King fishing off Topsail 8/7

2393 Views 14 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Topsail Angler, Aug 20, 2007

Topsail Angler

Discussion Starter · Aug 7, 2007

Today I had the pleasure of meeting and fishing with Fred (Net-Work). He is Muskie fisherman & guide, hailing from Toledo, Ohio. He is on vacation this week here on Topsail Island with his wife and children. My buddy Mark (Pier Dweller) was able to join us too.

Mark and I left the dock at 6:00 to pick Fred up at the dock near Serenity Point on the south end of Topsail. Unfortunately a very inconsiderate boater decided to hog the entrance to Banks channel so Mark and I had to push my 2000 pound boat off the sand bar

. We picked up Fred just a few minutes later than planned and off we headed.

The seas were very calm with a small chop on top (perfect to disguise the boat).

We went to the first set of boxcars about 8 miles off NTI, jigged up some nice cigar minnows and greenies. We even got a few nice size squids which I saved for later. We trolled that area for a couple of hours with only a barracuda to show for it. So we went further off shore and fished some ledges.

We caught 2 sharks and one king. We did have another king hooked up, he was probably a smoker as he reeled off almost 200 yards of line before the wire leader broke (must have had a bend in it).

Fred - I really enjoyed fishing with you and getting to know you today. I hope to get up your way for some Musky fishing someday (Fred is computerless this week while on vacation).

BTW - the "dog days of summer" are here so the fishing will be real slow for a few weeks. Expect the kings to be spread out and the bite to be sporadic for a couple of weeks.

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Hunter's Haven

· #2 · Aug 7, 2007

Looks to be about the standard size. Glad you got one in the boat! It was a hot one today at the house in the shade so I can imagine how it was in the open sun. By the way, I stopped in Eastern outfitters this am to put my picture up of the sail and I be john brown if they didn't show me one of you holding yours

Nice job!
Gery

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Topsail Angler

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 7, 2007

Yeah the king wasn't huge, maybe 7 pounds.

Mattitude

· #4 · Aug 8, 2007

Nice king! Sometimes it's not all about the size but the experience. I've personally never caught a king, but I have eaten a few

It's been over 2 years since I've been in the big water, don't know if I'll be able to get out this season again. Looks like you had a great day with the weather, seas and company.

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Dave B.

· #5 · Aug 8, 2007

KKKKkkkkking! Good work Fred!

Looks like a nice day out there Mike,,, I think I know my problem now.. need to quit my job so I can fish more!

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sinker man

· #6 · Aug 8, 2007

Looks like a beautiful day even if it was hot. Do you have a downrigger on that Maycraft?

Dave B.

· #7 · Aug 8, 2007

I believe Mike has the Penn Fathom Master downrigger

Topsail Angler

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 8, 2007

sinker man said:
Looks like a beautiful day even if it was hot. Do you have a downrigger on that Maycraft?

It was beautiful but a "tough" fishing day - the hot water has the kings spread out all over. We really had to work for the one we caught.

Yes, I have a Penn 625 downrigger on a removable gimbal mount.

pier dweller

· #9 · Aug 10, 2007

Mike, I appreciate you having me along, especially since my "Boat" is broken down, LOL Also good to meet Fred, and get to fish with both of you. The hot weather definately had an effect on the fishing, but at least the dreaded Skunk didn't get us

Steve-O

· #10 · Aug 12, 2007

good job guys!! (Still praying for good weather)

Net-work

· #11 · Aug 17, 2007

Well finally back home from Topsail and getting some of my chores out of the way before I head to Canada, for work for the next couple weeks. Then a tournament in KY then back to Canada then another tournament in Ohio. So sorry it's taken me so long to get back with ya.

Mike, thank you very much for offering up your time to get together. I really enjoyed the day. Pier-Dweller, I hope your boat get's fixed soon! It was real nice to meet cha. I appreciate the lesson on using chicken wing bones for shark chum!

I also appreciate that squid that taught me how to hold em while taking em off a sabiki rig!

I really enjoyed the fellowship that day and look forward to meeting up again some time. I may have a guys fishing week in Oct/Nov pending how much money left after vacation and now that I have to replace an axle on the boat trailer.

The rest of the fishing report:
Well as already said, the heat put a damper on a lot of the catching, but not the fishing. Caught a bunch of blues inshore and a few flounders in the surf on mud minnows on Monday

Tuesday fished with Topsail Angler and Pier-Dweller.

Wednesday inshore
Although I never got his name, I would like to personally thank the gentleman in the jon boat who offered up his battery and cables to me on Wednesday at Bush Marina ramp. My battery died and got her jumped and spent the day inshore since I didn't trust the battery. Wednesday night I ended up buying myself a 750CCA souviner at Johnson's marina. If you are are there buddy thanks again! God bless ya! Fishing inshore caught a few more flounder and blues.

Thursday offshore. I took Jake my 11 year old son out to Dallas Rocks and he caught his first shark on a greenie. Funny how it happened. We jigged up some bait and trolled around for 2 or 3 hours with nothing to show for it. Decided we would troll our way in. Maybe a half hour later I mentioned that I had hopes of at least helping him catch something. Apparently the word "something" is a key word to bring on the shark bite. It may even work better than spent chicken wings. But with that shark we decided to bag the rest of the day since the heat of the day was coming on.

Friday, last day to fish and they call for a small craft advisory ( I assumed that includes my 18') so I stay in the inlet. Not even a lizard today. I look out past the inlet and it's fine. So only armed with mud minnows I decide to stick to artificial and keep nearshore in case the weather turns. Had some good marks around Old Smokey and Topsail ledge but no takers. Closest thing was a set of feathers chasing the bird rigs.

Anyhow thanks to everyone that offered up some advice and pointed out which kind of monkey I should look for. As a former member of "another forum" I must say I like this one better and I will be supporting NCA just as soon as I pay for this new trailer axle, hubs and tires. But that's another story.

Will be checking in and at least ready bout what everyone else is catching and help with answers from my experience as a I can and the general blah, blah, blah.....

Keep the drags smooth and the lines tight!
Fred

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Topsail Angler

Discussion Starter · #12 · Aug 17, 2007

Fred - glad you got some more fishing in, sorry to hear about the boat trailer axle. If you make it back thios way in the fall, be sure to look me up and we'll try to get out again.

BTW - I've shifted to bottom fishing offshore for the next few week till the waters cool off - well except for tomorrow when I'm fishing on Mark's boat (SC Pier) in the Mike Martin Tournament.

sinker man

· #13 · Aug 18, 2007

Good luck, TA. I hope ya'll have some cooler weather and plenty of fish to keep you busy.

Net-work

· #14 · Aug 20, 2007

Well got the axle in over the weekend. Put in a 3500# to replace the puny 2000#. Ain't gonna bend on me again! New springs, tires, hubs and bearings. Hopefully the muskies will cooperate better than the trailer.

Good luck TA and Mark!
I bet Mark's boat is a bit better on gas

Topsail Angler

Discussion Starter · #15 · Aug 20, 2007

Glad you got 'er fixed up!

Yup - only gas I needed to burn was from that cheeseburger I ate

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