Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report 7-27-10

Well folks the HOT weather is back and with it has been a brisk Southwest wind. The wind has really kept me inshore fishing for the last few weeks, but we did get out in the ocean a few times early in the morning before the wind got up. The days we got out the Spanish mackerel fishing was good and the days we could not get out we’ve been catching good numbers of Flounder and a few nice Redfish too. Let’s talk about that and a few other things in this weeks fishing report>>>

The great thing about Spanish mackerel fishing is that most days it is instant gratification fishing. When you take kids fishing or first time anglers this is very important for your day of fishing; “get some fish in the boat”! Spanish are fun on light tackle and they are good to eat, not a bad first time catch fish. Most of the Spanish lately are biting just off the beach to about two miles offshore. When the Spanish are on top, we are casting Maria jigs and jig fish spoons. We Rig these jigs with thirty pound mono or Fluoro leader material.

When the Spanish are not jumping, we are trolling number one planners with Clark spoons. The Clark spoons that have worked the best for us have been #00 and #0 in colors gold, silver and pink flash. We rig the planner with a ball bearing swivel connected to thirty to forty feet of thirty pound mono leader then the Clark spoon tied on. I have just this year started to use a new product for Spanish fishing and it works great, it’s the Blue Water Candy Spanish Daisy Chain. You can troll this rig on a light spinning or bait casting combo and catch Spanish in very good numbers. The colors I’ve had the best luck with are pink, blue and silver. We put a three foot shot of thirty pound Fluorocarbon in front of the chain with a ball bearing swivel for line twist. On one of my last Spanish trips we caught over thirty Spanish and a fifth teen pound King mackerel on the Spanish Daisy chain. Give it a try!

Flounder fishing has been good lately, with good numbers and starting to see bigger fish everyday. We have caught Flounder good on live bait as well as artificial baits and some of the bigger Flounder lately have hit artificial baits. Live baits like mud minnows and small mullet rigged on light Carolina rigs are doing the trick when using live baits. Jig heads rigged with Berkley Gulps new Mud minnow/croaker pattern have been great for our Flounder trips in the last three weeks. We have caught two Flounder over Five pounds so far on this new Gulp pattern. We rig the Mud minnow Gulp on a 1/4oz to 3/8oz gray or red jig heads (spring lock) works the best. A thirty pound mono or fluoro leader about fifth teen to twenty inches long will work just fine. The colors that we’ve had the most luck with are Killifish, New Penny, Pearl White and Sardine. I have no idea why these baits work so well for Flounder but they really do work. On a trip two weeks ago, I had one guy fishing with the Mud minnow Gulp and he caught the biggest and most Flounder that day!

We’ve caught a few Reds this last two weeks, not as good as I would like it to be but still getting a hand full. One thing we have in this area is a lot of pressure on the Redfish. With so many people today chasing Redfish and with not a lot water fish IE: “lots of people fishing”, Redfish are taking a beating around Wrightsville Beach. So how do you catch Redfish with so much pressure; go early in the mornings or very late afternoon or fish for something else! “I’m sure you can tell in this short paragraph how I feel about local Redfishing lately.”

Shark fishing has gotten very good in the last two weeks and will only get better. Shark fishing will be good until early October. Best baits for the near shore sharks are, fresh and live Menhaden. When we use bait to catch the sharks we use spinning reels, with 300+ yards of thirty and fifty pound Spider wire Ultracast braid. Rigging the baits; eight feet of 80 pound mono leader; some will wind on to the reel. Connected the 80 pound mono to a fifty pound swivel, then to Two to three foot of #9 SS wire and an 8/0 or 9/0 off set J hook; this rig should get’em to the boat.

Fishing Gear we use:

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. I’m very busy this time of year but if you would like to go fishing please feel free to call any time to check my availability and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Posted in Fishing Report on July 27th, 2010 | Comments Off

Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report-July 7, 2010

Wow we have had some really nice weather around Wrightsville Beach and surrounding beaches! The forth of July weekend was some of the best weather I’ve seen around here this time of year. And with those cooler temps the fishing was great! It was starting to get a little to hot for June, but with the cooler weather the inshore and near shore waters have cooled just a bit and has helped the fishing. Let’s go over that in this weeks fishing report.

Flounder fishing has really picked up in the last week. There is a mix of size in the Flounders we are catching. Some keepers some not, but the bite is really on for catching them. Live bait has been the key for catching higher numbers of Flounder, but you can catch them on artificial bait too. Mud minnows and small finger mullet have been the best live baits lately. Rigging the live bait on carolina rigs with EC 042 1/0 hooks is a good choice of rigs for Flounder.

If you prefer to use artificial baits; scented and none scented grubs as well as spinner baits will do the job. Berkley Gulp 3” pogy in pearl white and smelt colors. Rig the grubs on a red or black jig head for best results. Saltwater Assassin spinner baits with space monkey, copperhead, and chicken on a chain colored grubs have caught us some nice Flounder lately too.

One of my favorites when the water and air gets hot is the good’ole Sheephead! These fish are fun to catch and there really good to eat! It’s not hard to catch Sheephead, you just have got to put your time in and give it a try! Rigging is easy for Sheephead; we use a short carolina rig with forty pound mono or fluorocarbon leader about eight to ten inches long. The hook is a number one or 1/0 live bait nose hook; small, sharp and strong, very important for Sheephead! Look for Sheephead around pilings, bulkheads and large oyster rocks that stay covered up by water most of the tide. For bait, we catch fiddler crabs on mud banks on the ICW. Drop it down and check your bait in one minute, if it’s gone and you did not feel a bite; there is a Sheephead down there! Good luck!

We have seen some nice schools of Tarpon pushing up the beaches in the last two weeks. We jumped a nice eighty pound plus off on Tuesday morning, only got one jump but it cleared the water by five feet. Tarpon fishing in North Carolina can be very fun but it can be a challenge to get one to bite! We fish for Tarpon on the bottom or free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, bluefish and Menhaden. We are rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound mono leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 9/0 depending what hook series you like. I have also had a fair share of Tarpon on my kite rig with live baits like greenies, bluefish and menhaden. Nothing like seeing a Tarpon hit kite baits!

Shark fishing has been very good lately, with sharks of all sizes biting. We have caught a few over 100 pounds in the last two weeks and have seen some even bigger. Shark fishing will be good until early October. Best baits for the near shore sharks are, fresh and live Menhaden. When we use bait to catch the sharks we use spinning reels, with 300+ yards of thirty and fifty pound Spider wire Ultracast braid. Rigging the baits; eight feet of 80 pound mono leader; some will wind on to the reel. Connected the 80 pound mono to a fifty pound swivel, then to Two to three foot of #9 SS wire and an 8/0 or 9/0 off set J hook. If you prefer Fly fishing, I like Striped bass flies in Menhaden patterns with 4/0 and 5/0 hook sizes. We use ten to twelve weight set ups; have lots of extra flies with you!

Redfishing is still going good on most days. The best fishing has been earlier in the day or later in the day (lower light). We are catching the reds on top water lures and rattling corks (SWA kwik-croks) with live bait in shallow water (one to three foot). When we fish docks and channels (deeper waters); we are using live bait, fresh cut bait and scented grubs. Scented grubs like Berkley Gulp and Powerbait have been working well for the Reds.

Keep your eye out for a great new Berkley Gulp product called the Ripple Mullet. Finally a Gulp bait with great scent and ACTION!! You’re not going to believe it till you see them! And yes they work; trust me!

Fishing Gear we use:

Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lite 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.
Cobia, Shark and Tarpon: Spinning setup Penn Conquer 7000 with an Ugly Stick Tiger lite Jigging rod 6’ 6” and Penn 320LD Reel and a Tiger lite jigging rod. Line for Cobia, Shark and Tarpon: Berkley Big Game 30# mono and 50# Spiderwire Stealth High-Vis Yellow.

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Posted in Fishing Report on July 8th, 2010 | Comments Off

Fishing Report-Wrightsville Beach, NC May 24, 2010

The weather is still warm to hot and the fishing is the same, some days warm; some day we have hot fishing. The water temps in the area are getting to late July temps already in June; I believe this is going to give us a summer trend of fishing for most of the season. To the fishing report>>>.

We are still seeing so good numbers of Cobia around the area waters. The Cobia are around the inlets, shoals, and bars just off the beach. We are also still seeing them offshore a bit; around hard bottoms and reefs. Live bait has been the key to the bigger fish lately. Smaller Cobia have hit jigs around the inlets and ocean sand bars. Sight casting live bait to bigger Cobia just off the beach has produced some nice Cobia form Carolina Beach to Topsail. When we drift fish for Cobia, we are using carolina rigs with three to four once egg sinkers and 7/0 circle hooks with an eighty pound Berkley big game mono leader. The baits we are using are small Bluefish, Mullet, and Menhaden.

The Flounder fishing is really starting to pick up. We are seeing Flounder inshore as well as just off the beaches. The places we look for Flounder are in the ICW, Cape Fear River and Creeks off the ICW. Look for drop offs on the edge of the main channel with current or any where baitfish are passing by. Most of the Flounder are eating little menhaden and Mud minnows on light Carolina rigs. The Flounder are mixed in size to just under keeper size to a few over five pounds. We have caught some Flounder on Artificial baits as well. We have had the best luck with Berkley Gulp 3” pogy in pearl white and smelt colors. Rig the grubs on a red or black jig head for best results.

We have had some great Sharks fishing trips in the last two weeks; the bigger fish are just starting to show up. We are already even starting to see a few Hammerheads just off the beach. Shark fishing will be good until early October. Best baits for the near shore sharks are, fresh and live Menhaden. When we use bait to catch the sharks we use spinning reels, with 300+ yards of thirty and fifty pound Spider wire Ultracast braid. Rigging the baits; eight feet of 80 pound mono leader; some will wind on to the reel. Connected the 80 pound mono to a fifty pound swivel, then to Two to three foot of #9 SS wire and an 8/0 or 9/0 off set J hook. If you prefer Fly fishing, I like Striped bass flies in Menhaden patterns with 4/0 and 5/0 hook sizes. We use ten to twelve weight set ups; have lots of extra flies with you!

When Shark fishing gets good, it’s not long before we start to see some Tarpon in the area. We have seen some nice schools of Tarpon pushing up the beaches in the last two weeks. Tarpon fishing in North Carolina can be very fun but it can be a challenge to get one to bite! We fish for Tarpon on the bottom or free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, bluefish and Menhaden. We are rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound mono leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 9/0 depending what hook series you like. I have also had a fair share of Tarpon on my kite rig with live baits like greenies, bluefish and menhaden. Nothing like seeing a Tarpon hit kite baits!

Redfish are still biting well, but with all the hot weather its best to go early in the morning or later afternoons when the water is a bit cooler. Topwater lures and rattling corks in the shallow waters earlier mornings and afternoons will produce some Redfish. Working grubs like Berkley Gulp later in the day in deeper waters will also produce Reds for ya. Sometimes it can be just like colder mouths, slow down your presentation a little when the water gets hot. Give the Redfish a little more time to catch up with your bait.

A few other fish that are biting lately; Spanish mackerel bite has been hit or miss lately. The best catching have been earlier in the morning and casting jigs and spoons to jumping fish, has put most of the fish in the boat lately. The Sheephead bite has really picked up in the last few weeks, fishing around bridges, pilings and bulkheads will produce some nice Sheephead. Off the beach from five to fifth teen miles the King Mackerel and Mahi are showing some. Fast trolling Ballyhoo or slow trolling lives baits a working for the Mackerel and Mahi. There has also been a few Sailfish caught as well lately in the same areas.

Fishing Gear we use:

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com

Posted in Fishing Report on June 30th, 2010 | Comments Off

Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report June 8, 2010

Southeast North Carolina has been quite HOT lately the good thing about this is the fishing has been the same; HOT! The summer trend of local fishing is really showing and the summer fish showing up in good numbers too. We have been fishing for all kinds of fish lately; Mackerel, Cobia, Blues, Redfish, Flounder, Trout and Sharks. Let’s talk about that in this weeks fishing report>>>

Let’s start with one of my favorites; Cobia. I love to catch’em, cook’em and eat’em! We have seen quite a few Cobia lately; we caught a forty pounder on last Monday. We are seeing most of the Cobia just off the beach and out to five miles off the beach. Live bait has been the key to the bigger fish lately. Smaller Cobia have hit jigs around the inlets and ocean sand bars. Sight casting live bait to bigger Cobia just off the beach has produced some nice Cobia form Carolina Beach to Topsail. When we drift fish for Cobia, we are using carolina rigs with three to four once egg sinkers and 7/0 circle hooks with an eighty pound Berkley big game mono leader. The baits we are using are small Bluefish, Mullet, and Menhaden. Drifting these baits around inlets, sandbars and near shore live bottoms; has produced the best bites.

The inshore Redfish bite has been very good lately with artificial baits as well fresh cut and live baits. Working shallow waters early morning and late afternoon when the heat of the day is lower has produced well. Later in the day when the sun is high, we are working deeper waters for the Redfish. The shallow water lures have been MirrOlure’s Top Dog Jr and Top Pup, also a rattling cork with a Berkley Gulp Alive peeler crab under the cork has also produced very well in waters of one to three foot deep.

When we are fishing deeper grubs that have been doing well are Berkley Power bait shrimp and Gulp Alive 3” shrimp in colors new penny and molting. Saltwater Assassin’s Copperhead and 10W40 colors are catching some Reds as well. Rigging the grubs on a simple red jig head 1/8oz to 1/4oz, just make sure the jig head has a hook that will not straighten out when you hook that nice Redfish! Tip: one thing I’ve starting using this season is Berkley Gulp Alive Shrimp spray; I put a shot on all my non-scented grubs. It seems to work well for Redfish and Flounder fishing.

The Spanish mackerel bite has been good lately with the best of it being early in the morning and late afternoon. Trolling Clark spoons in sizes 00, 0 and 1 in colors sliver, gold and pinks flash are working well. When we are seeing the Spanish jumping and feeding on top; casting jigging spoons is producing some nice Spanish. There is still a lot of Blues mixed in with the Spanish up and down the beach too. We have found some bigger Spanish by going off the beach a few miles and getting away from the crowds in the clearer waters.

Flounder fishing is really picking up around the area. Most of the Flounder are eating little menhaden and Mud minnows on light Carolina rigs. The Flounder are mixed in size to just under keeper size to a few over five pounds. We have caught some Flounder on Artificial baits as well. We have had the best luck with Berkley Gulp 3” pogy in pearl white and smelt colors. Rig the grubs on a red or black jig head for best results. Flounder fishing should stay consistent right through the summer and fall.

The Shark fishing is picking up with the warmer water temps and should be good all summer long. Best baits for the near shore sharks are, fresh and live Menhaden. When we use bait to catch the sharks we use spinning reels, with 300+ yards of thirty and fifty pound Spider wire Ultracast braid. Rigging the baits; eight feet of 80 pound mono leader; some will wind on to the reel. Connected the 80 pound mono to a fifty pound swivel, then to Two to three foot of #9 SS wire and an 8/0 or 9/0 off set J hook. If you prefer Fly fishing, I like Striped bass flies in Menhaden patterns with 4/0 and 5/0 hook sizes. We use ten to twelve weight set ups; have lots of extra flies with you!

Keep your eyes peeled for some great new Berkley Gulp products that will be out soon, some of these baits are going to be great for Redfish and Flounder fishing; Trust me!!!

Fishing Gear we use:

Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lite 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.
Cobia: Spinning setup Penn Conquer 7000 with an Ugly Stick Tiger lite Jigging rod 6’ 6” and Penn 320LD Reel and a Tiger lite jigging rod. Line for Cobia Berkley Big Game 30# mono and 50# Spiderwire Stealth High-Vis Yellow.

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Posted in Fishing Report on June 9th, 2010 | Comments Off

Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report May 24, 2010

Well

Folks, the weather has been a little better lately; but with that said here comes a low pressure heading up the coast! It’s a little early for this kind of weather. With all the East/Northeast wind lately the water just off the beach has gotten very clear and has helped the fishing for my clients! Let’s talk about this in this weeks fishing report>>>

The inshore fishing is really picking up; the last two weeks have been very good inshore! We are catching Redfish on fresh bait as well as artificial lures. The best bait lately has been fresh cut menhaden and small live menhaden. Using carolina rigs with 1/0 EC L42 hooks and forty pound Berkley Big Game mono leader. A 1/2oz to 1oz egg sinkers is doing the trick for weight on the carolina rig. Fishing in the ICW, creeks and on docks with carolina rigs for deeper water Redfish has been a good trend lately. When fishing with live bait for Redfish in shallow water we are using Saltwater Assassin Kwik-Cork with twelve to sixteen inches of forty pound Berkley BG mono leader and a 1/0 EC L42 hook.

When we are casting artificial’s for the Redfish we are using a few different kinds of baits. In deeper waters scented grubs have done very well; Berkley Gulp and Powerbait have been the favorite. Gulp 3” shrimp and 2” peeler crabs on 1/4oz to 3/8ox red jig heads with a thirty pound Stern tinted Fluorocarbon leader (gunsmoke). We use the same setup for the Powerbait in shrimp and jerkshad patterns as the Gulp grubs. The swallow water artificial bite is really picking up; casting lures in one to three foot of water. MirrOlure’s Top Dog Jr and Top Pup in colors 11(red head/white body) and 808 (black/gold/orange) have been the choice top waters for us. When the sun is high and the sky is clear we cast spinner baits in shallow waters; we prefer gold spoon and new penny grubs on our spinner baits.

Sheephead fishing is starting to pick up as well around the area. The best bet is fishing around bridges, docks and bulk-heads. Fishing in water from six to fifth-teen feet for Sheephead seems to work the best for us. We fish mostly using small Carolina rigs, with forty pound mono leader and small but strong live bait hooks. Baits we are using; fiddler crabs and sand fleas have worked just fine. Give it a shot, it takes time but you’ll get one; Hold-on tight! We have also caught a hand full of very nice Blackdrum while Sheephead fishing.

We have started to catch a few very nice Speckled trout lately, summer Specks are not always easy to catch. The great thing about summer trout is they love to hit top water lures as well as grubs! This last week we had one over five pounds and few others in the two to three pound range. Casting topwater’s like the Top Dog Jr and She Dog early in the morning and late afternoon have produced some nice Trout. When we are not using topwaters, Powerbait shrimp grubs and 17MR’s are working well. Just remember Trout have very eyes, always use a fluorocarbon leader when Trout fishing. We prefer twenty pound Stren tinted Fluorocarbon leader material in tannic for brown/river colored waters and gumsmoke for clear water conditions.

Last but never lest; Cobia are starting to show up around the area waters. We look for Cobia around inlets, shoals and bait schools; near shore/offshore reefs and ledges are also a good place to look too. With the water being so clear it has been easier to see those brown logs in the water. We are throwing big jigs, swim baits and live bait to the Cobia. Color really does not seem to matter; “go bright”! When I’m not sight casting for them, we are fishing around inlets, shoals and near shore artificial reefs. We float fish, bottom fish and kite fish in these areas with live menhaden, blues and mullet as bait. You can chum if you like, but the sharks will come and they will come in numbers!

Fishing Gear we use:

Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lite 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.
Cobia: Spinning setup Penn Conquer 7000 with an Ugly Stick Tiger lite Jigging rod 6’ 6” and Penn 320LD Reel and a Tiger lite jigging rod.

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Posted in Fishing Report on May 24th, 2010 | Comments Off

Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report May 11, 2010

Hello from Southeast North Carolina, I hope everybody is having a good fishing season so far this year! I’ve had a good one so far myself; the water temps are going up so fast this year. We have had a lot of up and down weather lately, but the water temps are still going up fast. I thought we were going to be late on water temps this year but we are very close to being on time with past seasons.

The real winner for me lately has been those Spanish mackerel. My charters have done very good in the last few trips, with catches of twenty or more Spanish in a half day. Most of the Spanish are biting Clark spoons trolled behind #1 planner’s. The Clark spoons that are working the best for us are sizes; 00 and 0 in silver and pink flash. I really like the pink flash series, these spoons have worked very well for my charters. If you would like to go lighter; you can pull small deep diving lures as well.

When the Spanish are on top feeding and jumping, Maria jig spoons have been the trick. The colors that seem to be working are pink, green and blue in sizes seven & fourteen gram. (Hint): keep it to smaller lures when the weather gets hot! We also caught a few Bonita’s mixed in with the Spanish.

There has also been plenty of blue fish up and down the beach as well. Trolling or casting small deep divers has produced lots of bluefish around the inlets. We have also caught a hand full of chopper blues too. These choppers are running in the six to over fifth teen pound range. The choppers are biting big poppers and mid water stick baits. Color really does not seem to matter to those big blues, just a lot of action from the lure!

Bottom fishing just off the beach has produced some nice Black bass, grunts and small Grouper, of course on the lighter wind days! Jigs and squid are the trick, fishing the squid on simple two hook bottom rigs. Jig fishing using two to five once jigs in colors pink, green and red/white. We are fishing mostly hard and live bottom areas, in the one to ten mile range for the bottom fish. There has been some small and keeper Gray trout showing up on hard bottoms closer to the beach.

The flounder bite is picking up some too; we are starting to see a few fish inshore as well on the near shore reefs and wrecks. Most of the flounder inshore are mixed in size, but the fish in the ocean are a little better in size. Live bait and grubs are the best bet. Carolina rigs for the live bait and heavy jig heads for the grubs. I prefer bright grubs; Berkley Powerbait jerk shad and Saltwater Assassin’s sea shads in colors chart/diamond and silver mullet work very well.

Red fish have been hit or miss for me lately, some days we get a few some days we don’t. This should change when more live bait shows up in the creeks and channels. What Reds we are getting are hitting fresh bait and Berkley Gulp shrimp and peeler crabs (2”) size; on Carolina rigs and jig heads. We are starting to see a few Reds on the Flats, when we are fishing shallow waters for Reds we use Rattling corks. Rigging the Rattling corks with a Berkley Gulp 3” Shrimp, really seems to get there attention.

Fishing Gear we use:

Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.

In Other Fishing News:

June 5-6, 2010 “In the Water Fishing School” I, Capt. Rick Bennett and four other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! There will be one day of hands on classroom instruction and the next day on the water, real-time fishing experience. The school is limited to the first 24 participants! If you want to learn from the best local guides and see how we do it, take the time to check it out; http://www.rodmancharters.com/inthewater-fishing-school.htm *We only have a few spots left for this School!!! I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Posted in Fishing Report on May 11th, 2010 | Comments Off

April 26, 2010 Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report

Folks the weather has really been changing a lot lately. With ups and downs in temps, winds and cloud cover. We have had some very nice days and we’ve had some very windy days as well. Over all, the fishing has been good and we are seeing different kinds of fish showing up as the water warms up. We are even starting to see a few Spanish mackerel around just off the beach. To the Fishing Report>>>

On the nice days; light winds and sunny skies the ocean fishing has been good. We have been targeting lots of different fish like; Gray trout, Sea bass, Blues, and Flounder. Jigging has been the most productive for this kind of fishing. The best lures have been metal jigging spoons and grubs. One once jigging spoons and ½ oz grubs with Berkley Gulp as a tip on the jigging spoons. We have caught most of the fish on hard/live bottoms and artificial reefs just off the beach to six miles off the beach. There has been a hand full of very nice Sea bass, with a few over three plus pounds; that’s some great eating!

We are seeing Bonita, Blues and a few Spanish when we are trolling off the beach from one to five miles. Trolling Clark spoons and small deep driver lures has been the key to success. When using the Clark spoons, I would recommend the pink flash spoon in sizes #00, #0 and #1; the pink flash series has really helped us put more fish in the boat. A bird rig on top with a Clark spoon about five to six feet behind it or a Blue water Candy Spanish daisy chain have worked very well on top too. Look for birds working or marking bait on you fish finder is the way to find the feeding fish.

When the Bonita, Blues and Spanish are on top feeding; cast Maria and Sea striker jig-spoons. The colors that seem to work the best are pink, green and blue. We use a forty pound Fluorocarbon leader; about fifth teen to eight teen inches long. I really like Stren’s tinted (gunsmoke) floro leader material for clear water conditions; “this stuff really works”! A light weight 7’ rod loaded with ten to fifth teen pound braid is important for casting to these fast fish. The reason for this is the further you can cast equals more chance’s you will hook up. When there are a lot of boats chasing the Bonita, they get wearer of boats. If you can cast far; you will catch more of these fish!

Redfish are really starting to fire off; we are starting to see a few bigger fish in the area from Topsail down to the Cape Fear River. When we are casting lures; grubs are doing the trick. Berkley Gulp and Powerbait in colors molting and new penny; fishing them around docks, oyster rocks and grass lines are catching drum well. Bait fishing is still good and will continue right through the summer. Red and Black drum are hitting cut shrimp and mullet on Carolina rigs around the same area; dock oyster rocks etc… You never know how big or little the drum will be when you are bait fishing; we’ve had reds as small as fourteen inches and as big as over thirty inches.

Fishing Gear we use:

In Other Fishing News:

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Posted in Fishing Report on April 26th, 2010 | Comments Off

April 13, 2010

Man, we have had some great weather here lately! I hope this is the trend for the rest of the summer! Light winds, sunny days; with a little rain here and there. The water temps have really started to go up fast inshore, the ocean is going up but it’s taking its time getting up. Both inshore and near shore fishing will continue to get better with warmer air and water temps. To the fishing report>>>

The near shore bottom fishing has been good lately; with catches of Black bass, Grunts, Ring tails and a few small groupers. We also are starting to see some Bluefish and Gray trout closer to the beach. The best luck for the bottom fishing for us has been; cut squid on two hook bottom rigs. We are using 1/0, 2/0 and 3/0 EC bait holder hooks. Bank sinkers in weights one and two ounces are working well for holding the rigs to the bottom. Finding these fish is not hard, look for them on ledges, hard/live bottoms and wrecks from three to fifth teen miles offshore.

False Albacore fishing lately has been very good the days we are trying for them. We are finding the Albacore from five to twenty miles offshore. There has been a few Bonita mixed in with them form time to time as well. It should not be long before we are catching good numbers of Bonita around the area waters. The #0 and #1 pink flash Clark spoon has caught most of our fish lately. Trolling these spoons on #1 planner and up top with bird rigs; we use thirty to forty feet of forty pound Berkley big game mono as leader on the planners. On the bird rig, we rig it with five to six feet of leader to the spoon. Don’t forget to put a ball bearing swivel on the bird and planner; this will keep tangles from happing (well most of the time!)

When the Bonita and Albacore are on top feeding; cast Maria and Sea striker jig-spoons. The colors that seem to work the best are pink, green and blue. We use a forty pound Fluorocarbon leader; about fifth teen to eight teen inches long. I really like Stren’s tinted (gunsmoke) floro leader material for clear water conditions; “this stuff really works”! A light weight 7’ rod loaded with ten to fifth teen pound braid is important for casting to these fast fish. The reason for this is the further you can cast equals more chance’s you will hook up. When there are a lot of boats chasing the Bonita, they get wearer of boats. If you can cast far; you will catch more of these fish!

Something that I love to do this time of year (late March to early June) is go up to lock & dam #1 and fish for Shad. These fish are so much fun to catch; they run, jump and run some more. Light tackle and fly fishing is the name of the game here! I see so many people fishing for shad that use to heavy of tackle. Lighter tackle equals more bites and more fun! All you need is a light rod and reel; I use a Pflueger Echelon combo PECHSP50-2UL loaded with six pound Berkley Fireline crystal braid. A two shad dart rig with twenty pound mono or floro leader; darts in colors pink and green. On our last trip we caught well over fifty shad. If you have not ever tried it; you need too!

Fresh water large mouth Bass fishing is still going strong, we’ve had some great day’s bass fishing in the last two weeks. We are fishing local lakes, pond and the NE Cape Fear River. The best lures have been; sinko worms rigged with no weight in colors green pumpkin, watermelon and black/red fleck. I prefer Berkley’s 5” & 7” heavy weight fat sinkworm series, I rig the worms on 7/0 wide gag worm hooks. We have also had some luck with the 17MR MirrOlure in colors 18, 49, 50 and BKGCH. I really surprised at how many saltwater lures work so well for fresh water fishing, but also how many people don’t try’em! We are catching eight to over fifth teen bass a day; sizes of a pound to over four pounds.

The Redfish and Black drum bite in the ICW and creeks just off the ICW is still good. We are starting to see a few smaller Reds 14” to 21” in some of the creeks on warmer days. Most reds and black drum are hitting mud minnows and “fresh as you can get shrimp”. We use two hook bottom rigs with 2, 1 & 1/0 bait holder hooks, with the fresh shrimp. If you would like to go the artificial root, I would recommend using scented grubs. The best bet I’ve used has been Berkley Gulp and Berkley Powerbait shrimp in colors Pearl & New Penny. Jigs heads for the grubs in ¼ to 3/8 oz, colors red and black seem to be the trick. Work’em slow around docks and drop-offs on grass lines and oyster rocks. The best tides have been falling or raising but fishing closer to the lower parts of the tides.

Fishing Gear we use:

Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire
Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S. Fresh water gear: Pflueger Spinning reel Supreme XT 9035XT.

In Other Fishing News:

Don’t forget; there are some great boat and fishing expos coming to North Carolina. If you like fishing and boats you don’t want to miss these shows and fishing seminars! Here are the one’s that myself as well as other Ranger boats pro staff members will be at this spring.

April 23-25, 2010 Tex’s Tackle Spring Tackle Sale and Show. I’ll be there with PENN Reels and Pure fishing. We will have some of the new Tackle from Penn and Pure Fishing, if you have any questions about any products from Penn or Pure fishing we’ll be happy to answer them for you.

June 5-6, 2010 “In the Water Fishing School” I, Capt. Rick Bennett and four other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! There will be one day of hands on classroom instruction and the next day on the water, real-time fishing experience. The school is limited to the first 24 participants! If you want to learn from the best local guides and see how we do it, take the time to check it out; http://www.rodmancharters.com/inthewater-fishing school.htm I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Posted in Fishing Report on April 14th, 2010 | Comments Off

March 29, 2010

I hope everyone is enjoying this very nice weather we’ve had lately. We have had a few cooler days and the wind has been blowing but for the most part; it’s a lot better than the stuff we had this winter!!! The water temps are coming up with good speed and it looks like we are getting on track for normal water temps for this time of year.

There has been a good bite of Redfish and Black drum in the ICW and creeks just off the ICW. We are starting to see a few smaller Reds 14” to 21” in some of the creeks on warmer days. Most reds and black drum are hitting mud minnows and “fresh as you can get shrimp”. We use two hook bottom rigs with 2, 1 & 1/0 bait holder hooks, with the fresh shrimp. If you would like to go the artificial root, I would recommend using scented grubs. The best bet I’ve used has been Berkley Gulp and Berkley Powerbait shrimp in colors Pearl & New Penny. Jigs heads for the grubs in ¼ to 3/8 oz, colors red and black seem to be the trick. Work’em slow around docks and drop-offs on grass lines and oyster rocks. The best tides have been falling or raising but fishing closer to the lower parts of the tides.

We are seeing a few small Speckled trout around Wrightsville, south of Wrightsville the bigger one’s should really start to bite any day. Grubs have been the best bet for the trout; we’re using Saltwater Assassin sea shad and shrimp patterns. Colors that have worked lately; Elec. Chicken and Chart Diamond and Chicken on a chain. Don’t forget those never fell; Mirrolure’s, in colors silver mullet and white on white. Mirrolure I like are the 17MR and 27MR in the spring. The water is still cool so don’t forget to work the lures a little slower. Look for the Specks around marsh grass lines that have oysters on the edges of them.

Fresh water large mouth Bass fishing has really picked up lately, we’ve had some great day’s bass fishing in the last two weeks. We are fishing local lakes, pond and the NE Cape Fear River. The best lures have been; sinko worms rigged with no weight in colors green pumpkin, watermelon and black/red fleck. I prefer Berkley’s 5” & 7” heavy weight fat sinkworm series, I rig the worms on 7/0 wide gag worm hooks. We have also had some luck with the 17MR MirrOlure in colors 18, 49, 50 and BKGCH. I really surprised at how many saltwater lures work so well for fresh water fishing, but also how many people don’t try’em! We are catching eight to over fifth teen bass a day; sizes of a pound to over four pounds.

Near shore bottom fishing is good now with catches of sea bass, ringtails and tautogs. The dog sharks are thick just off the beach too, we had over 25 sharks on the last near shore bottom fishing trip. Squid has been the bait of choice, I like squid because it stays on the hook and it’s easier to catch the bigger fish with it. I like to make my own bottom rigs for bottom fishing. I use sixty pound mono with three way swivels and 3/0 off set J hooks. A two to four once bank sinker tied to twenty pound mono, that way if it gets hung-up you can get your rig back. This kind of fishing is great for kids and beginners because it’s instant gratification; drop down and get a bite!

Fishing Gear we use:

Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire
Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S. Fresh water gear: Pflueger Spinning reel Supreme XT 9035XT.

In Other Fishing News:

June 5-6, 2010 “In the Water Fishing School” Myself, Capt. Rick Bennett
and four other of the best local guides are putting on this school on. This school will be real-time hands on fishing experience! There will be one day of hands on classroom instruction and the next day on the water, real-time fishing experience. The school is limited to the first 24 participants! If you want to learn from the best local guides and see how we do it, take the time to check it out; http://www.rodmancharters.com/inthewater-fishing-school.htm I’m really looking forward to being part of this school!

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Posted in Fishing Report on March 29th, 2010 | Comments Off

March 15, 2010

(Finally) is this week’s word; finally the weather is warming up. Finally we are starting to see more fish inshore; FINALLY!!! We have been waiting all winter for weather like this; let’s hope it stays this way and spring is really springing! With the warmer weather we are starting to see and catch more fish around the area waters. Let’s talk about that in this week fishing report.

I know I have talked about them all winter but the surf Redfish are still there and going pretty strong most days we can get to them. On Tuesday 3-9, we had a good day; we went 16 for about 25 bites. Six of the Redfish were over the slot, with the biggest coming in at 33”; not a bad (winter) Redfish! The Reds were hitting Saltwater Assassin grubs in colors 10w40 with lime tail and Copperhead. They also were hitting Berkley Powerbait 5” jerkshad in the color Golden Sardine. We were using 3/8oz red jig heads, with 20 pound Stren gunsmoke tinted fluorocarbon leader material. The water was pretty clear that day and the fish had seen a lot of lures.

The local fresh water fishing has picked up lately with catches of large mouth bass and catfish. On winder days we have gotten out on the river and some of the local lakes. The best luck we have had for the bass has been worm fishing; Carolina and Taxes rigging. I’ve been using a new worm lately by Berkley; it’s the Powerbait Heavy weight series in 5” and 7” Fat. The colors that are working well have been; Grn Pumpkin/Wmln, June bug and Watermelon. We have also caught a few Bass on MirrOlure 17MR series in colors red back and silver.

Catfishing has been up and down, some nights fifth teen or more catfish but some nights just a few cats. Most catfish are hitting chicken levers and Berkley Gulp blood/shad dough. We are using 2/0 EC bait holder hooks with forty pound mono leader about eight to twelve inches long and a ¾ to one ounce river sinker (Carolina rig). Fishing at night has produced the best numbers and biggest catfish. Now that the weather is warmer, night fishing is not too bad.

Speckled trout fishing should really start to fire off very soon with the warmer weather and water temps. In the spring I like to throw quite large list of lures. The reason for this is; I’ve found that trout are eating different kinds of baits in different places IE creeks, channels and inlets. With bait being a little short in the spring, they will hit about anything. Presenting the bait can be the harder part; the reason for all the different baits! Here is a list of what works for me in the spring.
MirrOlures; 17MR and 27MR in colors: 18, 50, BCH, BKGCH, BNSBO. Catch 2000 20MR & Catch 2000jr 22MR in Colors 18, 808, BNS, CH. I use these styles in depths of one to five feet of water. Classic 52M & 52MR in Colors 18, 19, 23, 808, CH. MirrOlure Series III S52MR in Colors 18, 808, BCH, BNGBO, GR. I use these styles in depths of four to ten feet of water. These color codes are right from MirrOlure’s web site. www.mirrolure.com

Soft plastics: Saltwater Assassin Sea Shads, (4) four inch size. These colors are for clear blue/green waters; S&P SLV.PH/CHART.TL, CHART. DIAMOND, PINK DIAMOND, GREENBANK SHINER, CRYSTAL SHAD. Dirty, Stained or River water Colors: CHICKEN ON A CHAIN, PUMP SEED/CHART. TL, TEXAS ROACH and MORNING GLORY. In shrimp pattern soft lures I prefer Berkley Powerbait shrimp in colors pearl white and natural. I rig all these soft baits with 1/8oz to 1/4oz jig heads in colors red, gray and black.

There has started to be a Black drum and small redfish (rats) bite the last two weeks, most days we are catching six to over ten on a half day. This type of fishing will get better very soon. Most of the drum are biting around docks and creek mouths in the ICW. The best bait has been fresh cut shrimp in small pieces. We are using small two hook drop rig, with a number 2 bait holder hook and one or two oz bank sinkers.

Fishing Gear we use:

Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire
Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S.

In Other Fishing News:

March 20-12, 2010 Cape Fear Wildlife Expo, at the Coastline Convention Center. http://www.capefearwildlifeexpo.com Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy two days of hunting and fishing exhibitors, wildlife art, decoys, boats and accessories, truck and ATV displays, Hunter Safety Certification Class, fly fishing demos, camping, guides, outfitters, sportfishing simulator, contests, archery demos and fun for the entire family.

Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. Don’t forget that special winter rates end on March 31st, so if you have cabin fever and want to get out on the water; give me a call. Book now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Posted in Fishing Report on March 15th, 2010 | Comments Off « Previous Entries