Topsail Angler's Fishing Blog
Amberjacks
Friday, May 30, 2008
I went out today with John, a friend from Wilmington and Sean. We met at John’s work at 2:00pm and headed for the Wrightsville Beach boat ramp. We intended to head to the Schoolhouse and if the weather was decent then onto WR-4 form some trolling and bottom fishing.
The seas were a bit bumpy and got a little worse as we headed out but it was doable so we headed for the schoolhouse. I had some new popping lures I hoped to try out as well as tap into my arsenal of vertical jigging rigs. We were loaded with ballyhoo, sea witches and trolling gear too.
We began by trolling some ballyhoo around the wrecks. We were marking some bait pods on the surface and over the wrecks but after about 30 minutes of trolling and no takers, we decided to switch over to jigging gear. We attracted a large school of Amberjacks, curious as to what we were up to. They would follow our baits but wouldn’t take them. We tried a whole bunch of different jigs. Then we broke out the popping gear and lures. I used a Yo-Zuri dolphin colored popping lure, that did the trick. Before long I had an AJ blow up on a lure, he missed the first two times but on the third pass the game was on!
While I was fighting him, Sean hooked up as well. Double header! After a pretty good battle I landed my first amber jack on a surface popping lure! Sean broke off. John had a hook up but had the line jam on his spool and lost the fish. Sean had another hook up but this one broke him off. Then I had another but after a few minutes he managed to get into the wreckage and broke me off. Then it went quite. No more bites.
We kept switching out lures and jigs trying to find something they would hit. Sean had another hookup but he came unbuttoned. Then I switched over to a long butterfly jig in cigar minnow color and as soon as it hit the bottom, BAM - game on. This one fought even harder than the first making several good runs and trying to get over tot he wreck. I managed to keep him in clear water and continued the fight. Finally landed him, he was a little bigger and probably tipped the scales at around 28 - 30 pounds. What a fighter these fish are, they earned their nickname, Reef Donkey.
That was the last hook-up for the day. we tried some more trolling but to no avail so with sunset less than an hour away we headed for the hill. We didn’t catch many but I had a big smile on my face. Amberjacks on vertical jigs and popping gear are a blast! Had a great time, Thanks John! It was nice to met and get o know you too, Sean!
Catching Report 5-22-08
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Springtime fishing is in full swing! Unfortunately so are the spring time winds.
If you can find a place out of the wind or on those days when the wind gives us a bit of a break, the fishing has been awesome. Typical of this time of year, the mornings are often a bit calmer. As the airs warms in the late afternoon and interacts with the cooler sea water, it produces a lot of wind. Then in the late evening it often dies down again. It looks like relief is in sight. The marine forecast for the entire Memorial Day week-end is looking NICE!
The piers are reporting good catches of blues. Some chopper blues are still lurking around but most that are being caught are in the 1- 2 pound class. Those are the best eating size if you like blue fish. They are being caught on most anything but the most effective method and maybe the most fun is plugging. The Gotcha lure and small diamond jigs are popular lures for plugging. Some nice flounder are also being caught, live or fresh shrimp is workign best.
Some Spanish are mixed in with the blues with the best bite being in the early morning light and the late afternoon. The Sea mullet are still biting best at night. Some flounder, pompano and croakers are also being caught. A few kings have been caught and I had one report of a cobia hooked but lost at the gaff.
Inshore the drum bite has been good with top water lures working quite well in the mornings. The speck bite has been good in the New River with fish being caught all the way up into Jacksonville.
Near shore the fishing is similar to the piers. Anglers are catching lots of blues with some nice Spanish in the mix. Work the tide line for good results around low tide. Clark spoons and Yo-zuri deep divers are working well. Small kings are out in force between the “E” buoy and Christmas rock. Most are being caught on downriggers in the 30 – 40 foot range. Blue Water Candy skirts in green or pink seem to be working well. A few Cobia have been caught near New Topsail Inlet and the near shore ledges.
The bigger kings are still further out and scattered. Try out in the 20 mile range on some of the patch reefs and ledges. The dolphin fish should be moving in closer soon but this past week they were still in 180 – 250 feet of water. Some nice Wahoo have been caught in that range as well. Plenty of amberjacks are being caught in those waters as well.
Tight Lines and Happy Memorial Day to all!
North Topsail King Mackerel
Monday, May 19, 2008
My friend and owner of Blue Water Candy Lures, Jodie, told me that he and his buddy Andy of “all In” Charters found the kings chomping on Saturday. They left out of New River inlet Saturday morning. It was a bit rough at first so they decided to pull dead cigar minnows. They headed for the “E” bouy and trolling on a line headed for Christmas Rock.
It wasn’t long before they had their first fish on. Then it was steady action for the rest of the morning.
They had the best results over some small humps between the buoy and Christmas rock. Jodie said they weren’t big but it was a good tune up for the coming season as they had some newer anglers on board. Most of the fish were caught on the down riggers at 30 - 40 feet. They were using Blue Water Candy skirts in Green, Blue and Pink (all three colors worked equally well).
He said the wind& seas laid down around mid-morning and it was right pleasant out there!
Fishing report
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Reading the marine forecast for today, I figured it would be strictly an “inside” fishing day. So checked the tides and left around 10:00. After catching a few dink flounder and rat reds I ended up near Rich Inlet. I was shocked to see almost no whitecaps and slick water outside the inlet. Weatherman missed it again.
I didn’t have the right gear for chasing kings but so I decided to switch out my terminal tackle on my light gear with deep divers and maria jigs and chase some Spanish.
It was fast approaching low tide with a SSE swell and a west wind. That meant there was a beautiful elongated tide line running out of the inlet and toward the north. I began to troll along the line, weaving in and out of the clear water. It didn’t take long before I was releasing my fourth or fifth blue fish. So I sped it up a few knots and BINGO, Spanish on! Several times I had both lines hooked up.
Being by myself, it was a challenge to keep the lines from tangling with two fish on and keep off the shoals. SO after a couple of fire drills, I went to one line and that was fine cause it kept me busy. I lost track of how many I caught but it was non stop for about two hours. I brought home a couple of nice size ones for dinner.
Nice day! Good fishing!
Report from Surf City Pier
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Vinita (SCP Manager) emailed me with a catching report and some pictures today. Pictured is Garrett, age 8, from Hampstead with a 2.02lb Spanish caught plugging with his dad.
Vinita says: The Spanish showed up this past Sunday….on days the weather was nice we saw some nice Spanish and lots of smaller blues. Some bigger blues are being caught, usually off the king rig. After dark the Va. mullet bite has been good. The weather has been kinda wacky lately, hard to call what might bite.
An angler had a king on Thursday and lost it a the gaff (pulled the hooks out). Still waiting on the first king of the ‘08 season to be caught ....the First king of the ‘08 season wins a 2008 Season King fishing pass valued at $250.