Hello from the southern end of Topsail!
Let me start by extending my thanks to Jonny and Donna for the opportunity to contribute here. I look foreword to sharing stories and reports pertaining to the fishery in the Topsail area.
I guess an introduction is in order. My name is Rob Orr and I was born and raised on Topsail Island; more specifically the south end of Topsail and the Jolly Roger Pier. My Grandfather, Lewis Orr, built the Jolly Roger back in the early 50’s and it is currently owned and operated by my father and his siblings. Some of my earliest memories include landing my first solo bluefish from the pier, trolling for kings and Spanish along the beaches, and fishing for assorted bottom fish in the “croaker hole” on the sound side. You could make an argument that I was hooked from the start!
Time flies, I am now 18 years old and attending Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington. I work a number of different jobs including continuing to work at the Jolly Roger Pier & Motel. I fish at every opportunity, whether it be from the planks of the pier, the sand in the surf, the back bays of Old Topsail, or the blue waters of the gulf stream. I have a burning passion for the sport, and am very excited about the opportunity of sharing it with you!
Enough about me! On to the important stuff; the fish! I hope to bring you up to date pier reports from the Jolly Roger throughout the fall. This is in addition to keeping you up to date on the current fishing report(s) for the South End of Topsail and all of the offshore info..
Report-9/4/09:
The last several days have seen a DRAMATIC shift in the ocean conditions and fishing activity. With the air temps dropping and the first “noreaster” (a little one anyway) blowing for the last several days, the smell of fall (and fish!) is definitely in the air.
I fished on the pier this afternoon and there were streams of the jumping mullet going by all afternoon, both finger and corncob. The water was beautiful and there was a large variety of fish being caught. I saw several nice flounder and puppy drum come up down in the “suds”, and there were some nice pompano being brought in a little further out. The big (2-4lb) fall blues were everywhere along with a few really nice Spanish. The guys throwing gotcha plugs had a great afternoon with both the blues and Spanish. I personally spent most of the time with my eyes glued to my “king rig” bait. The tarpon have left the Pamlico and Neuse rivers and are beginning to make there southward migration. We sighted around 8 separate schools of tarpon come by the end of the pier just this afternoon. They didn’t seem to be in a very aggressive feeding mood until right before dark. That is when everything broke loose. I was on the NE Corner of the pier throwing a gotcha plug when I saw a silver streak flash under a friends bait. I hollered for him, and by the time he reached the rail the fish had circled back around and slurped the big mullet down. He set the hook and up jumped a BIG( 129-130lb) tarpon.. The fight didn’t last long but the fish put on an awesome aerial display by jumping 6-8 times in a matter of 45seconds before throwing the hooks. When the angler brought the rig back, both 1/0 Owner 4x Strong trebles were flattened… WOW, it really is amazing the amount of power those fish have. About 10 minutes after that fish hit, my mullet started acting frisky. All of a sudden the water around my bait turned white and I saw yet another tarpon go airborne after a bait; this time it was mine! Unfortunately this one only smashed the bait slightly and didn’t come back for seconds. So for this afternoon the tarpon won, 2-0.. That’s ok though, that just means there will be more out there tomorrow!
Although I haven’t been able to get offshore in the last week or so, I have heard several reports that the kings are starting to move in close to the beach. Shouldn’t be long before we have those fall “leapers” in here thick. I can’t wait!
Have a great and safe Labor Day, and good luck fishing!
Rob Orr
Jolly Roger Pier
Topsail Beach, NC
(910)-328-4616
Topsail Area Charter Boats
2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide
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