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Moving from NJ to NC coast - fishing tactics

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jrzyripper

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There is also an inshore striper fishery I forgot to mention.  It is no-keep except for the Roanoke river at specific and limited times.  Cape Fear, Neuse, Pamlico, Tar and Albermarle sound all have stripers but the fish are generally (a lot) smaller than migratory fish in the north east.  Never heard of anyone doing really good from the bank either it's all boat fishing.  The upside is being able to fish all year round down here.  There is always something to fish for between building rods and now plugs and I mean with artificials - not baitin'and waitin'.

 

 

Edited by ghmason
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Jrsyripper:  You can pretty much take anything GHMason says to the bank.  He's a very gifted and experienced fisherman with a PhD in the surf.  I'll echo his comments along with my own insights from fishing here since 2004.  (And anything  I know about catching speckled trout from the surf came from watching and imitating GH.)  You won't normally find big redfish in the surf down here like they catch in Hatteras during the spring and fall.  By big, I mean 20 pounders and up to 60.  There are always a few of the big girls out there, but they aren't concentrated like you'll find in Hatteras or in the Neuse Pamlico sounds during the late summer/early fall.  They go up there to spawn, and that catch and release fishery has become very popular over the past decade.  Too popular if you ask me.  That's almost entirely a boat fishery, although there's a small group of kayak anglers who do very well.  It used to be almost exclusively a bait fishery too, and mostly at night.  Over the past few years there have been a lot more guys fishing artificials during the day, mostly plastic swim baits and plastic shrimp, under popping corks.  They will also eat larger plugs, but hardly anybody does that, and there's not enough of a body of knowledge for me to even guess whether that would be worthwhile.  Your NE coast plugging gear isn't well suited for this.  7 - 8 ' MH spinners in the 4000 - 6000 range or comparable casting reels are about right.  

 

Closer to where your new home will be, you'll find some truly outstanding surf fishing for drum, but most of that will be in the Fall, from about October through December.  Like GH mentioned, those will primarily be slot fish from 18 - 27".  They call them "Puppy Drum" down here.  And it is by no means just a cut bait fishery.  That's what most people use--that and live or fresh dead finger mullet, and a lot of people toss Gulp Shrimp as well.  But my friends and I fish almost exclusively with artificial lures, and we catch the daylights out of 'em.  As GH mentioned, a gold spoon can be very effective as are bucktails and soft plastics on lead heads.  But we do just as well on topwater baits like Spooks (mainly in the fall), suspending twitch baits (like the Mirrolure MR-27 or Yozuri 3D Inshore), lipped or lipless crankbaits (Daiwa SP, Rapala XRap and hundreds more), RatlTraps, spinner baits, you name it.  Generally these baits will be in the 1/2 oz - 1.5 oz range.  They will eat larger baits, but your typical striper surf plug is too big.  Generally, if it looks like food, a redfish will eat it, as long as you present it properly.  I think they're far less selective than stripers.  The artificial bite kind of dies when the water gets cold--usually Jan - Feb.  The fall is the peak when those slot fish school up outside the inlets, and if you can find those schools, it can be truly incredible.  Unfortunately again, your NE heavy duty plugging gear is way overkill for that.  I fish a 7' medium power spinning rod with a 4000 class reel, sometimes even a 3000.  Long casts can be desirable sometimes, but most of the time a 30 - 40 yard cast will be all you['ll need.  I wouldn't get rid of your plugging gear yet, but I don't think you'll be using it much down here.  Definitely start exploring the beaches from Figure 8 Island down through Fort Fisher and then spend some time down around Southport.  There are always a few drum in the surf, but the fishing is by far the best in the Fall.  We used to have great speckled trout fishing out of the surf in the Fall too, but for the last several years that has all but disappeared.  I don't know why because the speck fishing in the bays and rivers has stayed pretty good.  There's not too much else in the surf down here that interests me--whiting, puffers, occasional pompano in the summer.  You can only keep flounder for a short two week season because we have commercially fished them down to nothing, and our bluefish down here are just bluegills with teeth. I'm sure you'll find some good fishing after you explore a bit. 

Best of luck to you.  

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2 hours ago, bmac said:

Jrsyripper:  You can pretty much take anything GHMason says to the bank.  He's a very gifted and experienced fisherman with a PhD in the surf.  I'll echo his comments along with my own insights from fishing here since 2004.  (And anything  I know about catching speckled trout from the surf came from watching and imitating GH.)  You won't normally find big redfish in the surf down here like they catch in Hatteras during the spring and fall.  By big, I mean 20 pounders and up to 60.  There are always a few of the big girls out there, but they aren't concentrated like you'll find in Hatteras or in the Neuse Pamlico sounds during the late summer/early fall.  They go up there to spawn, and that catch and release fishery has become very popular over the past decade.  Too popular if you ask me.  That's almost entirely a boat fishery, although there's a small group of kayak anglers who do very well.  It used to be almost exclusively a bait fishery too, and mostly at night.  Over the past few years there have been a lot more guys fishing artificials during the day, mostly plastic swim baits and plastic shrimp, under popping corks.  They will also eat larger plugs, but hardly anybody does that, and there's not enough of a body of knowledge for me to even guess whether that would be worthwhile.  Your NE coast plugging gear isn't well suited for this.  7 - 8 ' MH spinners in the 4000 - 6000 range or comparable casting reels are about right.  

 

Closer to where your new home will be, you'll find some truly outstanding surf fishing for drum, but most of that will be in the Fall, from about October through December.  Like GH mentioned, those will primarily be slot fish from 18 - 27".  They call them "Puppy Drum" down here.  And it is by no means just a cut bait fishery.  That's what most people use--that and live or fresh dead finger mullet, and a lot of people toss Gulp Shrimp as well.  But my friends and I fish almost exclusively with artificial lures, and we catch the daylights out of 'em.  As GH mentioned, a gold spoon can be very effective as are bucktails and soft plastics on lead heads.  But we do just as well on topwater baits like Spooks (mainly in the fall), suspending twitch baits (like the Mirrolure MR-27 or Yozuri 3D Inshore), lipped or lipless crankbaits (Daiwa SP, Rapala XRap and hundreds more), RatlTraps, spinner baits, you name it.  Generally these baits will be in the 1/2 oz - 1.5 oz range.  They will eat larger baits, but your typical striper surf plug is too big.  Generally, if it looks like food, a redfish will eat it, as long as you present it properly.  I think they're far less selective than stripers.  The artificial bite kind of dies when the water gets cold--usually Jan - Feb.  The fall is the peak when those slot fish school up outside the inlets, and if you can find those schools, it can be truly incredible.  Unfortunately again, your NE heavy duty plugging gear is way overkill for that.  I fish a 7' medium power spinning rod with a 4000 class reel, sometimes even a 3000.  Long casts can be desirable sometimes, but most of the time a 30 - 40 yard cast will be all you['ll need.  I wouldn't get rid of your plugging gear yet, but I don't think you'll be using it much down here.  Definitely start exploring the beaches from Figure 8 Island down through Fort Fisher and then spend some time down around Southport.  There are always a few drum in the surf, but the fishing is by far the best in the Fall.  We used to have great speckled trout fishing out of the surf in the Fall too, but for the last several years that has all but disappeared.  I don't know why because the speck fishing in the bays and rivers has stayed pretty good.  There's not too much else in the surf down here that interests me--whiting, puffers, occasional pompano in the summer.  You can only keep flounder for a short two week season because we have commercially fished them down to nothing, and our bluefish down here are just bluegills with teeth. I'm sure you'll find some good fishing after you explore a bit. 

Best of luck to you.  

Thanks for the detailed response. I believe I am going to turn into a yak and flats boat fisherman 90% of the time and then head inshore for reds/kings and Spanish or chase albies.  Once in a while (when fuel prices drop) we’ll run off to the gulf or the frying pan for some jigging.  
 

I’ll probably just store my North east plugging gear in storage for random trips to florida or NJ and cape cod trips. I just got a nice ODM genesis 8 footer 3/8-2 oz with a VR50 so that will probably be my new best friend from the surf for  now until I can build a new quiver or yak and inshore rods. 

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Don't get rid of any of it, yet. Smaller set ups as described aren't that expensive, and you might find you need those 9-11 more than you think. there is also a drum bite at Cape Lookout, which is half the distance to OBX from Wilmy. You can definititely sling metal or poppers for blues and Spanish from the beach- Carolina Beach inlet is great for this if you have 4WD. Striper fishing in NC is just not what it was in the 90's and early 2000's. Maybe the menhaden boats, global warning etc etc, but it's not. Which blows. Speaking of blowing, the wind does, and you'll get a lot more use out of a 19' skiff or bayboat than an offshore one. Get a skiff, and find some friends with a Stream boat you can kick gas on. Even with the skiff, you can crawl it up in the bays behind masonboro or towards Figure 8 and walk over the dune to surf fish with some degree of privacy, or motor back to Dockside for a Bloody if nothing is happening. 

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56 mins ago, thorhammer said:

Don't get rid of any of it, yet. Smaller set ups as described aren't that expensive, and you might find you need those 9-11 more than you think. there is also a drum bite at Cape Lookout, which is half the distance to OBX from Wilmy. You can definititely sling metal or poppers for blues and Spanish from the beach- Carolina Beach inlet is great for this if you have 4WD. Striper fishing in NC is just not what it was in the 90's and early 2000's. Maybe the menhaden boats, global warning etc etc, but it's not. Which blows. Speaking of blowing, the wind does, and you'll get a lot more use out of a 19' skiff or bayboat than an offshore one. Get a skiff, and find some friends with a Stream boat you can kick gas on. Even with the skiff, you can crawl it up in the bays behind masonboro or towards Figure 8 and walk over the dune to surf fish with some degree of privacy, or motor back to Dockside for a Bloody if nothing is happening. 

By the info you guys are giving me it seems i will never be bored, and will always have something to fish for pretty much all year.  I may not be chucking 8 inch pencils at 40# fish but i can gear down and get a small bay boat and have a blast exploring the creeks and bay areas. It's funny but leaving the NE fishing scene is what's holding me back the most. I can always use my current NE surf rods to soak bait on the beach for now anyway. 

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