9/27 or 9/28

[Ed&Brenda]

What are everyones plans for this weekend if any. We re hoping the waters will calm down for tomorrow or Sunday.

[Tparkin]

Hopefully getting my rig back today...it's undergoing a bit of an extreme makeover.

Planning on trying to find some trout and reds on Sunday. Looks like it's gonna be pretty nice...hopefully.

[Gunnar]

Hopefully the winds will lay down for this weekend. I'm having withdrawals and need a skiff "fix" here in prime fishing season. *014*

Gregg

[mistasherm]

The winds are due to shift W/SW

We are headed to Shackleford/Hatteras to surf the latter part of the storm swell that will be pushing to shore throughout the weekend.

We may take the skiff up there, we will make the call tonight after work.

Hopefully the wind and rain didn't make the fish too grouchy, that is plan B. *thumbsup*

[Shakespeare]

Speaking of grouchy fish... what's the fishing typically like at the CC right after a nor'easter?

[Dave]

Tentative plan is to work on the skiff Sat morning and then fish around Cherry Pt in the PM, maybe do some shrimping in the evening. Think I'm gonna take Teresa down to Swansboro Sunday morning and fish the ICW and maybe up around EI.

Shake, we had a pretty darn good blow for several days, brought the creeks in the Neuse way up, with some flooding from Club Foot Creek east. It's unusual for us to get such heavy and prolonged N/NE wind this time of year. High winds in September are usually associated with S/SE winds brought on by tropical storms/hurricanes. Fortunately, these N/NE winds were not too cold and the water temps didn't drop much, so I am hopeful the bait didn't move to far away from home. Hopefully some of the guys will get out this weekend and report their findings and results.

Dave

[Big Will]

Looks like I'll be cooking fish!

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q246/BiggWilll/08MomandDadFishingTrip002.jpg

My wife caught these two on cut lady fish.

[Ed&Brenda]

Dave where at on CP? Hancock or Slocum?

[Dave]

Ed, sorry I missed your post 'till late in the day. We ended up going to Hancock late in the afternoon, after 1700. Didn't even take a fishing pole, just wanted to get the skiff in the water for a couple hours. We'll be heading to Swansboro in a few minutes to ramp at Shell Rock Landing. I'll have my cell phone with me if you want to call. Will be monitoring VHF channel 71.

Dave

[Gunnar]

Shakespeare the fishing is OK after a September nor'easter.

Way to go Mr.s Big Will ! *thumbsup*

I fished this morning out of Holden Beach. I used the new members map to find a new place to fish, a little creek towards Southport that looked really good from the satelite image. Managed to land 2 keeper flounder after losing 3 in a row right at the boat when they opened their mouths and shook(I hate when that happens*004*). The flounder bite slowed so I went further up the creek to try to catch some puppy drum coming out of the grass and landed three slot fish on an in-line spinner bait.

A beautiful day and a few fish. Now I'm ready to go back to work for another week.

Gregg

[Ed&Brenda]

Dave, we had church today. stayed local. It was HORRIBLE for us. We caught NOTHING.

[Tparkin]

Dave,

I saw you putting over at Shell Rock on Sunday. I went out a couple boats ahead of you. Did you have any luck?

How did the T-Top project work out? Looked good from where I was.

[Dave]

The way our fishing went in the morning Ed, we too would have been as well off going to morning services ;D I've heard the trout are moving up the Neuse, with several small fish starting to show up in the Cherry Point creeks. I may try my luck in and near the mouths of Hancock and Slocum during the week, this week. Keep in touch with slot-machine, he doesn't seem to be having any problem catching his share of flounder and reds in his favorite spots inside one of the those creeks. FWIW, I didn't see near as many schools of menhaden in Hancock the other afternoon. Them, and shrimp, are usually the first to leave the inland waters.

Nice day Gunnar! (Note to myself - gotta get some of those in-line spinners.) We got off to a slow start with the high tide and bait hard to find. Threw gulps for most of the morning with only one short flounder to show for our efforts, caught at Twin Holes inside Deep Creek. We were parked at the Back Bay as the tide started to leave, where we were able to catch several mullet for live bait. Moving toward the mouth of the creek, we stuck the Wang Anchor in the mud, rigged our mullets on short leaders and in front of 1 oz egg sinkers and I landed a 17" redfish on the first cast. Teresa followed up with an 18" Speck. We caught a couple legal (south of Brown's Inlet) flounder, but turned them back because we intended to fish several docks on our way back to the ramp, where flounder must be 15-1/2" to be legal.

The wind was steady and strait out of the SW. Predictions were 2 to 10 but it seems more like 10-15 to me, hedging on the 15 MPH side. We fished the docks on the outgoing and had steady hits but couldn't seem to manage a solid hookup that held to the boat. I lost one very nice flounder after a long run, maybe because the baits were on the large size, *006* but anyway, I couldn't seem to get the timing right on the hook set.

I did get a chance to test out the Wang Anchor along the docks off the ICW and it worked very well, considering the wind and current - and the extra drag of the T-top I now have on the skiff. The rod bowed significantly but held in all cases except one. In that case the bottom was sand and shell and the wind, current, and the wake from passing large craft upset the skiff and caused the pole to pull away from the slope of this loose bottom. I've had that situation happen with good anchors under the same conditions.

Tommy, you should have hollered. I tried calling you on the cell on our way to the ramp. A retired Navy Captain stopped me in the Bogue Lowe's food parking lot to ask me about the top - said he was thinking of putting one on his 21' DLX soon - I highly recommended it. I'm loving the T-top. My skiff has always been a little bow high and the top gives it a little more (on plane) but I think I'm gonna solve that when I install dual batteries up front for a trolling motor I want to get. The wind resistance of the top also makes it a bit more tricky to maneuver in the narrow channels but by days end, I about got used to it. That said, we love everything about having the T-top - thanks Pal *Cheers* So, how'd your day go?

That's a good looking pair of reds there Big Will - congrats to Mrs Will *thumbsup* Teresa caught the only fish we put on ice yesterday.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc188/djerhart/Teresaw-18inchSpeck28Sep08002resize.jpg

[Tparkin]

*Cheers* So, how'd your day go?

Not too bad. I mainly wanted to get the boat in the water after having the transom repaired and try out the new poling platform. Started out looking for specs with live bait, which I loathe, but didn't have any luck. Ended up in a tight creek sight casting to reds. It's amazing the difference it makes being another ~4ft. higher. I could actually cast to fish that were laying on the bottom up against the marsh that normally it would be impossible to spot. It's a whole different ball game when you can witness how fish react to your lure and placement. Ended up landing around 8 in the 23-24 inch range...nice fat fish.

[Dave]

Not too bad. I mainly wanted to get the boat in the water after having the transom repaired and try out the new poling platform... Ended up landing around 8 in the 23-24 inch range...nice fat fish.

Not too BAD --- do you carry spare drag washers on board for when you mainly want to catch fish? *laughing*... sorry, couldn't resist ;D

Hey, that's darn quick work on your transom and getting your poling platform up. Were you poling and fishing all alone or did you have a partner in the skiff? Man, I bet that was a hoot spotting those reds from up there - I'd sure like to see that action. Combining hunting with fishing - doesn't get any better than that! When you get a chance, post up a picture of your new rig for us to see, eigh?

Dave

[redneckredfishr]

Dave & Teresa, nice job! *thumbsup*

Redneck

[Big Will]

Teresa caught the only fish we put on ice yesterday.


I've said it before and I'll say it again, she's a keeper. *Cheers*

[Tparkin]

Yeah, he made quick work of my rig.

The transom damage ended up being pretty extensive though. Basically, the motor was the only thing holding it together. Ended up being about a $3000 repair bill.

The platform is definitely worth the investment for the type of fishing that I like to do. It's like a trolling motor...you never realize how handy they are until you have one. I was fishing alone which made it quite a bit of work when I hooked up. Climbing down while trying to keep a tight line proves to be a bit difficult...I'm bound to fall in at some point, let's just hope that it is while the water is still warm.*008*

I'll post some pics soon now that phase 1 is complete. Now I've gotta get the XL console, power pole, leaning post, etc....yeah right!;D

We'll have to hook up sometime while the bait is still inshore. I'll take you to my A#1 spot...it's chock full of 'em ;)

[Dave]

Seen ya running back to the ramp Saturday afternoon Tommy. Teresa and I were fishing a few of the docks just west of Shell Rock Landing when I spotted your Retro Graphics skiff, sporting your new poling platform, shooting out of the cut to Bear Inlet - good lookin' skiff *Cheers*

Dave

[Tparkin]

man what a weekend Dave...sorry I missed ya, wish I knew you were in the area beacuse we found several schools of drum....400-500 in each school right outside of Bear inlet. Probably caught over a hundred in two days. We kept a few of the smallest ones and they were 26-27 inchers. Most were 30-36 inches. Got one half way to the boat and an 8ft shark skyrocketed on him...fought the shark for a few minutes until he broke the leader. Next fish on, thought I'd be slick and flip 'em in the boat with no net...ended up breaking a $100 Tica carbon rod in half. Despite breaking off tons of tackle and losing my favorite rod it was still one of the best fishing weekends in recent history.

If any of you guys get the opportunity it would be well worth the drive to get into these schools before the wind picks back up. They are hanging between Bear and Browns inlet along the shoals feeding on the bait fish that are trickling out from inshore. Be prepared though, it's a 2 to 3 man job since the fish are running right on the beach in the breakers...not for the nautically challenged.*thumbsup*

[Tparkin]

here's a pic of one from Saturday 10/4. Sorry for the poor resolution, all I had was the camera on my phone.

[Dave]

Maaaaaaaaan Tommy - what a hoot that must have been!!! Teresa and I were playing with a couple schools of pups in a backwater creek and couldn't get a bite for nothin'. We did manage to land an undersize red and a couple flounder, only one was a keeper. You fellows have a beautiful area to boat and fish and I know if I keep at it, I'll eventually figure it out ;D I had a feeling something big was gonna be happening along the beaches this week, just outside the inlets, with the cool nights and the bait starting to filter out - lots of bait this year. Looking at GoogleEarth, it appears there is plenty of sheltered shallows to the south of Bear inlet with only a 1/4 mile hump to the surf. Any reason why a man couldn't beach his skiff behind the inlet and walk out over to the other side to surf fish the beaches?

Great report *Cheers* I do hope some of the members get out after those reds while they're schooled up like that. I may give you a call later this morning to get a few more details...

Dave

[Tparkin]

The island to the right of Bear Inlet (if you're heading out)...or, South of the inlet is owned by Camp Lejeune. They've gotten very strict about anybody making landfall there or on any of the islands and channels adjacent to there (heading South). Part of that island is used for bombing and there are supposedly unexploded ordinance around there. The island to the left, or North, is Bear Island (Hammocks Beach). You can park on the backside and walk to the surf there but the fish seem to stay South of the inlet along the shoals. We did find a school off of Bear Island but they were too far out to cast to from the beach.

[Tparkin]

Here's another pic that a local guide posted on another site...same school of fish.
http://www.ncwaterman.com/forum/uploads/9192/Capt_Ren_97269553feesh.jpg

[Gunnar]

Cool picture Tparkin.

I found schools like that last year off of Bear island. Lots of fun.

I think I saw you at Shell Rock Landing pulling out Sat. Nice boat, it looks like you're set up to do some serious redfishing. I spent the weekend in search of specks without much luck and ended up catching drum inside(not that I'm complaining;D). Will probably be back up there next weekend.

Gregg

[Tparkin]

I started out both days, Sat and Sun, with the intention of looking seriously for Trout...but with reds biting like that I couldn't resist.

[Dave]

The island to the right of Bear Inlet (if you're heading out)...or, South of the inlet is owned by Camp Lejeune. They've gotten very strict about anybody making landfall there or on any of the islands and channels adjacent to there (heading South). Part of that island is used for bombing and there are supposedly unexploded ordinance around there. The island to the left, or North, is Bear Island (Hammocks Beach). You can park on the backside and walk to the surf there but the fish seem to stay South of the inlet along the shoals. We did find a school off of Bear Island but they were too far out to cast to from the beach.

That explains that - didn't know CamLej came all the way up to Bear Inlet *thumbsup* Today might have been the last day for a while to be able to work the skiff near the beach. NE winds expected to blow right down the beach for next few days, on top of higher sea conditions. That picture illustrates well, how the surf looked and the large school of reds circling just outside the break - worth a thousand words... Thanks *Cheers*
Dave