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Trout bite finally slows
TIDELAND NEWS
Dr. Bogus
For now, the water tem-peratures are just about normal for this time of year, that is in the low 50s, but that’s about the only thing that appears normal in the weather and fishing arenas.
Normally we have a steady and reliable trout and red drum winter season into March, but this year has fallen woefully short. There is some fishing information that falls some-where between slim and none and here it is.
The usually reliable trout bite is definitely unreliable just about anywhere you go. I did hear of a 6.81-pound speck taken at the Lookout Jetty re-cently, but more reports are about getting skunked instead of getting specked!
That citation fish, which was weighed in at Chasin’ Tails in Atlantic Beach, was taken on a MirrOlure. Both MirrOrlures and mud minnows are working if there are any fish. By the way, if there aren’t any fish, it doesn’t matter what you use.
There are still some trout, mostly spikes, around the Ra-dio Island Jetty, and are being caught on MirrOlures, Mud minnows and even some caught on the fly. That “808” Clouser (black/gold/orange) can work wonders if there are fish to be had.
There are also some fish in the creeks like Spooner’s Gayle’s and Broad Creeks, some even of netable propor-tions, but you have to compete with the abundance of gill-netters who may run 300 yards of net in front of you while you are fishing. This recently happened to me at Broad Creek. Check out http://www.nomoregillnets.org/.
Bogue Pier fishing is excru-ciating slow, with only a few dogfish and occasional speck coming over the railings, al-though there is some evidence that a few hickory shad may be passing by.
Farther out, the grouper bite continues strong about 17 miles out and there are still bluefin tuna around the Knuckle Buoy at the end of the Cape Lookout shoals and to the south, there are also reports of the giant tuna out of South-port.
There are also some king mackerel to be caught east of the shoals at the Atlas Tanker in 68 to 70 degree water. Mixed in with the tuna and kings are also quite a few false albacore, which can be fun if that’s what you are looking for, or a nuisance if you are looking for bigger fare.
Finally, we are now in the New Year 2009, soon to be 4706 in the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Ox, or brown cow if you prefer. Tradition-ally, the New Year is the time for resolutions, things to do or do differently on a path to im-prove your life, or the lives of others, in some manor.
Here are some “bogus” suggestions for the anglers out there to make your fishing experience and possibly that of others more enjoyable or pro-ductive.
If you haven’t already, and are in need as a novice or a refresher, it’s time to sign up for upcoming the USCG Aux-iliary Boating Skills and Sea-manship Class. This will be held at the Coast Guard Station in Emerald Isle, Feb. 19 to April 2. Cost is $35 for materi-als and pre registration is re-quired. For info and registration call (252) 354-4117 or (252) 876-2461.
Get or renew your saltwater fishing license. Remember it’s good for one year from date and time of purchase (www.ncdmf.net).
Before the spring, change your fishing line, it’s the only thing between you and your fish and replace or sharpen your dull and rusty hooks. A sharp hook is one of the easiest ways to increase your catch.
Lighten-up! Go to lighter tackle and gear. Each season I seem to lighten up for fun.
Join a local fishing club. There is a wealth of knowledge out there and talking to buddy anglers at a meeting and lis-tening to the presenting experts is a great way to get luckier. Local clubs include Onslow Bay Saltwater Fishing Club, Saltwater Light Tackle Fishing Club and the Cape Lookout Fly Fishers.
Get a “Totally Bogus Fish-ing Report” subscription or fishing lesson from Dr. Bogus.
Here are some bait tips to resolve.
Read my lips, fresh bait only, not frozen, not bait jerky, but fresh!
As far as artificials, play with your baits. Go to a place where the water is quiet, cast, retrieve, jig your bait, see how fast it sinks, how it moves, see what speed retrieval is optimal for most lifelike action. Get to know your bait, build confi-dence in your artificial baits for better fishing.
Tie your own flies or mod-ify your own baits or build you own rods. There is nothing better than to catch fish on your own rod with your own hand-tied fly. Remember, jig/fly-tandem rigs rule!
Location, location, location!
So resolve to try new fish-ing locations. Remember that 80 percent of the people fish in 20 percent of the fishing holes, so try straying from the mad-ding crowds for peace and quiet and maybe more fish.
Try Kayak fishing, I am! Kayaking is a perfect way to try new shallower and less accessible fishing holes.
Take a kid fishing, what could be better than that.
We all submit fishing re-ports to the local message boards, how about resolving to submit only useful fishing re-ports to fishing boards, details, details, details, the devil and utility for other anglers is in the details.
Be an activist for the fish and join the Crystal Coast Chapter of the Coastal Conser-vation Association of North Carolina (www.ccanc.org).
Finally, resolve to make 2009 to be your eco-friendly year by exercising good fishing practices, like catch and release, abide by bag and size limits, return “trash” fish to the water, no trash, no litter, dispose of fishing line in recycle bins, and please respect other fishermen.
(Richard “Dr. Bogus” Eh-renkaufer of Emerald Isle is on the radio every Monday at 7:30 a.m. on WTKF 107.1 FM and 1240 AM. Call him at (252) 354-4905.)
For now, the water tem-peratures are just about normal for this time of year, that is in the low 50s, but that’s about the only thing that appears normal in the weather and fishing arenas.
Normally we have a steady and reliable trout and red drum winter season into March, but this year has fallen woefully short. There is some fishing information that falls some-where between slim and none and here it is.
The usually reliable trout bite is definitely unreliable just about anywhere you go. I did hear of a 6.81-pound speck taken at the Lookout Jetty re-cently, but more reports are about getting skunked instead of getting specked!
That citation fish, which was weighed in at Chasin’ Tails in Atlantic Beach, was taken on a MirrOlure. Both MirrOrlures and mud minnows are working if there are any fish. By the way, if there aren’t any fish, it doesn’t matter what you use.
There are still some trout, mostly spikes, around the Ra-dio Island Jetty, and are being caught on MirrOlures, Mud minnows and even some caught on the fly. That “808” Clouser (black/gold/orange) can work wonders if there are fish to be had.
There are also some fish in the creeks like Spooner’s Gayle’s and Broad Creeks, some even of netable propor-tions, but you have to compete with the abundance of gill-netters who may run 300 yards of net in front of you while you are fishing. This recently happened to me at Broad Creek. Check out http://www.nomoregillnets.org/.
Bogue Pier fishing is excru-ciating slow, with only a few dogfish and occasional speck coming over the railings, al-though there is some evidence that a few hickory shad may be passing by.
Farther out, the grouper bite continues strong about 17 miles out and there are still bluefin tuna around the Knuckle Buoy at the end of the Cape Lookout shoals and to the south, there are also reports of the giant tuna out of South-port.
There are also some king mackerel to be caught east of the shoals at the Atlas Tanker in 68 to 70 degree water. Mixed in with the tuna and kings are also quite a few false albacore, which can be fun if that’s what you are looking for, or a nuisance if you are looking for bigger fare.
Finally, we are now in the New Year 2009, soon to be 4706 in the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Ox, or brown cow if you prefer. Tradition-ally, the New Year is the time for resolutions, things to do or do differently on a path to im-prove your life, or the lives of others, in some manor.
Here are some “bogus” suggestions for the anglers out there to make your fishing experience and possibly that of others more enjoyable or pro-ductive.
If you haven’t already, and are in need as a novice or a refresher, it’s time to sign up for upcoming the USCG Aux-iliary Boating Skills and Sea-manship Class. This will be held at the Coast Guard Station in Emerald Isle, Feb. 19 to April 2. Cost is $35 for materi-als and pre registration is re-quired. For info and registration call (252) 354-4117 or (252) 876-2461.
Get or renew your saltwater fishing license. Remember it’s good for one year from date and time of purchase (www.ncdmf.net).
Before the spring, change your fishing line, it’s the only thing between you and your fish and replace or sharpen your dull and rusty hooks. A sharp hook is one of the easiest ways to increase your catch.
Lighten-up! Go to lighter tackle and gear. Each season I seem to lighten up for fun.
Join a local fishing club. There is a wealth of knowledge out there and talking to buddy anglers at a meeting and lis-tening to the presenting experts is a great way to get luckier. Local clubs include Onslow Bay Saltwater Fishing Club, Saltwater Light Tackle Fishing Club and the Cape Lookout Fly Fishers.
Get a “Totally Bogus Fish-ing Report” subscription or fishing lesson from Dr. Bogus.
Here are some bait tips to resolve.
Read my lips, fresh bait only, not frozen, not bait jerky, but fresh!
As far as artificials, play with your baits. Go to a place where the water is quiet, cast, retrieve, jig your bait, see how fast it sinks, how it moves, see what speed retrieval is optimal for most lifelike action. Get to know your bait, build confi-dence in your artificial baits for better fishing.
Tie your own flies or mod-ify your own baits or build you own rods. There is nothing better than to catch fish on your own rod with your own hand-tied fly. Remember, jig/fly-tandem rigs rule!
Location, location, location!
So resolve to try new fish-ing locations. Remember that 80 percent of the people fish in 20 percent of the fishing holes, so try straying from the mad-ding crowds for peace and quiet and maybe more fish.
Try Kayak fishing, I am! Kayaking is a perfect way to try new shallower and less accessible fishing holes.
Take a kid fishing, what could be better than that.
We all submit fishing re-ports to the local message boards, how about resolving to submit only useful fishing re-ports to fishing boards, details, details, details, the devil and utility for other anglers is in the details.
Be an activist for the fish and join the Crystal Coast Chapter of the Coastal Conser-vation Association of North Carolina (www.ccanc.org).
Finally, resolve to make 2009 to be your eco-friendly year by exercising good fishing practices, like catch and release, abide by bag and size limits, return “trash” fish to the water, no trash, no litter, dispose of fishing line in recycle bins, and please respect other fishermen.
(Richard “Dr. Bogus” Eh-renkaufer of Emerald Isle is on the radio every Monday at 7:30 a.m. on WTKF 107.1 FM and 1240 AM. Call him at (252) 354-4905.)
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of carolinacoastonline.com.
Dr. Bogus wrote on Jan 22, 2009 4:06 PM:
" Most of the trout this time of year are in the creeks in the sound as well as some still at the Cape LOokout Rock Jetty. Ther cols weather has slowed things down lately. Last trout I caught was last week in Brioad Creek and was 3.5-pounds floating a plastic shrimp on a cork. By late March and early April, we see the trout that wintered offshore coming back into the sound.
Dr. Bogus "
Dr. Bogus "
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bob hill wrote on Jan 18, 2009 11:28 AM: