Couldnt find one so started it a little behind schedule.
Hope everyone is still hitting the water as temps drop and the seasonal changes begin to influence everything.
Finally getting in a vacation this year and heading to ocracoke for next week. Finally getting a beach pass for the truck so we can get down to south point a bit in case the inshore fishing gets washed by wind or weather. Anyone know whats in the waters on the OBX right now this will be my first time not being there in the spring or summer.
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
Should be some spanish there if water is clear, throw 1 oz metal at the them. Probably some sea mullet, pompano, puppy drum around
Can't spell DBU without Bud
Finally snagged a nice st croix Surf Triumph 7 foot medium heavy rod just for chucking stingsilvers for mackerel and bluefish in the surf. Cant decide between a 3000 or a 3500 to put on it. Had an older 3000 but its not strong enough with the drag as its old and worn out so I'll probably be snagging a BG 3500 to go with it. Bringing one soaker rod for heaving cut bait if the big drum are moving in the surf but thats only if theyre moving yet which its early I'd think.
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
Lots of flounder. Go fish the north end. Drive on the beach to the fencing and then walk around the bend and bounce heavy jigs all along there. South point is also open and there have been lots of blues along there.
You will see this game, this upset and this sign next on ESPN Sportscenter. Virginia Tech 31 Miami 7
His decision was made after a phone call with longtime Virginia Tech assistant coach Bud Foster. All Foster told him was, "We win. They don't."
Standard swimbaits and swimming mullet baits on like a 1/2 ounce jig head for the flounder? I think I have a few bucktails as well I've used them but not to much success. We were planning on hitting the south end for blues if the surf doesnt get too rough, havent been on the south point in ages but I'll figure that out if its bluefish early in the morning.
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
You'll probably want a heavier jig head on that stretch there at the north end. I usually throw chartreuse with an "albino moon" colored swim shad. The water really rips out of there. There is the new sea wall built next to the ferry dock that bait stacks up on. It's 21 feet deep per my depth finder. Gotta be huge flounder there. Not sure if it is accessible by foot. You'll see it on the ferry ride in on the left.
You will see this game, this upset and this sign next on ESPN Sportscenter. Virginia Tech 31 Miami 7
His decision was made after a phone call with longtime Virginia Tech assistant coach Bud Foster. All Foster told him was, "We win. They don't."
I think I still have some 3/4 or 1 ounce jigs in my box somewhere. I have some pearl white swimbaits that should work if we end up there. Gonna try and kayak the sound side mostly when tides are right to see if we can find stuff that way and use the truck for beach fishing if the sound gets rough. Looks like the water temps are warm enough still should keep it more of a summer bite atleast so we will see what is around. Have the specks been down in the sound like they are in the Bay this year?
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
Don't know about the specks. Water is plenty warm for reds to be around.
You will see this game, this upset and this sign next on ESPN Sportscenter. Virginia Tech 31 Miami 7
His decision was made after a phone call with longtime Virginia Tech assistant coach Bud Foster. All Foster told him was, "We win. They don't."
I've found a few specks in the mobjack and Chesapeake but numbers feel definitely down to me this year. Feels like more drum and stripers than trout these days locally atleast. I'll have my fly gear in case we find some reds where I can reach them but I'm not counting on anything till we are there with the weather.
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
Pretty good summer in Pamlico Sound for specs. Specs weren't as abundant this summer, think the majority moved farther up the bay. As usual advice, topwater, mirrolures, gold spoon, popping cork are the go to for sound fishing for reds and specs. Find the bait.
Can't spell DBU without Bud
Got the arsenal loaded up with almost too much but we will see. Just hoping for decent weather and good early morning tides to keep them active.
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
Well, my Mom came to visit for the first time since Dad passed, so I stuck around Richmond. But, the northeaster from Thursday resulted in a ridiculous large red drum bite from Corova to Hatteras, especially on the piers. Several friends of mine caught double digit numbers of citation fish.
I have to head to Atlanta tomorrow for a Connectathon. Hopefully they will be chewing when I get back. Wofford tape can wait.
Five star get after it 100 percent Juice Key-Playing. MAN
Inshore fishing has been good as of recent at Cape Lookout. I caught a nice sheepshead on fly sight casting. 4.5 pounds and it was a baby compared to the big one I caught years back, which I'm still claiming as the world record on fly at 14 plus pounds. Took my buddy and his gf out on my boat, usually we look for tailers on his, and they crushed nice reds on Rapala Skitterwalks. I gotta blow some money on some of those lures now.
Albies have apparently arrived in full force. I have been out of town but will return Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Weather for the weekend looks rough.
The commercial guys get to drop their nets Sept. 15th so it will fuck up my inshore fishing. Will make it much harder to find reds as many of them will be stuck in pound nets and the wonderful, very environmentally friendly gill nets. The way the environmental laws are set up in NC never ceases to amaze me. Luckily there is a group of anglers suing the state for mistreatment of marine resources. Hopefully, they win and change is brought, but like many things in politics, I doubt it. The local commercial guys still say the laws don't apply to them and I have it on good authority that the NC Marine officers are doing side jobs fixing air conditioning on state and taxpayer time and dime, instead of out enforcing fishing laws. Frustrating to say the least.
You will see this game, this upset and this sign next on ESPN Sportscenter. Virginia Tech 31 Miami 7
His decision was made after a phone call with longtime Virginia Tech assistant coach Bud Foster. All Foster told him was, "We win. They don't."
I've never caught a daggon thing on a skitterwalk but a she dog or a heddon super spook I can find fish all day long. I think there is a significant difference in the pitch or volume they put out but the heddon ones are the only ones I buy anymore as they're all I can get bit with. If I remember right the heddon is a lower pitch knock dunno if that really matters or not. Maybe the retrieve is different to what I do to make them click but I have a whole box dedicated to super spooks and mirror lures these days for when they are the ticket.
Damn shame to hear the netters are starting up again theyre a royal pain in the ass. Even worse if they catch you fishing anywhere near their nets they love to harass any fisherman.
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
Interesting on the topwater. I have numerous spooks and they work but my buddy swears by the Skitterwalk. I have too many lures as it is so maybe I can trade him for one.
The netters are the worst and nearly all of them are assholes. Close to their nets or not, many will run right around you and don't give a shit. This is why I have no respect for them or what they are doing. Stop acting like an asshole and most of the time we can get along.
You will see this game, this upset and this sign next on ESPN Sportscenter. Virginia Tech 31 Miami 7
His decision was made after a phone call with longtime Virginia Tech assistant coach Bud Foster. All Foster told him was, "We win. They don't."
my sermon for the morning : )
a tail weighted topwater has a MUCH higher hookup rate than one that rides flat (or close to it). The flatter running baits are way better on trout than reds (and are probably better fish finders). But if you aren't connecting on a healthy majority of your redfish strikes, you have the wrong lure...imo.
So I just went outside and ran a bucket test on the topwaters in my tackle boxes. The rebel jumpin' minnow and yo zuri 3d inshore pencil sit almost vertical at rest. The smaller skitterwalk is mostly vertical. The larger skitterwalk, standard yozuri pencil, and my mirrolure topwaters sit pretty flat.
I've caught more reds on the rebel lure than all others combined. I've probably had more strikes/cast on the small skitterwalk (though it is too light to cast very far, and I no longer use it at all).
I haven't fished 3rd Gen's go-to Skitter V.
If I was a guide and wanted a topwater that I could have an inexperienced client fish for topwater reds, the rebel (bone or silver) is less expensive, casts a mile, and is idiot proof for walking the dog; even in a bit of a chop. But don't use their stock hooks.
Curious on your thoughts on the heddon spook jr.? Its been my best bread winner on big trout but havent fished it around reds to see if that works as well. Great early or late light bait for me and reasonably priced. It sits up in the water with the tail down and stock hooks seem decent to me.
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
I haven't been fishing topwater for very long in saltwater so take this for what it's worth. But the spook jr is my go to. Caught my biggest trout and tons of reds in both Virginia and North Carolina. Reds rarely miss it. I fish mostly with my brother in law and can say it seems to hook onto (and keeps on) more fish than the yo zuris or mirrolure topwaters that he usually uses. Doesn't mean I get more blow-ups (it depends on the morning) but definitely seems to get a higher percentage of fish to the boat. And that was all with factory hooks that finally broke this summer after a couple years.
The bone and neon yellow spook has produced every citation trout I have so far minus one I got on a swimbait but low light its my go to bait. Never figured out the retrieve necessarily I just kind of winged it till I started catching fish. It worked really well in the gulf shores in florida for the big specks as well so its not just a regional bait at all. Still waiting for a drum on topwater but the big trout are just as fun.
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
oddly, I've never fished it (because like me, it has been around forever, lol) but, like you (and Gigs), some people swear by it. My litmus test is short strikes, if reds are missing it, then the tail is probably too high for them to get it in their mouth. Hookup rate on a topwater should be well above 50% for reds...they rarely screw around.
Reds are designed to feed on the bottom and while they are a blast to catch on topwater (my favorite kind of fishing), they aren't really designed for it; so it is better to have a bait that's more conducive to get in their mouth when they strike.
It definitely sits with the rear down when it sits between twitches so I'll try it next week if I can find some reds to work it around. If they miss it a bunch I may look to replace the rear hook as someone said above to help it sit a little lower and easier to snag.
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
if you have some lead tape you could also try wrapping a little piece around the shank on the rear hook; but check it first, I suspect it might well mess up the action of the bait.
I'm quite confident a red can get a spook jr (and all of these topwater walk-the-dog baits), in addition to what's been posted here I know there are videos out there. The purpose of my post was that IF reds are THE target; a bait that is more tail weighted is going to be more (much more) effective at hooking them when they strike. Reds usually don't miss; they just fail to get hooked.
Lovely sermon! Obviously a topwater enthusiast myself, I agree with what you said. I put a bigger hook on the back of the topwater to let the back end sit lower. Reds somedays smash it first try, other days miss it a few times before getting it. Haven't noticed a certain trend on sizes. Skitter v in glassy conditions can be the ticket, it all depends. Haven't fished the rebel.
Can't spell DBU without Bud
Go buy a bone colored jumpin minnow and put it in your tackle box for a day when you are flats fishing and there's a bit of a chop and/or you need a little more casting distance. Then fish it at a modest, deliberate speed...Ma-ry-had-a-lit-tle-lamb so the tail drops a little after each twitch
Just found this. I think this is a pretty good redfish on a jumpin' minnow tutorial : )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iEfxEMgCyE
Skinner is the man, I definitely have watched a bunch of his stuff in Florida. Him catching big snook on that made me very jealous haha.
Can't spell DBU without Bud
His retrieve is maybe a touch faster than I used wade fishing but it obviously worked.
But I saw him in that kayak and thought about some of your photos with nice fish on that Skitter V.
Yea he uses a pretty quick retrieve probably from fishing pencil poppers for striped bass. Appreciate you thinking of me. Gotten a couple reds on the skitter v this summer. It's all been a mixed bag of what I'm using topwater wise. Trout should be getting into fall transition hopefully can get into a nice one tomorrow.
Can't spell DBU without Bud
At least you've been getting out. I haven't wet a line this summer; too hot, too windy; and now too wet. (Snuck out and played a little golf instead.) However, last fall I waited too late to get going and that won't happen this year. Boat is ready; tackle is ready; as soon as we get any break in the weather at all, I'll be out looking for fish.
I'm with you.... I don't think I've put a line in since June, MAYBE July. Its killing me. I don't mind the heat, so thatvhasnt stopped me. Just life in general has us busy busy busy. October 8th is the next time I have a chance and I'm goin, hell or high water.
"Look at this... This is just spectacular.... These people are losing their minds"
that video I linked with the guy fishing the jumpin' minnow shouldn't be far from you...Lee Co...I'd guess Pine Is. Refuge area but who knows
You will see this game, this upset and this sign next on ESPN Sportscenter. Virginia Tech 31 Miami 7
His decision was made after a phone call with longtime Virginia Tech assistant coach Bud Foster. All Foster told him was, "We win. They don't."
For anyone interested, here is an article on the gill net fishing problem in NC:
https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/north-carolina-gill-net-problem/
You will see this game, this upset and this sign next on ESPN Sportscenter. Virginia Tech 31 Miami 7
His decision was made after a phone call with longtime Virginia Tech assistant coach Bud Foster. All Foster told him was, "We win. They don't."
Heading up to Dewey Beach in Delaware this weekend for a bachelor party. Bringing a couple rods to fish from the surf just to pass the time. Thankfully it's the off-season so I don't have to worry about illegally fishing too close to people swimming /s Anyone have any intel? Can I expect anything other than sea mullet?
When I used to go to Assateague, which isn't thT far away, we got sharks and an occasional flounder. Bluefish were around the Route 50 bridge behind Ocean City last weekend.
Five star get after it 100 percent Juice Key-Playing. MAN
If anyone wants to get into fly fishing, Sierra.com constantly seems to have great deals on rods, reels and lines, of all experience levels and sizes from fresh to salt. They also have a ton of other fishing gear and outdoor equipment. Happy to answer any questions anyone may have about what to purchase fly fishing related. You can ask here or email me, knotthereelworld (at) gmail .
You will see this game, this upset and this sign next on ESPN Sportscenter. Virginia Tech 31 Miami 7
His decision was made after a phone call with longtime Virginia Tech assistant coach Bud Foster. All Foster told him was, "We win. They don't."
I am going to be heading to Southern Shores in OBX at the end of the month and have little to no experience saltwater fishing. Any suggestions on rental equipment or what to buy/where to buy or rent from when we get there?
Will probably be surf fishing with kids in fro t of rental house
Very few places rent fishing rods. For the cost I used to rent gear at, one could own a new rod. Grab yourself a seven foot 4000 series (size reel) rod and reel combo for $70 at a local tackle shop down there, (there will be several) some bottom rigs, snelled hooks, a few 1-2 ounce weights and Fishbites and toss into the surf. Keep the line tight and wait for the nibble. The tackle shop should be able to point you in the right direction.
You will see this game, this upset and this sign next on ESPN Sportscenter. Virginia Tech 31 Miami 7
His decision was made after a phone call with longtime Virginia Tech assistant coach Bud Foster. All Foster told him was, "We win. They don't."
If any place rents rods, those rods will be junk. It isn't the greatest set up, but a Penn Fierce combo 9 foot two piece rated to throw 1-4 oz would probably be fine. Spool it with 14lb test and use a 30lb mono shock leader (so you don't snap off your line.)
Your best bet for catching with kids are sea mullet, spot, and croaker. It is very easy to tie your own bottom rigs using a piece of 20lb mono and tying a couple of dropper loops. I use size 2 bait holder hooks with a 3/4 inch piece of bloodworm fishbites. You can get all the stuff to make these rigs other than the bloodworm FBs locally.
If you smallmouth or largemouth fish, it is worthwhile to bring along a 7 foot M spinner and a couple of 3/4 stingsilvers and 3/4 ounce jigheads. That rod will let you target puppy drum and trout in the surf using the jigheads and four inch Gulp mullet (reel low and slow.) If you see birds working or fish feeding on bait in the surf, switch to the stingsilver because you can get blues/Spanish. As a kid, that was my favorite thing to do- cast and "play motorboat" with the stingsilvers.
Five star get after it 100 percent Juice Key-Playing. MAN
If I was starting from scratch- 3 2oz, 3 3oz and 2 4oz sinkers Bloodworm fishbites and scissors to cut them Size 4 and Size 2 bait holder hooks Small spools of 14, 20, and 30lb mono (20 and 30 for leader material) Sand spikes (don't let those reels hit the sand!) 3 silver stingsilvers 4 3/4 oz gotcha jigheads chartreuse paddle tail soft plastics (4inches) or Gulp alive mullets.
Five star get after it 100 percent Juice Key-Playing. MAN
Bass assasin makes damn good swimbaits with chartreuse tails. One of the few things Zman doesnt do that I wish they would.
For the gulp white or chartreuse 4 inch curly tails work on almost everything. Gulp shrimp in 3 inches can also work incredibly well for lots of things. I find myself wandering back and forth between all white and white with chartreuse tail but both work as well as the other.
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
Genuine question as someone who's always fished inshore saltwater in a kayak or boat why do people wade fish so much? Is there an advantage to using an anchor or power or push pole to lock onto a spot? I always see everyone speck fishing by wading and just curious if there's a reason for it other than ease of being in one area?
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
It's nice to cool off on stale days or if my boat can't get on the flat or if it's too windy to pole and too shallow of the t motor.
Those are the only reasons I've ever had.
ah, you young people.....SOT Kayaks weren't a thing when I started coastal fishing; so boat or wade. had a friend that would troll/drift from a traditional kayak and we'd literally laugh at him and out-catch him 10-1.
Otherwise, boats are noisy and visible so wading can be more effective under certain conditions, especially if you know where the fish are. But you need to account for tidal amplitude and bottom type so there are lots of places you can't...like virtually all of northeast Florida, lol. A guide in some parts of Texas will put 3-4 clients out casting distance apart; then come pick them up. A trip will consist of several such drop offs and then maybe drift deeper water.
tidal amplitude and bottom type so there are lots of places you can't...like virtually all of northeast Florida
This is why I don't wade pretty much anywhere in SC. 1 you get too far from the boat/shore and time it wrong you're going to be swimming back. 2 you don't know how to read the spartina grass perfectly you're going to sink to your nipples in pluff mud.
don't know how to read the spartina grass perfectly you're going to sink to your nipples in pluff mud
"perfectly" is not understated. I know where there are a pair of boots that will be unearthed (un-"mudded"?) by archeologists in a few thousand years : ) the herons, egrets, woodstorks and spoonbills make it look so easy!
That makes sense to me it just was something I always see people doing and was wondering if there was a more scientific reason. I've always fished with the thought that covering as much water as you can to locate was a better way to do it but I guess specks are different.
Directions from Blacksburg to whoville, go north till you smell it then go east until you step in it
In Texas I had a pretty good idea where fish should be at different times of year, salinity, temp, etc. and I also had a bunch of friends who fished that area as well so we would share info. I'd take my boat out and run the shorelines of the Galveston Bay complex to where I saw the conditions I wanted (e.g., water color, tidal movement, nervous bait); and then I'd get out and wade. If I didn't catch anything pretty quick, I'd move. If that didn't work, then I'd drift deeper water.
Wading a secluded shoreline at sunrise/sunset is about as peaceful as it gets.
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