The Kayaks Storm Fort Fisher!

This week's adventure for the kayak crowd was the 2nd Annual Kayak Fishing Meet & Greet at Fort Fisher, hosted by Druminator, and featuring his dad on the grill! I'd estimate somewhere between 30 and 40 kayak anglers made it out to the Fort for meeting, greeting, fishing, eating and checking out the other boats.

I put a bunch of NCangler faces to names out there, but its a bit of a blur right now. Here's an attempt to list the ones I had not met or fished with before - Druminator, NCMalibuEx, Straps57, Moseyak, Ebogdanski, 69corps, CarolinaFly, Erayyak, Nraycroft, RouseD, NCPierMan, Mulletman, Cody (Yak4fish Jr.). Repeat offenders were Lefty, me (JeffONC), Mikefromsa, Skooteri, Yak4fish. I'm sure I missed a handful - if I missed your handle, let me know and I'll get your attendance recorded! (Have seen posts from Fishgent, Eric6708, Meatloaf1991, Buckeyejoe, Flyr6105, EastCoastYak, Redneck Paddler, Msgdan from SC/KFS - don't recall formally meeting you guys, but... [Read More]

Striper fishing on Jordan Lake

Captains Blog: Wednesday November 8, 2006
(Okay I borrowed that from Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. I'm the Administrator...I can do stuff like that)
B. Everette Jordan Lake
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You know, it is never easy to find the right combination of time off work, an opening in our family schedule and favorable weather conditions at the coast for some saltwater fishing. Thus I only make about 4-5 trips to the coast each year at this point in our lives. So I started looking at freshwater options that are closer to home and potentially more doable. As a result I went fishing for Striped Bass for the first time on Wednesday morning. I had booked a charter with Capt. Troy Roberson of Striper-Sniper.com a couple months back and have been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to learn how to catch this beautiful fish of the freshwater variety.

It had rained hard most of the day on Tuesday and into Tuesday night. I awoke aroun... [Read More]

Daddy vs The Guide

Being a professional fly fishing guide and the dad of a twelve year old up-and-coming fly fisherman, can, at times, cause heartbreak...both his and mine!

One thing I've learned in my 32 years of fly fishing for trout is; they learn your tactics fast!! If you put a lot of pressure on trout using successful tactics on the same waters they'll quickly catch on and your tactics will soon loose their appeal to the fish, this is especially true in winter.

Nymphing for trout successfully is an art form, to say the least. This art form takes place on a somewhat small canvas, so you have to keep your strokes to a minimum. The more you use specialized tactics on the same water, the less productive they become. When making your living using these tactics, recreational fishing has to be kept to a minimum or your business pays the price of limited success... smaller catches.

When you're 12 yrs old and have a brand new fly rod and reel, these things are hard to understand. If you'... [Read More]

Fly fishing on the Nantahala river

Normally my weekly (bi-weekly in the winter) newspaper column focuses on coastal fishing. This week we take a detour to the NC mountains for some winter trout fishing.

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Winter weather has set-in across the state, but fish still need to eat. Many leave for warmer waters but some stay here for the winter, fish like specks and red drum. Avid anglers pursue these fish all winter long braving the cold for the enjoyment of the catch.

I took a different tack this past week. I went to a colder climate looking for a fish that thrives in the cold water, not just survives. That of course would be trout, freshwater trout that is.

Growing up on the NC coast I was able to spend part of my summers in and around North Carolina’s mountains, the Smoky Mountains, Cherokee Forest, Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests. I learned to fish for the elusive native trout using the same gear I used in the sound. Often I could be... [Read More]

The Spanish are coming!

The Bonito and blues have been strong the past few weeks. Some of the best bonito fishing has been around Diver’s rock just a few miles from New River Inlet. They also have been caught on nearby ledges and on the south end of the island at AR360 and Dallas Rocks.

One of the most amazing sights I have seen this year occurred while I was bonito fishing earlier this week near Dallas Rocks. I saw several bluefin tuna chasing bonito right out of the water. Both the bonito and the bluefin were airborne. What a sight to behold. The bluefin probably weighed in the 200 – 300 pound class. Simply amazing to see such a sight only a few miles off shore.

Soon that favorite target of near-shore anglers, the Spanish mackerel, will invade our waters. Often called simply "Spanish," this fish is the smaller cousin of the king mackerel, and there is a strong family resemblance. In fact, a mature Spanish looks very much like a juvenile king mackerel. The easiest way to tell them apart is to... [Read More]

The Kayaks Storm Lake Brandt!

It was a big day of firsts at the inaugural Get::Outdoors Kayak Fishing tournament on Lake Brandt in Greensboro today. First kayak fishing tournament for most of the participants, me included. First time for most of us on Lake Brandt. First time meeting the Hardcore guys face-to-face. I'll try to let the pictures do most of the talking and save the chatter for the forums...



The anticipation...

The unveiling of the new Hard Core logos:

Who else but stukayakfish kayaks in stereo? And how did this not win the most-tricked-out-kayak award?

The competitors take to the water

Yak4Fish watched from a safe distance today

Next Page: The fishing...... [Read More]

Fishing the Spring Striper Run at Weldon

Hi folks. I would like to share some of my Weldon experiences with y'all in hopes it will help you have a more enjoyable trip.

My first Weldon trip was an awesome experience to say the least. My buddy Bill talked me into going. I said, "Bill, my boat is fiberglass." He said, "mine is too and I have been fishing the Roanoke for many years with only a ding on my skeg to show for it." Bill's confidence made me feel good about towing the HOT SPOT two hours for a day of striper action.

Bill certainly knew the ropes and made my first trip fun and exciting. He had a plan for everything.

The first and most important thing I will tell you is go with someone that knows the ropes. Go with them in their boat, or tag along in your boat. You will gain a lot of knowledge and confidence.

The second most important thing I will tell you is, do not fish on Saturday or Sunday. The weekend crowd is enormous with many folks being "Weldon Rookies." Do yourself and... [Read More]

Topsail Fishing report

Fishing inshore has been excellent this week. The specks are still hanging around the inlets up near the marsh grass and on colder nights moving into the nearby deep holes and channels. The water temps are in the mid 50's so you need to slow down your retrieve. I caught fish this week on Gulp! shrimp in several colors and on mirrolures - the MR808 is working best. Some of my buddies are using live shrimp under a popping cork and doing well.

Today as a buddy and I were fishing for specks near New Topsail Inlet, we had a great view of the ocean. It was almost flat as a lake with very little wind. After a while we could stand it no longer. We pulled up anchor and headed out of the inlet. With no real plan in mind, we rode out to a couple of reefs and ledges nearby. Pretty soon we were on top of a huge pile of black sea bass. I love to eat BSB and so does my buddy, so we decided to meat fish for a while.

We caught over 40 fish, keeping two limits (15 each). Most where i... [Read More]

Winter Fishing in The Great Smoky Mountains

My favorite time of year has finally arrived

The leaves have turned and fell, the bookings have slowed some for the guide service, the first boar season has come and gone, and weekday traffic on our streams has greatly decreased. It is now time for me to get some fishing in. Spring, summer and fall I seldom get the chance to have a rod in my hands unless I am giving instruction or showing a client an advanced cast or mend. Now it is my time to enjoy the sport.

Along with the crisp air and water temps, something that is seldom known to a lot of fly fishing anglers occurs in the mountains of Western North Carolina-big Brown trout enter small mountain streams on their annual spawning run where a lot of these "bruisers" spend the majority of the winter. A chance to battle with one of these "brutes" on a 4wt rod makes the air and water temps worth the price of cold feet and chapped lips!

Fly fishing for trout is often seen as a spring and summe... [Read More]

GREAT FISHING IS ON NOW!!!

Todays fishing trip was an extra special one for me. Today I had on board the "YEAH RIGHT" Rudy Jenkins, Brian Robbins, Darrell Kennedy, Ronnie Hussey, and Steve Blanchard. Now, what made this one so special. Well, back more years than I want to admit, I used to Striper fish on Badin Lake, one of the lakes on the Yadkin River Chain of lakes. Rudy, had a house on that lake and we fished mostly in the winter time when the stripers were schooled up chasing the small shad from the past years hatch.

We would pull "Green Things" this was the name that was tagged onto a bait configuration that I do believe that Rudy was the one that was the originator of this bait that worked wonders on the stripers, especially in the winter months. It was not uncommon to have two stripers on at one time (on the same rod).

Well, it was cold out on the water this time of year and we would meet at Rudy's house around lunch time to get a bite to eat and warm up before the evenin... [Read More]

Why cry about rain when the fishing is great.

With the weather forecast calling for rain, my charter decided to reschedule there trip for a dry day. Around eleven, the sky cleared and the wind fell out, so I told my seven year old to dress warm and we were off. Once we got outside the inlet, the ocean was flat clam. We only had a few hours to fish, so I put the hammer down and we were flying along at 55mph headed toward Corolla. Once we arrived in the area, you could see where the fish were, by the thousands of Gannets diving in the water. I drop two lines in the water and no sooner than I set the drag, both of them starting singing. After 45 minutes of that, my son was wore out and took a breather. I couldn’t keep up with two lines, so both of them came in and I went to jigging. I couldn’t believe it, but I caught bigger fish this way using smaller lures. I’d have to argue with the person that said, bigger bait, bigger fish. I was using 3oz bucktails and catching 35lb plus fish. My son got back into the action when the old... [Read More]

Another L O N G boat ride, but worth it.

The Stripers are still biting, the only problem is the long boat ride to get them. Friday, the bite was hot, Saturday slow, Sunday its was too ruff, and today it only lasted for about a hour. I was out with Tom Gillam of Southern Shores casting bucktails. We could have caught more trolling, but decided on the action of casting. Fish were rolling on the surface and hitting everything in sight. These were a nice 30lb class fish. The weather is not looking good the rest of the week. I do have some open dates for Stripers. Give me a call.
Thanks, Ray

Memorial Weekend Fishing Wrightsville and Carolina Beaches

Hi Folks and Happy Memorial Day weekend.
Two things of importance: looks like we are going to have a pretty nice weekend and the fish are biting. I had a really nice couple today, fishing on their anniversary (her choice and what a lucky guy). We caught four flounder and one redfish.

Now here's my report:
Inshore: The flounder are biting pretty well in the inlets and the river Live menhaden has been the best bait and the incoming tide worked well for us today. Redfish are start to show but better numbers are coming just around the corner so to speak.

Near Shore: Some cobia sightings have been reported. Big chopper blues and "normal" size blues are biting well and the spanish bite is good as well.

Offshore: From the 12 mile areas to the Tower, the king mack bite is good. Favorite spots are the Schoolhouse and the 23 mile rock.

Gulfstream: Big mahi, wahoo and a few tuna have been reported. Some billfish activity is also happening.

I ho... [Read More]

Reflections on 2006 & Happy New Year!

I wonder if fish celebrate the New Year. If they do, do they eat caviar?

Like many folks, as I prepared for 2007 to be ushered in I found myself reflecting on 2006. For me it was a fine year from an angler’s prospective.

We had a mild winter which meant that there was no “freeze” kills of drum and trout. Thus many of the fish that would have been killed grew larger and provided some nice catches this fall. I caught more red drum and speckled trout this past year than I have in many, many years. Not only more, but the fish were on average larger. Last year’s spike size specks were this year’s keepers.

Flounder are not as affected with the weather, so mild winters do little to help them. Still I caught my fair share of keeper flounder in 2006. My largest this year was a 4.5 pound fish. Large enough to have been a citation size catch in 2005 but the state upped the citation weight for flounder to 5 pounds in 2006. I even caught a few flounder last week. With that... [Read More]

New Year's Eve With My Little Girl

So, I go upstairs and poke Ralph (he's been sick for two weeks) and he says he don't feel like going. I see Kristen's light is on, so I stuck my head in the door and asked her if she wanted to go trolling for a little while. She said yes, and we were off.

We launched, she pulled the truck up and parked it for me, then we started putting lines out. I had both downriggers deployed and had a leadcore rod in my hand to deploy and Kristen said, look at the depth finder. WOW, black screen down deep. I immediately laid down the rod in my hand and lowered the starboard downrigger 2 more feet. I picked up the leadcore rod to start letting it out and BAM, the downrigger I had just let down got slammed. I jerked the rod out the rod holder and passed it to Kristen. The fish did not feel like much, but then all of the sudden, the fish surface way back behind the boat and made a huge swirl and drag starting screaming.

She pumped the fish and got it turned toward the boat. I started my t... [Read More]

Crappie Fishing on Jordan Lake 3/31/07

Captains Blog: Saturday March 31, 2007
B. Everette Jordan Lake
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Saturday was a beautiful day and I was excited to have the opportunity to do a little Crappie fishing with Jordan Lake guide Steve Stephens of Hot Spot Charters. I met Steve at the Ebenezer Boat ramp at 12:15, where he had just dropped off a morning charter, a husband and wife wanting to learn the technique of trolling of Jordan Lake stripers. We headed over to the Beaver Creek area of the lake and slow trolled minnows for several hours. Fishing was a bit slow but we managed to put 12 keepers in the live well including a very nice Crappie that weighed over 2.5 pounds by the Boca grip scale. Many thanks to Steve for an enjoyable day on the water. The fish will be cooking in about 30 minutes.

If you're looking for a great day of fishing for Striped Bass or Crappie contact Steve Stephens of Hot Spot Charters. Steve is a great source of fishing infor... [Read More]

Such Great Faith!

On Dec 27th I received a call from a lady in transit from Tampa Florida, on her way to the Smoky Mts with her family. She wanted to inquire about booking my guide service for a day of fly fishing instruction for her family... all six of them! I explained this was possible but stretching my ability because they were also interested in catching some fish. She had two college aged boys that really wanted to do some fly fishing and not just casting lessons. I again explained that there was six of them and only one of me, but I would do my best. I asked if they had any waders and she replied "no." I then let her know that I wasn't equipped to furnish waders for her whole family and the water was very cold, so we would be forced to fish from the bank. She inquired about the weather and let me know that they were wearing shorts and t-shirts. I looked out the window at the snow that had fallen the day before and thought.. this is going to be fun. But because the holiday... [Read More]

Topsail Island Piers

A long held tradition on our coast is the public fishing pier. Usually the piers are privately owned but available for all to enjoy. The ocean piers on Topsail Island provide easy access to deeper water and a wider variety of fish. And to be honest, they just plain make fishing easier.

Growing up in this area, like many of the local youths, I learned to ocean fish on our piers. It wasn’t till much later that I had the opportunity to fish from a boat. We would show up in early afternoon, plunk down our money for a ticket and some bait and then proceed to fish to our hearts content. Often we fished through the night and into the wee hours of the morning.

A while back, a friend and I were trying to remember all the names of the piers from over the years. We counted at least seven that have made home on Topsail Island at various times. I think I have fished on most of them at one time or another.

The recent boom in beach development has left many of North Carolina’s... [Read More]

ALL YOU NEED IS A CALM DAY!!!

I woke up yesterday morning with no intentions of going fishing. Not that I didn't want to but the winds have been blowing steady lately and I figured today would be no different.

Around 9:00AM I decided that I might go try some speckled trout fishing if it wasn't too windy.

So, I made my way into the office and went to the weather here on the fishing reports page. The forecast wasn't bad for Monday.

That caused me to pull up the few weather buoys that are still working offshore. At the buoy that is 250 NM SE of Charleston, which is about as close as we can get right now it showed a wave height of 1 foot every 7.7 seconds.

Well, I went numb!! Here it is beautiful offshore and I have messed around until it was nearly too late to go fishing!!

I immediately got on the phone and rounded up a few friends and we put this thing together at the last minute. I met up with John Leach, owner of DUTCHMAN CREEK BAIT & TACKLE, and one of our friends, Richard... [Read More]

Butt Kicking Saturday

Left inlet with a following sea so not a bad ride. The fishing area was rougher than expected, 8-10 feet. Started fishing south with the waves which was not that terrible but turning to circle a bite was a disaster. Put lines in about 2 miles beyond 90 foot drop and fished south to 530 line. I had a crew of three of our finest from Bragg and a 10 year old son. I was concerned about the son and had told his father I did not recommend him to go the day before. The son came and did better than the men. He was the last one to get sea sick. Put lines in around 8 and by 11:15 had 9 dolphin and 2 nice wahoo. They decided they had enough fish and enough of the ocean so we started home at 11:30. The ride home was an adventure with a hefty head sea. All in all we made it back and they were happy with the catch and the site of land. Had one for today, Sunday, but one butt kicking a weekend is enough.

... [Read More]

Spanish are Biting Just Off Wrightsville and Carolina Beaches

Hi Folks,
Spanish mackerel fishing is as hot as it gets. Undoubtedly the best spanish fishing in years is happening now. Planers with clarkspoons, bird rigs with clarkspoons and casting with jigs....all are catching nice spanish along the beach.Catching a limit is predictable, but use good sense and conserve.

Inshore: The flounder bite is doing well although the fish are particular about the tide and it seems bait too. Best fishing has been on the incoming tide and the beginning of the falling tide. Best bait has been live menhaden, but if you cannot get the live bait, try GULP on a 1/4 oz. jig. Bait is getting better and better inshore and the reds are showing up with it.

Near Shore: Spanish, spanish and more spanish is the bite! A few cobia are being spotted, but catches are few as yet. Large blues are still around.

Offshore: Kings are biting best around 18-25 miles. Some mahi are biting in the 20-25 mile areas.

Gulfstream: Gulfstream fishing is producing wahoo and... [Read More]

Getting ready for a new season

Cold, cold and more cold has been the forecast the past few weeks. There are still a few fish biting but you have to really want to fish to brave the cold and slow bite.

This is the time of year to get ready for the new fishing season. That’s right if you can’t fish at least you can get ready to catch a few once the fish begin to bite. A little time spent now preparing for the season will help you get off to a great start this spring and fish right on through the fall with fewer missed opportunities.

If you make your own rigs, winter is a good time to do that. I like to make my own Flounder rigs and King Mackerel rigs. It saves a little money but the “reel” pleasure is a certain satisfaction I get when catching fish on something I handcrafted. It also keeps me connected to fishing activities when cold or stormy weather forces me indoors. The materials are simple and are available at most well equipped tackle shops.

Maintenance of your gear is very important... [Read More]

How to catch and care for mud minnows

Mud Minnows are by far the most versatile bait choice when fishing for flounder. Some bait stores carry mud minnows and this is the easiest way to procure your bait, but in some areas they are just not available. Fortunately these baits can be easily caught on your own by using a minnow trap.

How to use a minnow trap for mud minnows
A minnow trap consists of two cylindrical halves that clamp together and are made of galvanized wire. The trap allows the fish to swim through little holes at each end and once in they cannot get out. We bait our traps with a handful of the cheapest dry cat food we can find. After baited it is best to set the traps along saw grass banks with just a little of it showing above the water line. If the minnows are around it will normally only take a few hours to catch all you need, if you are using 2 traps. It is important to use the galvanized variety not the black or plastic ones as they tend to catch less minnows.
... [Read More]

Nantahala Fishing Report

The winter solstice is not scheduled until Friday but its effects were felt on the Nantahala today. The sun never made it to the water. The word Nantahala is Cherokee for "land of the noon day sun". Today there wasn't a cloud in the sky but the sun was never seen on the DH stretch of the Nantahala. The only way you could know it existed was by looking up at the mountain top. But the trout didn't seem to mind. I had 2 anglers, new to the sport of fly fishing, but they were totally addicted by the end of the day!

The day started out slow, throwing every nymph we had while working on perfecting new casting skills. The first couple of hours saw no action at all, but while working on perfecting mends to get a good drag-free drift, I noticed a nightcrawler trying to make his way out of the river. Immediately the light bulb came on! I quickly rigged a San Juan worm with a yarn strike indicator on one of the anglers rods. Within 20 minutes we had landed 6 or 7 fis... [Read More]

Striper Fishing - Spring 2008

It's that time of year again! Time to pursue the ever-elusive striped bass on Jordan Lake. Striper Sniper Adventures experienced some phenomenal fishing during 2007 with over 400 stripers boated including two weighing right at 18 lbs! We expect 2008 to be no exception as we are currently gearing up for this Spring. April and May should provide some exciting planer board fishing and June is always a productive month to be on the water.

Striper Sniper Adventures can also accommodate larger parties with the help of associate guide, Mark Edmunds. Mark brings a wealth of striper fishing knowledge and experience while providing more opportunities to get you hooked up, especially on weekends. His boat, Run-N-Late, routinely catches more fish than the Striper Sniper so you're guaranteed to have a good time on either boat!

Roanoke River Trips
Associate guide, Brad Kennon, will be on the river soon to take advantage of this once-a-year striped bass run. The fishing... [Read More]