesday night accepted a $300,000 grant from the state to put toward its purchase of the Yaupon Beach Fishing Pier, which closed after going into foreclosure more than a year ago.

The N.C. Division of Coastal Management public access grant requires a 25 percent match by the town, town manager Jerry Walters said after the council's regular meeting.

The council voted 3-2, with members Dara Royal and Bob Seidel dissenting, to accept the grant. The town had already received another $500,000 state matching grant for the project. With both grants in hand the town still needs almost $900,000 to buy the pier from Cooperative Bank and fix it up.

The $1.5 million pier will require $185,000 in repairs.

Seidel said he did not want to appear ungrateful for the funding, but that he could not vote for the resolution to accept the grant, which was a last-minute addition to the agenda.

"I just have a hard time voting for something that I don't have in print in front of me," he said.

Royal said she voted against the purchase, as she has consistently done, because she favors a conservation easement for the property instead.

The town plans to take out a loan for the remaining cost and eventually pay it off with more grants.

Walters said he has met with the Local Government Commission, which has to approve the town's financing. He said the council has the go ahead to look for a loan.

The town plans to lease the pier to a private entity after it's fixed up.

Councilman Jeff Ensminger, who made the motion to accept the grant, said state Rep. Bonner Stiller, R-Brunswick, played a significant role in speeding up the process so the town could get the funding. "You might want to thank him," he said.

Some members of the public have spoken out against the town's pier purchase. At a packed meeting in October when the council voted to buy the pier, many said it is a reckless way to spend taxpayer dollars.

Shelby Sebens: 264-8005

shelby.sebens@starnewsonline.com

[end quote]

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Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna
"Fishin' Topsail"