Cape Point report, 12-18 June 03

[SuBourbon]

Here's a blow-by-blow from this past week. All one giant post for ease of reading.
--Russ

Cape Point ,NC report 12 June 03
SuBourbon -- on Thursday 6/12 @ 10:38 p.m.

Well...

After all the reports of cobia and everything up here around Hatteras/ Cape Point, we decided to give 'er a rip. I think I broke one off, but then again it might have been a big cow ray. It just peeled line and was gone. I did manage to land a 10lb bluefish and a few smaller ones (1-3lbs). We hooked up on a pile of cownose and one middling southern stingray. There were a few spanish this evening, but not enough to fling at. Helped one guy with a 20lb biter shark (not sure what flavor, just toothy). That's about the size of it for today- trying again tomorrow.

Sorry I don't have a photo for you of the big blue- no digital cam with us today.
Tight lines.

Cape Point/Avon report 13 June 03
SuBourbon -- on Friday 6/13 @ 11:11 p.m.

BLAH! Gobs upon gobs of butterfly rays up to 5 or 6 feet wide, standard issue cownose rays, etc etc etc. We did gaff a 38lb cobia for a guy, but that was the only decent fish we saw all day from Avon down through Cape Point. Maybe it will get better...

Cape Point ,NC heartbreaker
SuBourbon -- on Saturday 6/14 @ 11:18 p.m.

I tell you what, guys- there's nothing quite like seeing an 80lb cobia thrashing around on the surface. I had the biggest crab-cruncher I've seen in a very very long time on the business end of my line this afternoon at Cape Point, but I lost her in the wash. Despite a valiant effort, my gaff man missed 3 shots at the fish with a 12" hand gaff, and the leader got wrapped around his ankle. She surged, and that was that. The lessons for today are: drum-size leaders will just not do, water clarity is key on cobia, and spot heads still reign supreme as the best bait around. There were a few of those atomic flounders around (mega rays), but the water was murky for most of the day. Like yesterday, there was a window of about an hour where the water cleared up and went green for us, and that's when the brown one hit. I think I'm going to give it a rest for a couple of days while this NE wind comes through, but I plan on hitting it again on Wednesday as it swings back to the SW.

For those of you familiar with the Point- if you haven't been lately, you wouldn't recognize it at all. There are huge sandbars on the NE and S sides that have all but cut off the old Point. If the gut between the point and the bars fills in, it will be some kind of good fishing out beyond them. As it is, things are mighty tough. Hopefully the system moving through over the next few days will rectify things for us.
That's it for today. Tight lines and all.

Cape Point - 18 June 03
SuBourbon -- on Wednesday 6/18 @ 10:43 p.m.

YEEEEHAWWW!!!!

Beached a 7ft biter at the Point this afternoon, and boy o boy was she ill-tempered. It was either a bull or a dusky, but I'll have to go to the photos to make the call. Unfortunately, I don't have those to share right now. A passing tourist snapped some shots, and I will have to wait for them. The OM12C/Brinn 535 got the job done for me in about 15 minutes. The ol' girl ate a bunker head in some off-color water on a falling afternoon tide. She was released in tip-top shape, which brought a mighty round of applause frokm the 40-50 tourists and fishermen who gathered around for the fight.

THEN.....

I conned some kids with a kayak into paddling a bait out for me. I just happened to have a TLD25 and a standup tuna stick in the truck, so out they went to some clear water about 250yds out with half a big bunker. 30 minutes an a few barley-pops later: ZZZZZZZZZZT!!! The water explodes like someone chucked a stick of dynamite and a KING MACK streaks it for the horizon. That one went through my 130# leader like it was nothing, but it was a fun 20 seconds while it lasted. Who'da thunk it??? The real kicker was that I had considered putting a wire leader on that rig, but I decided against it for some reason.

All in all, it was quite a memorable day. That's all the fishing I am going to get to do for a little while. I'm due back at NIH in Bethesda this coming week for some more lab rat fun, so I'm headed back upcountry in the morning. Tight lines, folks.

[wizardude]

Nice report, and sounds like you came back with some nice memories/stories

[surffishn]

Nice report sounds like you did have some fun.