I hope everybody is enjoying there summer so far and I don’t know about you, but I’m happy to see a little cooler and drier air coming in! It will not be long before we know it and it will be fall; I can’t wait!!! It’s still warm and the summer fishing is good; here is all that info in this months fishing report!
I have got to start with a favorite of mine due to the fact we finally got one to the boat season. The Tarpon fishing has been good this year, but I’ve had a real problem getting hooked up with these high flying, hard pulling and hook proof fish! On August 15 my friend and client Lewis Dunn got his first Carolina Tarpon, the fish was sixty-four inches and around eighty-five pounds. Congrats Lewis!
Tarpon fishing takes time and patients, but put in your time and you’ll get one! I fish for Tarpon on the bottom and free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, mullets, bluefish and Menhaden. I’m rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound mono leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 10/0 depending what hook series/maker you like. I have also had a fair share of Tarpon on my kite rig with live baits like mullets, bluefish and menhaden especially in the ocean.
Flounder have been a big part of our charters lately. We are catching numbers and there size is getting better too! I’ve caught a few Flounder in the last two weeks over five pounds. Most of the action is coming off
Mud minnows and small finger mullet have been the best baits for us lately; there is a lot of bait around now too! Rigging the live bait on carolina rigs with EC 042 1/0 hooks and thirty to forty pound mono or Fluorocarbon leaders. On the artificial side of things; jig heads rigged with Berkley Gulps new Mud minnow/croaker pattern have been great for our Flounder trips in the last few weeks. Also the Gulp Ripple Mullet and the Gulp Jerk shad have caught some bigger Flounder too.
Another bait that is new to the market I just started to use for Flounder that has a good price tag on it is the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig soft plastic lure. This is a bass (fresh water) bait but man when you see this thing you’ll know it is sure to catch Flounder as well as Redfish too! The colors I’m using in the Berkley Havoc Grass Pig are pearl white silver fleck, swamp gas and california. Just remember to work those jigs slowly to cover the bottom well and the Flounders will not be able to resist your lure!
The Bull Reds starting to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets. You never know when you might hook one of these giants! When I fish for Bull Reds, I use fresh cut or live menhaden and Mullet. I use fish finder rigs (larger carolina rigs) with 7/0 to 9/0 circle hooks and eighty pound Berkley Big game mono leaders. Don’t forget to keep your drag tight when using circle hook so they will do there job. When you catch one of these Reds keep your eyes peeled for a yellow tag coming out of the back of the Red. Lots of Bull Reds in NC are tagged and you can get a little reward for turning in the info on you Red.
The Sheephead fishing is still going very good and should be good until late October. Rigging is easy for Sheephead; I use a short carolina rig with forty pound mono or fluorocarbon leader about eight to ten inches long. The hook is a number one or 1/0 live bait nose hook; small, sharp and strong, very important for Sheephead! Look for Sheephead around pilings, bulkheads and large oyster rocks that stay covered up by water most of the tide. For bait, I catch fiddler crabs on mud banks on the ICW. Sheephead fishing takes patients and time to catch them but it’s worth the time!
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Flounder and Sheephead casting: Penn Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes. Tarpon and Bull Reds Fishing reels: Penn Battle 6000 & 7000, Penn 320LD and Torque 12 & 15. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast and Berkley Fireline braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Tarpon and Bull Reds Line: 30 or 40 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Fenwick HMG GS 70M-MF. Tarpon and Bull Reds Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series or Penn Torque jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Tarpon and Bull Reds; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
*Are you on Facebook? Check out my page Capt. Jot Owens/Jot It Down Fishing Charters LLC for lots of good info on local fishing, fishing tips, detailed live reports, photos and tackle giveaways; yes free stuff! Just Fan (like) the page on I’ll have monthly random drawings of Fans for free tackle!
Thanks for reading these reports, if you have any questions or comments just let me know. Don’t’ forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Fishing to ya!
Capt. Jot Owens
Penn Tackle Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139