Kings at Surf City Pier

Anglers at Surf City Pier caught two kings today! More later.
Till next time;
Tight lines!
Johnny
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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test post from Johnny

Hot Weather/Fishing Report for area Waters.

The weather is still warm to hot and the fishing is the same, some days warm; some day we have hot fishing. The water temps in the area are getting to late July temps already in June; I believe this is going to give us a summer trend of fishing for most of the season. To the fishing report>>>.

We are still seeing so good numbers of Cobia around the area waters. The Cobia are around the inlets, shoals, and bars just off the beach. We are also still seeing them offshore a bit; around hard bottoms and reefs. Live bait has been the key to the bigger fish lately. Smaller Cobia have hit jigs around the inlets and ocean sand bars. Sight casting live bait to bigger Cobia just off the beach has produced some nice Cobia form Carolina Beach to Topsail. When we drift fish for Cobia, we are using carolina rigs with three to four once egg sinkers and 7/0 circle hooks with an eighty pound Berkley big game mono leader. The baits we are using are small Bluefish, Mullet, and Menhaden.

The Flounder fishing is really starting to pick up. We are seeing Flounder inshore as well as just off the beaches. The places we look for Flounder are in the ICW, Cape Fear River and Creeks off the ICW. Look for drop offs on the edge of the main channel with current or any where baitfish are passing by. Most of the Flounder are eating little menhaden 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 Berkley Gulp 3” pogy in pearl white and smelt colors. Rig the grubs on a red or black jig head for best results.

We have had some great Sharks fishing trips in the last two weeks; the bigger fish are just starting to show up. We are already even starting to see a few Hammerheads just off the beach. Shark fishing will be good until early October. Best baits for the near shore sharks are, fresh and live Menhaden. When we use bait to catch the sharks we use spinning reels, with 300+ yards of thirty and fifty pound Spider wire Ultracast braid. Rigging the baits; eight feet of 80 pound mono leader; some will wind on to the reel. Connected the 80 pound mono to a fifty pound swivel, then to Two to three foot of #9 SS wire and an 8/0 or 9/0 off set J hook. If you prefer Fly fishing, I like Striped bass flies in Menhaden patterns with 4/0 and 5/0 hook sizes. We use ten to twelve weight set ups; have lots of extra flies with you!

When Shark fishing gets good, it’s not long before we start to see some Tarpon in the area. We have seen some nice schools of Tarpon pushing up the beaches in the last two weeks. Tarpon fishing in North Carolina can be very fun but it can be a challenge to get one to bite! We fish for Tarpon on the bottom or free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, bluefish and Menhaden. We are rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound mono leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 9/0 depending what hook series you like. I have also had a fair share of Tarpon on my kite rig with live baits like greenies, bluefish and menhaden. Nothing like seeing a Tarpon hit kite baits!

Redfish are still biting well, but with all the hot weather its best to go early in the morning or later afternoons when the water is a bit cooler. Topwater lures and rattling corks in the shallow waters earlier mornings and afternoons will produce some Redfish. Working grubs like Berkley Gulp later in the day in deeper waters will also produce Reds for ya. Sometimes it can be just like colder mouths, slow down your presentation a little when the water gets hot. Give the Redfish a little more time to catch up with your bait.

A few other fish that are biting lately; Spanish mackerel bite has been hit or miss lately. The best catching have been earlier in the morning and casting jigs and spoons to jumping fish, has put most of the fish in the boat lately. The Sheephead bite has really picked up in the last few weeks, fishing around bridges, pilings and bulkheads will produce some nice Sheephead. Off the beach from five to fifth teen miles the King Mackerel and Mahi are showing some. Fast trolling Ballyhoo or slow trolling lives baits a working for the Mackerel and Mahi. There has also been a few Sailfish caught as well lately in the same areas.

Fishing Gear we use:

Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lite 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.
Cobia, Shark and Tarpon: Spinning setup Penn Conquer 7000 with an Ugly Stick Tiger lite Jigging rod 6’ 6” and Penn 320LD Reel and a Tiger lite jigging rod. Line for Cobia, Shark and Tarpon: Berkley Big Game 30# mono and 50# Spiderwire Stealth High-Vis Yellow.

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

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

Heating Up!

Good summer fishing today. The Spanish mackerel and bluefish bite was above average throughout the day. We weighed several citation size pompano that were caught both on the pier and in the surf. I also saw some very nice summer whiting landed, along with spots and sheepshead. Multiple fishermen reported seeing a school of nice sized trout moving around under the pier today. There was a small cobia landed on a bottom rig, and one of the guys plugging on the end lost a 10-15 lb. king mackerel that he hooked on a gotcha plug. There were no king fishermen on the end today, but yesterday they reported seeing several schools of tarpon cruising by, and there were many surface schools of cigar minnows around the pier throughout the day. There was also a sailfish sighted free jumping just off the end of the pier!

Surf fishing is improving with a decent showing of big pompano and large summer whiting being caught on sand fleas. There are also some nice drum moving up and down the beach.

Offshore fishing is good to great right now. The nearshore mahi bite is really starting to take off. We found schools of mahi busting cigar minnows on multiple occasions this past week. The key to catching these mahi is getting on them early before the fleet of boats arrive. The grouper are beginning to move slightly further offshore to their summer haunts, but there are still plenty of fish within decent range. We had to pick through a lot of small fish this past week, but after moving several times ended up getting on good bites both days. In the Gulf Stream the wahoo and billfish are scattered, with plenty of mahi hanging around the weed mats and structure; most being on the smaller side.

Good luck!

Capt. Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Inn & Pier

Topsail Beach, NC

www.thejollyroger.com

(910)-328-4616

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Rainbow Thief ..................... Shame on You!

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Hello from Topsail Beach. Donna and I have lived in this area for seven years now. For the first time I remember, something was stolen from us. We just returned from a nice walk on the beach, and found that our shoes, my sandals and Donna's Rainbows, were stolen from the Empie Beach access #7 in Topsail Beach. We will replace the shoes, but we are very disappointed. If these shoes were taken by mistake, please return them, if they were stolen on purpose, SHAME ON YOU! We will pray for you. I am attempting to make excuses for whoever did this, but I just can't figure how someone would "acidently" take two pairs of shoes that does not belong to them. I am forgetful, getting more so as I get older, but I think I would know which shoes I wore to the beach, and I am real sure I wouldn't wear two pair at the same time. An otherwise beautiful and restful walk was marred by someone's thoughtless actions.  So, BEWARE!  There is a shoe thief amongst us!

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

Topsail Beach June Update

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Sounds, piers, and ICW; The flounder bite in the inshore and nearshore waters is fast improving. I have heard of several fish this week close to 5 pounds. Best bait seems to be smaller menhaden on a carolina rig and fished  slowly. Reds are biting well also. Same bait and same rig on a falling tide. Around bridges and docks, sheepshead are plentiful.Some big bluefish are still around as well. I got a report of a 9 pounder caught in the ICW while flounder fishing! Just offshore, the cobia have made a strong showing at the inlets and near shore artificial reefs. Spanish mackerel have been on one day and off the next. When you find them they bite well. Other days they are hard to find. Blues, some big choppers, are still around the piers along with hit and miss spanish. Kings are moving in closer. Mahi are bunched up nearshore. There are lots of fish in the 10 mile area. Best baits seem to be live bait, with cigar minnow and ballyhoo are working also. Piers are reporting good catches of sheepshead, with blues and spanish during the day, (early am and late pm) with spots, virginia mullets, lots of spade fish under the pier, and scattered reports of keeper flounder. Live bait best for the flounder, with fresh cut shrimp for bottom feeders, and clam flavor fish bites for the mullets and spots. Do ya feel lucky? Well, do ya! Then this is your kind of fishing, no guarantees, just some quality time with nature friends. See you on the beach!

Till next time....

Tight lines!

Johnny and Donna

Topsail Update June 14 "HOT!!!" More than just the temp.

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

 The temps are soaring. Upper 90's today with a heat index of 110*. HOT, HOT.  But so is the fishing!  The piers are getting runs of blues, spanish, and even kings. All three piers have now landed a king, the latest I know about is a 33 pound king from Jolly Roger caught by fishing friend BT. Piers are reporting some good spot runs, ladyfish, big sheepshead and even an occasional speckled trout. Best bet for trout right now is live shrimp. The spanish bite has slowed a bit, but there are still lots around at sunrise and sunset.

The surf is starting to heat up. Mullets and red drum leading the charge. Best chance for a reds, in my opinion, is south of Jolly Roger pier, the closer to the inlet the better. Also in the surf are black drum, some big pompano (use sand fleas and fish on the sand bar.)  Spots are showing up in the surf, but still not in large numbers. There has been scattered reports of keeper flounder. Finger mullets, which are getting more obtainable in the sound, seems to be the best bait.

On the inside, fishing is HOT! Red and black drum, spots, sea mullets and keeper flounder are plentiful. And of course lets not forget our sharks and skates.

Best times for fishing is early morning, with dusk running a close second. I haven't seen any difference in the tide bite, though high might be a bit better.

Fishin' is good. Come on out and get some!




Till next time....
Tight Lines!
Johnny

Hot Weather & Hot Fishing around the area!

Southeast North Carolina has been quite HOT lately the good thing about this is the fishing has been the same; HOT! The summer trend of local fishing is really showing and the summer fish showing up in good numbers too. We have been fishing for all kinds of fish lately; Mackerel, Cobia, Blues, Redfish, Flounder, Trout and Sharks. Let’s talk about that in this weeks fishing report>>>

Let’s start with one of my favorites; Cobia. I love to catch’em, cook’em and eat’em! We have seen quite a few Cobia lately; we caught a forty pounder on last Monday. We are seeing most of the Cobia just off the beach and out to five miles off the beach. Live bait has been the key to the bigger fish lately. Smaller Cobia have hit jigs around the inlets and ocean sand bars. Sight casting live bait to bigger Cobia just off the beach has produced some nice Cobia form Carolina Beach to Topsail. When we drift fish for Cobia, we are using carolina rigs with three to four once egg sinkers and 7/0 circle hooks with an eighty pound Berkley big game mono leader. The baits we are using are small Bluefish, Mullet, and Menhaden. Drifting these baits around inlets, sandbars and near shore live bottoms; has produced the best bites.

The inshore Redfish bite has been very good lately with artificial baits as well fresh cut and live baits. Working shallow waters early morning and late afternoon when the heat of the day is lower has produced well. Later in the day when the sun is high, we are working deeper waters for the Redfish. The shallow water lures have been MirrOlure’s Top Dog Jr and Top Pup, also a rattling cork with a Berkley Gulp Alive peeler crab under the cork has also produced very well in waters of one to three foot deep.

When we are fishing deeper grubs that have been doing well are Berkley Power bait shrimp and Gulp Alive 3” shrimp in colors new penny and molting. Saltwater Assassin’s Copperhead and 10W40 colors are catching some Reds as well. Rigging the grubs on a simple red jig head 1/8oz to 1/4oz, just make sure the jig head has a hook that will not straighten out when you hook that nice Redfish! Tip: one thing I’ve starting using this season is Berkley Gulp Alive Shrimp spray; I put a shot on all my non-scented grubs. It seems to work well for Redfish and Flounder fishing.

The Spanish mackerel bite has been good lately with the best of it being early in the morning and late afternoon. Trolling Clark spoons in sizes 00, 0 and 1 in colors sliver, gold and pinks flash are working well. When we are seeing the Spanish jumping and feeding on top; casting jigging spoons is producing some nice Spanish. There is still a lot of Blues mixed in with the Spanish up and down the beach too. We have found some bigger Spanish by going off the beach a few miles and getting away from the crowds in the clearer waters.

Flounder fishing is really picking up around the area. Most of the Flounder are eating little menhaden 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 Berkley Gulp 3” pogy in pearl white and smelt colors. Rig the grubs on a red or black jig head for best results. Flounder fishing should stay consistent right through the summer and fall.

The Shark fishing is picking up with the warmer water temps and should be good all summer long. Best baits for the near shore sharks are, fresh and live Menhaden. When we use bait to catch the sharks we use spinning reels, with 300+ yards of thirty and fifty pound Spider wire Ultracast braid. Rigging the baits; eight feet of 80 pound mono leader; some will wind on to the reel. Connected the 80 pound mono to a fifty pound swivel, then to Two to three foot of #9 SS wire and an 8/0 or 9/0 off set J hook. If you prefer Fly fishing, I like Striped bass flies in Menhaden patterns with 4/0 and 5/0 hook sizes. We use ten to twelve weight set ups; have lots of extra flies with you!

Keep your eyes peeled for some great new Berkley Gulp products that will be out soon, some of these baits are going to be great for Redfish and Flounder fishing; Trust me!!!

Fishing Gear we use:

Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lite 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.
Cobia: Spinning setup Penn Conquer 7000 with an Ugly Stick Tiger lite Jigging rod 6’ 6” and Penn 320LD Reel and a Tiger lite jigging rod. Line for Cobia Berkley Big Game 30# mono and 50# Spiderwire Stealth High-Vis Yellow.

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

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

King Mackerel!

I just received word that the FIRST KING OF THE YEAR was just landed on the Jolly Roger. It was caught by Bennet Tolar on a live bluefish. At this time the unofficial weight is 33 lbs.!

Big kings are finally here!

Capt. Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Pier

(910)-328-4616

www.jollyrogertopsailbeach.com

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

Topsail Update Fishing Report

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Hello from Topsail Beach! Fished the surf last evening with Donna, didn't get anything, but I was anything but disappointed.  It was a nice evening, weather was perfect and, I found lots of big sand fleas int the surf. For me, that means the bigger sea mullets will be moving closer to the shore. Time to start some serious surf fishing. I fished the Jolly Roger Pier in Topsail Beach this morning. Arrived about 6am and there were already several king rigs out at the end of the pier. While I was plugging for blues and spanish, one of the king anglers got a hit. Nothing like screaming drag to wake up a person in the early morning. Unfortunately, the fish pulled the hooks, so we don't know what it was. But BT said it was shaking it's head a lot, whatever that means. I don't king fish from the pier, but I am guessing that those who do will understand the significance of the head shaking. I caught several blue fish, some nice fillet size, but no spanish. I did see a couple of smaller sized spanish brought over the rail, but these were about 3/4 of the way out the pier on the south side, not at the end where I was fishing. Maybe I should have moved down a bit, but I was having a nice conversation with a new fishing friend from Warsaw, NC. Shout out to my new friend Kyle, hope to see you on the pier again soon. Saw no bottom fish, no flounder, but there were several anglers walking the rails with live minnows and live shrimp. Gonna be a hot one today, not much breeze as of right now, and lots of sun. Don't forget the sunscreen in your tackle box. You'll need it today. May get a visit from our son Scott and his family. Looking forward to their visit. Haven't seen them or the grand babies for a while. Just got home, woke up Donna and gonna fix a nice breakfast. If you get here quick, you can get some bacon, eggs, and grits. Catch 'em up!

Till next time....
Tight lines,
Johnny

Topsail Report-6/10/10

Sorry for the lax reports as of late. The fishing, from the pier, to offshore and back inshore, has shifted into the warm water, summer pattern. Mornings and afternoons have been much more productive than has mid-day fishing. Although the quantity of fish has decreased with this change, the overall size and quality of fish has increased.

Jolly Roger Pier- The Spanish mackerel and bluefish are still here in good numbers, but the bite has been restricted to early in the morning (first hour of daylight) and late afternoon (last two hours of light). This morning they had an excellent Spanish and blue run right after sunrise. Gotcha plugs are still the lure of choice, but as the water warms and they start feeding on smaller shad/minnows, I expect the diamond jigs to start producing as well. Flounder, drum (black and puppy), sheepshead, pompano, and spots have all been scattered throughout the day and night. I just weighed a 4 ½ lb. and a 9 lb. sheepshead that were caught this afternoon on the pier.

Surf- I received mixed reports from surf fishermen this past week, with a smattering of bottom fish and drum reported. Sand flees are by and far the bait of choice. FRESH shrimp or cut/live bait follows as a close second. The drum moved in-in outstanding numbers immediately after the NE wind we had near the end of May. They have since spread out along the beach in the sloughs and deeper holes.

Inshore- A few larger trout and flounder can now be found back in the sounds and the intercostal. Reports of a few very nice sized flounder have been coming in throughout the week. Some of the best action has been around the inlets with live baits and or gulp. The mullet and shrimp are beginning to become more active in the creek and marsh areas, making it easier to acquire live bait. Drum are scattered throughout the marshes around oyster rocks and docks (structure).

Offshore- We finally had a few calm days this week, and quite a few people got out and took advantage of the beautiful conditions. Near shore the Spanish and blues bit well near the inlets early in the morning. Just off the beach (0-12nm) the kings and cobia are scattered around hard-bottom and artificial structure. Find the bait, and you will find the fish. Mahi and sailfish are just beginning to move into the same areas from 7-20 miles offshore. Gulf Stream fishing was mixed this week, with decent gaffer mahi fishing and scattered wahoo and billfish. We made it offshore Tuesday and were greeted by a flat calm ocean. I was anxious to find some mahi a little closer to shore, so that is what we started out targeting. The bite was slow, and from sunrise to 8:30 AM, we only found one king. I made the call to switch over and do a little bottom fishing, and man was it the right call! We picked up and ran to a patch of ledges/live bottom, where we found a red hot grouper bite. We quickly reached our five-man limit, and began to catch and release 25-30” grouper! One of the crew spotted a large leatherback turtle surface, and I quickly ran over to see if there might be a cobia cruising with it. There wasn’t a cobia, but rather a school of cobia; 9 to be exact. They were not in the feeding mood, but we finally got two to bite. For one reason or the other, we ended up pulling the hook on both fish. Just wasn’t our day, but I sure hated to see all that pretty white meat swim away! All in all it was a great day on the water, and we were back at the dock by 1:30.

Even with the water warming, there is still some great fishing to be had. The key is to get out early before it gets to hot. I think just a couple days of good light E or SE wind would really pack the bait in on the beach and get things going.

Good Luck,

Capt. Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Pier

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

www.jollyrogertopsailbeach.com

Fishing Topsail Message Board

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Doormats on Sale at Lowes?

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Don't let the title of this post fool you. A friend who works at IGA in Surf City, known as J2, (real name Justin) opened his cooler today and what was inside was....... yep.. A DOORMAT!  It was a flounder, weighing in at a six plus pounds! Wish I had a picture. I keep forgetting that my new Blackberry smart phone will take pictures. It's a good thing the Blackberry is smart, cause it doesn't seem like I am. What a beautiful fish! Congrats Justin!

Till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny

SPOT ALERT!

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SPOT ALERT! Fished Jolly Roger Pier this morning. Caught blues till I was just tired of reeling them up. If you had blood worms near the end of JR pier this morning, you could have a bucket of spots. Good run while I was pluggin' my arms off! Great Day at Topsail Beach!

RE: The Gulf Oil Spill
If you aren't upset and unhappy with the way the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is going, check out this website. The web page superimposes the oil spill graphic onto a map of our area. (or any area you choose) Simply enter the zip code for the area you would like to compare. The Topsail area zip is 28445. (That's Holly Ridge, Surf City, and Topsail Beach) ..............

This is a sad, depressing, and upsetting event, that in my opinion, could have been handled better. I think it's time for something else to be done. Do I know what that should be? Not in the least. I have no idea. But we put a man on the moon........ shouldn't we be able to handle this better?

Here is the link. www.ifitwasmyhome.com

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Topsail Report

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Hello from Topsail Beach!
Got a lot of stuff tonight. It's been a while since last post. My apologies. Ok, on with the news.

Mark this on your calendar. July 3rd is the 2nd Annual Kid's Fishing Competition and Celebration at Surf City Pier. Registration begins Saturday. The first 150 children to pre-register will receive a free T-shirt! This is a free event for all children 16 years of age and younger. Call or stop by the pier for more details.

Our grandchildren are scheduled to be on Topsail the week of July 4th. They will be in the tournament, Lord willing. This is a great event for the kids as well as an opportunity to spend some quality time with your children. There is no greater joy than to see the expression on a childs face when he/she catches a fish. The size of the fish doesn't seem to matter, they are excited just the same. Make plans to be their if you are in the area that week. I am sure you will enjoy the time with your children.

Fishing / Catching report

The Sea View Fishing Pier reported a 74 pound tarpon was caught on June 8. Blues and spanish were also caught, seems the best tide is high. Also caught were mullets along with skates, flounder, a few spots, croakers, black drum and several ladyfish.

Surf City Fishing Pier reports fishing was kinda slow today with a few spanish and blues caught early. A few spots were caught in the surf this morning. the wind and surf are picking up. Vinita hopes the bottom fishing will pick up tonight with the rough surf.

Jolly Roger Fishing Pier's Robin Orr reports there aresome nice drum and sheepshead around not, as well as spots, blues and spanish.

Below is a picture of my friend Elijah with a nice spanish he caught on Jolly Roger Pier. He caught a bigger one, but my picture didn't turn out. Sorry for being so late posting. Congrats to Elijah and April. They were married and spent their honeymoon fishing on JR pier. Hope to see you back soon.

Looks like typical summer time fishing.  Catch 'em up!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Check out East Coast Sports website for a great selection of fishing rod racks for your truck. These look great! I think I might bring one home for the Blazer. I am not worried what Donna might say, because I am the boss of this house. Donna said I could be the boss for a day or two. Whata woman!

Red Drum Cape Fear NC

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Red Drum bite in the Cape Fear Region has really picked up the last week,the arrival of plenty of menhaden has really helped the bite.
Fishing 4 days last week has confirmed that the red drum are here and are hungry not only have the numbers of bites has improved,the number of over the slot size fish has increased.
Here are a few of the pictures I took, just to busy catching to take a picture of all the reds!
Capt.Mike Dennis
Capt.Mike@charter.net
www.capefear-guide.com
910-619-0928

Topsail Update

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Fishing is good at Topsail Island. There is a bit of everything biting, but not a huge amount of anything. The piers are seeing spots, mullet, black drum, a few reds, some sheepshead and spade fish. There have been a few keeper flounder, though most are undersized. The flounder have been taken with cut bluefish, cut hardhead mullet, and live minnows and shrimp. I even one saw one keeper speckled trout. (Remember the size limit for speckled trout has increased this year to 14 inches, 10 per day max) Saw one gray trout this week. You can only keep ONE FISH PER DAY now. Min size is still 12 inches. (Check out the 2010 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide for Sports Fishermen; May 2010 version here.) The surf fishing is starting to get better, as more sand fleas come to the surface. If you can find fleas, you might get a large pompano on the sandbars, or sheepshead around the dock and bridge pilings. The sheepshead bite has really been on fire in the backwaters this week. There are some finger mullets and shrimp around, but not many yet. (I haven't found them)

Weather looks pretty good this week. Here is the forecast for Topsail, ShowMyWeather.com.

Long Term Forecast

TUESDAY... High: 85°F Low: 65°F PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE MID 80S...EXCEPT IN THE LOWER 80S AT THE BEACHES. SOUTHWEST WINDS AROUND 5 MPH. OVERNIGHT: PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE MID 60S. SOUTH WINDS AROUND 5 MPH.

WEDNESDAY...High: 89°F Low: 71°F MOSTLY CLOUDY IN THE MORNING...THEN BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S...EXCEPT IN THE LOWER 80S AT THE BEACHES. SOUTH WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH...INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. OVERNIGHT: PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING...THEN BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE LOWER 70S. SOUTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH.

THURSDAY...High: 90°F Low: 70°F MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS AROUND 90. CHANCE OF RAIN 40 PERCENT. OVERNIGHT: PARTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE EVENING. LOWS AROUND 70. CHANCE OF RAIN 40 PERCENT.

FRIDAY...High: 91°F Low: 71°F PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 90S. LOWS IN THE LOWER 70S.

SATURDAY...High: 91°F Low: 71°F PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 90S. LOWS IN THE LOWER 70S.

SUNDAY...High: 91°F Low: 71°F PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 90S. LOWS IN THE LOWER 70S.

Looks like a great week for fishing.

Lets all send our prayers to the folks along the gulf coast that are being devasted by the oil spill. As people that live near, and depend on the water for our livelihood, lets remember, this could be us in a few years. Do we really want to take the chance that our beautiful coastline may be ruined for years by the lust for oil money? You all know my feelings on this subject, so I won't rehash it here.

Lets go fishing!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

The Innocence of Youth

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide


I know this isn't about Topsail Island fishing or news, but I had to post this.



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

Fishing / Catching Reports

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide
Fishing / catching reports. Do you think fishermen lie bout there catch? NAW you know not. Here are the reports I have received. Lots of reds near the New Topsail Inlet. Some keeper flounder from all the piers. Large pompano on sand fleas. (fleas still hard to find, for me anyway) Large speckled trout way up in the New River. Now, here is what I know to be true. Huge chopper blue fish are coming over the rails at all TI fishing piers. Small mullets, mostly at night. Big ( 4 and 5 lbs) black drum. A few sheepshead. Couple keeper flounder. I witnessed the landing of several nice spots. Of course, there are the sharks and skates. In and around the ICW, I have personally seen nice black drum and lots of sheepsheads, at SC turning bridge and the HWY 172 bridge in Sneads Ferry. My fishin' buds and friends Caleb and Jonathon caught a bucket full of big sheepshead. Take the young kids to the Surf City park, tons of pinfish mean lots of fun for the kiddies. All in all, it ain't a bad time to be at Topsail Island! I really enjoyed fishing with brother Jesse, my Dad, and friend Ken at Jolly Roger Pier this week. Brother is back home in VA, Dad leaving in the morning. Last day to fish with him. Gotta go!

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

Keeper Flounder, Jolly Roger Pier

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

Hello from Topsail Beach!
My brother Jesse and wife Sarah are visiting us at Topsail. Jesse caught a nice keeper flounder Tuesday night late. Pier house was already closed. Dressed and in the fridge, gonna eat fish tonight.

It's really cloudy, but no rain yet, cept maybe a sprinkle. Think I'll give is a shot and go fishing! Whadaya think?

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Rain

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

Rainy day at Topsail Beach. Still the best place in the world to be! We love this island! Not much going on fishing, few small sea mullets, sharks, rays, skates, small flounder, the occational blue and spanish. It's gonna get better!
Till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny
http://www.fishintopsail.com/