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Bull Reds at Full Moon

Inshore 
6K views 39 replies 15 participants last post by  Scott Hobbs 
#1 ·
Had the pleasure of fishing with my old Army buddy again Bobby Parker out of Fayetteville in his boat
and Trigger22 and Sundrop in there boat.

We hit the South River and caught plenty of menhaden for bait. We needed at ton cause we were out
to anchor and sit on em all night.

Got anchored up and first fish on a little after 6PM.


Fought this one right to dark. Just couldnt get him to the boat. Finally had him right there. I put some
extra pressure to him and heard the rod start to splinter. Bout that time it took a nose dive under
the boat and yep....rod broke. Got the fish back up and the only part of the rod left was the handle
and 1 eye. Just maybe....pulled the fish close to the boat by power pulling.. 1 last effort to
escape...dove under the boat and broke off. Oh well....still a great fight and this one won.

Winds started getting up and rolling waves pretty good on the river so we relocated. Fished and
nothing but bottom dwellers. Moved again and nothing. Decided to go back to position No. 1. Good move.

Trigger22 called and they had put a 42 incher on the deck, pics takenn and fish released.

We setup again and the rod started buzzzzzzzzzing..yep nice one. Bobby grabbed the rod and
caught his first red drum ever...

Fish that follow.41 inches, 44 inches and 46 inches. Stayed till daybreak and called it a night.
All were caught from 1 -3AM, except for the 1st lost one.



 
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#2 ·
WAY TO GO GUYS! I hate it that I couldn't make it out on this trip, I'll definitely be there next time. Glad to see you got a few fish in the boat!
 
#3 ·
Looks like you guys showed us how its done. Fantastic looking fish.
We will have to get back there and try it again. We arrived early Sat morning and caught the swarming menhaden that were everywhere and busting the surface. We fished south river for a couple hours and Tim had one on for a short time but it never made it to the boat. No more bites, relocated and no bites except for a flounder with a pointy tail :D
Relocated to adams creek and nothing, not even a bite. Guess the reds were waiting for the moon and for you guys to show up. Had some fuel issues on my motor so we decided to cut it short and troll back early afternoon. 2 Blues and 2 spanish (yes spanish in the neuse river) and back to the dock. Was a fun day but didnt get into the fish like you guys did.
 
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#7 ·
We had several rods out and the only ones that got hit were the ones we cut the bait from about the
anal fin to the dorsal. Still a big bite of menhaden but able to leach some juices for them to find easier.:)

All fish came from a 12 foot ledge area.
 
#8 ·
Still a big bite of menhaden but able to leach some juices for them to find easier.:)

All fish came from a 12 foot ledge area.
You need to become a guide. :)

Yeah, we asphyxiated many dozens of bait yesterday. There at the mouth of Adkins creek 5-7" pogies were boiling all around us. Never let up. Hope they are like that next week if we can head out.

Thanks for the report. I know you guys had a blast.

btw, were the skeeters about as big as those drum??? :D
 
#9 ·
Let me know before you head out and I'll give you a couple of numbers....:) No guarantee but thats where we caught ours.

Mine have the "Red X Angler" seal of approval.----scales and blood on deck.

<*)))))>{
 
#12 ·
It was a great trip indeed, I ended up landing 2. The first one being 42 inches and the second was a whopper at 47 inches and FAT. I think he was more excited to see me than I was him, look at the pics and you'll see what I mean. My first fish came on a live pinfish and second on a large menhaden head. We ended up heading for the hill around 1:30 am or so.
 
#15 ·
That's a pretty good size bull in the 'Carhart' sweatshirt, too!:cool:

I hope those big drum are around Cape Lookout when I get there in 3 weeks.

Great job guys. Hey, what size circle hooks should I use when fishing for those big boys?
 
#18 ·
10-4 Tony...great looking reds for sure. Glad yall got into some action. Knew you had caught one before
you had to leave so that was good news.

Who was the guy that was relaying messages for us? I didn't catch his name.


H2ohh...thanks I resemble that remark....:) use any where from a 8 to 12/0 circle hook for the big boys. And
from 2-5 ounces of lead depending on the tides or surf conditions. Fresh menhaden
or mullet cut bait hunks will put one on you line,,if the blues don't get it first.:)

<*)))))>{
 
#20 ·
Now you've got me thinking Topsail. My surf rod and reel are not that heavy duty. I'm using 40 lb. braid on a Shimano baitrunner reel and an 8 ft. one piece rod. While I'd love to get into a big red I sure don't want to have it die. I do have a 10 foot surf rod that might be better if you guys think that's strong enough line to get one to shore fairly quickly.
 
#33 ·
These are the drum rigs that BParker tied. He will have to explain which are which..:)
scott, if you don't mind remind me of the law regarding the owen lupton rigs for old drum...seems like it was at least 3 oz. of weight and less than 10 inches from weight to hook? i know it's on the NC DMF website as well, but i was just checking here to be sure. Looks like those rigs are hand tied, I may be rigging a few up myself, but heavy mono is hard to tie, might go with the crimps instead...why use the flat weights instead of all egg weights?
 
#27 ·
Had a great time onboard woth Trigger22, gabbed some bait and toughed out a wet ride in the roung to get to where Trigger felt good about the bite. Awesome sight to see one fo those monsters come to the surface and I was a happy for Trigger as he was!! I caught one blue, got stripped of bait several times and had one hard hit that came unbuttoned. I had a medical emergency around 1 am and we had to go. I ended up at the Emergency room in Morehead city in excrutiating pain all over and my right leg badly swollen and lower calf covered in tiny blisters. Poor Tony had to get us back to the ramp with me in severe pain, by dark of night in confusing waters, but he kept his cool and got us home safe. He then followed me back to hwy 101 where I had to give up because I was going into shock and trembling to bad to drive anymore. He grabbed my gear and we left my truck at a store and he took me to the ER. He then stayed with me, and watched over me for several hours in pain and honestly begging for a Dr. and some releif. I dont know how I would have made it if he hadnt stuck with me andf I am grateful to no end that someone I barely know could be so good as to stay with me even long after my wife finally arrived and they knocked me out with meds.
The final verdict is uncertain, they say if might have been overexertion causing spasms and still unclear on the swelling and burning of my leg, so more Dr visits to come.. Thanks again Tony for being a good friend and staying with me.. Yat another reason why NCAngler is the only site I frequent because the people here are great!! I'm glad I got to be a there for Tony's great catches. I was as excited as he was and hope to get through this and do it again very soon!!!
 
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