Toys For Tots 2012 fall speckled trout tourney nearing

Tight Lines

November 9, 2012

Toys For Tots 2012 fall speckled trout tourney nearing

FOR THE DAILY SOUTHERNER Rick Goines The Daily Southerner Fri Nov 09, 2012, 12:33 PM EST

TARBORO — The TASS Toys For Tots 2012 Fall Speckled Trout Tournament is Nov. 17 to Dec. 1. That gives you two full weeks to sneak out to all your favorite speckled trout “honey hole,” and hook that big gator trout that has been jumping off your line and spitting the bait back in your face. Don’t you just hate it when that happens?

Entry fee is $25 per person, and each participant is required to donate an unopened toy to Toys For Tots. You do not have to be a TASS member to fish in this tournament, but only TASS members are eligible for bonus money. Registration and daily weigh-in will be at Roberson & Dupree Shoe Store at 418 Main Street in downtown Tarboro. Deadline for registration is 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16.

Fishing in the tournament is limited to North Carolina coastal and inland waters only and weigh-in hours at the shoe store are from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. The final weigh-in will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1.

Awards will follow the final weigh-in and the public is invited. Come enjoy pizza compliments of Pizza Inn of Tarboro, bring a toy and join the fun!

First to fifth place will share a $1,400 guaranteed pay out, and $500 in TASS member bonus money.

Jimmy Braswell was last year’s winner with a 4.95-pound spec, so I think it’s safe to say that a 5-pounder is a good benchmark for success in this year’s tournament.

Sponsors are the lifeblood of every successful tournament, so we’ll ask you to thank and support Opticom Communications, Inc. of Garner, Ribeyes/Jersey Mikes of Tarboro, and Allen Roberson Plumbing of Elm City.

Current TASS President, David Mears, is chairman of this event, and your information source at 883-4416.

Can’t fish the tournament? Sorry, but your friends at TASS still want to encourage you to come by and donate a toy. I don’t know about you, but it hurts my heart to think some youngster might wake up Christmas morning with no present or gift to greet them. I can’t think of an uglier scenario. Perish the thought!

Hotspot of the Week: I went out fishing last week with Greg Bottoms of Tarboro. We put in at Lee’s Landing in Pamlico County, and fished Broad Creek with popular MirrOlures MR-17’s. We were targeting speckled trout, and caught four nice keepers. We also connected on 15 rockfish. Greg, who is an excellent angler, added two pretty largemouth bass to our catch. We kept the trout, and released everything else. It was a beautiful day, custom-made for fall fishing, and I was grateful to be part of it. I am never more prayerful and thankful to be alive than when I am out fishing, and communing with nature.

Rick’s Soapbox: One of the shortcomings of preparing an article early in the week for Friday publication is that important things happen during the week that might change the complexion of current events. Of course, I mention this because that is exactly what happened to me.

I devoted most of my column last week to advising my readers of the impact Hurricane Sandy was likely going to have on local fishing. The ink wasn’t dry on Friday’s paper when NCWRC put out a news release advising anglers that Hurricane Sandy had very little negative effect on local fishing.

Don’t I feel stupid? However, I am very relieved and happy that I got it wrong this time, and that ultimately we dodged a bullet with that potentially devastating storm.

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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