[sundrop]

Put in @ Belhaven at 5:45 am in a light drizzle. Boat started so I knew I was off to a good start!! LOL!!... Drizzle died off quickly and ended up with a pretty nice mostly cloudy day until afternoon when the sun came out big time! I have the face burn to prove it..LOL.. Hit the areas near the ramp first with fresh shrimp, cut mullet, Fin-s and Gulp shrimp. Caught a decent little Striper 19", 1st thing on Fin-s and some of the biggest pinfish I've ever seen on shrimp! Filleted a couple of Pins for bait. Much to my surprise I caught 10-12 10"-14"Blues today on cut bait and Gulp. I didn't realize they came all the way up into the backside of the Pungo so it was a fun surprise. I love they way they fight on light tackle. Baitfish were scattered, mostly menhaden today but a few finger mullet. Everytime I saw some it was when I was anchored on a fishing spot with lines in the water so I didn't want to throw the net. I caught a few Croakers some decent sized hit n miss. 2 Specs but they were babies. Big crabs were around.. ( I need to start keeping them too!!) Never really had a "run" on anything... I did catch a nice fat Red you can see in the pic. I'd say he'd go 23" measured properly.. He nailed a pinfish fillet under a popping cork drifting the grassline in about 2-2.5ft of water @ 6:55pm.. I noticed at 6:30pm the bait was getting very active so I knew it was time to catch something!! Watched the moon come up while drinking my last Dr Pepper from the cooler and called it a night! Almost hit a heard of deer coming home and had to run off in a field because the *%^&$ coming the other way slammed his brakes and slid right at me!! Truck, boat and driver made it home ok but I lost my cooler somewhere after the "wreck".. That's what I get for cleaning the cooler out before I came home..no weight to hold it down...LOL! All fish were C&R to fight another day!!! ok, all but the pinfish, they are too low on the food chain so they are BAIT!!..LOL!!

 

[Dave B.]

Drop, you oughta get you some crab traps.
I like using blue crab as bait,, and not to mention good to eat! (though alot of work, but worth it).

If I had mine here in NC, I'd give them to ya.. but they're down on a dock in Roberts bay in Nokomis Fla....

 

[sundrop]

I need to check the regs on rec crabbing. I do love to eat em and the Reds love em too!! And that is MRSDROPS FAV!!

 

[Dave B.]

Crab salad, crab cakes, crab stuff'd shrimp, stuff groupah fillet with crab meat, mushroom caps stuff with crab...

 

[sundrop]

My favorite is crab stuffed crab on crab topped with crab and a side of crab.... ( with a little butter and a tiny touch of garlic of coarse..LOL!!)

 

[Dave B.]

Ah... the garlic broiled crab meat loaf... Mmmmmm....

 

[Topsail Angler]

Unless you own waterfront property, you will need a RCGL (recreational commercial gear license) to use those crab pots in NC. If you own/lease/rent waterfront property you are allowed one crab pot which must be attached to your property or a dock connected to it. With the RCGL you can deploy 5 crab pots in any water "open" to crabbing. See the above link for more info.

 

[sundrop]

Thanks Mike! 5 traps? Wow that's a boatload for me.

 

[skooteri]

Thanks Mike! 5 traps? Wow that's a boatload for me.

Well, its only a boatload when the traps are on the boat. If you do like you did yesterday, (fish for about 12-13 hours) you can put 'em out on the way out and pick 'em up on the way in. I volunteer to help you cook and eat!

 

[sundrop]

I do tend to make a "day" of it when I get to go.. My wife always tells me when I come in the door in the middle of the night exhausted and stinking like bait.... " Honey, you know you can go most anytime, why do you try to kill yourself?" I shrug my aching shoulders ,crouched from a bad back and say..." I dunno.."
Today I can hardly move and my back is SCREAMING! ... But I enjoyed it..

Skoot, I'll share with ya, But your doing clean-up!! LOL!!

 

[R4ED]

How in the world do you shell and eat those crabs I have tried and they are a lot of work. But give me some King Crab, or Smow crab wow........ But with all that butter look out its off to bhe bathroom for me............But I still love them......Ed

 

[skooteri]

How in the world do you shell and eat those crabs I have tried and they are a lot of work. But give me some King Crab, or Smow crab wow........ But with all that butter look out its off to bhe bathroom for me............But I still love them......Ed

It is a full contact activity. Best way to do it is get a bunch of crabs, some ears of corn and cook it all and throw it on a table covered with newspaper. So best to do it with a bunch of friends and an adult beverage or three.

 

[sundrop]

Good ole Lowcountry Boil!! add some shrimp maybe some potatoes mmmm mmm!!

 

[tcfisherman]

sounds like you had a good looooong day sundrop. chris

 

[crabdaddy]

Sundrop, my family had a place on the Pungo when I was in High School, (I went to Washington High.) I remember the fishing was always great, croaker, blues, flounder, trout. We always had a great variety of fish. Have not been there in a very long time. When I go back now I fish near Aurora, my wife is from there, met at ECU. In South Creek I have caught an amazing variety. I think South Creek in the fall is one of my favorite places.