Cast net/Bait/OBX Help please........

wizardude · 08-21-2002, 03:19 PM

I have a cast net, 4ft/8ft open. Bought and used it to catch threadfins in the James River(Va.). I have never used it in the salt due the questions that will follow. I know it's small, but it's the one I've got. I will be in the Hatteras area for a week, arriving Sept. 14th.

My questions are:

(1)Can I put it to use there to catch live bait?(and what should I target)?

(2)Should I consider adding more weight? (standard issue, don't know how much weight per foot it is)

(3)And most important...where to go throw it?

Another question if I may........

About minnow traps(2 piece funnel type) .....I carried a couple, a couple of of times. Have to admit, only tried them at Oregon Inlet, near the boat landing(sound side). Using crab(as I've always done in Va), and never got anything but a few grass shrimp.

I'm a big fan of flounder fishing, and can usually get 10-15 dozen (killies, bullheads, or whatever you may call them) in the rivers on the bay(Va) in a half hour. Also, have yet to see them being sold down there, so sort of "assumed"(hate using that word), maybe they are not local bait. Any insite on this would also be "appreciated".

It's my favorite place in the country(haven't been to any others). Looking forward to the trip, haven't been there in 11 years(just recently moved back here from Florida). So any tips on spots, technique, etc. would be great!

Thanks, Wes...................

surffishn · 08-21-2002, 06:12 PM

Stop by Hatteras Jacks in Rodanthe.They really helped me a lot this past June.Answered all my questions and pointed my daughter and I in the right direction.They made for a very great time for our first trip to OBX.If I get back this fall as planed I hope to get a casting lesson.Ryan is one of the best casters on the east coast.

wizardude · 08-21-2002, 06:39 PM

Thanks "surffishn", I'll check them out. Casting is not a problem, need to know about weighting it(which I would like to do here before I leave), and most of all, where to throw.

ncsurffisher · 08-21-2002, 07:40 PM

Shouldn't have to worry about adding any more weight to it. Where to throw? In the fall it will be obvious. Just look for the schools of finger mullet cruising near the shoreline, either ocean or inlet. Other times of year try any of the canals on the sound side. Can usually find finger mullet, cob mullet, and menhaden in these. Your net is plenty big to catch bait, the small ones are much easier to throw multiple times and more accurate anyway. Minnow traps also produce in the canals. Crabs, shrimp heads, fish, bread, about anything will work, main catch will be mud minnows - excellent flounder bait. Glad I could help.

Clyde

billy g · 08-21-2002, 08:38 PM

best place to catch bait in Sept is at Hatteras Inlet, usually loaded with mullet, also flounder,trout. Your net should do fine, most of the time the mullet is right at your feet.

wizardude · 08-22-2002, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ncsurffisher:
Shouldn't have to worry about adding any more weight to it. Where to throw? In the fall it will be obvious. Just look for the schools of finger mullet cruising near the shoreline, either ocean or inlet. Other times of year try any of the canals on the sound side. Can usually find finger mullet, cob mullet, and menhaden in these. Your net is plenty big to catch bait, the small ones are much easier to throw multiple times and more accurate anyway. Minnow traps also produce in the canals. Crabs, shrimp heads, fish, bread, about anything will work, main catch will be mud minnows - excellent flounder bait. Glad I could help.

Clyde

Thanks guys! You're giving me "confidence" now. Got to dig out the cast net and minnow traps. The "mud minnows" is what I was looking for for fluke. And "billy g", will definitely be checking out the inlet for bait and flounder.

Drumdum · 08-22-2002, 08:54 PM

Wizardude,mud minnows are great bait for flounder,at times,BUT,I have seen them rascals scarf down a finger mullet in a heartbeat I'm tellinya...

You usually catch the bigger ones on finger mullet.. That time of yr,as other posters have said,go along the beach you'll see the fingers wakin in the wash,catch all ya want.. Course if you are dead set on mud minnows,I gotta bunch behind my house,and most ditches and creeks down there gottem,just find a culvert along side the road and launch that minnow trap.....

wizardude · 08-25-2002, 11:55 AM

JT · 08-26-2002, 04:45 PM

I just got back from a week in Rodanthe and I used my net for the first time. I did stop by Hatteras Jacks to find out the best place to toss the net. He pointed me towards a small creek near the kids water/go-kart park. I caught some finger mullet, small pompano, etc. I tried it in the surf as well but didn't have any luck.

Drumdum · 08-26-2002, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JT:
I just got back from a week in Rodanthe and I used my net for the first time. I tried it in the surf as well but didn't have any luck.

I hope that works for the quote,JT,but the point I'm makin here is timing,very important when catchen bait down here..

I know several creeks in Hatteras that work almost yr round,and the creek you mentioned along with another at the south end of Salvo,

both work in Sept as well.. Course,not as many mullet as the surf and inlet have..