Topsail Angler's Fishing Blog
Wahoo, Tuna, Cobia and more….......
Saturday, April 03, 2010
All week I have been watching the marine forecast and itching, planning, and anticipating an offshore fishing trip. It was a long, cold winter and I was out of the country most of the month of March, so I really wanted to get in an offshore fishing trip. Finally, Friday got here and the marine forecast was dead on, a gorgeous day! Taylor, Scott and I left from Surf City on Taylor’s boat, the Reel Return. We went through New Topsail Inlet about 5:30, well before sunrise. The ride was smooth, so we made good time on our way out to the Gulf Stream.
Our plan was to go to an area just north of a place called the Steeples and look for a nice temperature break and troll for a few hours. Then we would head to some nice bottom area in that vicinity and bottom fish for some cobia and African Pompanos. We got to our spot just before 8 o’clock and deployed our spread. Within minutes we had our first fish on, a nice size blackfin tuna!
The lines were quite for a while after that so I decided to deploy a planer and run a ballyhoo down deep. I put on a Bluewater Candy mini-jag in purple and black with a ballyhoo as bait and sent it down on a #24 planer. Boom! It got bit within minutes and it was fish fighting time! After a screaming run, the line went slack and I thought I had lost the fish, but experience told me not to give up and reel in line like crazy. Soon the line went tight again, the fish was still there and must have been swimming straight at the boat. Sounded like the tactics of a Wahoo, now I’m really pumped up! According to the video camera I fought the fish for 12 minutes and then we saw it, a nice sized Wahoo! Scott stuck him with the gaff and we boated one of the best eating fish on the planet!
We had two short strikes and then a hook-up on our way, way back line. It was Taylor’s turn to fight a fish so we got the reel off the T-top and handed it to him. The fish screamed off line for what seemed like a minute or more then stopped for a second. I saw a fish splash, it was huge and silver but I couldn’t tell what it was. Right after that Taylor says the fish is off. When he reeled the line back in we discovered the fish had bit through the mono leader. That was out last bite of the day on the troll.
We headed to a spot where I had caught some nice cobia and other fish this time last year and switched over to jigging about 11 O’clock or so. There were a number of boats there but we found a nice spot with lots of activity showing on the sonar and started jigging. Soon Scott had a nice cobia in the boat and a little later Taylor put a 38 pound cobia on ice as well. The bite continued for a few hours, not a fast paced frenzy but a steady bite. African pompano, grouper (which went back of course as the season is closed), amber jacks and of course cobia where among the fish we jigged up.
At 2 O’clock we decided to troll some more in hopes of another wahoo or two. We trolled until 3 with no bites. The water was so calm, not even a ripple on the surface, too calm for trolling really. So we headed home with a box full of fish and smiles on our faces!
Invited a Red Drum to come home today!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
I had a chance to go fishing with Breadman and Breadman Jr. today. We fished on his end of Topsail Island in some skinny water . It was pretty windy, his famous last words when he called to invite me were “I’ll get us out of the wind, don’t worry”. Ha!
I’m happy to report he put us on some decent fish. I quit counting after 15 reds. All three of us boated a fair share of reds and few small flounder. I caught the big one of the day, measured 26 1/4 inches. I also caught a nice 24 inch fish that had a NCDMF tag.
Thanks for the invite Breadman!
Spring fishing nears
Friday, March 26, 2010
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some spring fishing! I just returned from a 3 week mission trip to Kenya and Tanzania so it has been awhile since I wet a line. I’ve been talking to my fishing buddies to get the latest fishing reports for Topsail Island and the surrounding waters. Now I hope to get out this week-end and do some fishing. Here’s what I have gleaned from the reports:
Plenty of slot sized red drum (18 - 27”) are schooled up and can be found in shallow water, usually less than a foot. They may be in small deeper holes that are protected from the channel by shallow water in between. They are hiding from the dolphin which can’t get in the skinny water. So check the back of the creeks of the ICW and use a rapidly moving bait over the flats. One buddy caught over 35 red fish in just a few hours one day this week. A few specks are also being caught, a few in the 3-5 pound range too. Late March and early April are great times to fine the big specks at the mouths of creeks off of the New River. A few nice size flounder have been caught but you have to be very patient right now, work you bait slowly or if you can find some live bait, that is the best option for flounder right now.
I have an unconfirmed report of Atlantic Bonito about 12 miles offshore. Another few weeks and they should be showing up inside of the 5 mile range. A few blues are being caught and some sea mullet. Offshore some nice size cobia and a few yellowfin tuna have been reported. Some nice African Pompano were caught earlier this week in the Gulf Stream off of Cape Fear.
I hope you are able to get out and catch some, be sure to post a report and some pictures in our forums when you do!
Deer
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Okay…I know, this is a website about fishing. But just had to show off my nice 8 point buck from this past season. Gery Vaughn, my good fishing buddy and taxidermist did the mount for me. Gery does wonderful work, check his website for more pictures of his work - www.huntershaventaxidermy.com
Fishermen In Support of Heroes
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Fishermen In Support of Heroes, Inc. launched their new website today, www.fishheroes.org. The organization is also known by its acronym, F.I.S.H and is dedicated to honoring and showing appreciation to our military members.
The website was designed to promote and support activities related to honoring our true heroes who serve our country so proudly. It features sections regarding our mission, news, events, donors and of course a gallery with photos and videos. We also will use the site to raise donations and as a central point for recruiting volunteers .
The organization’s primary focus is on Wounded Warriors at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and Fort Bragg Army Base. As a group of fisherman, we do this by taking these men fishing and building a bond with them, letting them know how much we appreciate the sacrifices they have made for our country. We also purchase gear for their use and provide fishing licenses at no charge.
Fishermen In Support of Heroes, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in the state of NC. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to donate or volunteer to help out his worthwhile community effort!
Visit our website or email us for further information; info@fishheroes.org