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NorthCarolina2012

Starting Techniques

• Use cast net to catch bait
• Catch sand crabs for bait
• Sabiki Rig - Didn't catch anything unbaited, hooks taken by sharks/etc. so line wasn't tough enough
• Conclusions
  • You can only catch bait if you can see useful bait.
  • I wasn't successful fishing with sand fleas, but they were plentiful.
  • Perhaps I could have tried using sand fleas in the area I knew that shrimp worked
  • Bait sabiki rig. Make your own sabiki rig with thicker (30 lb) line

Middle Techniques

• I bought shrimp, and baited sabiki rig. Tossed it past the breakers.
• Big rod: Hooks on regular 15 lb line
• Conclusions
  • Sabiki rigs were eaten by vicious animals. Needs tougher line
  • My 15 lb test rig completely snatched away by something, need 50 lb leader

Final Techniques

• Surf rod:
  • Surf Rod w/15lb test line. 4 oz weight, 2 biggish hooks. Chunk bait (pinfish mostly)
  • Pinfish weren't ideal bait, but they were available. Removed pinfins, and made chunk bait.
  • Should have used Croakers which I tossed back misstaking them for small red drum.
  • This setup held up perfectly, and pulled in a 15 lb sting ray.
• Small rod:
  • 8lb test, 1oz weight, 4-5 hooks, shrimp for bait (perhaps try sand fleas?)
  • Tossed past breakers, set hook when I feel a hit.
• Best time
  • Just after the tide came in lots of fish were biting.

Other things to try

• How to catch flounder? Bounce bait along the bottom. How to adjust above rig for this?
• Something like put weight above the bait instead of below .. ??
• Study up on targeting drum, flounder, bluefish, spanish mackerel, pompano

For next time

• Pre-rig heavy sabikis
• Buy shrimp for bait
• Catch baitfish, use as cutbait
• (Another option: just buy the bigger bait)
• When the waves were big, fishing was awful (weeds, waves, etc). when the surf is rough, read a book.

Caught

• croaker
• spot
• puffer
• pin fish
• flounder
• small sharks
• skate
• 15 lb sting ray

Missed

• red drum
• black drum
• blue fish
• keeper flounder
• weakfish
• sea trout
• pompano
• sea mullet
• Spanish mackerel

Chart of Fish

• http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120604_ncprep/nc_surf_fish.pdf

Fish Types

• Spanish Mackerel - June - October, 2lbs, great vision: clear water. Schools. Small, shiny lure.
• ! Pompano - when the water is clear - sand fleas (up from fla) - #4 and 1/0 2-hook bottom rig
• ! Sea Mullet (Kingfish/Whiting): Bloodworms. Also, shrimp/cut bait. 1-10lbs
• Croaker (Spot, Hardhead): Bottom/Shellfish feeder: show up in spring. School fish. #1 or #1/0 hooks, 2-hook bottom rig. 6-10"
• ! Gray Trout (Weakfish): Weak mouth. 1-3lbs, some 10lbs. 2-hook bottom rig w/shrimp/squid.
• Speckled Trout - spotted weakfish/spotted trout: early morning, fall from boat
• ! Red Drum (Puppy Drum) - 10-30-60lbs: April, May along beach, outer banks, look for "Sloughs" (holes) in the sand - early evening after holes have been located in the daylight. Heavy lead & bait. Fresh cut mullet. Attracted to smell of blood.
• ! Flounder: Slowly drag bait along floor. Nibbles. Wait until eats bulk of bait b4 setting hook.Long Shank Hook #2-#3/0. Minnows, squid, mullet, shark, flounder whitebelly
• ! Bluefish - Briefly show up April/May
• Striped Bass
• King Mackerel
• Cobia
• Sabiki rig - acts like small shrimp to catch small bait fish (spot/etc) to use as live bait
• Ocracoke fishing reports: http://www.fishtradewinds.com/
  • bluefish on cutbait
  • puppy drum, short flounder, sea mullets
    • puppy drum: on frozen finger mullet
  • In season: Red Drum, Spanish Mackerel, Flounder, Blue Fish, Sea Mullet
  • Big and small bluefish, and some pompano when the water is clear.
• Favorite part of Ocracoke was the fish market, it's a nonprofit ran by fisherman that only sell the daily local catch, there motto is "friends don't let friends eat imported seafood". They cooked fish from there every night for dinner: Spanish mackerel, scallops, and wahoo. The store also featured Ocracoke's famous figcake. Figs are the only fruit that grow in the island's sandy soil, they provide a base for some of the only local food products beyond seafood. Another culinary highlight of the island is a snowcone stand that sells snowcones in 40 flavor varieties with ice cream in the middle- genius!