Why not include fishing in your summer travel plans

Tight Lines

July 6, 2012

Why not include fishing in your summer travel plans

FOR THE DAILY SOUTHERNER Rick Goines The Daily Southerner Fri Jul 06, 2012, 01:57 PM EDT

TARBORO — Whatever your travel plans this summer, try to include some fishing in the schedule of out-of-town activities. Remember, variety is the spice of life. Plan ahead and take appropriate gear from home, depending on your closest body of water, and choice of angling. Locals are your best source of fishing Intel and info. Be polite, but ask specific questions, and hopefully they will give you the straight scoop.

Fishing is like everything else when it comes to costs and expense; you get what you pay for. If you don’t have your own boat, seek the services of a professional guide or charter boat captain. Again, speak up and ask good questions, and let them know your expectations for your fishing trip investment. It’s important that you and your guide are on the same page.

Scorching summer temps make fishing in the heat of the day a little unpleasant this time of year. No doubt, fishing is supposed to be a fun and enjoyable activity, but always keep in mind that your personal safety and wellbeing should top your list of summer fishing priorities. Following a few common sense rules is just plain smart.

Limiting you sun exposure with proper clothing, sun-block, and shade, should top your list. Staying hydrated is an important, healthy way to deal with the heat of summer. Packing a good supply of fresh drinking water is as important as having the right equipment or bait during these hot summer fishing excursions. Truthfully, proper hydration is probably even more important.

This time of year, freshwater fisherman seem to enjoy the best luck early morning and early evening. Fish tend to become inactive and sluggish in the heat of the day. Deep, cooler water or any type of structure, whether a pier, dock, or big stump, might offer fish a little protection and relief from the intense sun rays, and uncomfortably warm water.

Largemouth bass, crappie, and an array of sunfish-types are the rewards for those who are patient and willing to work the freshwater creeks, rivers, lakes, and ponds. The fish are there, but it takes a little planning, persistence, and know-how to find them.

Our saltwater ‘fin-atics’ have a little different story. Certainly, air and water temp matter, but tides and wind also play a big part in their fishing plans. If you are not too choosey, you can usually find something to bite your offering in saltwater. If someone tells you they did not catch anything, it is usually because they targeted a specific fish that day that wasn’t cooperating. It’s a rare day that something out there in that big Atlantic Ocean isn’t biting.

Crystal Coast beach, surf, and pier anglers using bloodworms and shrimp on tandem hook bottom rigs are catching the usual mixed bag of croakers, spot, sea mullet, sheepshead, and an occasional flounder. Pier slingers, throwing Got-Cha plugs, have some fast and furious action when a school of hungry, toothy bluefish show up.

Inshore, boaters dragging anything “flashy” are having luck with bluefish and Spanish. Gulp! Baits and live shrimp are fooling flatfish around structures. Red drum are being caught in the creeks and shoals and in deeper water, large slabs of cut bait function as catnip for the big reds.

Offshore around the Big Rock and Gulf Stream, billfish, wahoo, and dolphin are keeping folks from dozing off after a long boat ride. Tackle-busting amberjacks are being enticed, when bottom fishing at the offshore wrecks.

Care to share? Tight Lines welcomes your fishing success stories and fishy snaps 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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