Johnny Mercers Pier, Dogfish Tournament Results

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

Nothing to report near Topsail Beach. Weather has been so crappy that no one is fishing that I know. So in the absence of local fishing news, here are the results of the annual Dogfish Tournament at Johnny Mercers Fishing pier in Wrightsville Beach. Thanks to Al from the North Carolina Pier Fishing Yahoo Group for these results. Check out the discussion group to make a comment, and also check out the NC Fishing Pier Society website. Al does a lot to bring the decline of the ocean fishing piers to the public and it's representatives, and anyone else who will listen. Thanks for your hard work, Al.

[quote]

Dogfish Tournament Results

In a day when the weather was the main story across the state of North Carolina 66 entrants in the Johnny Mercer's Pier Dogfish tournament were making headlines over the Atlantic. Those that braved the elements caught a total of 66 dogfish totaling more than 415 pounds of fish. Every fish was released alive after being weighed.

Anglers came from as far as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Columbia, SC and west of Ashville in North Carolina to fish the event. At time during the event winds gusted to almost 40 MPH and the steady rain turned to ice and sleet by nightfall but the fishermen weathered the elements to make record catches.

The event was won by Jeffery McLaughlin who landed a 12 pound spiny and that established a new Mercer's Dogfish record. Second place was Justin Trujillo who caught a 10 pound 13 ounce fish. Trujillo ended up cathing 16 of the 66 fish caught. Third place went to defending champion Matt McKinney with a 9 pound 6 ounce fish.

In addition to winning the admiration of the rest of the anglers McLaughlin was award a season pier pass by pier owner Matt Johnson. Johnson donated several prizes to the event in addition to that other prizes were donated by Tex's Tackle, Guy Harvey Sportswear and Sumitomo Express Restaurant. The North Carolina Public Access Foundation donated the trophies as they have done for the last 3 years and the Silver Gull Motel offered discounted rooms for the event. The North Carolina Fishing Pier Society has hosted the event the past 2 years.

The Dogfish event was an idea started by regular Mercer fisherman Rick Britt and Arlen Ash as a way of getting Mercer's regulars together in the off season and to shake off cabin fever of the long winter. The idea caught on now dominates the winter fishing season in North Carolina.

Pictures of the event will be posted at www.ncfps.com

Till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny

Cape Fear Christian Sportsman

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

This looks Great! I am planning to attend. Check it out.

email from Cape Fear Christian Sportsman Ministry
[quote]
Cape Fear Christian Sportsman, A ministry of Christ Community Church, is hosting " Fish Fest '10." This school is open to anyone in the community. There is no cost, but a $20 donation is appreciated. Come and learn everything you ever wanted to know about local fishing but were afraid to ask and be sure to bring a friend! The class will be from 8am-5pm February 20, 2010 at Christ Community Church (4555 Fairview Dr., Wilmington, NC). A light breakfast and Pig Pickin' lunch will be provided. Registration is available online at www.capefearsportsmen.org.

We've got some awesome speakers this year! Check out the current line up:


* Shallow Water and Flats Fishing for Redfish (Capt. Jot Owens)

* King Mackerel Tactics (Capt. Jodie Gay, 23 and Under SKA Campion, Blue Water Candy Lures)

* Bottom Fishing (Capt. Butch Foster, Yeah Right Sportfishing Charters)

* Targeting Nearshore Mahi (Capt. Brent Stanley, Current Adventure Charters)

* Catching Spanish and Blues Nearshore (Capt. Mat Hurlbut, Hot Ticket Fishing Charters)

* Catching Flounder (Capt. Jonathan "Big Country" McDow)

* Targeting Sailfish (Capt. John McDow, Midnight Wind Fishing)

* Offshore Safety (Capt. Matt Wild, Towboat US Wrightsville Beach)

* Castnetting for Live Bait (Rick Stoker, Team Fountain)

* Fishing Offshore Habitats and Gulfstream Details (Capt. Chip Berry, Maps Unique)

* Boat Maintenance Q&A (Bobby Bailey, Bailey Marine Integrations)

* Fishing MirrOLures (Capt. Jot Owens)

* Many More![end quote]

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Warmer Weather=Hotter Fishing around the area

Hello form “finally starting to warm up” Southeast North Carolina! It has been cold; to cold, we did have some local fish kill. It was a little worse north of us, but it s not good for anybody! We are very happy to see warmer temps for the next five plus days. The good part of all this is we have been doing pretty good fishing lately. Let’s go over that in this weeks fishing report>>>

When the weather or more important the wind has been right, we have done very well on the winter Redfish. These large schools of Redfish hang in the ocean around bars, inlets and shoals. We have seen schools as small as ten fish to over 1000 fish; and some times more! It’s a really cool thing to see, but you need to be careful; these fish can be hard and dangerous to get too. A good par of polarized sun glasses and a reel that you can cast a country mile will help to catch these winter Reds.

We are catching the Reds in the surf on Saltwater Assassin sea shad grubs; in colors 10w40 with chart tail and chicken on a chain. We rig the grubs on ¼oz and 3/8oz; red or new penny color jig heads. We have caught them on MirrOlure’s as well; 17MR and 27 MR, in colors 26, 808 and BNSBO are working for us.

The Cape Fear River Stripers are biting from time to time; it got a little cold for them as well. The Stripers are hitting Berkley gulp jerk shad in colors pearl, new penny and electric chicken. We rig the jerk shad Texas style, with a large bass hook. Rapala X-raps work too, in colors glass ghost and green back.

Speckled trout fishing has been more miss than hit lately but, it should get better with the warmer weather we have coming. The best bet for the trout this time of year is mud minnows and working artificial baits very slow. MirrOlure’s 17MR and 52M are a good bet this time of year. I like the colors 11, 51, CFPR and EC. SWA grubs in colors chicken on a chain, chart-diamond and silver-ph & chart tail. I use twenty pound Stren tinted fluorocarbon leader; I prefer gun smoke tint for clear water applications.

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”

In Other Fishing News: Don’t forget; there are some great boat and fishing expos coming to North Carolina. If you like fishing and boats you don’t want to miss these shows and fishing seminars! Here are the one’s that myself as well as other Ranger boats pro staff members will be at this winter.

February 12-14, 2010 - Raleigh Convention Center Boat Show - Raleigh, NC. www.raleighconvention.com/boatshow/ This is a great show with lots of the “top of the line” boats form around the world. I’ll be there with other Ranger Pro’s to show you all the great benefits to the Ranger Saltwater line of boats.

February 20, 2010-Cape Fear Christian Sportsman Fish Fest.
http://www.capefearsportsmen.org/Events/FishFest10Registration/tabid/719/Default.aspx I will be speaking on Shallow water Redfishing and working MirrOlure’s. For all the info on this day of seminars, take a look at this link.

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

Ocean Redfish

My friend Jason and myself took advantage of the best day we have had all year, weather wise. We slid the Vantage into the water early and headed for the ocean. The seas were flat calm and the water was Gin clear. Jason and I eased along the beach and it didn't take long to spot the fish. There were hundreds of Reds holding tight to the surf zone and the glistened in the sunlight as they rode the waves. The only downside was that the water temp was 47.8°F and they just didn't want to bite.

We threw everything in the tackle box at them. Gulps, Mirrorlures, gold spoons and bucktail jigs. We did manage to catch 4 or 5 fish this morning, but we would have like to caught more. The cold temperatures and the fact that these fish have been pressured hard the last few weeks had given these fish a big case of lockjaw. However, it was great to be on the water and it is awesome to see so many redfish in the water at once.

Tight lines to all.

Capt. Brent
Current Adventure Charters
910.200.9959

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

22 Yes Twenty Two Pound Largemouth Bass!

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




Picture is 22lb. ... Yes Twenty Two Pound Largemouth Bass! Caught in Japan. Ties the 77 year old largemouth world record.

WOW!

Till next time.....
Tight lines! (and frozen lines right now on Topsail .... BRRRRR)
Johnny

Topsail Fish Kill

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

I am sorry to report that the cold weather has caused a massive fish kill in the sounds and tidal creeks behind Topsail Island. This report has not been confirmed, but I have heard it from two different sources. One report has estimated the loss in excess of 10,000 pounds of spotted sea trout, aka speckled trout. The coldest weather of the year is still to come. There isn't anything we (recreational anglers) can do about the weather. But I am planning to release more fish than I would normally do. I love to eat these wonderful fish, but I will only keep the biggest of my catch. We can all help to protect our waters from pollution. When we are out in the water or on the beach, we can PICK IT UP ..... DON'T PASS IT UP. It is amazing how much trash Donna and I cart off the beach as we are walking. We usually carry a bag on our walks, and pick up trash as we walk and look for shells and sharks teeth. Help protect this resource. Thanks for your concern.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna
http://www.fishintopsail.com