Happy Thanksgiving From Current Adventure

Here's wishing that you and yours have had a wonderful Thanksgiving! May we all have lots of tight lines and not forget about those that are less fortunate than ourselves. Also I would like to express a very special Thank You to all of the men and women serving in our armed forces. God Bless you all!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Capt. Brent and Karen!!


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Topsail Update

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Fishing is pretty good. I have had bad migraines recently and haven't updated the blog. My dad has been down for several days and caught tons of sea mullets and black drum with a few specks scattered in the catch. All fish were caught on cut fresh ocean shrimp. Most catches come at night or very early am. Specks are biting mirro lures in the surf better than piers. Again, fish early. Tide doesn't seem to matter much, but if I had to make a choice, I think I would choose falling. The Tuesday weather forecasting for is calling for a low of 33*. This cool air should really school the specks up. Check out the picture of the huge black drum caught from the surf at Topsail. Click on the East Coast Sports link below, and watch the slide show on the home page. I think it was estimated at 65 lbs. www.eastcoastsports.com
Good luck! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
--
Till Next Time....
Tight Lines!
Johnny and Donna
Topsail Beach, NC

The wedding is over-back to catching fish

As many of you know, I got married on Oct 10 and spent the next two weeks in Hawaii. While there, I spent one day Marlin fishing out of Kona. I didn't catch my marlin, but I did get hooked up with an approx. 400+lb Blue Marlin. My wife and I were on the bridge with the first mate when I saw the big blue crash the short left rigging and begin dumping a 130!!! It was very exciting but after about 1/2hour, the hooks pulled. Oh well, that's fishing. At least I got some time in the chair.

Now that I am back, I took Dave and Greg out on Friday to do a little inshore fishing. The morning was slow, but as the wind laid down and the tide started to fall, the bite turned on. We ended up catching a couple of Flounder, over a dozen redfish and a half dozen or so Speckled Trout. A great way to celebrate being back in NC waters. Most fish were caught on a white Gulp shrimp on a 1/4oz jighead.

Sunday, I went back out by myself to do a little grieving and clear my head after having to put my 12-1/2yr old Golden Retriever down. I guess he was looking down on me as the weather was perfect and the backwaters were slick calm. I never did find any large schools of fish, but the bite was steady. The morning bite started out with Redfish eating a gold spoon. While working a grass bank, I saw a Redfish come half out of the water chasing a mullet minnow. I thought to myself, they sure are active this morning, and thought it would be a good time to try a topwater bait. It was a good call as I soon had five more fish in the boat in about 30 minutes. I second guessed myself by leaving those fish in an attempt to locate fish in a different place. That didn't pay off and I eventually ended back up in the same area. Once the tide started to fall, I switched over to a big purple worm and commenced to work the slot reds again. I ended up with over a dozen reds for the day before packing it in and heading for the hill. I love late fall Redfish fishing!!!


Capt. Brent Stanley
Current Adventure Charters
910.200.9959
2009 East Cape Vantage (Hull #3)
90HP Honda 4-stroke


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Hot Speckled Trout Fishing around the area!

Well folks it is Trout Time and I love it! With cooler water temps and a little lighter winds fishing has been pretty good this last week and the start of this one. We did gat a lot of rain but, the water is in good shape for the most part. We are really starting to see some very nice Speckled trout around the area. We caught a 7.2, 5.5 and a half dozen over four pounds this week so far. It was nice to see the 7.2 in the net; the biggest trout I’ve seen in my boat this year. Let’s talk about how we have caught some of these nice trout lately in this weeks fishing report.

Grays and Specks are feeding well around in creeks, channels and inlets. The grays are hitting grubs and jigging spoons. Saltwater Assassin grubs in colors Chart-diamond glitter and Salt-pepper with chart-tail have worked well for the grays. The specks are hitting chicken on a chain, 10w-40 with chart tail and Salt & pepper with chart tail. The body shape that has worked for us is the sea shad in four inch size. In the last few trips we have got a few nice specks off Saltwater Assassin Blurp in shrimp pattern. The colors in blurp that are working are molting, good penny and rootbeer. We are using jig heads in colors pink and red; in weights 3/8oz and ½ oz for the grays and 1/8oz and 1/4oz for the specks. Colors for the jigging spoons that have worked well for the grays are Pink, Green/blue, and gold.

My charters have caught specks on a wide range of “hard” lures this season; some new and some good ole’ timer’s. Mirrolures that are working well for us are the Catch 2000 Jr, 52M and the 17MR. The best Mirrolure colors that are catching the trout are; pink, white on white, chartreuse and silver. Rapala’s X-rap in colors glass ghost and pink have all so been a hit this season. And of course don’t forget those live shrimp; they really do catch the trout! I rig all live bait, grubs and hard lures with fourteen to eighteen inch’s of twenty pound fluorocarbon. Trout have good eye sight and with the mostly clear water around this area, this seems to help us get more bites out of the trout. I really like Stren’s new tinted fluorocarbon leaders, we use gunsmoke tint for clear water apps.

We have caught some nice Flounder while Flounder fishing and also caught some while trying to catch trout lately. The Flounder are running about thirteen to twenty inch’s with a few bigger ones as well. The Flounder are hitting grubs in colors morning glory, chicken on a chain and molting in the blurp grub. When we are just targeting Flounder we are using live bait on Carolina rigs. Finger mullet and mud minnows are doing the trick for those flat fish. Most of the Flounder we are catching are in the creeks and around the inlets.

The red and black drum are showing around the area too. We’ve seen reds and blacks in the waterway (ICW) around docks and oyster rocks. There have been a few reds and blacks around the jetties as well lately. These drum are hitting scented grubs and live bait on the bottom. This week we caught a few black drum over seven pounds around the inlets on blurp grubs.

The trout fishing will only get better; we had lots of fish over four pounds last year. It looks like its going to be another great trout season, I believe that some body will catch a Speckled trout over ten pounds in the Wrightsville beach area this season! Let’s go Trout fishing>>>!

Fishing Gear we use:

Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Fire line crystal braid in 10 and 20#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S “Best Trout rod I ever have fished”

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

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

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Wind Wind Wind!

Lots of wind down here at Topsail over the last several days as the remnants of Ida rolled through. Throw in quite a few inches of rain, and you make for some pretty nasty weather. The last time I checked, It was due to roll on out of here tomorrow. This should make for a nice fall weekend at the beach. Before the winds moved in, the fishing was going quite well. The nice virginia mullet continue to bite at night, along with flounder, drum, (puppy and black (one black drum over 40lbs was caught and released last week from the surf just down from the pier)) blues, a few spots, and some pompano. The trout still haven't shown up in good numbers yet. This is due in large part to the extremely warm water temperatures that we are seeing. It is not unusual for the water to already be in the 50's by now. As it is, it is still in the mid to upper 60's! This is a good thing for lots of other species of fish though. It has the potential to prolong our season by several weeks if everything aligns right! It is hard to say what the results of this blow are going to be on the fishing. It could be just what we need to trigger one last good spot run. I do look for the mullet to return in soon as the water calms enough to make things fishable. Give us a call at the Jolly Roger for an up to date fishing/ocean conditions report!

Come on down to Topsail this weekend and enjoy some of this wonderful mind weather that mother nature has provided us with!

Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Inn and Pier

803 Ocean Blvd.

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

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Black Drum! Nice 'uns!

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Email from blog reader
[quote]

Let me start by saying that I read your blog every week to see what is going on fishing wise at Topsail Island. Although I currently live in Brunswick County, I do most of my fishing back in Topsail due to the fact that my family has a beach house there. Just wanted to send this picture of what my father, brother, and myself caught late Saturday evening in "a hole" right off the waterway. Got to the spot about 4 oclock Saturday and fished until about 5:15 or so with live shrimp, minnows, and cut shrimp. They didn't really do anything with the minnows but loved the shrimp. The two largest were just under 7 pounds and the smallest were not quiet 3 pounds. A lot of fun to catch. Kept them all that evening and dad cleaned them. Me and dad went back to the same spot Sunday morning to see if we could get a flounder or a red and the black's were still there and some reds bit as well. Released everything Sunday. Fun weekend.

Mark Benton


[end quote]

Great catch Mark! Thanks for sending the pic and email. Haven't had anything great to post recently. Thanks again.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Incredible Virginia Mullet on the Jolly Roger!

It seems like just yesterday we were announcing the arrival of yet another October, and with it, the outstanding fishing we have all come to expect. It has now come and gone, and I am left to reflect upon one of the best Octobers in recent memory (so far as the fishing is concerned). Sure, there were some slow spells, and the weather didn't always cooperate, but for the most part we couldn't have asked for much better fishing!

That brings us to November. What better way to start the last good month of fishing than with an OUTSTANDING virginia mullet run! Thats right, starting this past Sunday night, and continuing every night thereafter, the quality virginia mullet have been biting in great numbers.

After listening to good reports several nights in a row, I finally made it out last night to get a "first hand" report. All I can say is WOW! In a matter of 3 hours, (from 7-10pm) three of us landed and kept 61 mullet! We culled and threw back all but the largest, and left them biting when we left at 10. This seems to be consistent with all of the reports up and down the pier; from the surf all of the way out to the end. The key was to have FRESH shrimp, the fresh ones were out catching older ones by a margin of at least 2 to 1.

Nice puppy drum are still being landed, and the keeper flounder continue to bite well. One gentleman landed his limit of flounder yesterday using live minnows out on the pier! The speckled trout, although running slightly late this year, are beginning to show in better numbers. From the people fishing the sound/intercoastal, to the ones fishing the holes along the surf, to the ones that chose to drift live baits off of the pier, I have received improving reports throughout the week. One good cold snap should bunch them up and get them firing on all cylinders.

Surf fishermen have been reporting good catches virginia mullet, puppy drum, flounder, black drum, pompano, and blues. The bite has been best at and around low tide. Most all of the larger mullet and pompano are being caught on sand fleas.

Offshore, the king mackerel fishing remains great in the 10-20 mile range. Grouper are still holding on the medium range ledges, and the gags are in their aggressive fall feeding mode. When the weather breaks enough to allow us to make it on offshore to the break, the wahoo are still biting extremely well.

It is supposed to be a beautiful, warm, and sunny weekend. Grab your rods and get on down to the Topsail. There aren't many fish out there that taste better than a virginia mullet!

Tight Lines!

Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Inn and Pier

803 Ocean Blvd.

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

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Sea Mullet Bite is Good!

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Hello from Topsail Beach!
Vinita at Surf City Pier says mullets are biting well at the pier. Same at other piers on Topsail.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

It's Big Speckled Trout Time around the area waters!

I hope everybody is enjoying the fall weather; it did get a little warm for a couple days. I think that is over for the most part, I’m ready for more fall weather! Now that the weather is getting back to normal; fishing has really picked up in the last couple of days! With that said here is the fishing report!

Trout has been the story for the most part lately. Grays and Specks are feeding well around in creeks, channels and inlets. The grays are hitting grubs and jigging spoons. Saltwater Assassin grubs in colors Chart-diamond glitter and Salt-pepper with chart-tail have worked well for the grays. The body shape that has worked for us is the sea shad in four inch size. We are using jig heads in colors pink and red; in weights 3/8oz, ½ oz and 1oz. Colors for the jigging spoons that have worked well for the grays are Pink, Green/blue, and gold. Going with bright colors is a good “go too” choice when fishing for gray trout.

The Speckled trout fishing is really getting good and will continue to pick up. We have already caught some very nice trout in the four and five pound range on live and artificial baits. My charters have caught specks on a wide range of lures this season; some new and some good ole’ timer’s. Let’s start with the hard baits. Mirrolures that are working well for us are the Catch 2000 Jr, 52M and the 17MR. The best Mirrolure colors that are catching the trout are; pink, chartreuse and silver. Grubs and soft baits; in the grub style baits colors chart-diamond, silver mullet and chicken on a chain. Yes that is the real name of this grub color.

In the shrimp style grubs the colors we are using; Arkansas glow, clear and bone-diamond. We are rigging the Saltwater Assassin shrimp with worm hooks and Texas style worm weights. We are also using Berkley Gulps new ghost shrimp in New penny color. To the live bait; it’s hard to beat the good ole’ live shrimp, they just work! Rigging the live shrimp on float rigs has worked for us. Don’t forget all you Fly fishermen out there, trout are fun and pretty easy to catch on a fly. Try shrimp and clouser patterns in natural colors and chartreuse & red/white.

False albacore fishing has been good on days when the ocean is calm enough for us to get out. Marie jigs have been the best bet for the albacore. We are using a forty pound mono leader with a loop knot tied to the Marie jig. Colors and size’s; color green and pink in sizes 7gram and 14 gram. These albacore are a lot of fun on light tackle and fly; they are real drag screamers! 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.

My charters have caught lots of bluefish while we have been Trout fishing; there really has been all the bluefish you can deal with lately!! If you like catching blues; Go Fishing! Flounder are biting as well, we’ve caught a good number while trout fishing. Some of the flounder are in the three to five pound range; a nice bonus while trout fishing.

Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Fire line crystal braid in 10 and 20#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S “Best Trout rod I ever have fished”

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

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

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide