Is't almost Rockfish time again.

[Capt. Ray]

The fishing lately has either been very good or very bad. I not sure if it is due to all the wind and rain we have had or the change in the water temp, but it definitely keeps you on your toes. Some days we catch our limit, while other days we struggle just to catch fish.
This past week I took several regular charters for some hard luck fishing. Bill and his brother Bob from West ( By God ) Virginia are great trout fisherman, but somebody forgot to tell the fish. They did catch numerous trout, but not many keepers. Most were gray’s, but they did mange a few speckles. Also that week, I took Drew, Gary, Ronnie, and Kenny from Indiana, in search of the elusive Rockfish. The first morning, we fished the inlet with not even one bit. We did have a hit a the Manteo bridge, but lost it at the boat. The biggest problem was the tide was not moving that morning. If you ever fish for Stripers at the bridges, you will soon find out that no tide means no bit. We switched our time for the next day to the afternoon and the tide was perfect, but someone had beat me to my spot. After trying a few other places with no success, I saw the other boat leave, so I moved in for the kill. The only problem was the other boat had stayed in that one spot so long running his motor, the fish disappeared for awhile. About the time I was getting anxious to catch something, Drew got this big grin and pulled one in. The guys ended up catching six or so fish and ended the dry spell.
I think most of the big Spot have headed south, along with the big Croakers. There are still some Flounder and Puppy Drum around and plenty of Bluefish. If the wind would ever stop blowing, I’m sure the Kings are 8-10 miles off the beach. Before this blow, the offshore guys had some great catches of Tuna and a few Dolphin mixed in. As the water temperature drops, the big Stripers should be showing up soon, but not soon enough for this angler. There is nothing like catch a 20-30lb Rockfish on light tackle. Come try it and see what you’ve been missing.

Tight lines, Capt. Ray