Hey, I love to salt water fish. Now have a 19' centerconsole and can go out a ways into the ocean. I go out the Shackleford Inlet and fish up around the Lighthouse alot. I am new at this and am trying to learn the in and outs of trolling for dolphin and kings because I love to eat them. I also want to learn more about flyfishing. The only thing I have observed about the flyfishing in the inlet is tht you WILL get run over by those boats if ytou do not get out of the way. I will be looking for articles that tell how to design a spread for kings and dolphin, bait ideas, inshore for trout, best places around where I am located at Beautfort for puppydrum. Look forward to sharing ideas.
Fishing in Beaufort
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
Joined
·
2,766 Posts
There is currently an article in saltwater Sportsman magazine on trolling spreads for small boats . You can read it online at their site: just type saltwater sportsman magazine into your search engine and it should lead you right to it. Also ballyhood has a site that you might find useful. A link to them is on SWS home page. Just click on the picture of the spreader bar with the green lures. HOPE THIS HELPS! AL
Joined
·
13 Posts
Hi Seagoat! I live in MC and work at Radio Island Marina. I love this place. I have a new 22' Bayrider, and crab almost every day, fish maybe a couple times a week. I'm getting ready to start King fishing too, got some Penns and a huge spool of 50#, can't wait. If you get by the marina ask for James.
Mr Weekend
Mr Weekend
Joined
·
13 Posts
I was in Goldsboro most of the weekend. Sorry I missed you.
Joined
·
2,766 Posts
Seagoat, What were you targeting? What was the tide doing?
AL
AL
Al, thanks for responding. We caught live mud minnows off Carrot Island in Taylor's Creek. We used these to drift in the inlet also at the mouth of the inlet. No luck. Used on a Carolina rig. Then trolled silver spoons to about 2 miles offshore. One long and one just behind the prop wash. Then went to the marker that is about 45 degrees off the Sportman's pier.
Then went to the high rise bridge and fished the pilings.
I have heard that grouper can be caught at that marker off Sportsman, but I do not know how to fish for them??? Any help??
Then went to the high rise bridge and fished the pilings.
I have heard that grouper can be caught at that marker off Sportsman, but I do not know how to fish for them??? Any help??
Joined
·
2,766 Posts
According to the following site, the flounder were eating finger mullet instead of mud minnows. The king and spanish bite was early and late. This time of year you would be more likely to catch a nice summer flounder at that marker. Try the grouper there in the early spring. At the bridge, again mullet seemed to be the key. Put this site in your favorites. I'm sure you will use it .
http://www.fishermanspost.com/pgs/Reports/morehead.html
http://www.fishermanspost.com/pgs/Reports/morehead.html
Joined
·
2,766 Posts
Seagoat. as fojoloy's wife would say, the hardest part of grouper fishing is putting your bait in front of hungry grouper. I contacted Wellcraft Dave and I think he will share some info with you. I'm not much of a bottom fisherman myself. 
.
.Thru alot of trial and error, we've found the key to group-ah fishin is the anchor. Yup, that lowely piece of gear that everyone despises.
hmmm,, how will an anchor improve your group-ah fishin?? Simple, be acurate in your placement over live bottom. Takes alot of practice and some pretty nifty team work, but is invaluable to unlockin the door to Mr. Group-ah's livin room.
Sometimes you have to fight current, wind, wind and current and current and wind (see the trend there?) then you can throw in the sea state and the whole she-bang get's even more complicated.....
But seriously, you have to have almost pin-point accuracy when anchorin over live bottom or any kind of bottom structure. Sounds easy, but takes ALOT of practice and the right tools.
That's the first step, proper utilization of the common boat anchor.
Second most important thing (yup, I did say second..) is the sonar unit you have or will use. You have to be able to "find" and determine structure, and accurately. Only a quality sonar can do this. Yeah I know... the sonar "finds" the structure, but if you dont have anchorin skills... that billion dollar sonar and worth a spit.. you'll just be able to have seen the structure as you fish some 200 ft away from it where there's nothin.
Third most important is the simple nautical chart. What you want to look for are ledges, drops, holes, live bottoms, even rises... These are areas to target as groupah's love rocky bottoms and they love cool water rocky bottoms from spring to fall.. so summer is the perfect time to hit them offshore areas in water depth's from 80 to 200 ft. Perfect example was this weekend for us, found a very nice live bottom that has produced in the past for us, but they werent there (i.e. in 89 ft of water). We had to move into just over 120 ft of water and drift back over a ledge to eventually find where the fish were holding which ended up to be 101 ft of water give or take 5 ft. 11 or 12 ft of depth can make or break catchin groupah's... maybe food thing? maybe water temp below was cooler in one spot v.s. the other? Dont know... But knowing where to start and how groupah's migrate during the winter and summer helps give you a start with a nautical chart on areas to target.
The 4th most important thing is time. Time? yup, put in the time to search out and fish different bottoms. The bottoms we're fishin or have "highly protected" gps #'s wise, took us from scratch 4 years to find and know that we have reliable and almost a "sure bet" places to catch groupah's. Got to put in the time to find the fish. Grouper are kinda home bodies, if you find an area where there are grouper, then there's probably more there and you can fish in or around that area with some confidence over a few years. Thing is.. there's other folks out there doin the same thing... so when that "honey hole" finally dries up.. you'll more than likely need a few #'s under yer belt to be able to consistanly fish for groupah's. This requires all of the above applied over and over.
Sounds like alot, but it becomes second nature the more ya do it. Here's a tip -- Some of the most prized honey holes I have were found trolling -- hint hint....
The easiest part of groupah fishin? Bait choice. Groupah's eat anything, even caught them on meat balls from a pizza, a un-cooked porkchop, and even a bass worm just for the heck of it.... you'd really be amazed.
Look for structure using a chart
Verify the structure using your sonar
Fish the structure to simply find the fish by drifting
then try like heck to anchor around that structure as close as possible to draw them off the structure to take the bait. Dont fish right on top of the structure or they'll hang ya in the rocks all day long.
Get some squid and finger mullets or live/dead pinfish and tear 'em up!
If ya have any questions, feel free to ask. We dont know everything there is about groupah fishin, but we (my fish'n buds and I) have slowly closed the learnin gap over the last 28 somethin years of targetin them. When you get to the point where you have to ask how to keep jew fish off the hook... then ya pretty much got the groupah thing down.
Best of luck, and tight drag's!
One note, Fla Sportsman's online magazine has some decent articles on groupah fishin. While fishin in Fla, it's very similar to NC style bottom fishin -- i.e the distance out, water/temp/depth, etc.. The only thing harder 'bout NC groupah's is gettin the anchor in the right place due to it's a wee bit rougher normally off the coast here than down in SW Fla areas or even up around the panhandle areas. I'm still tryin to think back of when my last 2 ft. seas or less day was......
hmmm,, how will an anchor improve your group-ah fishin?? Simple, be acurate in your placement over live bottom. Takes alot of practice and some pretty nifty team work, but is invaluable to unlockin the door to Mr. Group-ah's livin room.
Sometimes you have to fight current, wind, wind and current and current and wind (see the trend there?) then you can throw in the sea state and the whole she-bang get's even more complicated.....
But seriously, you have to have almost pin-point accuracy when anchorin over live bottom or any kind of bottom structure. Sounds easy, but takes ALOT of practice and the right tools.
That's the first step, proper utilization of the common boat anchor.
Second most important thing (yup, I did say second..) is the sonar unit you have or will use. You have to be able to "find" and determine structure, and accurately. Only a quality sonar can do this. Yeah I know... the sonar "finds" the structure, but if you dont have anchorin skills... that billion dollar sonar and worth a spit.. you'll just be able to have seen the structure as you fish some 200 ft away from it where there's nothin.
Third most important is the simple nautical chart. What you want to look for are ledges, drops, holes, live bottoms, even rises... These are areas to target as groupah's love rocky bottoms and they love cool water rocky bottoms from spring to fall.. so summer is the perfect time to hit them offshore areas in water depth's from 80 to 200 ft. Perfect example was this weekend for us, found a very nice live bottom that has produced in the past for us, but they werent there (i.e. in 89 ft of water). We had to move into just over 120 ft of water and drift back over a ledge to eventually find where the fish were holding which ended up to be 101 ft of water give or take 5 ft. 11 or 12 ft of depth can make or break catchin groupah's... maybe food thing? maybe water temp below was cooler in one spot v.s. the other? Dont know... But knowing where to start and how groupah's migrate during the winter and summer helps give you a start with a nautical chart on areas to target.
The 4th most important thing is time. Time? yup, put in the time to search out and fish different bottoms. The bottoms we're fishin or have "highly protected" gps #'s wise, took us from scratch 4 years to find and know that we have reliable and almost a "sure bet" places to catch groupah's. Got to put in the time to find the fish. Grouper are kinda home bodies, if you find an area where there are grouper, then there's probably more there and you can fish in or around that area with some confidence over a few years. Thing is.. there's other folks out there doin the same thing... so when that "honey hole" finally dries up.. you'll more than likely need a few #'s under yer belt to be able to consistanly fish for groupah's. This requires all of the above applied over and over.
Sounds like alot, but it becomes second nature the more ya do it. Here's a tip -- Some of the most prized honey holes I have were found trolling -- hint hint....
The easiest part of groupah fishin? Bait choice. Groupah's eat anything, even caught them on meat balls from a pizza, a un-cooked porkchop, and even a bass worm just for the heck of it.... you'd really be amazed.
Look for structure using a chart
Verify the structure using your sonar
Fish the structure to simply find the fish by drifting
then try like heck to anchor around that structure as close as possible to draw them off the structure to take the bait. Dont fish right on top of the structure or they'll hang ya in the rocks all day long.
Get some squid and finger mullets or live/dead pinfish and tear 'em up!
If ya have any questions, feel free to ask. We dont know everything there is about groupah fishin, but we (my fish'n buds and I) have slowly closed the learnin gap over the last 28 somethin years of targetin them. When you get to the point where you have to ask how to keep jew fish off the hook... then ya pretty much got the groupah thing down.
Best of luck, and tight drag's!
One note, Fla Sportsman's online magazine has some decent articles on groupah fishin. While fishin in Fla, it's very similar to NC style bottom fishin -- i.e the distance out, water/temp/depth, etc.. The only thing harder 'bout NC groupah's is gettin the anchor in the right place due to it's a wee bit rougher normally off the coast here than down in SW Fla areas or even up around the panhandle areas. I'm still tryin to think back of when my last 2 ft. seas or less day was......
WOW!!!! Oh gracious.... I have alot to learn. Welcraft Dave... Thank you so so very much for all that info. It was mighty nice of you to spend all that time writing those instructions. I have printed them off and am sharing with all my fishing buds. I am going to start my lessons THIS WEEKEND!! Can't hardly wait.
Not a problem brother man,, I wish more folks would help folks like yerself when askin or learnin how to target certain fish. Alot of folks are very tight lipped or talk in code about this honey hole or tatics and such,, but I dont see the need for it. I can understand the commercial guys's reason, that's their bread and butter for a livin, but to be honest, it's a pretty big ocean and as long as folks understand how to saftely release deep water fish and dont keep undersized fish, then those areas should be able to maintain themselves unless their just simply over-fished, which unfortunately happens.
I can almost bet that if I gave out just half of my "honey-hole" #'s to a handfull of guys that word would spread and for the next two season, those spots would be fished out.
One thing to realize or even utilize too, is the use of radar. Radar is super effective to understand what's goin on around you. Coupled with the VHF provides ALOT of information, even though alot of Capt's like to throw folks off with coded language and all. It's super simple to figure out the range of a VHF radio, and you can determine where folks are "catching" and what they are catchin. For one, some folks just caint keep their mouth shut and will blab it all over the radio thinkin folks wont know where they are fishin, the guy with radar and scannin channels will figure it out in about half a second and be on that spot as well. Perfect example is when I called over to a buddy who was 12 miles from us fishin coral bottom and I told him on a off channel that we were slayin sea bass and yellow snappers... next thing I know, within 20 minutes I had no less than 3 boats headin right at our area...
So, excited and catchin, but ya dont have to necessarily let everyone know,, cause they're out there doin the same thing. Try to find a spot and guard it or share with close friends and such and you'll have a place to fish or be in a area that will produce for you until it gets discovered.
Now, them tips will work for you too!! Learn the anchor, sonar and all that, but also pay attention to what's goin on around you as well. Usually boats that are off all alone will be guys like me. Have a hole that produces. Dont run up on them, but mark that area (generally) on the gps and come back to it at a later time to "investigate". Anyone driftin or anchored over a bottom in 80 ft of water or more is usually got a line on some fish...... hint hint....
Just troll on by like it aint nothin', wave, and keep on goin....(while pressin the mark button on the gps).
Them tips right there will give you an edge over the guy who just run's out blindly watchin the sonar all day and hopin to find some structure.
Get them charts
look for the bottom structure
Target the depth's I mentioned
Learn the habits of the fish you plan to target, learn all ya can about them
If your serious about learnin how to target bottom fish, put in the time, you'll be amazed of how much time, money, and all that, that you'll save over the other guy. Example -- I know I can get on grouper within 45 minutes from out of the inlet, be back in the inlet after limiting out within 3 hours on a consistant basis... it's not too bad considerin what it took to get to that point!!! used to take 10 hour days,, lot's of fuel,, lot's of trollin',,, lot's of.... ya get the picture.
But in the end, if you cannot master the basics,,, then all's lost
So master that anchor, learn that sonar, study the charts, put in the time and next thing ya know... you'll be postin pix and eatin some groupah's!
Let me when ya get on some, then I got another tip I'll share with ya that will "broaden" the spectrum for ya and we'll take it to the next level!
I can almost bet that if I gave out just half of my "honey-hole" #'s to a handfull of guys that word would spread and for the next two season, those spots would be fished out.
One thing to realize or even utilize too, is the use of radar. Radar is super effective to understand what's goin on around you. Coupled with the VHF provides ALOT of information, even though alot of Capt's like to throw folks off with coded language and all. It's super simple to figure out the range of a VHF radio, and you can determine where folks are "catching" and what they are catchin. For one, some folks just caint keep their mouth shut and will blab it all over the radio thinkin folks wont know where they are fishin, the guy with radar and scannin channels will figure it out in about half a second and be on that spot as well. Perfect example is when I called over to a buddy who was 12 miles from us fishin coral bottom and I told him on a off channel that we were slayin sea bass and yellow snappers... next thing I know, within 20 minutes I had no less than 3 boats headin right at our area...
So, excited and catchin, but ya dont have to necessarily let everyone know,, cause they're out there doin the same thing. Try to find a spot and guard it or share with close friends and such and you'll have a place to fish or be in a area that will produce for you until it gets discovered.
Now, them tips will work for you too!! Learn the anchor, sonar and all that, but also pay attention to what's goin on around you as well. Usually boats that are off all alone will be guys like me. Have a hole that produces. Dont run up on them, but mark that area (generally) on the gps and come back to it at a later time to "investigate". Anyone driftin or anchored over a bottom in 80 ft of water or more is usually got a line on some fish...... hint hint....
Just troll on by like it aint nothin', wave, and keep on goin....(while pressin the mark button on the gps).
Them tips right there will give you an edge over the guy who just run's out blindly watchin the sonar all day and hopin to find some structure.
Get them charts
look for the bottom structure
Target the depth's I mentioned
Learn the habits of the fish you plan to target, learn all ya can about them
If your serious about learnin how to target bottom fish, put in the time, you'll be amazed of how much time, money, and all that, that you'll save over the other guy. Example -- I know I can get on grouper within 45 minutes from out of the inlet, be back in the inlet after limiting out within 3 hours on a consistant basis... it's not too bad considerin what it took to get to that point!!! used to take 10 hour days,, lot's of fuel,, lot's of trollin',,, lot's of.... ya get the picture.
But in the end, if you cannot master the basics,,, then all's lost
So master that anchor, learn that sonar, study the charts, put in the time and next thing ya know... you'll be postin pix and eatin some groupah's!
Let me when ya get on some, then I got another tip I'll share with ya that will "broaden" the spectrum for ya and we'll take it to the next level!
Joined
·
8,195 Posts
Re: Radar
I want to say thanks also Dave for all the great information you've posted. Since you brought up the subject of Radar, I wonder if i could get yours and others input on a good radar system for a 21' boat. I have a Furuno color fishfinder and need to come up with a good GPS system and would like to have radar as well on a new boat this fall. I know I've got to put in some time to do some research but any input is most appreciated.
I want to say thanks also Dave for all the great information you've posted. Since you brought up the subject of Radar, I wonder if i could get yours and others input on a good radar system for a 21' boat. I have a Furuno color fishfinder and need to come up with a good GPS system and would like to have radar as well on a new boat this fall. I know I've got to put in some time to do some research but any input is most appreciated.
Thanx Randy,
It would be very hard for me to recommend a radar unit since I do not have one myself,, but,, I do have friends who do use them.
My buddy Rick and a friend in Fla both use the Raymarine 24m radar system and have given me very positive feedback on Ray products
Another bud had positive feedback on his JRC unit and seem'd very pleased with it and would purchase another one. Since he just moved up in size with a new boat he purchased the Ray system as well.
I hear very little about the new Garmin GPS/Radar overlay system, but I'm very familiar with Garmin products. I would probably skip first year release gear from them, but wouldnt rule Garmin radar out as well. If it's like their sonar/gps/chart unit's, it'll be very sea worthy and reliable.
Lot's of pro's rely on Furuno.. 'nough said there. They work.
Lot's of reliable stuff out there, plenty of options and range on units... it comes down to how much do ya want to spend, whether or not to integrate units or run dedicated units(it's a 50/50 mix from folks I know), so it boils down to who ya have confidence in and how many features you'll need.
If you need 40 mile range radar, it's gonna be more costly than 16 mile units.
For distance and large offshore runs covering alot of water/miles, most usually get the larger KW types to help in forcasting/weather alerting.
For nearshore, navigation and spotting other boats when runnin at night/fog or within 0-50 miles, most op for the lower range type units.
I wish I could make a recommendation, but I just cant. I can point you to folks who do own or have owned them units currently or in the past if you'd like. If I were to buy a radar today, I would probably look at the Ray, just to tie into what I've already got compatibilty wise and I would opt for the larger range unit as we've made 70 mile runs offshore and would definately need to see weather/birds/boats.
Just my .02
It would be very hard for me to recommend a radar unit since I do not have one myself,, but,, I do have friends who do use them.
My buddy Rick and a friend in Fla both use the Raymarine 24m radar system and have given me very positive feedback on Ray products
Another bud had positive feedback on his JRC unit and seem'd very pleased with it and would purchase another one. Since he just moved up in size with a new boat he purchased the Ray system as well.
I hear very little about the new Garmin GPS/Radar overlay system, but I'm very familiar with Garmin products. I would probably skip first year release gear from them, but wouldnt rule Garmin radar out as well. If it's like their sonar/gps/chart unit's, it'll be very sea worthy and reliable.
Lot's of pro's rely on Furuno.. 'nough said there. They work.
Lot's of reliable stuff out there, plenty of options and range on units... it comes down to how much do ya want to spend, whether or not to integrate units or run dedicated units(it's a 50/50 mix from folks I know), so it boils down to who ya have confidence in and how many features you'll need.
If you need 40 mile range radar, it's gonna be more costly than 16 mile units.
For distance and large offshore runs covering alot of water/miles, most usually get the larger KW types to help in forcasting/weather alerting.
For nearshore, navigation and spotting other boats when runnin at night/fog or within 0-50 miles, most op for the lower range type units.
I wish I could make a recommendation, but I just cant. I can point you to folks who do own or have owned them units currently or in the past if you'd like. If I were to buy a radar today, I would probably look at the Ray, just to tie into what I've already got compatibilty wise and I would opt for the larger range unit as we've made 70 mile runs offshore and would definately need to see weather/birds/boats.
Just my .02
Randy, on the GPS recommendation, I would recommend anything by Garmin in the 2000 series (I.e. 2010, 2006) and 3000 series (3010)... Since I've run both color and grey scale, I do have to admit,,, ya get alot with color just as you do with sonar.
I also recommend the Raymarine 435c.... outstanding unit. I've personally got this unit installed on the boat and compared to my Garmin 180map.... uh... completely different world.
I do like the Navionics charts over the Garmin blue charts... just a personnal pref... Garmin stuff works and Ray stuff works.
The only reason I did not go with Lowrance is, the screens in the 6 inch range of what I was wanting, were a bit harder to read for me.... Lowrance though does use Navionics so that's a plus.
Again here, all these are dependable units.
I dont recommend Interphase. The company when I contacted them on why they did not give their units a water-proof rating. The customer support guy said they believed the ratings were useless and they felt there was no need to put a rating on the units. I asked about whether or not open cockpit mounting or protected mounting was prefered and the answer was away from water and spray is the suitable mounting pref.... that's when I had my answer to not use Interphase. They make a sleek unit and I like the specs,, but I want somethin that will work in a down-pour.
Sitex, Furuno, Humminbird, Navman... all make units as well... again,, matter of choice/features/cost.
I never doubt Ray/Furuon/Garmin those are my top 3's and I've owned two of them.
I also recommend the Raymarine 435c.... outstanding unit. I've personally got this unit installed on the boat and compared to my Garmin 180map.... uh... completely different world.
I do like the Navionics charts over the Garmin blue charts... just a personnal pref... Garmin stuff works and Ray stuff works.
The only reason I did not go with Lowrance is, the screens in the 6 inch range of what I was wanting, were a bit harder to read for me.... Lowrance though does use Navionics so that's a plus.
Again here, all these are dependable units.
I dont recommend Interphase. The company when I contacted them on why they did not give their units a water-proof rating. The customer support guy said they believed the ratings were useless and they felt there was no need to put a rating on the units. I asked about whether or not open cockpit mounting or protected mounting was prefered and the answer was away from water and spray is the suitable mounting pref.... that's when I had my answer to not use Interphase. They make a sleek unit and I like the specs,, but I want somethin that will work in a down-pour.
Sitex, Furuno, Humminbird, Navman... all make units as well... again,, matter of choice/features/cost.
I never doubt Ray/Furuon/Garmin those are my top 3's and I've owned two of them.
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
Join the discussion
