Sea Mullet at Jolly Roger

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Just got back from Jolly Roger Pier. Anglers are catching sea mullet, lots of sea mullet. I saw one cooler that had to have seventy five nice ones! There were two happy little boys bragging about their catches. Their Dad says they caught a lot they threw back in. Spots were biting well starting Wednesday. Haven't heard anything about today.

Tight lines!
Johnny

Good Fishing Returns!

I am happy to report that the fishing on Topsail has returned to the normal outstanding fall levels that we expect during Oct.! It started last Thursday with the nice (24-35") puppy drum schooling up and moving along the beach. For two days in a row there was a school that hung out under the end of the pier! Since then there have been good numbers of them caught every day. I spoke someone this afternoon who has been experiencing an outstanding bite from the surf for the past two days. In just a couple hours of fishing this afternoon, he reported landing 9 quality drum himself!

There has also been a good smattering of everything else. When the wind finally cranked back up on Friday afternoon, the big virginia mullet started biting out on the pier. They have caught them consistently every night since then; fresh shrimp has been the key. After a week long absence, the spots reappeared on Saturday and have been off and on since with good runs Sat. and today. The bluefish have been THICK in the mornings and afternoons with most of the action coming on gotcha plugs. Other catches include spanish, (Saturday) nice flounder, black drum, and a few trout.

The water temps have stabilized and remain average to slightly above average for this time of the year. As far as a fishing "outlook" goes, I am hesitant to make any predictions. As a general rule though, I would look for the drum fishing to continue to be outstanding for at least three to four more weeks, (Oct. and Nov. are our best two months for drum) and for the trout to start bunching up upon the arrival of our next cold front. The spots usually remain strong through the 10th of Nov, and then they become a little more hit or miss, but the ones you do catch later in the year are normally the really BIG yellow bellies. Some of the best spot fishing I have ever experienced has been in late Nov. all by myself on the pier. When I say big, I'm am talking about spots that average just under a pound! Virginia mullet fishing is just now starting to hit its prime, and should only get better over the course of the next week or two. I am really excited that the the nice sized mullet in here this early, this bite should continue through Thanksgiving. They are a really fun fish to catch, not to mention they are one of the best eating fish out there! One other fish that generally shows in good numbers in Nov. is the black drum. Just this week I have heard several reports of them being caught from both the pier and surf.

As always, feel free to give us a call at the tackle shop for an up-to-date fishing report.

Until next time,

Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Pier

803 Ocean Blvd.

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

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Break In The Action

What can I say... The fish have a mind of their own, and I was wrong. In my last post I commented on the outstanding fishing we had been experiencing, and predicted the trend to continue. I guess even the fish have to take a break every now and then. Starting last Friday and continuing through yesterday there was a downturn in the fishing activity. I think it may have had something to do with the hard NW winds that have prevailed since then. Sometimes when a big weather system moves in, the fish will feed hard beforehand, and then once it hits, they will assume lockjaw for several days while adjusting to the cooler conditions. The wind has just now switched back around to the east, and should remain somewhere in that general direction for the next several days. There are some bright spots to be found within the last several days as well though. I have heard of some great BIG virginia mullet catches, with a few pompano, flounder, and drum thrown in. The mullet have been biting best on live sand-fleas around low tide. The bait is thick about 1/2 mile off of the beach, and I am hoping that this onshore wind will pack it back up against the beach. The fall speckled trout bite is also beginning to pick up. There have been a few really nice ones landed back behind Topsail this week, along with a few from the pier. Make sure to check those "big pompano" closely. Over the last week we have had several people bring in fish to be weighed that they thought were really nice pompano, but turned out to be smaller (1-4lb) permit! Although we don't see a whole lot of permit in this area, it is not unheard of to catch one. What has been surprising is the unusually high numbers of them caught.

I'll try to get another report out towards the end of the week to update whether or not the fishing has picked up any. Its October, the fish have got to bite sometime!

Until next time,

Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Pier

803 Ocean Blvd.

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

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Fall Temps=Great Fall Fishing around the area!

Hello from very cool Southeast North Carolina! I said it last week but, I really mean it this week; fall is REALLY showing this week! Very cool temps and lots of wind, but Fishing is good and getting better every day with the fall weather!

The Speckled trout are really starting to show and we are seeing some bigger fish around the area. The best trout bites lately have been on hard baits. Mirrolures in patterns 17MR in colors; pink, chartreuse and bone have been very productive for us. We are also catching some of the trout in deeper water with grubs. The best grub colors for us have been; chart-diamond, greenback shiner, chicken on a chain and silver mullet. In the Shrimp pattern colors; clear, bone-diamond and root beer. Rig the grubs and shrimp patterns on a red or black jig head for best results.

Red fishing is starting to change around the area; the Reds are starting to move around some with the cooler weather. On lighter wind and sunny days we’re finding fish on the oyster flats. When we find these fish we are using rattling corks with finger mullets to catch them. We’ve also caught some Reds in the ICW around docks and boat landings. Carolina rigs with finger mullet are working well for the dock Reds. On days when I’m using just using lures to catch Reds, we’ve caught Reds on Saltwater Assassin Blurp grubs in the shrimp pattern, color good penny and pearl.

We are still catching Flounder around the inlets and in the creeks. Most of the fish in the creeks are running a little smaller but there are some keepers still. The Flounder around inlets are running a little bigger than the inshore fish. Most of the Flounder are eating Mullet and Mud minnows on light Carolina rigs. We have caught some Flounder on Artificial baits as well. We have had the best luck with Saltwater Assassin Blurp grubs in molting and pearl colors. In none scented grubs; colors like chicken on a chain, chart-diamond and morning glory are working well for the Flounders.

Gary trout have been biting well this last week. We are seeing the grays around the inlets and just off the beach on live bottom and small ledges. We are catching most of the Grays the same way we’ve been catching the Flounder; Carolinas rigs and live bait. My favorite live bait for Grays is finger mullet. If you would rather use lures, small jigging spoons and grubs will work just fine. I like to put a shot of scent on my grubs; “Bang’s” shrimp, crab, and Taxes tea are some of my favorites.

Lots of Bluefish are showing up all most everywhere; creeks, ICW, inlets and the ocean. Blues are easy and fun to catch; bright lures, silver, gold and pink are my favorite colors “go bright”! We are casting jigs and spoons around the inlets and/or when the birds are working the surface. They are also fun on a light fly rod and one of the few fish that are easy to catch on a fly rod!
The Fishing gear we use:

Reds, Trout, Blues and Flounder: Reels Penn Sargus and Conquer spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Rods: All Star ASR inshore series 7’ med action and Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy. Fourteen pound Berkley Fireline Crystal.

In other fishing news:

The 2009 Cape Fear Red-Trout Celebrity Classic to benefit Cystic fibrosis was held this last weekend 10-15 to 10-17. I really enjoy fishing this tournament year after year. It’s fun and there are a lot of very talented guides that fish this tournament. I had the pleasure fishing with Adam Meyer and Liz Bielski with Charter Lakes Insurance group again this year. I’m very happy to announce that team Charter Lakes took: Runner-up Grand Champion Angler, Lady Angler Grand Champion and the Largest Trout divisions. Liz caught more fish than Adam again this year, congrats Liz, great job! I look forward to fishing this tournament again next year.

Don’t forget take a kid fishing and good fishing to ya,

Captain Jot Owens

Ranger boats and

Pure Fishing Pro staff

http://www.captainjot.com/

910-233-4139

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SPOTS! SPOTS! SPOTS! HUGE RED DRUM

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Spots are biting two at a time at Surf City Pier. Right now spots are being caught two at a time. Weather is crummy and surf is rough, which is great for spot fishing. Blood worms are probably catching five to one over cut fresh shrimp. Pompano and sea mullets, and black drum are biting also. I saw more flounder today than in a long time. One angler had six beauties. I probably saw 20 to 25 small under limit flounder go back in the water. Also saw a 23 to 24 inch speckled trout caught on a live shrimp, carolina rig. Don't have a report from the other piers, but it's probably much of the same. Wind, rain, nasty weather............. perfect for spot fishing! Go Get 'um! If you can find a place to squeeze in with the shoulder to shoulder, suds to the end of pier, spot frenzy. Man, I had forgotten how good the cappuccino at Surf City Pier is, until today while fishing in the cold damp weather at the pier.

Got this email and picture from a blog reader. Thanks to Mark Watkins for sending the pic.

[quote]
Caught this red drum one just off the pier in the coast last Sunday Oct. 4th.

We estimated over 40lbs before thowing it back.

Fought around 20-25 minutes on 5-10lb test.

Too much fun.
[end quote]




Now THAT'S a red drum! Congrats Mark!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Cooling Trend-Great Fishing 10/14/09

Hello all! Sorry it has been so long in between reports.

Great fishing continues down here at Topsail. The spots, mullet, flounder, drum, and lots of blues, spanish, and pompano have been biting on the Jolly Roger since my last post. It just doesn't get much better than the fishing we have had this past week.

There have been many citation size pompano and mullet weighed in. They are being caught on sand-fleas and shrimp both on the pier and in the surf. Up until this blow started the plugging for blues and spanish had been incredible, what all this wind does to that fishing is yet to be seen.

Two kings were caught on the end of the pier (largest 26lb) plus a bonus 29lb red drum last week! These big reds are really making a comeback in this area. I have talked with several people who have located large schools of these big (25-50lb) drum cruising up and down the beach! The king mackerel bite continues to be strong along the nearshore hard bottom areas. Live bait seems to have been the ticket recently.

Offshore the wahoo fishing remains awesome! We have been out several times in the last week and have brought back some really nice catches of fish. The gag grouper bite is about as good as it gets right now as well!

As I look at the long range forecast I am excited by the promise of continued cooling temps and northerly winds. Make sure to bring your warm clothes if you plan fish this weekend. The forecast is calling for lows in the mid 40's down here starting Thursday! That should really get the fish in a feeding mode!

Good luck and be safe out there!

Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Pier

803 Ocean Blvd.

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

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Huge Spots at Jolly Roger Pier

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Donna and I walked to Jolly Roger Pier tonight. At about 8 pm, the spots were being caught two at a time by many anglers. One family we talked to said they had caught 28 fish in the last 30 minutes. And they were nice, big yellow bellies. The wind is not "right", and is coming out of the south. I can't recall seeing this happen before. Almost all of my experiences have been northeast wind when the big spots are biting in the fall and early winter. But anyway, they are biting tonight. I don't know about the other piers or the surf. We are planning a trip to the inlet in the morning. Maybe the bite will continue. I'll let you know when we return home. To anyone else fishing in the morning, good luck to you. See you on the beach!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna

Up & Down Weather around the Area=Good Fishing.

Well Folks, fall is really showing strong this week! A real roller coaster of weather: one day with hot temps and light winds the very next day very windy and rainy and then cool temps. Hey that’s what gets those fall fish biting so we can’t complain too much. With that said lets talk fall fishing!

We’ve had some very good Spanish Mack runs lately. Most of the Spanish are hitting Clark spoons on number one planners, a few fish have hit on top as well. We have also caught some on Fly’s and Marie jigs casting when the Spanish get on top to feed. The Spanish are very nice in size; most fish are two to some over four pounds “nice fall size”. They are biting just off the beach to about two miles off the beach. I don’t know how much longer they will be here with the cooler air moving in; will just have to see!

The Flounder fishing has been good for the most part, on some trips we’ve caught over twelve keeper fish. Most of the Flounder are eating Mullet and Mud minnows on light Carolina rigs. The Flounder are mixed in size to just under keeper size to a few over five pounds. We have caught some Flounder on Artificial baits as well. We have had the best luck with Saltwater Assassin Blurp grubs in molting color and “Chicken on a chain” color grubs. Rig the grubs on a red or black jig head for best results.

Redfish schools are starting to show up in the surf. You can find these schools of twenty to over a thousand Redfish around inlets, outer sand bars and jetties. Once you find these schools there pretty easy to catch if the weather is calm. We cast half once and one once jig heads with five inch Saltwater Assassin jerk shads in colors molting and pearl. You will need a good pair of polarized sunglasses to see these Reds in the surf!

We’ve caught some bigger bull Redfish in and around the local inlets. We are catching Reds in the 24 to over 32 inch range, some days their over the slot some days their in the slot. Most of the Reds around the inlets are hitting mullets and fresh menhaden on Carolina rigs; using heavier egg sinkers with circle hooks 9/0 to 11/0. On some days we have had some luck on Saltwater Assassin Blurp grubs in colors molting and pearl; using heavier jig heads.

And last but Not lest, Speckled Trout are starting to show and bite! The Speckled trout fishing has gotten better and better around this area every year! It looks like it will be the same this year as well; “I Can’t wait, I love Trout fishing”! The best trout bites lately have been on grubs and hard baits, but we have caught some on the good ‘ole live shrimp as well. The best grub colors for us have been; chart-diamond, greenback shiner, chicken on a chain and silver mullet. In the Shrimp pattern colors; clear, bone-diamond and root beer. Rig the grubs and shrimp patterns on a red or black jig head for best results.

Hard lure’s that seem to be bringing the trout to the boat are Mirrolures and X-raps in colors pink, chartreuse, and white. Most of the trout we have caught have been in the creeks and main channels connecting to the ICW and inlets.

The Fishing gear we use:

Reds, Trout and Flounder: Reels Penn Sargus and Conquer spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy. Fourteen pound Berkley Fireline Crystal. Bull Redfish: Penn spinning reel 760L (Live Liner) and Penn Torque 100TRQ. Rods: Penn Torque 6’6” 30-80 class spinning and Torque 6’ 80-130 casting. Line: forty pound Spider wire Ultracast.

I’m writing on a new and great web site: http://www.proanglersjournal.com/ take a look at the site lots of good fishing info and insight!

Don’t forget take a kid fishing and good fishing to ya,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger boats and
Pure Fishing Pro staff
http://www.captainjot.com/
910-233-4139

* Our prayers are with the family of the young man who died working on a boat at a local marine dealership.

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SC Pier Report

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My friend Ken and I fished Surf City Pier today, and although we didn't catch much, we saw a lot of nice fish being cleaned and in coolers. The spanish ran all day, off and on. I heard of one 10 fish limit, and saw another 9 fish creel of good two to four pound fish! There were several keeper flounder today on live mullet and live shrimp. Bloodworms caught some nice spots, (yellow bellies) but there hadn't been a lot of them as we left about 8:30 pm. It seemed you had to be there all day to get respectable numbers of anything. I caught my first puffer of the fall season, and would have kept it if there had been enough for supper. But the one is all I caught. Again, bait was plentiful in the water most of the day. Several netters said they had filled their freezers with bait this week. We saw lots of yellow butterflies coming ashore today. You know the old timers say when they show up, the big fall yellow belly spots are right behind them. If I got my weather report right this evening, we should have NE wind Tomorrow, and that should bring the spots in. There were lots of big pompano, citation size, caught in the surf today, mostly on fleas fished right on the sandbar.

Sea View and Jolly Roger piers report much the same as Surf City. I haven't heard of many trout coming from the surf or piers this week, water is still a bit warm for the schools of specks to show up. Shouldn't be too long now.

My fishing bud and friend Caleb caught a nice over slot red at the inlet, and his friend (sorry dude, I can't remember your name..... old age I guess) caught a pretty 25 incher. The guys are going after flounder tonight, I'll post the results tomorrow.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Good Fishing Continues!

Just a quick update:

Fishing has been great for the last couple of days. Both yesterday and today there have been lots of really nice pompano caught on the pier and surf, with many being citation size fish. The fall spanish mackerel bite continues to be one of the best I have seen in a long time. Limits of spanish have been brought off the pier on a regular basis since Sunday. These aren't your ordinary small to medium sized fish either, most have been in the 2-4lb range!! Just heard from some people at the pier who are reporting a good flounder bite this morning; most being nice size keepers. Spots and mullet are still around as well with most caught after dark. Yesterday I weighed a 5 1/2lb pompano that a gentleman caught while surf fishing with sand-fleas. The strong near-shore king bite that began last week has continued. Lots of good sized kings with several over 30lbs have been caught near the beach this week.

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DMF PROPOSES ARTIFICIAL REEF OFF OAK ISLAND

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email
Cheryl Gilgo to me

MOREHEAD CITY – The N. C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Oak Island Recreational Center to solicit public comments in favor of or opposition to the building of a new artificial reef off Brunswick County.

The proposed reef will be located approximately 2.5 miles offshore from the 1600 block of East Beach Drive in Oak Island. The reef will be circular in shape with a radius of approximately 500 yards.

The reef center will be located at approximately Latitude 33°52.503, Longitude 78°08.666. This is about 5.5 miles from the Lockwood Folly Sea Buoy and 5.9 miles from Cape Fear Sea Buoy.

Construction of the reef is financed by the Long Bay Artificial Reef Association.

For more information, contact Gregg Bodnar, of the N.C. Artificial Reef Program, at (252) 808-8053 or Gregg.Bodnar@ncdenr.gov.

Fall Fishing!

What a great first week of October! Fishing across the board has elevated itself to the expected fall levels. You name it; on the pier, in the surf, or offshore, people have been reporting great catches of fish this past week.

Pier: We have had some really, really good fishing over the course of the last week on the Jolly Roger Pier. The spots have been off and on throughout the week with great runs last weekend, and then again last night and today. When the water is calm and clear they have been biting much better at night. Virginia mullet are starting to show in decent numbers at night as well. During the day there have been a few nice pompano brought in with several weighed in over 2lbs. The spots have been biting best on bloodworms, with the artificial worms being close second. Mullet and pompano are falling for fresh shrimp and or sand-fleas.

For the people dragging live mullet and strip bait in the shallows there has been a solid flounder bite in the mornings and afternoons. Most of the flounder are in the 14-18inch range with some throwbacks mixed in. Since the early run of drum a couple of weeks ago, there has been a smattering of puppy drum mixed in with the other fish, but no good runs to speak of. I think this is due to the absence of the hard NE winds and clearer water.

Blues have been present throughout the week in the mornings and afternoons on got-cha plugs, and then on cut bait after dark. The big news on the pier this morning has been the GREAT spanish run! As I arrived at the pier from church (11am) lots of people were coming off the pier with their limits of spanish! These were all nice sized fish in the 1-3lb range. Most, if not all were caught on got-cha plugs with blue/white, green/white, and white/white, being the most productive colors.

Although the king fishermen haven't caught any kings this week, it is only a matter of time. All the dirty rain water that has been pouring out into the ocean over the last week has finally begun to clear, and they had a the first king strike of the week this morning.

Surf: Surf fishing has picked up dramatically since my last report. The NE wind we had a couple weeks ago cut some really nice sloughs up and down the beach! I have seen some excellent sized pompano brought in with several over 4lbs! The larger fall virginia mullet are also starting to show up along with the pompano. Both of these fish are biting fresh shrimp and sand-fleas.

The southern tip of Topsail was opened up to driving this past Thursday and there has been a crowd down there trying for the drum. A few drum have been caught, but most of the reports I have heard indicated better mullet, pompano, and blue fishing. It shouldn't be long before the drum are again cruising the surf in big schools, and eating any and everything that happens in front of them; just wait for the next good NE blow.

Offshore: The offshore fishing has been on fire for the last 10 days. King mackerel are making there annual showing on the nearshore hard bottom/ledges and artificial reefs. I heard from one boat who caught over 30 in two days of fishing last week! Live blues, pogies, and cigar minnows were producing some of the most aggressive bites. If you are not able to catch any live bait a box of dead cigars will suffice until you can jig some live ones up. Grouper fishing is also good right now with a strong fall gag bite happening. We weighed a 21lb gag and a 13lb american red that were caught while fishing on the Vonda Kay last week. Offshore in the gulf stream the wahoo bite is going off! I fished last Thursday aboard the 26' Jones Brothers "Pierless". We had an awesome catch of 7 wahoo, and 2 sailfish releases out of 30 bites! Most of our fish were from 25-40lbs, but I heard of several wahoo caught over 70lbs. Almost all fish were caught on ballyhoo with some fished behind skirts. Bluewater Candy Jags and Mini-Jags were hot.

All and all the fishing is just about as good as it gets. Now is the time to grab your rods, nock off the dust, and head to the beach! Don't hesitate, we only have about 8 weeks of good fishing left before the water cools down the long winter is upon us.

As my brother and I were cleaning some fish the other day, someone walked by and ask us what in the world we were going to do with all those fillets. Without hesitation my brother turned around and said, "Its going to be a long winter, and I have a big belly"! Its time to get to Topsail and get some fresh fish for the freezer! Make sure to give us a call at the tackle shop for a up to date report.

Until next time,

Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Inn and Pier

803 Ocean Blvd.

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

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NC - Red Drum - Fishing

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The Cape Fear Guide is reporting that the red drum bite is hot in the creeks just off the Cape Fear River,fishing yesterday proved to be one of the steadiest bite of the season with fish biting at every fishing spot that I selected !
Finger mullets on carolina rigs,were like candy to the red drum,that were hitting hard,for most of the day.
Capt.Mike Dennis
Cape Fear Guide
210 Peninsula Drive
Carolina Beach,N.C. 28428
Capt.Mike@charter.net
910-619-0928

Surf Reds and Chopper Blues

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Hello from Topsail Beach. Our nephew Danny and his friend Sean came from Georgia to Topsail for a visit. We hit the surf and BAM! We caught three and four pound chopper blues until I got to worn out to fish anymore. I ain't the man I used to be for sure. We must have caught twenty or more on cut mullet. Donna caught a nice 23 inch red which was released into the surf alive and well. It was quite a battle on a little six foot med action rod and spinning reel baited with small whole shrimp (dead). Screaming runs and finally a ride on a wave to the beach. Beautiful fish, was already turning a bit blue on the tail. Water was nice with just enough wind to keep the skeeters off us. Danny and Sean plan to hit the pier tonight and see what's biting there. We took some pics, and I will post them when they are uploaded. It was really a great day, even got a little sunburn without realizing. Probably to the pier in the AM or maybe more surf fishing. My fishin' bud and friend Ken and wife Karen went fishing to the surf in Surf City this afternoon and got some pompano and a short flounder. Gotta love fall fishing!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

NOAA To Close Recreational Fishery for Black Sea Bass for Six Months

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Offshore anglers take note of the following.

Contact: Maggie Mooney-Seus FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
978-281-9175 September 30, 2009
NOAA To Close Recreational Fishery for Black Sea Bass for Six Months
Due to Overharvest
NOAA announced today the temporarily closure of the black sea bass
recreational fishery in federal waters north of Cape Hatteras, N.C., for 180 days in
response to recent landings data that showed recreational fishermen may catch more
than double their annual quota by the end of the year. The closure will commence on
Monday, October 5, 2009.
Landings data and scientific analyses show recreational fishermen have reached
their quota and could exceed their 1.14 million pound harvest limit by as much as 84 to
225 percent if the recreational fishery is not closed.
An independent body of federal and university scientists recently determined that
the black sea bass stock has been rebuilt. However, both the scientists and the Science
and Statistical Committee of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council have
cautioned against increasing fishing of this stock for several reasons, including the
complex and poorly understood reproductive cycle, and limited information on life span
and important habitats for this species. The Council recommends catch limits for black
sea bass in federal waters.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the
depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal
and marine resources. Visit http://www.noaa.gov.


Tight lines!
Johnny