Great Inshore Fishing around area Waters

Well Folks, the weather has been a little better lately; but with that said here comes a low pressure heading up the coast! It’s a little early for this kind of weather. With all the East/Northeast wind lately the water just off the beach has gotten very clear and has helped the fishing for my clients! Let’s talk about this in this weeks fishing report>>>

The inshore fishing is really picking up; the last two weeks have been very good inshore! We are catching Redfish on fresh bait as well as artificial lures. The best bait lately has been fresh cut menhaden and small live menhaden. Using carolina rigs with 1/0 EC L42 hooks and forty pound Berkley Big Game mono leader. A 1/2oz to 1oz egg sinkers is doing the trick for weight on the carolina rig. Fishing in the ICW, creeks and on docks with carolina rigs for deeper water Redfish has been a good trend lately. When fishing with live bait for Redfish in shallow water we are using Saltwater Assassin Kwik-Cork with twelve to sixteen inches of forty pound Berkley BG mono leader and a 1/0 EC L42 hook.

When we are casting artificial’s for the Redfish we are using a few different kinds of baits. In deeper waters scented grubs have done very well; Berkley Gulp and Powerbait have been the favorite. Gulp 3” shrimp and 2” peeler crabs on 1/4oz to 3/8oz red jig heads with a thirty pound Stern tinted Fluorocarbon leader (gunsmoke). We use the same setup for the Powerbait in shrimp and jerkshad patterns as the Gulp grubs. The swallow water artificial bite is really picking up; casting lures in one to three foot of water. MirrOlure’s Top Dog Jr and Top Pup in colors 11(red head/white body) and 808 (black/gold/orange) have been the choice top waters for us. When the sun is high and the sky is clear we cast spinner baits in shallow waters; we prefer gold spoon and new penny grubs on our spinner baits.

Sheephead fishing is starting to pick up as well around the area. The best bet is fishing around bridges, docks and bulk-heads. Fishing in water from six to fifth-teen feet for Sheephead seems to work the best for us. We fish mostly using small Carolina rigs, with forty pound mono leader and small but strong live bait hooks. Baits we are using; fiddler crabs and sand fleas have worked just fine. Give it a shot, it takes time but you’ll get one; Hold-on tight! We have also caught a hand full of very nice Blackdrum while Sheephead fishing.

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.

We have started to catch a few very nice Speckled trout lately, summer Specks are not always easy to catch. The great thing about summer trout is they love to hit top water lures as well as grubs! This last week we had one over five pounds and few others in the two to three pound range. Casting topwater’s like the Top Dog Jr and She Dog early in the morning and late afternoon have produced some nice Trout. When we are not using topwaters, Powerbait shrimp grubs and 17MR’s are working well. Just remember Trout have very eyes, always use a fluorocarbon leader when Trout fishing. We prefer twenty pound Stren tinted Fluorocarbon leader material in tannic for brown/river colored waters and gumsmoke for clear water conditions.

Last but never lest; Cobia are starting to show up around the area waters. We look for Cobia around inlets, shoals and bait schools; near shore/offshore reefs and ledges are also a good place to look too. With the water being so clear it has been easier to see those brown logs in the water. We are throwing big jigs, swim baits and live bait to the Cobia. Color really does not seem to matter; “go bright”! When I’m not sight casting for them, we are fishing around inlets, shoals and near shore artificial reefs. We float fish, bottom fish and kite fish in these areas with live menhaden, blues and mullet as bait. You can chum if you like, but the sharks will come and they will come in numbers!

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.

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

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

IFA REDFISH TOUR SURF CITY

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Hurricane Drew Arndt and I won the IFA tourney in Surf City this past Saturday. It has been one we have just missed a few times and was finally great to win one and a Ranger Banshee fully rigged with electronics and power pole to go with it. BTW it is for sale for a smoking deal for anyone in the market for a super skinny flats boat. Enough spam-here's how our week went. I charted the first half of the week and found scattered fi hen I switched gears and pre fished two days and found lots of fish on day two. Day one of pre fish for me was finding us some low water spots around structure and deeper areas I usually don't fish. We needed a low tide game plan due to the low tide at 9:30 on game day. Many of my flats would not have water on game day except for the first hour or two of competition. I struggled to find deep water fish and finally finished up hitting one of my flats later in the day and crushing them on topwater and soft plastics for an hour or so in rain and heavy wind. The next day I hit 8-10 of my favorite flats and located scattered fish but not the tourney winners I was looking for. Later in the day I hit my favorite piece of water for the first time this year and found nice mid slots every place I went. Never beat any of the fish up but got 35-40 on topwater, pitching soft plastics to cruising fish, and spinnerbaits. Drew and I went separate ways and we looked at tides, wind, and water levels to determine our game plan. We were going to put some comfort fish in the boat early at three of the spots I had pre fished but changed the plan after Hurricane found two nice flats holding fish in a place we are not so familiar with. We were able to get into the spot for two hours and fish and get out of there before the tide got us and hit the low water flat. Well we miscalculated and got stuck on the flat for four hours and were not sure we were going to be able to get off the flat before check in. We boated a perfect 27 inch fish early on topwater along with about 12-15 more reds on topwater and subsurface twitch baits in the first two hours of competition. We had over 13 lbs in the well by 8:00 am recirculating at low tide as we were high and dry. Can't tell you tournament guys how important a good insulated livewell and recirculating pump is for situations like this. The water from the morning was a good ten degrees cooler than the sun-baked water that was holding on the flat at low tide-which kept our fish happy and well oxygenated all day. When the tide did start coming up our fish started roaming the flat towards us and we picked off a few 25 inch fish dead sticking soft plastics and then Hurricane stuck a 27 incher to go with our other 27 inch fish. We then left the flat and headed to Surf City for weigh in. We were confident we had two perfect length fish but were not sure how much they weighed. When our smallest fish hit the scales we were confident we were going to have some good weight. Ended up with 14.46 lbs and first place. Thanks to the IFA for putting on a good tourney and to all the anglers that showed up from out of town. I believe we had more teams from SC than NC. Hope to see a lot of you guys at the next tournament-HT3 in Beaufort, NC June19.

Tight lines,
Capt. Ren
www.tournamenttrailcharters.com

Back Soon

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Migraine...... Hope to be back soon. Thanks for your emails and concern.

Johnny

East Coast Line Wind!

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The annual Line Wind at East Coast Sports is going strong today. Check below for details.
Don't miss it!

Line Wind May 21-23 1¢ Per Yard on all Berkley Mono in stock up to 30lb.

Flounder Seminar with Capt Wayne Capt Wayne will be talking all kinds of Flounder.  He will be here Saturday May 22nd from 6pm-9pm.

Chuck Johnson Knots, Trout and King Fishing Chuck will be here teaching knots, trout fishing and trolling for kings Saturday May 22nd from 12-4pm

Jody with Blue Water Candy Capt. Jody Gay will be here talking Jigging and Blue Water Candy all day Saturday.  Come get schooled!!!!!

Ballyhoo Rigging w/ Capt John Mallette Capt. John Mallette will be here teaching Ballyhoo rigging and cast net throwing Friday May 21st from 4-8pm.

Capt Phil Leonard Capt. Phil Leonard will be here talking Red Drum and Sheepshead Friday May 21st from 11am – 4pm.

Free Stuff

Thanks to Pure Fishing for all the free stuff we have to give away.  Hats, Tees, ETC

Till next time....
Tight lines.
Johnny

Huge Spanish Jolly Roger Pier

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Thanks to Jolly Roger Fishing Pier in Topsail Beach for the pic. Check out the pier website HERE.

"Huge Spanish caught this morning [on Jolly Roger Fishing Pier, Topsail Beach, NC. ! This is a 7 lb. 2 oz. Spanish caught this morning on a Got Cha lure by Pheng Nop, from Durham, NC. They just keep getting bigger!" [quote by Rob Orr)

HOLY MACKEREL!!!!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Jolly Roger Fishing Pier Spanish and Blues

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Hello from Topsail Beach!
Welcome new members! We look forward to your posts. Went plugging at
Jolly Roger Pier today. Caught some nice spanish. Lots fo spanish and
blues caught this morning. Got a few pics I'll post later on the website.
http://www.fishintopsail.com/. Met some new fishing friends, and got to
see some old ones but good ones. They were stil...l biting when I left,
although a bit slower, but I had to rest the back a bit and have a bite
of lunch. If you are going to be near the island Friday, Saturday and
Sunday, East Coast Sports is having their annual line wind. Berkley
Mono is a penny a yard! Plus free fishing seminars! Check out the
details on their website.

http://www.eastcoastsports.com/

See you there!



Beautiful day at Topsail! We are truly blessed.

Till next time....

Tight lines!

Johnny

Topsail Report

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide


Hello from Topsail Beach!
Sorry I was late with the report. Been down with a killer migraine. Fishing has been good here. Plenty of blues and spanish during the day and mullets at night. Small flounder have started to show. The surf is still slow, I haven't gotten any real good reports yet. There are some pompano on the sand bars if you can find sand fleas. They are still deep. There are plenty of everything in the sounds, you just have to find them. Try docks on falling tide and weed lines on the rising tide. Don't know what this front that is moving through will do, just have to wait and see. Have a great day!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny
www.fishintopsail.com

Great Fishing-5/17/10

The fishing is simply outstanding right now. May is always a great month for fishing at Topsail, but this year it has undoubtably been above average. The spanish mackerel and blue fish bite has been especially good. Fishermen (and women) on the Jolly Roger have been bringing in limits of both daily for over 10 days now! I have lived and fished at Topsail my entire life, and can't remember a spanish run that was this good and lasted this long. Gotcha plugs have been hands down the lure of choice for both the spanish and blues. The top colors have been white/red, white/blue, and white/chartreuse. On the sunny days when the water is clear and the spanish are more finicky, the silver chrome plugs have fared better. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon during low light conditions the all chartreuse gotchas show up and perform slightly better. Anglers bottom fishing at night have had good success with the virginia mullet for the last five nights. Fresh shrimp and orange clam fishbites have been the best baits for the mullet. Although there have been several cobia sighted, the king fishermen on the end have yet to land the first "big" fish of the year. Conditions are perfect, and with all of the menhaden, blues, and shad stacked up on the beach, it is only a matter of time.

Inshore: The fishing has improved dramatically in the last week. I spoke with several different groups who had success catching nice sized flounder and trout, both in the sound, and in the intercoastal waterway.

Offshore: Like both of the above reports, offshore fishing is just about as good as it gets right now. Nearshore the spanish and blue fishing is off the charts. Cobia are hanging out around the inlets and on the tidelines. The king mackerel have also moved into the nearshore hardbottom areas along with their favorite prey; the cigar minnow. Offshore just a bit further the flying fish and mahi are beginning to show up. I talked with several people who found flying fish as close as 5-12 miles, and there has been a showing or mahi in the 91-120' range. Grouper/bottom fishing in the same range is producing good catches of many species of bottom fish. In the Gulf Stream the mahi are THICK! Catches of up to 50 gaffers per boat have been reported within the last week. Wahoo and blackfin tuna area also mixed in with the mahi.

If you are thinking of heading to the beach for a fishing trip, don't delay! The fishing is great right now, but there is no telling how long it will last. Remember to give us a call at the Jolly Roger for daily updates/information.

Capt. Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Pier

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

www.jollyrogertopsailbeach.com

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Topsail Update / Jolly Roger Pier

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Topsail Update / Jolly Roger Pier
Hello from Topsail Beach!
Wind at Topsail Beach today. Fish (blues, spanish) are still biting, but the bite has slowed a bit. Front moving in tomorrow (Possible rain), not sure what that will do the fishing. Hope for the best. I saw a few nice spanish on Jolly Roger pier today. Congratulations go out to Elijah and April, Fishin'Topsail members and fishing buds, got married today. God Bless their union.
Till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny

Mackerel, Blues, Flounder, Trout and More...

Hello from Southeast North Carolina, I hope everybody is having a good fishing season so far this year! I’ve had a good one so far myself; the water temps are going up so fast this year. We have had a lot of up and down weather lately, but the water temps are still going up fast. I thought we were going to be late on water temps this year but we are very close to being on time with past seasons.

The real winner for me lately has been those Spanish mackerel. My charters have done very good in the last few trips, with catches of twenty or more Spanish in a half day. Most of the Spanish are biting Clark spoons trolled behind #1 planner’s. The Clark spoons that are working the best for us are sizes; 00 and 0 in silver and pink flash. I really like the pink flash series, these spoons have worked very well for my charters. If you would like to go lighter; you can pull small deep diving lures as well.

When the Spanish are on top feeding and jumping, Maria jig spoons have been the trick. The colors that seem to be working are pink, green and blue in sizes seven & fourteen gram. (Hint): keep it to smaller lures when the weather gets hot! We also caught a few Bonita’s mixed in with the Spanish.

There has also been plenty of blue fish up and down the beach as well. Trolling or casting small deep divers has produced lots of bluefish around the inlets. We have also caught a hand full of chopper blues too. These choppers are running in the six to over fifth teen pound range. The choppers are biting big poppers and mid water stick baits. Color really does not seem to matter to those big blues, just a lot of action from the lure!

Bottom fishing just off the beach has produced some nice Black bass, grunts and small Grouper, of course on the lighter wind days! Jigs and squid are the trick, fishing the squid on simple two hook bottom rigs. Jig fishing using two to five once jigs in colors pink, green and red/white. We are fishing mostly hard and live bottom areas, in the one to ten mile range for the bottom fish. There has been some small and keeper Gray trout showing up on hard bottoms closer to the beach.

The flounder bite is picking up some too; we are starting to see a few fish inshore as well on the near shore reefs and wrecks. Most of the flounder inshore are mixed in size, but the fish in the ocean are a little better in size. Live bait and grubs are the best bet. Carolina rigs for the live bait and heavy jig heads for the grubs. I prefer bright grubs; Berkley Powerbait jerk shad and Saltwater Assassin’s sea shads in colors chart/diamond and silver mullet work very well.

Red fish have been hit or miss for me lately, some days we get a few some days we don’t. This should change when more live bait shows up in the creeks and channels. What Reds we are getting are hitting fresh bait and Berkley Gulp shrimp and peeler crabs (2”) size; on Carolina rigs and jig heads. We are starting to see a few Reds on the Flats, when we are fishing shallow waters for Reds we use Rattling corks. Rigging the Rattling corks with a Berkley Gulp 3” Shrimp, really seems to get there attention.

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 lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.

In Other Fishing News:

June 5-6, 2010 “In the Water Fishing School” I, Capt. Rick Bennett and four other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! There will be one day of hands on classroom instruction and the next day on the water, real-time fishing experience. The school is limited to the first 24 participants! If you want to learn from the best local guides and see how we do it, take the time to check it out; http://www.rodmancharters.com/inthewater-fishing-school.htm *We only have a few spots left for this School!!! I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!

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

Topsail Island Bonanza!

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If you want to catch spanish and blues, head to Topsail asap. Limits of both are coming off all TI piers. Some good mullet bites at night. Black drum bite is rapidly improving. Don't let it get out, but a nice speckled trout was landed at a pier in Surf City ....... Not supposed to tell which one ......

Till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny

Mother's Day Redfish

Quick report!!

I spent most of Mother's day with my wife and family. However, since I had the Vantage in tow, I managed to slip away late afternoon for a couple of hours of fishing (the boat ramp is only 1 block from my mother-in-laws house). The wind was still blowing, but not as bad as Saturday.

I saw tailing Redfish on the Cape Fear Flats around Fort Fisher and a found a school of fish that had a big school of mullet pinned against the bank near Bald Head Island. I was able to get several takers on top water plugs just before dark. I also hooked a short Flounder on a jig tipped with a Gulp jerk shad. Lot's of bait in the water now and the fishing is definitely picking up.

Call and book today!!

Capt. Brent Stanley
Current Adventure Charters
910.200.9959

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Plugging Time

If you enjoy throwing gotcha plugs for spanish and blues, now is the time to go fishing! The last four days I have seen outstanding catches (many limits) of both spanish and blues caught from the Jolly Roger. Many of the fish today were over 3lbs.

I'll do a full report mid week.

Good luck!

Capt. Rob Orr
Jolly Roger Pier
Topsail Beach, NC
(910)-328-4616

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Cape Fear Fishing

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Fished the Cape Fear river yesterday catching Virginia mullet just off from Fort Fisher ferry landing,this was my first trip of the season for I have been recovering from surgery on my Achilles tendon.It sure does feel great being back on the water catching fish. Lot’s of fish action right now Spanish mackerel are showing up along our beaches with lots of bluefish hitting plugs. Found a number of red drum yesterday most fish were just under slot size,except for the first drum which was just over the slot size,this red drum picked up a piece of cut croaker on a carolina rig and took off !

Capt.Mike Dennis
Cape Fear Guide
Capt.Mike@charter.net
910-619-0928

Topsail Fishing Update: East Coast Sports

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Fishing report from Chris at East Coast Sports. Check it out here.

Thanks Chris,
Catch 'em up!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Spanish Mackerel

Outstanding spanish mackerel bite for the last two days! The fish have been on fire early in the morning and late in the afternoon. The blues have been mixed in and have been biting throughout the day off and on. The mullet continue to bite well when the wind blows out of the S or SW.

Water temperature is hovering just below 70 degrees. When running in from offshore yesterday afternoon we found 75 degree water just 8 miles off the beach! It won't be long now!

Offshore the mahi have started moving in. We had a great catch of mahi, wahoo, and big mako yesterday. Everyone I talked to reported good to outstanding mahi fishing with a few wahoo mixed in.

More to come as the weekend progresses!

Capt. Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Pier

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

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Reader Update: Jolly Roger Pier

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Hello from Topsail Beach! I received this post from a JR fishing friend. This is what I am hearing from other sources also.


[quote]
Hey Johnny. Sunday eve after jigging (for blues) I caught a dozen keeper whitings and then about 9 or 10 they started getting small and I left. Monday AM I jigged blues, got limit then bottom fished and caught a dozen or more nice whiting up till about 1PM a little after high tide. It was fun catching them because I am not usually catching that many. I dropped a double keeper (whiting) on a peer snag. At least the two made it back to the water. They will have to be pals for awhile until the hooks rust out. Not sure if coming Sat eve. Won't know til then. Would only stay one day due to working monday. Down next weekend for sure. Hope you turn on big spanish.
[end quote]

Couldn't fish yesterday, chores. From what I heard, the big spanish are making a show at all three Topsail piers. Reports are they are long, but a bit skinny. That's the norm for me in the spring/early summer.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

May Fishing

Fishing continues to improve daily here on Topsail Beach. Throughout the past week fishermen on the Jolly Roger have experienced outstanding fishing. The mullet bite has been very strong with the best bite being at night. On the days the wind blows up hard out of the SW, however, the daytime bite has been very strong as well. The folks throwing gotcha plugs have had a great week on the bluefish, with more and more spanish being mixed in every day. I am also happy to report that the first few flounder of the year were caught over the weekend. Several nice sized black drum were also landed. The next month or so should bring some of the best fishing of the year. With the water temperature finally reaching into the upper 60's it shouldn't be long before the cobia and kings show up on the beach. Several schools of menhaden have already been observed passing by the pier. This is a great sign of things to come.

Surf fishing continues to produce mixed results. There are a few nice sized pompano, mullet, black drum, blues, and puppy drum moving along the sloughs. With the water warming the sand fleas should become easier to locate and catch. Right now this holds the key to catching the bigger fish from the surf. Although they will bite fresh shrimp, they much prefer the sand fleas.

Inshore the flounder are becoming much more active with some really nice sized fish being landed. Puppy drum are also on the move and can be found in many creeks and around dock pilings.

With all the wind we have had the past week it has been several days since anyone has ventured offshore. Prior to the blow the mahi were finally beginning to show in decent numbers and a solid big wahoo bite was also reported. Grouper season opened this past Saturday and the people who braved the "less than desirable" conditions ended up with some nice catches of fish. With the wind forecast to lay down starting today and continuing through early next week I should have some better (and hopefully first hand) reports for you by the weekend.

Fishing is really heating up and the weather for this weekend is forecast to be outstanding. Don't miss out!

Capt. Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Inn & Pier

Topsail Beach N.C

(910)-328-4616

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Topsail Update

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Hello from Topsail Beach!
Cuz Tom and Michelle is in the house. Batt's country ham for breakfast, then Jolly Roger Pier. Hope the blues are hittin' hard tomorrow. Small mullets from JR tonight. Saw lots of blues in coolers on pier tonight. It was a good blues day at Topsail Beach!
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny
www.fishintopsail.com

Hot Weather and Fishing around area Waters!

Folks the weather has really been changing a lot lately. With ups and downs in temps, winds and cloud cover. We have had some very nice days and we’ve had some very windy days as well. Over all, the fishing has been good and we are seeing different kinds of fish showing up as the water warms up. We are even starting to see a few Spanish mackerel around just off the beach. To the Fishing Report>>>

On the nice days; light winds and sunny skies the ocean fishing has been good. We have been targeting lots of different fish like; Gray trout, Sea bass, Blues, and Flounder. Jigging has been the most productive for this kind of fishing. The best lures have been metal jigging spoons and grubs. One once jigging spoons and ½ oz grubs with Berkley Gulp as a tip on the jigging spoons. We have caught most of the fish on hard/live bottoms and artificial reefs just off the beach to six miles off the beach. There has been a hand full of very nice Sea bass, with a few over three plus pounds; that’s some great eating!

We are seeing Bonita, Blues and a few Spanish when we are trolling off the beach from one to five miles. Trolling Clark spoons and small deep driver lures has been the key to success. When using the Clark spoons, I would recommend the pink flash spoon in sizes #00, #0 and #1; the pink flash series has really helped us put more fish in the boat. A bird rig on top with a Clark spoon about five to six feet behind it or a Blue water Candy Spanish daisy chain have worked very well on top too. Look for birds working or marking bait on you fish finder is the way to find the feeding fish.

When the Bonita, Blues and Spanish are on top feeding; cast Maria and Sea striker jig-spoons. The colors that seem to work the best are pink, green and blue. We use a forty pound Fluorocarbon leader; about fifth teen to eight teen inches long. I really like Stren’s tinted (gunsmoke) floro leader material for clear water conditions; “this stuff really works”! A light weight 7’ rod loaded with ten to fifth teen pound braid is important for casting to these fast fish. The reason for this is the further you can cast equals more chance’s you will hook up. When there are a lot of boats chasing the Bonita, they get wearer of boats. If you can cast far; you will catch more of these fish!

Redfish are really starting to fire off; we are starting to see a few bigger fish in the area from Topsail down to the Cape Fear River. When we are casting lures; grubs are doing the trick. Berkley Gulp and Powerbait in colors molting and new penny; fishing them around docks, oyster rocks and grass lines are catching drum well. Bait fishing is still good and will continue right through the summer. Red and Black drum are hitting cut shrimp and mullet on Carolina rigs around the same area; dock oyster rocks etc… You never know how big or little the drum will be when you are bait fishing; we’ve had reds as small as fourteen inches and as big as over thirty inches.

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 lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.

In Other Fishing News:

June 5-6, 2010 “In the Water Fishing School” I, Capt. Rick Bennett and four other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! There will be one day of hands on classroom instruction and the next day on the water, real-time fishing experience. The school is limited to the first 24 participants! If you want to learn from the best local guides and see how we do it, take the time to check it out; http://www.rodmancharters.com/inthewater-fishing-school.htm *We only have a few spots left for this School!!! I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!

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

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Topsail Beach Update

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide


This is Johnny, coming to you live from Beautiful Topsail Beach! An early morning trip to Jolly Roger at Topsail Beach resulted in another aching back and sore arms. The blues are still in a feeding frenzy. I bent the hook barbs down on my gotcha plug so I could play them to the pier, let them throw the hook, and save the wear and tear on my muscles. Seriously, it has bee some fun the last two days here. Today I saw several spanish, one 15 inches and the rest just barely keepers. Hope everyone has a blessed day!

till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny

blues at jolly roger

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Hello from Topsail Beach! Just finished eating fresh blue fish! First of the spring. There was a blitz at Jolly Roger this morning. I caught blues until I was just to tired to reel any more up. I couldn't tell you how many I caught. Everyone with a gotcha plug was pulling them in. Got to go. More later.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Spanish and Blues at Topsail

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Hello from Topsail Beach! Jolly Roger and surf city piers reporting spanish today and a bunch of blues! Even had some limit out! Go get 'um! Hope to get out there in the am, if this headache eases up a bit.
Till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny

SPANISH MACKEREL

The first several spanish mackerel of the year were landed on the Jolly Roger this morning. The wind is blowing 20 mph out of the SW and the water is a mixed green color, but the few people out there throwing gotcha plugs had a good morning. In addition to the spanish they landed some nice blues. The mullet bit well yesterday and last night. Fishing is really starting to pick up all up and down the beach. I also saw the first sheepshead of the year landed while fishing yesterday evening.

The forecast looks great for this coming weekend! Fishing should be good one way or another. If the water gets muddy the mullet should bit well, and if it clears up the spanish and blues should be on.

Hope you see you soon,

Capt. Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Inn & Pier

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-612-6673

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4/25 Topsail Report

I am happy to report that the fishing continues to improve across the board. From offshore, to pier fishing, to the surf and backwaters, things are looking up. The people that were able to get out on the Jolly Roger this week were rewarded with nice catches of mullet at night, and blues during the day. The wind has really made all the difference with the mullet fishing. Nearly every day/night that the wind has blown over 10 mph from the South or Southwest, the mullet bite has been excellent. Although there have been a few decent daytime catches of mullet, the best bite has been on the rising tide after dark. Fresh shrimp or the orange clam flavored Fishbites have been the best baits. The fishermen plugging for blues saw a marked improvement this week. We are not quite to the “blue blitz” stage, but the number of blues has grown dramatically since they first showed last week. Gotcha plugs have been the ticket for catching the blues. One other piece of exciting information is that the first few Spanish mackerel of the year have begun to show up. Several of the piers/boats up and down the beach reported catching the first few of the year yesterday. Although the wind is cranking up and muddying the water as I type, I look for the Spanish and blue fishing to jump into high gear when the wind abates and the water clears again. The water temperature remains below (mid-lower 60’s) what we normally look for as “ideal” for Spanish, kings, cobia, and other late spring fish, but with just a couple days of good (S or SE) wind it should take that next jump up into the upper 60’s. Hopefully that will happen within the next week to 10 days.

I heard multiple reports of the first big pompano of the year being caught from the surf this past week. Several were pushing three pounds! Sand fleas are still playing hard to get, but if you are willing to go through the effort of procuring them, the reward could be a nice cooler of pompano, mullet, and drum.

Inshore fishing is also improving. I spoke with several people throughout the week that reported catching drum, trout, and a few nice sized flounder. The drum can be found both around pilings and docks, and in shallow bays and creeks. The trout are mostly holding in deeper creek mouths. Mirrolures, gulp, and top water baits should do the trick for either of those fish. Flounder are showing up in the same areas listed above in addition to traditional areas such as inlets and dock pilings. Gulp baits or a bucktail tipped with a strip of cut bait are both good baits for the flounder.

Offshore fishing remained slightly inconsistent this week, but I did speak with several people who had outstanding catches of wahoo, tuna, and a few dolphin. Warmer waters arrived from the south earlier this week via the Gulf Stream, and with it came lots of flying fish and some nice dolphin. The full moon phase began on Friday, and right on schedule the wahoo bite improved dramatically. I do not know what causes it, but there is always a good wahoo bite 5 days before and 5 days after the full moon. I am eagerly anticipating the opening of grouper season next week. Hopefully the weather will give us an opportunity to get out there and catch a few pelagics along with the grouper.

Remember to give us a call at the Jolly Roger for the latest fishing information and reports, and to make reservations for your spring fishing adventure!

Until next time,

Capt. Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Pier

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

Fishing Topsail Message BoardTopsail Area Charter Boats2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Jolly Roger Report and Kayak Fishing Group

Fishing Topsail Message BoardTopsail Area Charter Boats2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Hello from Topsail Beach. A few things this morning. First was my fishing outing at Jolly Roger Pier yesterday. This is really the first chance I have had to spend much time on the pier this season. I had such a wonderful time chatting to my old and new fishin' friends. To my new fishin' friend Ken, I really enjoyed our conversations about pier fishing, bait fish, and netting. Hope you have a safe trip home to your family. We caught several nice blues on gotcha plugs, and a bunch of smaller ones. I witnessed a bluefish catch on a diamond jig with gold hooks along the leader. (spanish rig?) The blue ate one of the gold hooks. I personally didn't catch any bottom fish, as I spent most of my time throwing a gotcha and chatting to my fishing neighbors, but I did see some nice virginia mullet brought over the rails, not a huge number, but nice keepers just the same. I heard stories of fast and furious "catching" Friday after midnight. I saw a picture of a cooler (thanks Chris at East Coast Sports in Surf City) that was at least half filled with mullets. I heard of a group of friends that caught over two hundred mullets in just a couple of hours. Day time fishing, especially surf fishing, is not great right now, but I see it getting great in the very near future. Thanks to everyone at Jolly Roger Inn and Pier for makiing my fishing day so enjoyable. I am looking forward to many more this season.
............................

Now on to the part of the post about the kayak fishing group.
[QUOTE Cape Fear Chapter of Hook Line and Paddle has started up a coastal chapter of North Carolina kayak fishing association and will be holding monthly meetings on the first tuesday of every month. We will be discussing various topics that relate to kayak fishing and fishing in general.

The first meeting will be more of a meet and greet and we will also discuss what kind of topics everyone would like to cover.
The meetings will be held at Hook Line and Paddle
435 Eastwood Rd.
Wilmington, NC 28403

Phone: (910) 792-6945
Meetings will begin at 630pm try to start rolling in around 6pm that way we can socialize and then start the meeting right at 630pm and it will probably run till about 8pm.
[/QUOTE]


Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny
www.fishintopsail.com

Quick Fishing Report from East Coast Sports

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Quick Fishing Report from East Coast Sports.
Click Here
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Topsail Beach Report - East Coast Sports Report

Fishing Topsail Message BoardTopsail Area Charter Boats2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Donna and I went surf fishing / beach combing at high tide this afternoon, when the sun finally came out of hiding. Fed a couple of shrimp to the crabs, but no bites. The mullet nets are lining the beach. They are everywhere. I guess if I want a mess of mullets, I'm gonna have to swim out and rob their nets. Just kidding, but it is depressing for us surf anglers. Wonder what kind of bycatch is in those nets. Jolly Roger pier is seeing a good number of snapper blues early in the am and some mullets that slipped through the nets at night. Surf City Pier much the same, blues in the morning and mullets at night. Same for Sea View Pier at North Topsail Beach.

Below is the latest East Coast Sports fishing report. Thanks Chris.





April 23rd, 2010
Bonita is the hot thing this week. 2-4 miles out of New River inlet. Don’s Jigs and Diamond jigs are the thing. If you want to troll take some crystal minnows. No real reports from offshore. Some Mullet, Black Drum and a few Blues on the pier. The reds are still chewing inside.

Check out East Coast Sports online. Lots of everything fishing! I can spend hours in that place!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Surf City Pier Update

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Hello from Topsail Beach! The "pier witch" aka Vinita, said the anglers caught blue fish all day yesterday, none were big, all snapper size, but the big 'uns and the spanish are next! Still catching a few mullets at night.
Till next time....
Tight Lines!
Johnny
http://www.fishintopsail.com

Topsail Beach Update

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Topsail Beach Update
Got skunked (again) yesterday. Water temp in the mid 60's. Seeing some virginia mullet at night from the piers. Of course there are sharks and skates, and some puffers. (yummy, they are good!) Heard of some v. mullets from the surf, but I haven't seen them. Bonita are making a show offshore.

Raining this morning. Should clear up by this afternoon. Hope to hit the beach with fishing rods and bait, (and chairs, and coolers, and tackle box, and snacks, and water, and sunscreen, and cast net, and flea rake, and.......) Hey that's enough. The phrase "pack mule" seems to fit. Anyway, if I catch anything besides I'll let you know.

Topsail Beach Weather Forecast
WEDNESDAY High: 70°F
Low: 50°F CLOUDY. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS EARLY THIS MORNING... THEN SCATTERED SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON. HIGHS AROUND 70. SOUTH WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF RAIN 90 PERCENT. OVERNIGHT: PARTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS IN THE EVENING... THEN MOSTLY CLEAR AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS AROUND 50. WEST WINDS AROUND 5 MPH...BECOMING NORTHWEST AFTER MIDNIGHT. CHANCE OF RAIN 50 PERCENT.

THURSDAY High: 79°F
Low: 51°F PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE MORNING...THEN BECOMING MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S. NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. OVERNIGHT: PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING...THEN BECOMING MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE LOWER 50S. NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.

FRIDAY High: 80°F
Low: 59°F MOSTLY SUNNY IN THE MORNING...THEN BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS AROUND 80. NORTH WINDS AROUND 5 MPH...BECOMING SOUTHEAST IN THE AFTERNOON. OVERNIGHT: PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S.

SATURDAY High: 79°F
Low: 61°F MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S. OVERNIGHT: MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S. LOWS IN THE LOWER 60S. CHANCE OF RAIN 30 PERCENT.

SUNDAY High: 79°F
Low: 61°F MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S. LOWS IN THE LOWER 60S. CHANCE OF RAIN 30 PERCENT.

MONDAY High: 81°F
Low: 55°F PARTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN THE MORNING. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 80S. CHANCE OF RAIN 30 PERCENT. OVERNIGHT: MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE MID 50S.

Peace V
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny
www.fishintopsail.com

East Coast Sports Fishing Report

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Below is a fishing alert from Chris @ East Coast Sports. Click on the East Coast logo to view the report. If you would like to have these reports mailed directly to your inbox, contact Chris at this email address: sales@eastcoastsports.com
Thanks for the report Chris!




East Coast Sports
(910) 328-1887
04-18-2010
They had a great Mullet bite on Jolly Roger pier last night. Should be good tonight as well.

Lets Save some for the kiddies!!!!!!!!

Puffers in the surf at Topsail Beach

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Went surf fishing in Topsai Beach today. Wind was out of the south, but blowing hard. Fished with cut shrimp on a bottom rig, and had another baited with cut mullet looking for reds or blues. Only caught one small puffer, but enjoyed the day. Donna and I stopped by IGA in Surf City, and met a guy that has several nice virginia mullet in his cooler. He had caught them last night. Oh, one more thing. I found my first sand flea of the season. Only found one, and dug a bunch. They should be closer to the surface soon.
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Capt. Jot's Spring Fishing Report

Man, we have had some great weather here lately! I hope this is the trend for the rest of the summer! Light winds, sunny days; with a little rain here and there. The water temps have really started to go up fast inshore, the ocean is going up but it’s taking its time getting up. Both inshore and near shore fishing will continue to get better with warmer air and water temps. To the fishing report>>>

The near shore bottom fishing has been good lately; with catches of Black bass, Grunts, Ring tails and a few small groupers. We also are starting to see some Bluefish and Gray trout closer to the beach. The best luck for the bottom fishing for us has been; cut squid on two hook bottom rigs. We are using 1/0, 2/0 and 3/0 EC bait holder hooks. Bank sinkers in weights one and two ounces are working well for holding the rigs to the bottom. Finding these fish is not hard, look for them on ledges, hard/live bottoms and wrecks from three to fifth teen miles offshore.

False Albacore fishing lately has been very good the days we are trying for them. We are finding the Albacore from five to twenty miles offshore. There has been a few Bonita mixed in with them form time to time as well. It should not be long before we are catching good numbers of Bonita around the area waters. The #0 and #1 pink flash Clark spoon has caught most of our fish lately. Trolling these spoons on #1 planner and up top with bird rigs; we use thirty to forty feet of forty pound Berkley big game mono as leader on the planners. On the bird rig, we rig it with five to six feet of leader to the spoon. Don’t forget to put a ball bearing swivel on the bird and planner; this will keep tangles from happing (well most of the time!)

When the Bonita and Albacore are on top feeding; cast Maria and Sea striker jig-spoons. The colors that seem to work the best are pink, green and blue. We use a forty pound Fluorocarbon leader; about fifth teen to eight teen inches long. I really like Stren’s tinted (gunsmoke) floro leader material for clear water conditions; “this stuff really works”! A light weight 7’ rod loaded with ten to fifth teen pound braid is important for casting to these fast fish. The reason for this is the further you can cast equals more chance’s you will hook up. When there are a lot of boats chasing the Bonita, they get wearer of boats. If you can cast far; you will catch more of these fish!

Something that I love to do this time of year (late March to early June) is go up to lock & dam #1 and fish for Shad. These fish are so much fun to catch; they run, jump and run some more. Light tackle and fly fishing is the name of the game here! I see so many people fishing for shad that use to heavy of tackle. Lighter tackle equals more bites and more fun! All you need is a light rod and reel; I use a Pflueger Echelon combo PECHSP50-2UL loaded with six pound Berkley Fireline crystal braid. A two shad dart rig with twenty pound mono or floro leader; darts in colors pink and green. On our last trip we caught well over fifty shad. If you have not ever tried it; you need too!

Fresh water large mouth Bass fishing is still going strong, we’ve had some great day’s bass fishing in the last two weeks. We are fishing local lakes, pond and the NE Cape Fear River. The best lures have been; sinko worms rigged with no weight in colors green pumpkin, watermelon and black/red fleck. I prefer Berkley’s 5” & 7” heavy weight fat sinkworm series, I rig the worms on 7/0 wide gag worm hooks. We have also had some luck with the 17MR MirrOlure in colors 18, 49, 50 and BKGCH. I really surprised at how many saltwater lures work so well for fresh water fishing, but also how many people don’t try’em! We are catching eight to over fifth teen bass a day; sizes of a pound to over four pounds.

The Redfish and Black drum bite in the ICW and creeks just off the ICW is still good. We are starting to see a few smaller Reds 14” to 21” in some of the creeks on warmer days. Most reds and black drum are hitting mud minnows and “fresh as you can get shrimp”. We use two hook bottom rigs with 2, 1 & 1/0 bait holder hooks, with the fresh shrimp. If you would like to go the artificial root, I would recommend using scented grubs. The best bet I’ve used has been Berkley Gulp and Berkley Powerbait shrimp in colors Pearl & New Penny. Jigs heads for the grubs in ¼ to 3/8 oz, colors red and black seem to be the trick. Work’em slow around docks and drop-offs on grass lines and oyster rocks. The best tides have been falling or raising but fishing closer to the lower parts of the tides.

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 lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S. Fresh water gear: Pflueger Spinning reel Supreme XT 9035XT.

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 spring.

April 23-25, 2010 Tex’s Tackle Spring Tackle Sale and Show. I’ll be there with PENN Reels and Pure fishing. We will have some of the new Tackle from Penn and Pure Fishing, if you have any questions about any products from Penn or Pure fishing we’ll be happy to answer them for you.

June 5-6, 2010 “In the Water Fishing School” I, Capt. Rick Bennett and four other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! There will be one day of hands on classroom instruction and the next day on the water, real-time fishing experience. The school is limited to the first 24 participants! If you want to learn from the best local guides and see how we do it, take the time to check it out; http://www.rodmancharters.com/inthewater-fishing school.htm I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!

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


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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Hitting the Beach for Surf Fishing

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Hello from Topsai Beach! I heard the first blue fish was caught from Jolly Roger Pier today. The weather looks good for tomorrow. Planning to hit the beach early with a can of worms and cane pole! I'll let you know if I catch anything. If you don't hear from me......... It's probably because I'm too embarrased to tell everyone I got skunked yet again! Wish me luck! Hope to see you on the beach!

Till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny

Wind Matters

The wind and weather have been very back and forth since my last report. With every change in the weather conditions, came a change in the fishing. When the wind switched around out of the North late last week, it slowed the great mullet fishing we had been experiencing. Although there were some mullet caught throughout the weekend, it was not hot and heavy by any means. By Tuesday the wind had worked back around to the SE, and the few people fishing out on the Jolly Roger Tuesday night got to experience one of the best mullet runs I have seen. When we opened up at 6am Wednesday morning, most were just packing up and heading home. When asked why they had stayed so late, they replied that they just couldn't stand to leave them biting! Most everyone that fished Tuesday night ended up with buckets and coolers full of extremely nice sized fish. The wind was back to the NE yesterday and the mullet bite was more scattered. There have been a few really nice black drum landed in addition to the mullet. Both the mullet and black drum have been hitting fresh(er) shrimp and the orange clam fishbites. There were several days last week when the fishbites actually out-fished the shrimp. The really big news I have to report is that the first bluefish of the year was landed out on the pier today. Its time to get out the gotcha plugs and sharpen up those hooks! Spring plugging season is just around the corner.

The surf fishing remains slow to scattered. I have heard reports of a few mullet, black drum, and puppy drum. These rare spring NE winds should open up a few nice sloughs though.

Offshore fishing pretty much mirrors the above report; scattered. One boat will have a banner day while 5 in the same area will receive nary a strike. There were a decent number of wahoo brought in over the weekend, and some of the folks jigging along the break had some luck on the blackfin tuna. The first few mahi and billfish made a showing this past weekend as well. I was lucky enough to have two sails in my baits while offshore Sunday, but they were extremely finicky just toyed with the baits until they lost interest. It is a good sign of things to come though. We also caught blackfin tuna and bonito on the jigs, and had several incredible leaping wahoo strikes while trolling. A little closer to shore the bonito are fairly thick, and can be found in the 0-20 mile range around different bottom structure areas.

This has been a frustrating year so far for me, and I am sure for those of you reading these reports and trying to plan fishing trips. Although we have seen some of the best fishing possible at times, it has been very off and on. One day you can't buy and bite, and the next you don't have enough bait and cooler space. What I can tell you is that things should become more consistent as the water warms and we move closer to May. When planning you're fishing trips watch the weather and wind direction, and make sure to give us a call at the Jolly Roger for the most current report.

Good Luck,

Capt. Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Inn & Pier

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

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NE Wind Slows Fishing

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Hello from Topsail Beach. A brisk NE wind has put a damper on any fishing that existed a couple days ago. Warmer sunny days will visit Topsail Beach Thursday, along with some good SW wind which should turn the fishing back on. Planning your visit to Topsail? Check out our weather forecast below.

THURSDAY High: 75°F
Low: 51°F SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 70S. NORTH WINDS AROUND 5 MPH... BECOMING NORTHWEST AROUND 5 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. OVERNIGHT: CLEAR. PATCHY FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS IN THE LOWER 50S. SOUTHWEST WINDS AROUND 5 MPH.

FRIDAY High: 81°F
Low: 59°F MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 80S. WEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH. OVERNIGHT: PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S. SOUTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY High: 80°F
Low: 51°F PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS AROUND 80. OVERNIGHT: MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE LOWER 50S.

SUNDAY High: 70°F
Low: 45°F PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS AROUND 70. OVERNIGHT: CLEAR. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 70S. LOWS IN THE MID 40S.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Jolly Roger Pier

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

I was at Jolly Roger this afternoon. Pretty much nothing going on. The afternoon was really nice, lots of sun and blue water. Everything seems to be right for the fish to really turn on. Maybe it won't be long. I am disapointed to see all the nets so close to the shore and the pier. I understand the comercial guys have to make a living, but there is a whole lot of ocean out there. Maybe I am just being selfish. I don't know. Planning on going surf fishing and beach combing in the am. See ya on the beach!
Johnny

Topsail Beach Update

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Heard of a few sea mullets in the surf today. It was a bit windy, and a little cool, but lots of sunshine. All piers are reporting a few nice sea mullets on fresh shrimp. Still lots of sharks and skates, with a few puffers. (Have you eaten a puffer? They are delicious) Hope to get to Jolly Roger tomorrow. I'll let you know how I do.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Fish....... Are they finally here?

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Getting reports of virginia mullets on all piers, mostly at night. Still only scattered reports of surf catches. A six pound black drum was reported caught at Jolly Roger yesterday, and confirmed by Rob. Hearing of a few black drum at the dredge dock. Plenty of dogfish in the water, a few skates and puffrers. Weather is getting good, water temp is rising, should be great spring time fishing in the next few days. Get ready!

Chris at East Coast Sports reports that bonita are three miles out.

More to follow! Stay tuned. It's that time!

Till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny

Warmer Water=Improved Fishing

After nearly three weeks of waiting, the weather and water temperatures have both made a hugh jump in the correct direction. In just five days last week, the water jumped from in the mid 50's to up above 60! It only took two days for the fish to follow. The virginia mullet fishing has steadily improved since Friday. I just received a picture on my phone of an extremely nice catch of large spring mullet that was brought off of the Jolly Roger this afternoon! This strong southwest wind has really helped things as well. Although the fishing has been much better at night, today marked the first time this year that a good daytime bite has occurred. Fresh or fresh frozen shrimp has been the best bait, with the orange clam fishbites coming in a close second. I have also heard reports that the bluefish and bonito are not far behind. I look for them to show up within the next week or so.

The surf fishermen are catching a few mullet, black drum, and puppy drum.

The ocean was absolutely beautiful this past weekend. Reports from the people fishing offshore have been mixed. Bonito fishing was good starting around 5 miles out, and black bass and beeliner fishing was very good a little farther offshore with nice sized fish reported. The cobia have moved into the offshore bottom areas, and should begin to move inshore as the water warms. In the Gulf Stream fishing was scattered. The main body of the stream has moved way offshore and caused for some mixed water conditions around the "break". There were some very nice wahoo landed, along with a few blackfin tuna and the first few dolphin of the year. I fished aboard the Pierless Friday, and although the meat-fishing was a little slow, we had an outstanding time and everyone left with sore arms! We went looking for tuna, and in the process, got attacked and cut off by several toothy wahoo. After switching over to wire, we managed to land one really nice wahoo. The trolling bite died down in the afternoon and we made the call to switch over and do a little offshore jigging. After getting on the "spot" we all dropped down and were immediately slammed by some large amberjack! For a solid hour 5 of us were hooked up non-stop! We also brought up some VERY nice grouper, but do to the season closure had to send them back down to the deep. We saw lots and lots of turtles, the first flying fish of the year, and an approximately 900-1000 hammerhead cruising along the surface; what a sight! I couldn't have asked for a prettier day on the ocean!

Things should only improve from here on out as the water continues to warm. With lots of sun and southerly winds in the forecast, it should be a great week of fishing on the mullet. I hope to get out there and get a few for the fryer as soon as my schedule allows!

Hope to see you soon!

Capt. Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Pier

803 Ocean Blvd.

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

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2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide

Bonita Are Here!

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Report from Chris Medlin and East Coast Sports: Bonita are Here!
Click Here for Details

Our grandchildren were here for Easter weekend. We fished a bit every day, but nothing was caught. Piers are reporting small mullets, puffers, and a few sharks. Water temp is climbing every day we have this great sunshine and South winds. Won't be long.

Go get 'um!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Great Fishing and Weather around the area!

I hope everyone is enjoying this very nice weather we’ve had lately. We have had a few cooler days and the wind has been blowing but for the most part; it’s a lot better than the stuff we had this winter!!! The water temps are coming up with good speed and it looks like we are getting on track for normal water temps for this time of year.

There has been a good bite of Redfish and Black drum in the ICW and creeks just off the ICW. We are starting to see a few smaller Reds 14” to 21” in some of the creeks on warmer days. Most reds and black drum are hitting mud minnows and “fresh as you can get shrimp”. We use two hook bottom rigs with 2, 1 & 1/0 bait holder hooks, with the fresh shrimp. If you would like to go the artificial root, I would recommend using scented grubs. The best bet I’ve used has been Berkley Gulp and Berkley Powerbait shrimp in colors Pearl & New Penny. Jigs heads for the grubs in ¼ to 3/8 oz, colors red and black seem to be the trick. Work’em slow around docks and drop-offs on grass lines and oyster rocks. The best tides have been falling or raising but fishing closer to the lower parts of the tides.

We are seeing a few small Speckled trout around Wrightsville, south of Wrightsville the bigger one’s should really start to bite any day. Grubs have been the best bet for the trout; we’re using Saltwater Assassin sea shad and shrimp patterns. Colors that have worked lately; Elec. Chicken and Chart Diamond and Chicken on a chain. Don’t forget those never fell; Mirrolure’s, in colors silver mullet and white on white. Mirrolure I like are the 17MR and 27MR in the spring. The water is still cool so don’t forget to work the lures a little slower. Look for the Specks around marsh grass lines that have oysters on the edges of them.

Fresh water large mouth Bass fishing has really picked up lately, we’ve had some great day’s bass fishing in the last two weeks. We are fishing local lakes, pond and the NE Cape Fear River. The best lures have been; sinko worms rigged with no weight in colors green pumpkin, watermelon and black/red fleck. I prefer Berkley’s 5” & 7” heavy weight fat sinkworm series, I rig the worms on 7/0 wide gag worm hooks. We have also had some luck with the 17MR MirrOlure in colors 18, 49, 50 and BKGCH. I really surprised at how many saltwater lures work so well for fresh water fishing, but also how many people don’t try’em! We are catching eight to over fifth teen bass a day; sizes of a pound to over four pounds.

Near shore bottom fishing is good now with catches of sea bass, ringtails and tautogs. The dog sharks are thick just off the beach too, we had over 25 sharks on the last near shore bottom fishing trip. Squid has been the bait of choice, I like squid because it stays on the hook and it’s easier to catch the bigger fish with it. I like to make my own bottom rigs for bottom fishing. I use sixty pound mono with three way swivels and 3/0 off set J hooks. A two to four once bank sinker tied to twenty pound mono, that way if it gets hung-up you can get your rig back. This kind of fishing is great for kids and beginners because it’s instant gratification; drop down and get a bite!

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 lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S. Fresh water gear: Pflueger Spinning reel Supreme XT 9035XT.

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 spring.

April 23-25, 2010 Tex’s Tackle Spring Tackle Sale and Show. I’ll be there with PENN Reels and Pure fishing. We will have some of the new Tackle from Penn and Pure Fishing, if you have any questions about any products from Penn or Pure fishing we’ll be happy to answer them for you.

June 5-6, 2010 “In the Water Fishing School” Myself, Capt. Rick Bennett
and four other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! There will be one day of hands on classroom instruction and the next day on the water, real-time fishing experience. The school is limited to the first 24 participants! If you want to learn from the best local guides and see how we do it, take the time to check it out; http://www.rodmancharters.com/inthewater-fishing-school.htm I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!

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

Boaters Beware!

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

Hello from Topsail Beach. A notice from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission follows.

[quote]Boating:

Be prepared for the 2010 boating season.
As of May 1, anyone younger than 26 operating a vessel powered by a 10-horsepower or greater motor on public waterways must have successfully completed an approved boating safety education course or otherwise be in compliance with General Statute 75A-16.2. Visit our Web site for course availability or call (919) 707-0030.

Also, check your vessel registration before hitting the water. Call 1-800-628-3773, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit a wildlife service agent to renew your vessel registration.

Fishing

Spring is here — time to make plans to go fishing.

For trout anglers, hatchery-supported waters open Saturday, April 3, at 7 a.m. When fishing hatchery supported waters, you can keep a maximum of seven fish per day, with no minimum size limits or bait restrictions. Hatchery-supported trout waters and regulation information, as well as trout maps are available on our Web site.

For striped bass anglers, the harvest season on the Roanoke River Management Area, Tar-Pamlico River between Rocky Mount Mill dam and the N & S Railroad Bridge at Washington, and on the Neuse River between Milburnie dam and the Southern Railroad Bridge at New Bern is open until April 30. The daily creel limit is two striped bass with a minimum length limit of 18 inches. No striped bass between 22 and 27 inches can be possessed at any time and, on the Roanoke, only one fish in the daily creel can be larger than 27 inches. Find places to fish on the Roanoke River, useful hints, and regulations currently in effect by visiting the Roanoke River Fishing Report, posted on our Web site every Thursday afternoon until mid-May.

Before heading out to your favorite fishing spot, make sure your fishing license is valid. Purchase a license https://www.ncwildlife.org/Apps/Purchase/LicenseSelection1.asp, from a wildlife service agent, or by phone at 888-248-6834, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
[end quote]

Till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny

Really Great Weather Weekend!

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

WECT tv in wilmington, says the weather should be great this weekend. Mid 70's Friday and Saturday. Today the water temp is 55*. Maybe the sea mullet and red drum will come in. They are holding about a mile offshore.

Till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny

Topsail Weather

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

The weather was sunny and warm today, only problem, the wind! Blowing way to hard to fish, ocean or sound. Someday soon!

Johnny

Great Hand Warmers!

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

Hello from Topsail Beach! As most of you know, this winter has been the coldest winter on record for this area in many years. To fight the cold while fishing or walking the beach, I obtained some of these hand warmers. This company has a website, www.handwarmers.net and offers these handwarmers for sale. I must tell you that I was delighted with these products! They are simple and easy to use, just open up the protective package, shake the product and put it in my pocket. The packet stayed warm for hours! Picking up sea shells and sharks teeth in mid winter with a nor'easter blowing can be numbing on my hands and fingers. When I put my hands in my pockets, I was delighted to see the warmers were nice and toasty and had my hands warmed up in no time. These products can be obtained via mail order. Check out this website for more info and to purchase your hand warmers. HandWarmers.net. You all know me, you don't often see me endorse a product on this site, after all, I am not in the business of selling anything. But these were so comfortable and warm, I had to pass this info along to our readers. Get yours now! www.handwarmers.net

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Mullet Time!

It is official folks! I just received word that the first Virginia Mullet of the year has been landed on the Jolly Roger Pier. Although the water temp. is still hovering in the lower 50's, it appears as if the mullet have begun their spring migration. I have been watching the commercial mullet net boats working up and down the beach for the past two days. That is a very good sign that there are good numbers of mullet in the area. The wind is forecast to remain out of the South for at least the next two days. That, combined with these warm days/nights we are having should be just what the doctor ordered to put the 2010 fishing season in high gear.

It was an absolutely beautiful weekend here at the beach. I took the small boat out for a shakedown cruise this morning and saw lots of surf fishermen down on the point taking advantage of this nice weather. There were quite a few boats heading offshore as well. I will try to get some information on how they faired and provide a report a little later in the week. Just a heads up to those boating in the Topsail area, the Bush's Marina boat ramp in Topsail Beach is currently closed for repairs. Although it should be reopened soon, the Wildlife ramp in Surf City is the best bet right now.

The weather is supposed to be warm and sunny for the majority of this week! Give us a call or stop by the tackle shop/office for an up-to-date report. This is the last week to take advantage of the winter rates at the Jolly Roger Inn; don't miss out!

Until next time,

Capt. Rob Orr

Jolly Roger Inn & Pier

803 Ocean Blvd.

Topsail Beach, NC

(910)-328-4616

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