Fall fishing gets hot as temps cool down

Tight Lines

September 7, 2012

Fall fishing gets hot as temps cool down

FOR THE DAILY SOUTHERNER Rick Goines The Daily Southerner Fri Sep 07, 2012, 11:29 AM EDT

TARBORO — Fall fishing is hard to beat in eastern North Carolina. Anticipating colder temps and approaching severe winter weather, most fish go on somewhat of a fall eating frenzy. They are packing on a little extra weight to get through the food-scarce winter months. Sounds like a plan an overeater like me can understand and appreciate. Some of those same fish that thrilled fisherpersons this summer are schooling-up in the fall and looking for the nearest all-you-can-eat-buffet. That’s where you and your trusty rod & reel come in to play. Cool, sunny days and fish bending rods dancing in your fat, stubby fingers. Wow! It just does not get any better than that!

Gary Bateman tells us that he once again enjoyed a magnificent “flounder pounder” week at Swan Quarter in mid-August. This is an annual affair for Gary, friends, and family. He was joined this year by Mike Twiddy of Manns Harbor, Mike Johnson of Rocky Mount, and his brother, Richard Bateman of Williamston. Gary is Pastor of Warrenton Church of God in Warrenton, NC, but no stranger to Eastern NC inland waterways, as he grew up in Williamston. Reverend GB loves to fish, is very good at it, and does so as frequently as his ministerial duties and schedule will allow.

They stayed hard at it for 6 days and caught a ton of trout, puppy drum, and flounder. Of course, many fish were undersized, and released immediately. Forty (40) of the flounder were of the keeper variety with numerous fish in the 19-20-inch length range. The big fish of the week was a 22.5-inch doormat. That’s a right nice flattie!

Gary and crew gave a variety of Gulp! Baits a good workout, or I should say the fish gave them a good workout. They enjoyed a couple of tasty fresh fish fry outings during the week, and still had plenty of fish to stack in the coolers to send everyone home happy.

Hotspot of the Week – We are getting some fabulous reports of big Red Drum being hooked in all the familiar places. I am receiving stories and pix of regular, steady catches 40+ and even 50+ pound fish. Lower Neuse River below Oriental is a sure bet, but tackle-busting big Redfish are all over coastal waterways this time of year.

Most of the action I am hearing about are catch & release hook-ups, so thumbs-up to all you smart and thoughtful C&R people. A big hunk of cut bait seems to do the trick. Got a favorite big red hunting ground? Have at ‘em! I can recommend several good professional Red Drum fishing guides, if you have the need. Shoot me an e-mail, and I will help you make a good connection with someone that will put you on the fish. Catching a big red is like going to Disney World. Everybody needs to do it at least once in their life.

Rick’s Soapbox – I got a nice reaction to last week’s rant about my opinion that fishing and boating is no place for excess consumption of alcohol. One faithful reader suggested a timed self-imposed coordination test that would indicate your ability to safely operate watercraft. Maybe NCWRC should have a contest that would invite ideas and solutions dealing with this problem.

Works for me, but of course the big stumbling block in most of these situations is the offending party acknowledging the problem, and agreeing to do something about it. Alcohol tends to enlarge the “stupid” brain cells, if you know what I mean.

Care to share? Tight Lines welcomes your fish snaps, tall tales, and outrageous lies at CarolinaAngler@Gmail.com.

See you on the water, my friend!

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Tight Lines

Banner Day at Battle Park
Sunday was Mother’s Day. I am not a mother, but I played one in a school play years ago, so I figured that entitled me to go fishing on Mother’s Day. Need an excuse or rationalization to go fishing? Check with me, I’ve got plenty!
After suffering through 2-3 days of a rain induced swollen, unfishable Tar River at Battle Park in Rocky Mount, it was jackpot time on Sunday. Without a doubt, I had my best white shad fishing day ever, fishing from sunrise to early evening. Action was good all day, with a little lull for about 2-hours in the heat of the afternoon.
I am proud to report to you that I enjoyed a 50-fish day. I caught a personal best 46 white shad, 3 hickory shad, and foul-hooked a very angry, upset 3-foot gar. I thought I had two large white shad, or maybe a big rockfish, so I was a little surprised to see Mr. Gar. It was like reeling in an uncooperative 2x4 piece of lumber.

May 17, 2013
NCWRC enforcement officers doing a great job
North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission has two enforcement officers assigned to each county. That’s 200 dedicated, educated, and highly trained individuals protecting our North Carolina environment and natural resources. To become an enforcement officer applicant, one must participate in a highly competitive selection process. A typical candidate is required to pass extensive background and psychological screening. Also included is a vigorous 19-week training academy that is patterned after a military boot camp, with an emphasis on physical fitness.

May 10, 2013
Tight Lines declares Ginger Perry of Nashville the shad queen
One of my favorite places to bank fish is the boat ramp at Battle Park in Rocky Mount. I have met a lot of interesting people there. Three or four times this season, I have watched this amazing lady, Ginger Perry, fishing with her friend, Big Kelly, for white shad. Simply put, she is one good angler! She casts and retrieves like a pro, and always catches her fair share of fish. Maybe a few more than her fair share! This lady can flat-out fish!

April 19, 2013
Time for the John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo on the Tar river
Tarboro Association of Saltwater Sportsman (TASS) presents the annual John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo on the Tar on Saturday, April 27th. Entry fee is $100 per boat.
Registration and information is available daily at Roberson & Dupree Shoe Store, Main Street, Tarboro. The absolute registration deadline is Friday, April 26, by 8 p.m., at the boat landing on River Road, or when the maximum limit 40 boats have been signed-up. Attendance at the Captain’s meeting Friday night, 7 p.m. at the boat landing on River Road, is highly recommended. Rules will be read, questions answered, and you will receive your Captain’s Bag, tournament t-shirt, and other goodies. Each boat is allowed to weigh-in 2 of their largest rockfish, as chosen by the Captain.

April 12, 2013
Sign-up this Saturday for John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo
One of the TASS premier events that local anglers always enjoy is the annual John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo. Registration is limited to the first 40 boats. Full grown men, me included, will be standing in line like giddy teeny-boppers looking concert tickets early Saturday morning waiting for Roberson & Dupree Shoe Store to open at 9 am to plunk down that registration fee.

April 5, 2013
Bottoms Up! Greg Bottoms Wins TASS Shad Tournament
To my knowledge, Greg Bottoms does not smoke or drink, but he does have another habit, and an enviable one at that. Greg wins fishing tournaments. He won the Fall Speckled Trout Tournament, and last week claimed top honors in the shad tournament. Obviously, the man knows his way around a rod & reel. Greg is a skilled angler, and a nice guy, deserving of that success.

March 29, 2013
Shad Tournament participants weighing-in some good fish
All indications are that this will be a banner year for the 12th Annual TASS Hickory
Shad Tournament. The timing is perfect because the shad “bite” has turned on
considerably everywhere. At the halfway point through the week-long tournament, the leader board is already showing some impressive fish weights. Charles Strickland leads the top tier adult category with a healthy 2.56 Hickory Shad. That will be a hard “Hick” to beat!

March 22, 2013
Time to sign-up for the 12th Annual Hickory Shad Tournament
The TASS Twelfth Annual Hickory Shad Tournament week is one of my favorite weeks of the year. This year’s tournament dates are Saturday, March 16th through Noon, Saturday, March 23.
Entry fee is only $10, but you must sign-up before 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 15, if you wish to be involved. You do not need to be a member of TASS to participate, but you must be a member of TASS to receive TASS bonus-money. Registration is at Roberson & Dupree Shoe Store, 418 Main Street, in downtown historic Tarboro.

March 8, 2013
Anglers kindness and generosity never fail to amaze me
The “Shad Hole” on River Road in Tarboro functions not only as a great place to fish, but also a good place to meet and greet like-minded fishing enthusiasts. An informal group usually congregates at the “Shad Hole” nightly during shad season to wet a hook, or simply to exchange pleasantries. These “Shad Hole” friends come in different ages, and walks of life. These are salt-of-the-earth type guys. If it ever comes down to “Us” versus ‘Them,’ I want these guys in my foxhole watching my back.

March 1, 2013
Martin Marietta Materials plans to dump into Blounts Creek
Martin Marietta Materials has applied for a discharge permit to dump groundwater and stormwater directly into Blounts Creek. One person close to the situation tells me we are talking about 12 million gallons of discharge a day. I don’t profess to be an expert on the matter, but that doesn’t sound really healthy, or harmless, for the environment, and specifically Blounts Creek. (Filed documents say the average discharge would be about 9 million gallons a day, but could increase to 11 million on some days.)

February 22, 2013
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