Archive for October, 2011
Seasons of Change on the Outer Banks
As October comes to a close in the next several days, we should anticipate that the next phase of fishing here on the Outer Banks is close. The past two months, we have enjoyed surf temps in the upper 60’s and 70’s and extremely mild conditions. Some days were absolutely beautiful – it’s “wish you were here” weather. Fishing has been exceptional. It seemed that every species were more abundant than years past. I have caught more fish this fall then most years.
And it seemed that I caught fish on any lure or bait that I chose to use. I even caught a winter flounder on a trout jig.
The month of November brings big changes in both air and water temps. Waders and hooded sweat shirts are the standard attire. And those brave enough to venture into the surf in shorts or swim suits realize quickly of the mistake they made.
This month the surf begins to churn up from those frequent “nor easters” or fronts that we typically experience this time of year. The past week, the weather has begun to turn cold and raw. But as most seasons here, just wait for several days and it will change for the better.
One tip for fishing in November – get your heavy gear ready. Big bluefish and rockfish are just around the corner. More tips on preparing your gear in future blogs.
Until next time – Tightlines
My Special Trout Lure
We talked about gear and locations on previous blogs. This time I would like to talk about a special trout lure set up that I have used with tremendous success.
I start with a good action rod and a fast spinning reel. The one piece rod gives me the ability to throw a light lure further. I load the reel with a good 10 lb. monofilament with a 20 lb. fluorocarbon leader.
Fish in the fall seem to have more teeth so a heavier leader material is a must.
I tie a 1/8 oz. chartreuse flash jig head with a swimming “sea shad” paddle tail. There is no best color but I like the green speckled with an orange tail. Make sure you use a loop knot at the jig head for natural action.
Cast into pot holes, moving water, or out flows in the surf. I use a twitch, twitch, retrieve. Let the jig fall just a second then repeat. Wait for the bump, set the hook and hang on.
Does it work? – Well I caught over 50 speckled trout this weekend with several being some nice keepers.
Remember, it can’t get much better than fishing on the Outer Banks in October.
Hope to see you on the beach.
Until next time,
Tightlines
The Perfect Spot If You Know What to Look For
There are many ways to locate a perfect surf fishing spot. The old saying is, “you should fish where the fish are”. But without being facetious, that is not always easy. You can always call a local tackle shop or pier. They can only give you what other people have called in or what “has or is” happening at their location.
My plans don’t always allow me to fish at any optimum time or place. So I go when I can. My favorite spot is the surf. There are so many opportunities there. But you must know where there is a possibility of fish. Blind casting is fun but not very productive.
My first observation when surf fishing is to study the wave action and the beach configuration. I look for a steep drop off at the water line and the rip current. A good indication of a steep spot off is a gravel /shell pile.
Typically fish will be found in the sloughs. A slough is a channel of deeper water between the beach and the sand bar. The sloughs during incoming tides create a “river” of water traveling parallel with the beach. At the weak point in the bar, the water rushes out to sea. This is the rip current.
You should try to fish in this “river” just north or south of this rip. 
In this picture, you can see the beginning of a rip current being formed.
So next time you plan a trip on the surf, look for that tail tale sign. Now that’s where the fish are. Take it from me, this is where I have been most successful.
Until next time,
Tightlines
Isn’t It Time for Circle Hooks
Several years ago, here on the Outer Banks, I would watch dozens of fish get wasted – just left on the beach to die. At the time, many of the anglers would try to catch as many fish as possible. They never considered the impact of over fishing. And even less about returning this resource back into the water to be caught again. This resource was unlimited so they thought.
Although, many times anglers did try to practice conservation and consider releasing them only to find that the gear they were using caused deep gut hooking. This gut hooking caused significant damage to internal organs and would cause them to bleed out quickly. With a reduced survivability, these fish were just left on the beach to either be eaten by the birds or rot in the sun.
The culprit was “J Hooks”. These hooks were designed to increase the hook ups. Once you feel the bite, the angler sets the hooks and bingo, you are successful. But they decreased the survivability rate.
Recently, there has been a movement to change to less damaging gear. The circle hooks meets that goal.
I have begun to use circle hooks on almost every gear set up. And guess what? I haven’t reduced my catches at all. In fact, I am catching more fish and releasing most to be caught again. You will find that most of my catches are with circle hooks. Check out the Black Drum I caught the other day using circle hooks. See how it just grabs the corner of their mouth?
Is there a place still in fishing for “J hooks” – sure but careful selection and use is imparative. Common sense plays a major role with their use,
Isn’t it time you jumped on the conservation fix? Our fisheries are not unlimited, and if you are not harvesting one to eat, release it to be caught another day. I think that is a pretty neat concept. How about jumping on that bandwagon with me? Future anglers will thank us for our commitment to this fishery.
Until next time,
Tightlines
Black Drum in the Surf
I spent several evenings over the past week trying my luck at surf fishing. It seems that this was my lucky week. I hooked up with a smorgasbord of bottom fish. I caught Black Drum, flounder, spot, croaker, bluefish, sea mullet and blow toads.
I selected the best times where the incoming tides hit the beach at the early evening. Two to three foot waves struck the beach causing a slight chop. Water temps were still in the low 70’s.
Once on the sand, I searched for the break on the bar where the weakest point of the slough pushed water back off the beach. This is where the chaos begins and weak fish tumble in the waves being tossed around in a confused state.
I found this spot easily and proceeded to cast into the wash – just inside the breakers. Bingo – fish after fish. I used my 7’ Falcon Medium Gulf Spin rod with just enough backbone and a light tip – great for felling those tender nibbles. My Daiwa Coastal 3000 reel gave me the ability to retrieve the fish before, they could spit the hook. Fresh shrimp was bait of choice and definitely small pieces on the #4 circle hooks.
There were times I was catching two at a time. What a day!
They say October is for playoff baseball but this week it was for great bottom fishing on the Outer Banks surf.
Until next time,
Tightlines
NCsaltaire 