June 20, 2005

[Capt. Rick Bennett]

Report June 20, 2005

Hi Folks,
Hope everyone is getting a chance to get out and catch some fish. The past week fishing has been very exciting and as a result I am late getting my report out...for which I apologize, but I've been fishin'.

Inshore: Wow! What a day we had this weekend: the inshore slam; flounder, trout and red drum. The nice trout was caught by little 4 year Samantha and is this week's pic of the week (and there were many to choose from). Good action inshore!

Nearshore: Spanish mackerel are just about biting the bottom of the boat out. Best bait right now is the old 00 Clarkspoon fished on planers and bird rigs. Cobia are biting well near the inlets and the nearshore artificial reefs. Small kings are biting as well, but be sure they meet the size requirement of 24" fork length.

Offshore: King mackerel are biting hard at the 7-10 mile area. Cigar minnows, ballyhoo and live menhaden are producing well. Watch out for the occasional barracuda wanting to eat your ling before you can and don't be surprised if a big cobia jumps on your bait too. I always like to pull a bait about ten-fifteen feet behind the boat for the cobia...they like the prop wash. Larger kings are biting 18-30 miles out.

Gulfstream: Wahoo! Yes the wahoo are biting along with mahi and blackfin tuna. Billfish are on the scene as well.

Summer is here, although we are experiencing a nice cool snap, and fishing is heating up. I just received four Okuma VS 40 spinning reels from Bug Em Bait( 910-452-9955). Okuma has long been known for their high quality at a fair price. These reels have already been spooled with fireline and are some of the smoothest I have ever used. They have 16 ball bearings! Try Okuma; I sure like them. Hope you get a chance to get on the water.

Don't miss this week's pic of the week: http://www.rodmancharters.com/report.htm

Let's Go Fishing!!!
Capt. Rick Bennett
Rod-Man Charters
910-799-6120