March shadness is here for all the fishermen

Tight Lines

March 9, 2012

March shadness is here for all the fishermen

FOR THE DAILY SOUTHERNER Rick Goines The Daily Southerner Fri Mar 09, 2012, 04:04 PM EST

TARBORO — Basketball fans all over the world look forward to March Madness. Shad aficionados, that's enthusiast for you dudes and dudettes who skipped vocabulary class to go fishing, have the same warm and fuzzy feelings for March Shadness. Giving credit where credit is due, Norfleet Temple coined that phrase last year. Fleet is the son of retired Doctor Peter Temple, an accomplished musician, avid fisherman, and all-around nice guy. Peter has recently hit a rough patch with his health, and our thoughts and prayers are with him. Get well soon, Peter, and join your shad buddies back on the Tar River. We miss you!

Wayne Harrell fusses at me when I give him too much ink, because family and friends tease him about being mentioned frequently in Tight Lines; but, when you're good, you are good. Wayne is a skilled, serious fisherman that favors the Largemouth Bass, but he is no slouch slinging shad rigs either.

Wayne has been shad fishing on the Tar River all his life. Wayne tells an interesting shad-fishing story on himself, so I'm sure it's OK to share this with Tight Lines readers. In Wayne's own words:

"It was March, 1965 and I was going to buy Peggy a ring and ask her to marry me. Bill Dean called me, and wanted to go shad fishing. I told him I had to go get Peggy a ring. Bill said, "No way. I have a Wholesale Catalog, we can order it from the boat."

So off we went; fished just across from boat ramp, and I picked out the ring. I put the order in the mail box on way home, and never missed a beat! That was 47-years ago. You can't afford to miss a shad day, since the season only lasts about 90 days."

Now that is the story of a dedicated shad fisherman.

Hotspot of the Week - The Tar River has been hot as a $2 pistol this week, producing White and Hickory Shad. Twice now this season, I have sat out in the pouring rain, and caught fish. Shad tend to favor inclement weather.

Rumor has it that the Roanoke River at Weldon is also posting good numbers of shad. My brother, Charles, is driving down from Maryland to meet me this weekend in Weldon to try our luck with those RR shad. I should have a firsthand report for you next week, unless I am still there catching shad.

Rick's Soapbox - Don't forget this Saturday, March 10th: It's the first TASS Flea Market/Yard Sale, 7 am - 10 am, at Marrow-Pitt Ace Home Center parking lot. Fishing and boating items will be displayed for sale. You do not need to be a TASS member to participate.

Shad Hole Shout Out - Say howdy-do, to Roy F. Lee, Jr. The shadsters call him Frankie. He is a 46-year old Edgecombe County born and bred man that has been fishing the Tar River for 35 years. Frankie is a production manager for ECA, and has 2 daughters.

Small in size, Frankie stands big and tall, with a shad rod in his hand. Quiet and unassuming, you would not know Frankie was catching fish if you weren’t watching him. There is not a lot of fanfare and noise, but the man knows how to catch a shad, and he always catches his fair share.

Care to share? Tell us about your fishing success, and share your pictures with us at CarolinaAngler@Gmail.com.

See you on the water, my friend!

Text Only

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
More Tight Lines Headlines

Tight Lines

Search Results

March shadness is here for all the fishermen

Site Map