Monday Surf Fishing Trip

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes




Hello from Surf City!
My friend Ken and I went surf fishing today south of Jolly Roger Pier in Topsail Beach. Before going to the beach, we stopped at the engineers pier on Banks Channel to try and get bait. We couldn't find any finger mullet even thought we walked toward the inlet a good distance. We headed to the surf with cut shrimp looking for red drum. There was a lot of reds caught Sunday, and we were hoping they were still around. But no luck with the drum. We had a pretty good day though, catching one keeper flounder and a half dozen nice pompano. The blue fish kept us busy most of the morning, and cut my line several times. I can't remember how many we caught, we lost count. It was loads of fun, but none were large enough to fillet. I hooked into what I believe was a red drum. The fish steadily, but not real quickly, pulled line off my real. After a fight of five or more minutes, I lost the fish on the edge of a ditch that was about ten feet from the tide lines. I was fishing with a bottom rig and two number 4 hooks. The rig didn't look "chewed" so I don't think it was a big blue. So we had a pretty good morning of fishing.

But my biggest, and most exciting catch was a HUGE Osprey! As I was reeling in a blue fish to the shore, the bird dived on my blue fish, and tried to take off with it. But the top hook of my bottom rig caught the Osprey in the foot, more precisely a toe (?) right where his huge talons were. "After getting it to the beach, I tried to cover it with a towel, the way I cover a sea gull that gets tangled up in line. The towel over the head will calm a sea gull right down. But not this Osprey! He spread his wings and fought with the towel. OK, a towel over an Osprey's head don't work. Slowly and carefully, I eased down the line with plyers in hand, until I had the hook in the jaws of my plyers. A quick twist, and the hook was out. I backed up, and after a few seconds, that magnificient bird stretched out all five feet of his wings and away it went. What an experience! I have never been that close to a bird of prey. I have no idea why it didn't attack me while I was so close. I could have toughed his head with the huge beak talons open and ready to battle. But the bird just sat there calmly with his wings spread, and his beak open, making little noises that sounded a bit threatening. The Osprey could have shreaded my hands and arms if it had decided to attack me. Glad it didn't. I am hoping the foot won't get infected as the hook was in just past the barb. So not much damage was done to the foot. I was more excited about seeing this fabulous bird so close, than the keeper flounder I fileted and put in the freezer. Feet in the sand, saltwater washing up around my legs and feet. What a day at the beach!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Fall Fishing is Here!

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Hello from Surf City!

Fall fishing is here! Pluggers are getting some spanish in the morning, and blues early and late in the day. There are lots of black drum, big Croakers, some small puppy drum, keeper flounder, and yes, spots, still not 2 at a time, but but the time is real close. I have seen lots of yellow butterflys, and I am told that means spots will be here soon. (don't know where that came from, but most locals believe it). The water is dirty, and full of seaweed and trash. The waves have calmed down and the wind has layed down at a bit, and fish are biting. I hear the spots are biting in the ICW near the high rise bridge. Red drum are thick in Banks channel near the inlet, and I hear anglers are tearing the reds up at Lea Island. Bait is plentiful in and near the ICW. There has been some specks caught in the surf, but numbers are real low. Got to get back out there.

The Nor'easter that blew through this week left lots of damage on the beach. At least three feet and as much as six feet of dunes were washed away. Almost all the access steps were damaged, but SC officials are doing a great job getting them back in shape. Things could have been much worse.

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

North Wind

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Hello from a windy Surf City. Don't come to Topsail fishing for the next couple of days. Winds are expected to be upwards of 35 mph. We have already lost about two feet of beach near the county line.

Till next time....
tight lines!
Johnny

Good Ole' Fall Fishing

Well folks, fall is really showing it’s self around southeast North Carolina. With that said fall fishing is picking up too! The mullet run is in full force and the fish know it and are reacting to it. Redfish, Flounder and even a few early speckled trout are chasing the mullet around.

The Redfish have started to show up in and around the local inlets. We are catching Reds in the 24 to over 32 inch range, some days their over the slot some days their in the slot. Most of the Reds around the inlets are hitting mullets on Carolina rigs; using heavier egg sinkers. On some days we have had some luck on Saltwater Assassin Blurp grubs in colors molting and pearl.

When we have been Red fishing around the inlets we are picking up some nice Flounder as well. The Flounder are in the size range of 2 to some over 5 pounds; a right nice bonus to the day of fishing. There again the Flounder are hitting mullets on Carolina rigs and scented grubs. One fish last week went six pounds, one happy little boy that caught that one! We also have gotten some Flounder in the creeks around Wrightsville as well.

There has been a few Trout starting to show up around. Most that we have found are in the creeks and channels running along the drop offs to deeper water. The trout that we have caught are hitting grubs in colors Chart. Diamond and sliver mullet and red jig heads. Hard baits getting the luck are Mirrolures redhead silver body and green back white belly. It won’t be long before the trout will move in around southeast NC, I can’t wait!

The Sheephead are still going strong and should to the end of October. The best fishing lately for the Sheephead has been 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. Check out the October NC sportsman; I have a very good article on Sheephead fishing in the magazine

I have recently tried a new product from Bang scent Inc. It’s called “Texas Tea” and is a spray scent for soft and hard baits. It is a mixture of a few different fish and shrimp oils, great for Redfish and Flounder fishing. Give it a try, so far so good for my fishing trips.

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go on a guided trip give me a call 910-233-4139.

Fishing gear we use:

Reds, Trout, Flounder and Sheephead: Reels Pflueger Medalist spinning in sizes 6035 and 6040. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy.

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Wrightsville Beach NC Fishing Charters


Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

STATE RECORD 193 lb TARPON!

A new North Carolina state record for Tarpon was set Wednesday, Sept 17 by Malcom Condie, fishing from Sea View Pier. Check out more of the story and see a picture at www.topsailangler.com.

The weekend has been good fishing form Topsail Island's piers, as well as the surf. We have even caught a few more spots. The water is getting cooler, and more spots are starting to show up. The speckled trout bite should be starting up in the surf any time now. Try grubs or live shrimp floated under a cork in the early morning. Anglers fishing Topsail have this week have caught puppy drum, black rum, pompano ,bluefish ,spanish, mullet, spots, and flounder. A king mackerel has been weighed in almost everyday this week at Surf City Pier. Fishing is starting to look better, nights are cooler, days are cloudy, the water is cooling quickly, and it won't be long until I drag out the waders. An angler fishing Lea Island told us that the large blues were so thick at Lea Island one day this week, they were chasing roe mullets up onto the beach. I don't have an offshore or inside report.

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



Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Spots Make an Appearance

Spots are starting to show up on the island. Surf City Pier reports a few Monday and Tuesday. Jolly Roger reports a few both days. No mention of any at Sea View as yet. Some anglers are getting only a couple, and some are getting as many as a couple of dozen spots. There are also a few spanish coming off the piers, larger than last weeks small undersize spanish. The blues are not as plentiful, but are larger. Puppy drum are getting more abundant in the suds and are liking finger mullets. There are also some nice pompano coming in during the daylight hours. Surf anglers are catching a few bigger whiting all up and down the beach, with a few, (very few) keeper flounder mixed in caught on bottom rigs. I haven't talked to anyone fishing lures in the surf, so I don't know if there are any flounder or speckled trout showing up in the surf. I have had a bad summer with my health, and I just haven't felt like going out to the surf to throw any grubs or mirro-lures. When I hear something, I will let you know. Oh, Adolpho caught a nice 35 pound king from Surf City Pier Tuesday, and I heard they caught two kings and a barracuda Monday.
My friend Mike reported on his site that he and his friends caught some bull red drum, I think one was 48 inches, but you better check it out just to make sure. His site is called "Topsail Angler." Check it out. The speckled trout are biting in the creeks towards New River Inlet, and flounder are biting everywhere on the inside. Live shrimp on a carolina rig is producing best, or use live finger mullet, live pinfish, or Berkley Gulp Saltwater baits. For those of you that think pin fish are useless, a huge 10 pounder was caught this week in snows cut (Carolina Beach) on a live pin fish and carolina rig. Don't overlook this plentiful bait! Fall fishing is starting up. So come on down and get you some!

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

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Blues Make a Charge at Topsail

Blues have been biting well from Topsail. All piers are reporting some nice catches, and there have been some nice catches from the surf as well, especially near the inlets. Check out the pictures on Surf City Pier website. Click Here and scroll down. Check out the looks on these kids faces. Isn't this just precious? Remember to take a kid fishing!

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

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Cape Fear River Red Fishing

I took Jeremy Hyatt inshore fishing on Sept.9,2008,from Leicester,N.C. he visits the Topsail Beach every year on vacation,I think he is hooked on catching Red Drum in the Cape Fear River
Tropical storm Hanna has passed the Cape Fear Region now,it has not affected the Red Fish bite at all. Fish are biting well on live bait and fresh cut bait on Carolina rigs.

If you are visiting the Topsail Beach area it is just a short drive to fish with the Cape Fear Guide out of Carolina Beach,N.C.

Capt.Mike Dennis
www.capefear-guide.com
910-619-0928

Largemouth Bass and Red Drum Fishing

email question from blog
[quote]
Johnny,
Really the only thing I have done in the surf is double bottom rig. I am a
bass tournament guy and have become interested in surf with what little I
have been fortunate to do. I have been red fishing in Fl. WOW. Those
critters fight. I do not want to bother you but if you could tell me more
about how to catch the bigger fish along with pompano( I hear they are
delicious). I guess the rigs and what kind of rod setup I need. Also do we
need to look below Jolly Roger or does this matter. [end quote]

Hi Wayne, I don't qualify myself as an expert on any kind of fishing. I
only relay what has worked for me, or more specifically, what is
working "now." I was also a die hard largemouth angler (catch and
release only) for years before moving to the coast. Fishing the ocean
and backwaters is like fishing an extremely large lake. What worked
yesterday or last week, it NOT necessarily what is working this week. With that said.....

Pompano in the surf, when a school comes through your area, will bite just about anything from bloodworms, shrimp, crab parts, cut fish, but they absolutely love sand fleas, especially the big ones. These large pompano seem to hang out on the edge of the sand bars, not in the near shore surf like their smaller brothers and sisters do. Bait up with a number 4 hook on a plain bottom rig, (no bling) with large sand fleas, and try to hit the edge of the sand bar.

Red drum on the inside, boat fishing
I have found that fishing for red drum is a lot like fishing for largemouth bass. They like structure. You find their food source and you will likely find them. The only thing that is different, it tides. Reds seem to move from place to place with the tides. I have had the most luck around docks, piers, and bridges on outgoing tides. On incoming tides, I fish grass lines, especially grass lines near oyster beds. Reds love oysters, and crabs, and you will most always find crabs near oyster beds. The incoming tides will flush sea life out of the marsh grass and the reds will be there waiting. Reds like most of the same baits as largemough bass. Spinner baits, topwater baits, shallow diving crank baits, jigs and grubs, even plastic worms. But my favorite alround bait, my go to bait when the bite is tough is Berkley Gulp Saltwater, 4 inch Shrimp or Swimming Mullet. Match the color to the water, just like bass fishing. Bright colors on sunny days, dark colors on overcast days. When I can see the reds in the shallows, and they are spooked easily and just won't bite anything, stealth is the key. I use the wind to drift near or over the schools. I bait with light line, with a 12 lb good quality shock leader (oyster beds will wreck a leader) a weedless hook and NO WEIGHT. Position your boat for the drift, cast out your bait, and drift quietly over the fish. And HOLD ON!
Most of the above applies to flounder also, except the flounder much prefer live bait, not so much the spinners or cranks, but they will bite any of the Berkley Gulp Saltwater baits when fish on a carolina rig.


A bit about surf fishing.

The inlets, Yes, a trip to the inlets will almost always be worth the trip. But, if you are walking in, it's a long walk, take your snacks, lots of water, (not soft drinks or beer) watch out for dehydration. Rescue is called to the inlets every year for someone who is dehydrated and has heat problems. (me included).
There are fish all up and down the beach. Just like bass, most surf fish like structure. Surf structure may be just an uneven bottom, a shallow hole washed by the tide, old pier pilings, anything different from the surrounding areas. Bait will wash into these holes, and where the bait is, the fish will be. The best ways to find these holes is walk the area you will be fishing at low tide. Then go back as the tide comes in. Some anglers have a favorite time to fish. And so do I. I love to fish in the ocean when the water is moving. lol, really the only time I don't like to fish, is dead low tide, and there is even an exception to that rule. In the late fall, when the water is too cold to wade without waders, I like to wade to the sandbar at low tide and throw a jig and gulp saltwater for flounder and speckled trout. The water has to be relatively calm for this, but it can be productive. Starting in middle October, I start casting for specks. Unlike a lot of folks, I use light line when surf fishing. I use 12 lb test line, and tie about a 20 lb test 8 ft long shock leader on my line. This cuts down on line drift caused by wind and surf, and I don't loose many fish due to the smaller diameter and tensil strength of the line. My favorite all around bait for surf fishing is sand fleas, I have caught everything on fleas, except for flounder and blues, and I have heard of these biting fleas. And fleas are free with a little sweat. My biggest surf caught fish, a 44 inch red drum, was caught at Topsail Beach, Surf City city limits on a sand flea and 12 lb test line. It took thirty five minutes to land the beauty. All of a sudden, I am out of ideas, so if you have any more questions, just email, and I will answer them. I am going to post this answer and question, but I will not post your email. Thanks again for reading my blog, and as always....
Until next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna





Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Post Hanna: First Signs of Life

Fish are starting to show up, in small numbers at the area piers. Small mullets, black drum, pompano and blues on bottom rigs. The water is still too muddy for spanish or blues on gotchas or diamond jigs. Surf City Pier reported one small puppy drum, had to be released.

NO SPOTS YET. WATER TEMP IS ABOUT 84*. NEEDS TO COOL DOWN SOME MORE. WE NEED THOSE NORTH AND NORTH EAST WINDS. WATCH FOR THE YELLOW BUTTERFLYS COMING OFF THE OCEAN. THE SPOT WILL BE CLOSE BEHIND.

There is plenty of bait fish in the water. It is one school after another near the piers. And in the surf, they are right at your feet. You could probably net some without getting wet with a slightly modified cast net. I have seen big schools of roe mullet in the surf, a bit past the breakers, too far to net from the surf. I have talked to several surf anglers and didn't get a good report from anyone. I have not talked to anyone fishing the inside, or the inlets. That's all I have for now.
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Good Fishing and Hanna is GONE!

I hope everybody made through Hanna ok. I’m very glad it was not a major storm, and it looks likes Ike is going to the Gulf. Good for us in the Carolina; not so good for the Gulf. Our hopes and preys are with the Gulf States. Fishing was good until we stopped for the passing of Hanna. I’m sure it will pick right back up too!

The Spanish mackerel have still been biting good to great on most days, with some small keeper kings as well. 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 plan silver and pink flash. 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. The Spanish are eating very small bait fish, with this happening I have gone to smaller lures. This has helped greatly in the good numbers of Spanish we have caught.

The King mackerel have also showed up this last week, they are not real big but a lot of fun on light tackle! The kings are also biting the Yo-Zuri’s. The colors that are working the best have been Pink and Clown. We are trolling the crystal minnows two to three knots. The good thing about trolling this Yo-Zuri is you can use light tackle which makes it a lot of fun.

Sheephead are still biting good, we have caught some real nice Sheephead this year. We’ve had two fish over ten pounds, so much fun on light tackle. They are so good to eat as well! The best fishing lately for us has been 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”!

The fishing should get better as the water clears up from Hanna’s hit and run. Get out there and do some fishing, fall fishing should be just around the corner. Thanks for reading this report, and good luck fishing. If you would like to go fishing give me call!

Fishing Gear we use:

Sheephead, King and Spanish mackerel: Reels Pflueger Medalist spinning in sizes 6035 and 6040. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy

Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139





Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Hanna Chases Fish Away!

If you were one of the folks that thought fishing couldn't get any worse, and yea, there were a few of you, well you were wrong. Even the crabs now have lockjaw. There is nothing biting anywhere. At least nothing that I can hear about. I have called everyone I know, and here is what I have uncovered. Nothin'! Nothin from the piers. Nothin from the surf. Nothin from the sound or waterways. I couldn't find out anything from the New River or offshore, but it seems to me, if something was going on out there, there would at least be some chatter about it. Maybe it will pick up in a day or so.
Till then....
Tight lines!
Cleaning up sand from Hanna!
Johnny and Donna

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

TS Hanna Now a Memory For Topsail Area

We made it through TS Hanna. A quick walk to the beach this morning revealed a scene that I had prayed for throughout the night. No erosion, at least in the area where we live. One of the neighbors on the ocean front lost the rail from his deck, but that's the only damage I observed. We lost power for only a short time, as did some other Topsail Island residents. The outages were not city wide but spotty, and all power is back on now. Rainfall was not as much as expected, there was some street flooding, but all streets are ok. The fishing piers sustained no damage that I am aware of.

Our neighbors to the South didn't fare as well as us. This is what I have been able to gather up to now.
Bald Head Island: The island was still without power at 9:30 a.m. Shingle damage was reported.

Boiling Spring Lakes: There were some trees and power lines down, but no major damage.

Calabash: There was some damage to signs, and there were fallen trees in some areas.

Caswell Beach: The door of the Oak Island Lighthouse blew out, damage to a building in town was reported.

Holden Beach: There was minor property damage, slight erosion and scattered outages. The bridge has reopened.

Oak Island: There was some overwash reported on the beach.

Ocean Isle Beach: There was some overwash at the east end of the island.

Southport: There were some fallen trees and scattered debris.

Sunset Beach: There was some minor damages to homes and some beach erosion. The bridge has reopened.

It appears that Ike and Josephine may not threaten the Topsail area, so we are hopeful that we will not have to repeat last night this year. But we do live in a hurricane area, and this is what we do if we want to live here. We have to accept the bad to have the good. We pray that there is no further loss of life from this storm or others behind it.

I have heard that fishing is good behind a storm. I have heard that fishing is bad behind a storm. The only thing I am sure of is if you like seaweed, you can pull up plenty of it after a hurricane, or a TS or a Nor'Easter passes through. So I don't know what to tell you about the prospect of fishing for the rest of the week. I will let you know as I start to get reports.

Till next time....
Thankful that we weathered the storm!
Johnny and Donna

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

TS Hanna 11 PM update

Donna and I just got back from a journey beyond the dunes. We walked the block from our apartment to the ocean, in the driving rain and 35 mph wind. We crossed over the dunes at the public access steps, and were almost blew back down the steps. We were surprised to see the waves stopping before they reached the dunes. High tide is scheduled at 12:22AM, and with landfall anticipated at between two and three AM, we may have dodged the proverbial bullet. We saw no one else silly enough to be out in the driving rain. We just now heard that Holly Ridge has joined Onslow County in implimenting a curfew until dawn. As of 11 PM Friday, Surf City and Pender County do not have a curfew in place. At this time, we are experiencing rain bands along with strong winds with periods of calm and light rain.

Here is the 11PM update per Surf City website:


Tropical Storm Hanna 11:00 P.M. Update
Friday Evening

The Town of Surf City and Pender County do not have a curfew at this time.

Tropical Storm Hanna continues to approach Surf City. The Hurricane Center expects Hanna to remain a Tropical Storm with winds reaching 70 mph.

Landfall is expected in the vicinity of the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

Surf City is expecting gale winds, up to 39 mph to begin today around 6:30 p.m. Land fall and Tropical winds, 40 mph up to 70 mph are expected around 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Current projections show Hanna past Surf City early afternoon on Saturday.

Rain fall accumulations are expected to be between 3 to 7 inches.

Ok, That's it for now. We are still dry, and hoping to stay that way.
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna


Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Hanna Update 10:10 pm

Donna and I decided to ride out Hanna in our apartment in Surf City on Topsail Island. We are not expecting to much, tropical storm force winds and rain, a little storm surge or at most a cat one hurricane. My only worry, and this is a small one, our apartment is on the ground floor, so if there is any overwash of the dunes, we will probably be moping water. Both bridges will be closed once the winds get up to tropical speed, so a late exit will be impossible. We are here till morning. I will post when I get another chance, as long as we have power.

We walked over to the ocean about 6 pm. Water was high, but not up to the dunes. Waves are really big, coming in sets of 4 or 5 big waves, then 4 or 5 smaller ones. Note: we have seen much larger waves, with no storm looming.

The latest info we have on TS Hanna: 8pm update:
Tropical Storm Hanna continues to approach Surf City. The Hurricane Center expects Hanna to remain a Tropical Storm with winds reaching 70 mph.

Landfall is expected in the vicinity of the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

Surf City is expecting gale winds, up to 39 mph to begin today around 6:30 p.m. Land fall and Tropical winds, 40 mph up to 70 mph are expected around 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Current projections show Hanna past Surf City early afternoon on Saturday.

Rain fall accumulations are expected to be between 3 to 7 inches.

I wonder ....... Will puppy drum bite during a tropical blow?

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Still dry for now,
Johnny and Donna


Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Approaching Hurricane Hanna Doesn't Stop Fishing!

Hello from Surf City! Well, much to our suprise, the water was not rough today. There were some big waves, but not a lot of chop as I had expected. A big king, I think 24 lbs. was caught at Surf City Pier today, along with some small spanish and blues on gotcha plugs. My fishing bud Glen caught a small sheepshead, but not much else. Glen is a top notch sheepshead angler, and if they are in the water, Glen will pull 'em out. He says they aren't as plentiful as they were last year, or even earlier this year. He has caught some nice ones in early summer. If you are planning to be here this weekend, I might think about it. Hanna will be making landfall somewhere near, from Charleston to Jacksonville, (as of midnight) and although she isn't a huge or powerful storm, she will drop some water, and blow around a little sand. We aren't planning to leave the island unless we are ask to by the town of Surf City officials, then we will just go to a friends home in Holly Ridge. The storm that is worrying most of us is Ike. Ike is right behind Hanna, expected to follow much the same route, and he is already a cat 2 storm. We are looking for Ike the first of next week. I just have a cautious feeling about Ike. We am going to move Donna's Saturn off the beach, and pack the blazer, put the furniture up on blocks, and get sandbags ready for the doors, just in case ........ but lets hope I am just being a "worry wort."

Till next time.... (which I hope will be real soon! LOL!)
Tight lines, and stay dry!
Johnny and Donna

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Rough Water

Sorry I haven't posted recently. I have had a killer migraine since Wednesday. Today was my first day out in the sun. The water is extremely rough. Reports from the piers are the same, rough water. However, all is not lost. A few fish are biting. Spanish are hitting in the early morning, but they are small. Not very many keepers, but lots of fun anyway. Bottom rigs are getting some spots, sea mullets, and black drum. A 30 inch red drum was landed and released at Surf City pier Saturday, and a small king was caught today. Small kings were caught at Jolly Roger Pier and Sea View Pier also. Spots, mullets, and black drum are biting in the surf if you can keep your bait on the bottom. On the inside, red drum and lady fish are at the inlets, and that's about it.
Good Luck!
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Topsail Island Report August 26

Hello from Surf City!
It's still summer, but fishing has been a lot worse. There isn't a lot of anything biting, but there is a little of everything biting. Seaview pier has been reporting blues, flounder, mullets, pin fish, speckled trout, gray trout, black drum, spanish mackerel, and a few kings. Surf City Pier is reporting spots, mullets, sheepshead, croakers, a few speckled and a few gray trout, some nice flounder, some blues, a few kings and some nice spanish off the end. Jolly Roger reports spots, mullets, black drum and puppy drum, speckled trout, gray trout, a few pompano, some nice flounder, spanish and a couple of kings. And of course, lets not leave out the skates, rays, and sharks.

Surf fishing is all of the above with the exception of the kings and spanish. The usual baits are still the baits to use. Live finger mullets, live pogies, live shrimp, live pin fish, anything still living will catch flounder, drum, and trout. Fresh cut shrimp will always be good bait. But remember, if it's not fresh enough to eat, don't buy it to fish with. Sand fleas will catch just about anything except spot, and some anglers tell me they catch spots with fleas. Blood worms are always good baits for just about anything that swims, especially pin fish. That's one reason I don't usually like to fish with worms. Old fashioned earth worms are also good baits. Dig'em before you leave home. The processed baits like "Fish Bites" are becoming really popular, and will really catch fish. They are so tough, that pin fish and crabs have a harder time picking them off your hook. Of course, no bait is crab proof.

The fishing inside is great. Anglers fishing the docks, bridges, and grass lines from boats are catching lots of "bull red drum" or over the slot drum, and some big speckled trout, up to 6 lbs in the creeks and deep holes. The drum are in shallow water, and are schooling on the incoming tides near oyster beds in less than two feet of water. Stealth is the key. A quiet bait presentation of live bait seems to be the best bet for catching a nice stringer. If you can't find live bait, try light jigs with 3 or 4 inch Berkley Gulp Saltwater lures. My favorites are shrimp and swimming mullet. Just so you will know, East Coast Sports right here on the island, has better prices on Gulp baits than anyone, even Walmart! So stock up next time you are on the island. If you have a trustworthy boat and motor, you might give Banks Channel on the southern end of Topsail Island at Topsail Beach a try. I like to go there when the tide in the sound is coming in, so the current is pulling me away from the inlet. Motor towards the inlet, being careful not to get too close to the rough inlet waters, then drift with the tide using a carolina rig with your bait of choice. Again, use the smallest weight that will hold your bait on the bottom. You want your bait to just bounce across the bottom, that's where old man flounder is lying in wait for your bait.

If you don't have a boat, but would like to try fishing inside in the sound and waterway, you might like to give kayaking a try. There are a couple of places on the island that will rent the complete set-up for a kayak fishing trip. East Coast Sports has rental kayaks, as does Herrings Outdoor Sports. Be sure to wear personal floatation device, because the boat traffic in the ICW can swamp a kayak easily. I have been dunked more than once.

So to sum up, summer time fishing may be slow, but there are fish out there. You just have to work a bit harder to get them.
Good Luck!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Grays, Flounder and Bull Reds are biting around Southeast, NC

I hope everybody is doing well and catching a few fish! I have got to say I’m glad Fay did not make it up here, but her power was felt up this way. We’ve had some very strong east winds the last couple of days, which has kept me out of the ocean and in the back water areas. Before the blow we did some good ocean fishing for Flounder and Gray trout.

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; Saltwater Assassin’s sea shads in colors chart/diamond and silver mullet work real well.

Another new color from Assassin is “Chicken on a Chain” it looks like a Mud minnow. I think this will be a good color for Flounder on days you can’t find live bait. The body of the Chicken on a chain” is a glow body good for lower light days. Watch out when fishing in the ocean for the flounders; we’ve had some very nice fish eaten by Barracudas just under the boat.

How bout’ those Gray trout, the trout bite has really picked up the last couple of weeks. We are catching most of the Grays the same way we’ve been catching the Flounder; Carolinas rigs and live bait. My favorite live bait for Grays is finger mullet. If you would rather use lures, small jigging spoons and grubs will work just fine. I like to put a shot of scent on my grubs; “Bang’s” shrimp, crab, and Taxes tea are some of my favorites.
The Flounder and Trout are holding on near shore live “hard” bottom, wrecks, and ledges.

My charters have had some great early Redfish morning bites. We are fishing mud flats and oyster flats in creeks and along the ICW. Multi fish hook-ups are not uncommon at all! Top water plugs like the Rapala skitter-walk have done very well. Rattle and popping corks with live mullets and little menhaden have been working great! The best rattlin’ corks for me have been the Saltwater Assassin’s “Kwik-cork” this is one of the loudest corks on the market they work!

There are some Bull Reds starting to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets. You never know when you might hook one of these big fish might bite. When we try to catch these Bulls, we use fresh cut or live menhaden. We use fish finder rigs with 11/0 and 12/0 circle hooks, keep your drag tight and the circle hooks will do there job.

Thanks so much for reading this report, if you would like a Fishing charter give me call or drop me a line. Good fishing to ya!

Fishing gear we use;

Bull Reds: Reels Pflueger Contender G15L, Rods Shakespeare Custom “USCB 1166 MH” Penn spinning reels 560L Live Liner with Penn Torque jigging rod 7’ 20 to 50 braids.

Redfish, Grays, and Flounder: Reels Pflueger Medalist spinning in sizes 6035 and 6040. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy.

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Swimmers, Surfers, Surf Anglers BEWARE!

Dangerous box jellyfish migrate to area beaches

From the Star News Online
By Shelby Sebens Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 6:18 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 9:23 p.m.

[quote]
Swimmers and surfers, beware: Box jellyfish are turning up in more area waters, and their stings are painful. From Sunset Beach to Topsail Island, reports of the venomous creatures have spread.

“They’re definitely in the area for sure,” said Scott Collins, a captain with Sea Tow in Wrightsville Beach.

Collins saw three of the jellyfish in a small creek last week, he said.

The box jellyfish, also known as the sea wasp, is the most venomous jellyfish in U.S. waters, or at least the one with the best ability to penetrate human skin, said Richard Satterlie, a University of North Carolina Wilmington professor of marine biology.

The jellyfish showing up locally are a different species than the box jellyfish in Australia that can kill in five minutes.

But swimmers should still be careful to keep an eye out for these stinging blobs. [end quote]
[read more]





Blog Contributors
Johnny and Donna www.fishintopsail.com
Capt. Brent Stanley www.currentadventurecharters.com
Capt. Mike Dennis www.capefear-guide.com
Captain Jot Owens www.captainjot.com

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Fishin' Is Tough!

Summer fishing is still slow in the from the surf and piers. When the water clears, the flounder bite is a bit better than most days, but live bait seems to be is the only bait that gets any bites at all. Live bait, mainly shrimp will get a few speckled trout when fished under a cork to keep the shrimp off the bottom. When fished too close to the bottom, the pin fish devour the shrimp in no time at all. Cut shrimp are getting a few black drum and sea mullets. Fish bites are producing just a few summer spots, most really small. There is the occasional red drum, but they are really scarce and are mostly near the inlets. The king anglers are taking the occasional king from the end of the pier, mostly small, but they are appreciative of any king that hits the baits. Which is another problem. Bait for the king anglers is hard to find. They are using everything they can find, even pinfish.

Offshore is a different story. The offshore bite is much better than the near shore, and although the kings are not real large, they seem to be plentiful. Live bait slow trolled is the best best, with the bait in the prop wash getting the most action. Boat captains sometimes site a school of spanish, and site casting with light gear can produce some good action and good eating. Bottom fishing offshore is "OK", but it takes the most experienced captains to find the fish.

Inshore, large schools of red drum are patrolling the sounds and waterway, but are spookie and hard to catch. Your best bet is live baits, then grubs and spinnerbaits if live bait isn't available, fished around docks and bridges during falling tides. Fish the grasslines near oyster beds on the rising tides with live bait or Berkley Gulp on light jig heads. I like no weight at all when the fish are really spooky and moving fast. I use a #2/0 weedless worm hook, rigged with a live pogie or Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet if I don't have live bait. And just drift with the wind. This seems to work for me when nothing else will. There are some nice speckled trout to be caught with live shrimp fished under a popping cork over or near deep holes in the creeks. I have been told of limit catches from 3lbs to 5lbs caught in one creek. You just have to search for them.

Fishing is tough in the summer time, but it is still fishing. And what is better than fishing? Not much in my book. So get out there and give it a shot. Send in the pictures, and we will make you famous. I PROMISE I WILL NOT GIVE AWAY YOUR SECRET FISHING HOLE!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny


Blog Contributors
Johnny and Donna www.fishintopsail.com
Capt. Brent Stanley www.currentadventurecharters.com
Capt. Mike Dennis www.capefear-guide.com
Captain Jot Owens www.captainjot.com

Fishing Topsail Message Board
Topsail Area Charter Boats
Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

'MONSTER' Caught of North Carolina Coast !!!!!

Here's a fish tale for you. This fish tale has been verified by photographs and by polygraphs, and this big one didn't get away. A blue marlin weighing in at 1,228 pounds, 8 ounces, was landed off the North Carolina Coast by the crew of the “Mimi” while fishing the Pirates Cove Billfish Tournament off Oregon Inlet. The crew won the tourney and $500,000 for the big fish. WOW! Just think, fish like that right in our front yard. How crazy is that?
Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Blog Contributors
Johnny and Donna www.fishintopsail.com
Capt. Brent Stanley www.currentadventurecharters.com
Capt. Mike Dennis www.capefear-guide.com
Captain Jot Owens www.captainjot.com

Fishing Topsail Message Board .

Topsail Area Charter Boats

Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Cape Fear River Fishing

Red drum fishing has been really great,for the last several weeks,in the creeks just off the
Cape Fear River,multiple hook-ups back to back has been a common thing fishing with the Cape Fear Guide - Capt.Mike Dennis
910-619-0928

Capt.Mike@charter.net

Johnny and Donna http://www.fishintopsail.com/
Capt. Brent Stanley http://www.currentadventurecharters.com/
Capt. Mike Dennis http://www.capefear-guide.com/
Captain Jot Owens http://www.captainjot.com/

Fishing Topsail Message Board .

Topsail Area Charter Boats

Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Dog Days bring Good Fishing!!

It's known as the dog days of August, but an early season cold front brought good fishing to the area beaches this weekend. The Current Adventure had catches of Dolphin, King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel and Baracuda. We also had another Sailfish take a peek at our spread but he wasn't interested enough to bite.

Saturday the "dawg catcher" released a Sail, and many more boats reported good catches of King Mackerel, Amberjack, Baracuda and Spanish Mackerel.

Sunday, I had a Spanish Mackerel charter and there was all the Spanish that you wanted, with some of the fish in the 2-3lb range.

Inshore, the Redfish bite continues to be good with the best catches coming early in the morning and late in the evening. Enjoy some pictures of recent catches!!

Call and book your trip today!!

Capt. Brent

Johnny and Donna www.fishintopsail.com
Capt. Brent Stanley www.currentadventurecharters.com
Capt. Mike Dennis www.capefear-guide.com
Captain Jot Owens www.captainjot.com

Fishing Topsail Message Board .

Topsail Area Charter Boats

Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

East Coast Sports Fishing Report Aug 2008

East Coast Sports Fishing Report for August 12, 2008

If you would like to receive this Fishing Report Send an E-Mail to ecsports@earthlink.net. You even get red alerts when something is biting really well.

Topsail News Bit
Looks like a great weekend coming up. 2 ft inside and 2-4 outside Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Woo Hooo!!!!!!!

Best Bet For Fish This Week
Flounder inside as well as some Specks and Reds. Sheepshead on the pilings and Black Drum in the Surf.
Inshore Report Wayne got 18 Flounder on 1 trip this week. They are inside some nice reds too.

Pier Report
Sea View Pier; Spanish, Blues, Flounder and B-Drum
Surf City Pier; A few Spots, Flounder, and Mullets
Jolly Roger Pier; mixed bag on the bottom.

Surf Report
North Topsail-Surf City; Reds, and Mullets
Surf City-Topsail Beach; Mullets, Red and Black Drum
Lee Island; Reds and ladyfish at Lea

Go to East Coast Sports website for complete report.

Thanks to Capt. Chris for this report.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny aka "Fishin' Topsail

Blog Contributors
Johnny and Donna www.fishintopsail.com
Capt. Brent Stanley www.currentadventurecharters.com
Capt. Mike Dennis www.capefear-guide.com
Captain Jot Owens www.captainjot.com

Fishing Topsail Message Board .

Topsail Area Charter Boats

Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

4th Annual Mike Martin Fishing Tournament

REMINDER! ***** REMINDER! ***** REMINDER!

Surf City Fishing Pier

4th Annual Mike Martin Fishing Tournament

August 16 and 17, 2008

Check out the details at Surf City Fishing Pier Tournament Page.

http://www.surfcityoceanpier.com/Tournament%20'08.html

Contributors
Johnny and Donna www.fishintopsail.com
Capt. Brent Stanley www.currentadventurecharters.com
Capt. Mike Dennis www.capefear-guide.com
Captain Jot Owens www.captainjot.com

Fishing Topsail Message Board .

Topsail Area Charter Boats

Fishin' Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Fishing Still Slow, But

Hello from Surf City!

Fishing is still rather slow, but that's why they call it fishing and not catching. Right? I know I have said that it really doesn't matter if I catch fish or not, it is the trip, with my feet in the sand and wind in my face that I really enjoyed. Ok, I am begining to think I need to change that statement a bit. Catching a fish occasionally would be good! It is the summer, and that's just the way summer fishing is. You can read the beach, check the tides, get the freshest bait and be the first on on the beach, at the right time, in the best spot.......... But that doesn't mean you will catch anything. Just when I think I have it figured out..... Sometimes I get emails from readers planning a fishing trip to the Topsail area. I am ask the question, "What do I need to do to catch fish?" I share all my aquired wisdom with the reader, and I am a bit pleased with myself and my knowledge of saltwater fishing, especially surf fishing. But just when I think I have it figured out, NOTHING. No fish for days, which turns into weeks. Makes an angler feel quite inadequate. The bite has gotten so bad, that I have changed my habits a bit. I haven't been taking my cooler, cast net, flea rake, tackle box ...... Last trip I only took one fishing rod and a bucket to the surf. No minnows to net, no need to dig for fleas, I can dig a half dozen by hand, and that seems to be all I need right now. I do try to take fresh shrimp with me. I just don't like to fish with week old smelly shrimp. As a rule, if I wouldn't eat it, I don't buy it for fishing. So that's just what I have been doing. I cook my leftover bait. At least I am eating good!

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny


Johnny and Donna www.fishintopsail.com
Capt. Brent Stanley www.currentadventurecharters.com
Capt. Mike Dennis www.capefear-guide.com
Captain Jot Owens www.captainjot.com


Leave a comment on our message board.

Topsail Area Charter Boats

Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Great Nearshore Fishing, Just Off The Beach.

Hello Folks, is this summer going by fast for you? It sure is for me, they say time flies when you’re having fun. I guess I’m having a fun summer, fishing that is. Hey in other good news those gas prices have come down a little bit, they just need to keep coming down! Let’s talk some good fishing!

The last couple of weeks the fishing has been pretty good just off the beach. The Spanish Mackerel have been biting very good most days and the fish are a really nice grade. Some fish over six pounds, that’s a good pull on light tackle! Early morning seems to be the best bite, but some fish have stayed around all day on some days.

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 plan silver and pink flash. 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. We have also caught a few very nice Spanish on the fly rod too.

We are starting to catch Flounder pretty good; we are seeing 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; Saltwater Assassin’s sea shads in colors chart/diamond and silver mullet work real well. Watch out when fishing in the ocean for the flounders; we’ve had some very nice fish eaten by Barracudas just under the boat. It’s not a fun thing!!

I’m still seeing a few Tarpon around the inlets and off the shoals; the Tarpon should stay around till mid September. We fish for Tarpon on the bottom using, live and fresh dead baits like; spots, bluefish and Menhaden. We rig 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. We’ve caught some very nice bluefish while Tarpon fishing lately.

The Shark fishing is still going very strong most days. Very nice sharks in the forty to over two hundred pounds are mostly what we are seeing. We’ve been using light tackle and fly rods to catch these powerful sharks. When we use spinning reels we use; 300+ yards of thirty and forty pound Ugly braid super line and a good fast tipped rod. They are a lot of fun on spinning tackle!

Thanks so much for reading this report, if you would like a Fishing charter give me call or drop me a line. Good fishing to ya!

Fishing gear we use;

Tarpon and sharks Reels Pflueger Contender G15L, Rods Shakespeare Custom “USCB 1166 MH” Penn spinning reels 560L Live Liner with Penn Torque jigging rod 7’ 20 to 50 braids.

Spanish and Flounder: Reels Pflueger Medalist spinning in sizes 6035 and 6040. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy.

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Thank you for supporting our sponsors.

Thanks to our Blog Contributors!


Johnny and Donna
http://www.fishintopsail.com/

Capt. Brent Stanley
http://www.currentadventurecharters.com/

Capt. Mike Dennis
http://www.capefear-guide.com/

Captain Jot Owens
http://www.captainjot.com/


Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Poll Results: Gill Nets Behind Topsail Island

Ok, So Thanks to everyone for their participation in this poll. The results certainly did not surprise me. There were 69 votes cast during the poll period.
Results:
I believe they hurt hook and line fishing. 40 votes for 57%
I believe they do not hurt hook and line fishing. 3 votes for 4%
I believe there should be changes in the North Carolina gill net laws. 25 votes for 36%
I have no opinion. 1 vote for 1%

Thanks again for your participation.
If you have any comments about this poll, please post them on our message board site below.
Fishing Topsail Message Board




Thanks to our Blog Contributors!


Johnny and Donna
www.fishintopsail.com

Capt. Brent Stanley
www.currentadventurecharters.com

Capt. Mike Dennis
www.capefear-guide.com

Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com


Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Snow's Cut Red Drum

Fishing report for August 7,2008 from Capt.Mike Dennis the Cape Fear Guide,fishing out of Carolina Beach,N.C.
Flounders were biting today in Carolina Beach Inlet,caught 3 keeper fish in about 15 minutes,finger mullet on a carolina rig was the bait of choice.
I moved to Snow's Cut for some more flounder action,but instead of flounder I caught a 27 1/2" Red Drum,this fish, put up a really good fight in the strong current.Fish was released to fight another day !
Snow's Cut is a popular fishing area for it does produce large flounder,speckle trout,red drum,and a variety of other fish,for any angler willling to spend a little time working the bank.
Capt.Mike Dennis
Capt.Mike@charter.net
910-619-0928
Thank you for supporting our sponsors.

Thanks to our Blog Contributors!


Johnny and Donna
http://www.fishintopsail.com/

Capt. Brent Stanley
http://www.currentadventurecharters.com/

Capt. Mike Dennis
http://www.capefear-guide.com/

Captain Jot Owens
http://www.captainjot.com/


Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Spots at Surf City Pier

Surf City Pier reports the spots moved in Thursday, and have been biting "off and on" all through the weekend and today. Biting cut shrimp, and blood worms, with a few on fish bites. Flounder bite continues to improve, with some bigger flounder coming up. Live bait still the bait of choice.

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

Thanks to our Blog Contributors!


Johnny and Donna
www.fishintopsail.com

Capt. Brent Stanley
www.currentadventurecharters.com

Capt. Mike Dennis
www.capefear-guide.com

Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com


Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Spots in the Surf

We had a good run of spots this afternoon in the surf at Surf City. The bite was north of Surf City Pier and lasted for several hours. I am not sure what time the bite stopped, (maybe it's still going on) because we had to leave the beach. They were good size spots, but not the fall yellow-bellies. The spots were hitting fresh cut shrimp, and were sometimes two at a time. The anglers catching the fish were spread out over about two hundred yards. Several of our neighbors were seen cleaning fish when we got back home. Hope it lasts!
Till next time.....
Tight lines!
Johnny and Donna

Thanks to our Blog Contributors!
Johnny and Donna
www.fishintopsail.com
Capt. Brent Stanley
www.currentadventurecharters.com
Capt. Mike Dennis
www.capefear-guide.com
Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com


Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Summer fishing. Hurry up and wait.

I wish I had better news for the surf and pier anglers. Fishing is a bit slow. But just like most summers, the persistent angler can catch supper. We have a few of everything in the water, but not a lot of anything. This is beginning to sound like a broken record. Surf and pier anglers, with the exception of flounder and kings, are much the same. Anglers dragging live bait are picking up some keeper flounder from the island's three piers. Small pompano, a few nice sheepshead, some summer spots, snapper blues, and sea mullets are out there for the angler that has time to wait them out. Night time produces a bit better, or maybe in the cool air the action just seems better. King anglers are hooking up a few every week, but nothing to brag about. Of course, catching any king, is a triumph for these guys and gals who sit out in the hot sun for days, and often get nothing except maybe a small shark. But when a king is hooked, all the waiting, the hot sun, the sweating, and the headaches from the glare are all forgotten, and the adrenalin pumps, the feet scurry around on the end of the pier as each angler moves his "junk" as they sometimes call their fishing gear, to get it out of the way of the angler that is fighting the fish. Arm muscles strain against the pull of this aggressive and strong pulling fish which is built for speed and power. Landing hooks are readied for the time when the fish tires enough to get it "over the rail". Then it's high fives, attaboys, and congratulations all around, and then it starts over again. Anglers waiting for another time when the action gets fierce again. This unsaid thought creeps into the minds of most, "Maybe next time,,,,,,, the king will take my bait."

Thank you for supporting our sponsors.

Thanks to our Blog Contributors!

Johnny and Donna
www.fishintopsail.com

Capt. Brent Stanley
www.currentadventurecharters.com

Capt. Mike Dennis
www.capefear-guide.com

Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com


Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

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

Sailfish invade the Carolina Coast

This past weekend I had the pleasure of fishing in the 9th annual Capt. Eddy Haneman Sailfish Tournament hosted by the Bridge Tender Marina in Wrightsville Beach. The weather was perfect for the event and in all I think 47 boats entered the two day tournament. Though we didn't land any Sailfish aboard the Current Adventure, we had a couple of shots and me and my crew had a great time.

Friday's fishing was a little slow with only 7 Sailfish being caught and released, but many more were seen. My crew and I had a large Sailfish jump all over our port teaser and he was lit up!!! When I moved one of our baits just behind the teaser, he immediately ate. The National Marine Fisheries has mandated that all bill fish tournaments require the use of circle hooks. Bill fishing with circle hooks is a whole new expierience for me and needless to say, I wasn't successful in getting the hookup as the fish jumped and threw the bait before I could come tight with the line. However, at day's end, we were sitting in second place in the Dolphin category with a nice 16.6lb Dolphin that my sweetie and first mate Karen landed.

Saturday brought a lot more Sailfish action with 18 Sailfish being caught and released. That made a total of 25 Sailfish caught in two days of fishing, with many, many more fish seen or lost. Saturday also saw me and my crew get knocked out of the Dolphin category when a new leader knocked the number one fish down to number two and thus knocking us out of the money.

Overall the tournament was a great success with over 10 thousand dollars raised for charity. I would like to personally thank Capt. Lee Parsons and the entire Sailfish committee for putting on a great event and I look forward to the 10 annual event.

If you have ever wanted a chance to catch a sailfish, now is the time. These fish will remain in the area in good numbers through August, so give me a call and book a trip if you would like to go chase some of these great fish.

Till next time,

Tight lines!!!

Capt. Brent

Thank you for supporting our sponsors.

Thanks to our Blog Contributors!


Johnny and Donna
www.fishintopsail.com

Capt. Brent Stanley
www.currentadventurecharters.com

Capt. Mike Dennis
www.capefear-guide.com

Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com


Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

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

Great Mid-Summer Bite, Capt. Jot Owens

Hello Folks, I guess we can call this mid-summer fishing. All those mid-summer bites have started and some of the fish are starting to show that hot water temp bite. Early morning and late afternoon bite; for the Redfish and Trout are really showing lately. Let’s talk about that and a few other bites in this weeks fishing Report.

My charters have had some great early morning Redfish and Trout bites. We are fishing mud flats and oyster flats in creeks and along the ICW. Multi fish hook-ups are not uncommon at all! Top water plugs like the Rapala skitter-walk have done very well. Rattle and popping corks with live mullets and little menhaden have been working great! The best rattlin’ corks for me have been the Saltwater Assassin’s “Kwik-cork” this is one of the loudest corks on the market; “trust me; try some!”

Another hot weather favorite of mine is the great fighting and great eating Sheephead. If you just started fishing or you have for years, you will love the time and fight it takes to catch one of these fish. The best fishing lately for us has been 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”!

The Spanish mackerel are still picking good most days. 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, gold and pink flash. When the Spanish are on top feeding and jumping, Maria jig spoons have been the trick. There has been some bigger Spanish around the last couple of weeks; with some fish over five pounds. Always fun on the ultra light or fly rod!

We are still seeing some Tarpon around the inlets and shoals. Live and dead baits on the bottom have had the best luck for getting bites; fresh spots, menhaden and mullet work the best. Shark fishing will be good through the end of October. We’ve had some really nice lemon and black tip sharks already this year and a few on the fly-rod. We mostly are fishing around and just off the local inlets. There also has been some locally good flounder fishing; in the creeks and around the bigger inlets like Carolina and Masonboro inlets.

Thanks so much for reading this report, if you would like a Fishing charter give me call or drop me a line. Good fishing to ya!

Fishing gear we use;

Tarpon and sharks Reels Pflueger Contender G15L, Rods Shakespeare Custom “USCB 1166 MH” Penn spinning reels 560L Live Liner with Penn Torque jigging rod 7’ 20 to 50 braids.

Reds, Spanish and Sheephead: Reels Pflueger Medalist spinning in sizes 6035 and 6040. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy.

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139



Thank you for supporting our sponsors.

Thanks to our Blog Contributors!


Johnny and Donna
http://www.fishintopsail.com/

Capt. Brent Stanley
http://www.currentadventurecharters.com/

Capt. Mike Dennis
http://www.capefear-guide.com/

Captain Jot Owens
http://www.captainjot.com/


Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

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

Cape Fear River Fishing

I fished a creek right off the Cape Fear River on July 26, 2008 Gary Ward had chartered the boat,for he got the word I was catching quite a few red drum,so he brought along a couple of his old time fishing buddies for some red fish action. The tide was low a the beginning of the morning, only catching at couple of reds but by noon the action had picked up as the water had begin to rise,we caught several flounder,and a large 26" speckle trout,making for a Cape Fear Guide Grand Slam !
Captain Mike Dennis
Cape Fear Guide Charters



Thank you for supporting our sponsors.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Fishin' Topsail

Due to some technical issues that we couldn't resolve, we have created a new message board to better serve our readers.
Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Topsail Island Fishing Report

Hello from Surf City! Summer fishing is here, and that means an angler could have a good catching day, or a bad catching day. Of course, even bad catching days are good fishing days. What could be better than a day with your feet in the sand, sun in your eyes, and a fishing rod in your hand? There have been a good variety of fish caught, but none in huge numbers. The best angling continues to be on the inside, in the flats and tidal creeks along the ICW. Red drum are hanging out around docks on a falling tide, and along grass lines during rising tides. Live bait is working best, but the reds can be fooled with a jig and grub, Mirro Lures, small spinner baits, and even topwater lures. Speckled trout are in the deep holes in the back of the creeks where the water is a bit cooler. Get some live shrimp for the best action and the biggest specks. The flounder bite continues to improve, with some 18 to 20 inch fish being caught on live bait in deep holes near the ICW. Black drum and sheeps head are being caught around the swing bridge and the high rise bridge. In the surf, when the wind is not blowing so hard, flounder (some keepers) are biting live bait and Berkley Gulp Saltwater baits. Smaller undersized flounder are biting cut shrimp. Sea mullets, spot, black drum, and pompano are biting cut shrimp, with big pompano caught on sand fleas. The fleas are readily available on the beach now. Spend a few minutes digging and catch these big pompano, black drum, and puppy drum. Small snapper blues are also around, mostly on bottom rigs and cut bait. Some larger blues are coming off the piers with gotcha plugs. Spanish are rare, but a few are being caught. The king bite is here today, and gone tomorrow. About normal for summer.
So while fishing is not fast and furious like fall fishing can be, the persistent angler can catch enough for a good fish fry.

Thank you for supporting our sponsors.

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

Due to some technical issues that we couldn't resolve, we have created a new message board to better serve our readers. Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Carolina Beach Fishing

Red Fishing has been getting better everyday this week,fish are hitting the baits extremely hard,I am finding bigger fish almost every charter,come visit the Cape Fear Guide for some exciting Red Fish action !
Carolina Beach Fishing
Capt.Mike Dennis
Thank you for supporting our sponsors.

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

Due to some technical issues that we couldn't resolve, we have created a new message board to better serve our readers. Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


Shop the Clearance Department at Basspro.com


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Browse the best in Christian jewelry at FamilyChristian.com.


Get your own online store -- in minutes! GoDaddy.com Quick Shopping Cart®

Tarpon, Sharks and Reds; Summer Trend

Hello, I hope everybody is doing well. I can’t complain; fishing has had some consistence for the most part. The gas prices have too, there just too high! We can’t change the gas prices by snapping our fingers, so let’s talk fishing and worry about the gas after the fishing trip!

The summer trend of local fishing is really starting to show. One of my favorites has rally started to show this last week; the always fun Tarpon! I have only Tarpon fished once; last week. We saw a few fish and had a strike, and a jump but no hook up “that’s Tarpon fishing for ya”. Always good to see them around the boat; gets my blood pressure up every time!

We fish for Tarpon on the bottom using, live and fresh dead baits like; spots, bluefish and Menhaden. 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 and menhaden. Nothing like seeing a Tarpon hit kite baits!

When the Tarpon start to show up, the sharks are already here! I’m not talking about one to three footers; I’m talking about four to seven plus footers, running fifty to two hundred pounds; on light tackle and fly rods. Don’t knock it til you have tried it! It’s a lot of fun most of the sharks come right up to the boat and take the bait or fly. We catch Lemon, Dusky, and Black tips and a few Hammerheads from time to time as well.

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 forty pound Ugly braid super line. Rigging the baits; eight feet of 80 pound mono leader; some will wind on to the reel. Connected to a fifty pound swivel, then to Two to three foot of #9 SS wire and a 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!

The Redfish are still picking good, you just have got to get out there and find some fish that have not been fished too much. Live, fresh cut bait and scented grubs have been the ticket. Spanish mackerel are biting as well, casting and trolling are best bets for these speedsters. Don’t forget that great hot summer fish the Sheephead, the hotter the better for those Sheephead. One-armed bandits seem to be one of best baits for me. Fish them around docks and bridges.

Thanks so much for reading this report, get out there and try some of these tactics you’ll catch’em!

Fishing gear we use;
Tarpon: Reels Pflueger Contender G15L, Rods Shakespeare Custom “USCB 1166 MH”

Sharks: Same as Tarpon and Penn spinning reels 560L Live Liner with Penn Torque jigging rod 7’ 20 to 50 braid.

Reds, Spanish and Sheephead: Reels Pflueger Medalist spinning in sizes 6035 and 6040. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy.

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139


Thank you for supporting our sponsors.

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

Due to some technical issues that we couldn't resolve, we have created a new message board to better serve our readers. Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


Shop the Clearance Department at Basspro.com


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Browse the best in Christian jewelry at FamilyChristian.com.


Get your own online store -- in minutes! GoDaddy.com Quick Shopping Cart®

Mr. Nick

Thank you for supporting our sponsors. Donna and I were present at Mr. Nick's (Dogget) memorial service this afternoon on Surf City Pier. The crowd that showed up for the service was overwhelming. Dozens of family and Surf City Pier fishing buddies were there to support Mrs. Mary, Mr Nicks wife and other family members. Mr Nick was a regular at Surf City Pier, and always had a smile and a kind word for everyone. Mr. Nick was also quite a comedian. His dry humor was admired by all. Here is just a short story of one of the many conversations that Mr. Nick and I had on the pier, or in Batt's Grille where Mr. Nick and Mrs. Mary met up with all their friends and had a meal. Anyway, here is the story.
I was casting for trout last November before the pier closed, and Mr. Nick was on the pier. The water was quite muddy, so I was thinking maybe a bright color would attract the attention of a lunker speck. so I baited with a red jig head, and a chartreuse Berkley Gulp Saltwater bait. After Mr. Nick watched me throw the bait and reel in several times, he approached me and ask if I had any more of the baits I was fishing with. I said "Sure" and went to my tackle box, fixed up another jig and chartreuse grub, then handed it to Mr. Nick. He calmly put it in the pocket of his flannel shirt, and without any thing close to a grin or smile said to me. "Thanks, I am gonna put it on my Christmas tree." Then, realizing that Mr. Nick was making fun of my "colorful" lure, I broke out in laughter. Only then did he chuckle and turn to walk away. We will all miss Mr. Nick, and we are praying that Mr. Nick's family will find peace in this difficult time. As for me, I have been blessed with his friendship, and now his memory.

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

Due to some technical issues that we couldn't resolve, we have created a new message board to better serve our readers. Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


Shop the Clearance Department at Basspro.com


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Browse the best in Christian jewelry at FamilyChristian.com.


Get your own online store -- in minutes! GoDaddy.com Quick Shopping Cart®

Flounder ON! Flounder OFF!

Thank you for supporting our sponsors.

Hello from Surf City! I walked to the beach tonight, and fished awhile. I didn't have any bait, or natural bait, so I decided to throw a jig and gulp jerk shad, new penny color. I didn't land anything, but I got one flounder to the surf, before he spit my jig back at me, minus the tail. I saw the white in the surf, and I think is was a flounder, but I couldn't be sure. Anyway, I was 0 for 1. After a new jerk shad, and some deep breathing exercises, I loaded up again. I threw everything I had. Changed up my retrieve trying to entice another bite. When it hit, my rod doubled over and my line went slack. I reeled in only to find only an inch of jerk shad, and my jig. Went to bait up again, and discovered I had no more jerk shad, so I threw a white swimming mullet, also by Berkley Gulp Saltwater, but didn't get another bite. Oh well, ain't that the way it goes? I plan on hitting the beach early tomorrow morning, with a new plan, and some Berkley Gulp Saltwater, 5" jerk shad. Maybe I will get one. Stay tuned.

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

Due to some technical issues that we couldn't resolve, we have created a new message board to better serve our readers. Check out our new message board.
CLICK HERE.


Shop the Clearance Department at Basspro.com


How about a great day fishing on the water? Check out our Charter Boat page.
Topsail Area Charter Boats

Ready to enjoy eating your catch? Impress your family and friends with recipes from our seafood recipe page.
Fishin Topsail's Seafood Recipes

Browse the best in Christian jewelry at FamilyChristian.com.


Get your own online store -- in minutes! GoDaddy.com Quick Shopping Cart®