spectr17
07-25-2003, 02:12 AM
Fun trip, and some fish, too
Mike Zlotnicki, Raleigh News & Observer
BEAUFORT, N.C. - After a week of worrying about rain, I think we would have welcomed the thought as Chris Elliott eased his skiff from the dock at the airport ramp in Beaufort, N.C. Even though it was just after 7 a.m., the air hung thick like a wet bedsheet on a clothesline, promising a muggy outing that we hoped would by accented by some flounder.
That would be later in the day, though, when the tide would be more favorable. To start the day, Elliott suggested we head to Beaufort Inlet and troll Clarkspoons for Spanish mackerel and bluefish. The two species had been plentiful in recent days, and Elliott thought we could put some meat in the box before targeting the flatfish.
My wife, Renee, and I didn't really care. Having fished with Elliott on several occasions when he lived in Raleigh, we knew he would have a handle on what was (or wasn't) happening. This was a turbo-trip, an overnighter - conditions and catches be damned. We had two grandmothers back home watching the kids, and we wanted to maximize our opportunities afloat.
Elliott and his bride, Rhonda, relocated to Gloucester in October, and he has split his time between guiding locally and fishing professionally on the national bass tournament trails. I have fished with a lot of good anglers, and Elliott is one of those folks who "has the knack," for a lack of a thesaurus. Plus, he is an affable sort, which is a bonus when you're spending 10 hours in a boat with someone.
Elliott maneuvered the 20-foot Southern Skimmer into the neck of the inlet and had two Clarkspoons deployed behind planers in no time. A couple of passes produced just two keepers - one Spanish and one blue - so Elliott headed to the mouth of the inlet looking for birds working the formerly abundant schools of glass minnows.
"You should have been here a couple of days ago," he said. "You could walk across the Spanish and blues. One boat landed 90."
Just our luck. But we knew Elliott's preference was flounder, and he was just biding his time until a favorable tide allowed for flounder fishing.
A quick run out of the inlet to the Triple S Pier produced only one ambitious small Spaniard, so we motored back to an inlet tideline, where one of the planers tripped hard. After a short, spirited battle, Renee brought in a 23-inch cobia, which displayed its bigger brethren's spirit while being released. A keeper blue followed soon after.
Used this episode to close the trolling part of our tour, Elliott made a short run to a Beaufort marsh, where a couple of cast-net tosses garnered enough mullet minnows to fuel the flounder search to follow.
Our first stop was the drawbridge at Beaufort, where Elliott tied off the boat to pilings and prepared our rigs. The structure blocked the wind, making the stop stifling.
Renee preferred spinning tackle, so Elliott handed her a Bass Pro Shops rod mated to a Penn 4400 reel spooled with 30-pound test Reel line. Elliott and I had BPS rods with Ambassadeur 5500 C3 reels spooled with 30-pound test mono. A 2-ounce barrel sinker and a No. 2 Eagle Claw Kahle hook made up the fish-finder rigs on the business ends.
"Cast about half way to the stuff on the shore," Elliott said, motioning to the broken concrete on the shore, "and ease the bait back. You can't fish it too slow."
To the typical bass angler, we were fishing a Carolina rig, with one exception.
"When you feel a bite, don't set the hook," Elliott said. "Wait at least 30 seconds for the flounder to eat the bait. A couple of minutes isn't too long."
For a weekend basser like me, the wait was excruciating, but Renee, with no "bad habits," boated two keeper flounder before I relaxed enough to get it right. Soon, a school of small blues moved in and reduced our baits to heads on hooks, so Elliott picked up and moved to spot No. 2, the high-rise bridge between Morehead City and Beaufort.
"This is the ultimate community hole," said Elliott, alluding to the score of boats present, "but with good reason. It gets pounded because they catch fish."
With an incoming tide, Elliott tied the boat to the railroad trestle next to the high-rise pilings and baited the lines. A mixed bag of two flounder, some juvenile sea bass and fat oyster toads caused Elliott to head for the Morehead City Docks, where he thought the chance of a "doormat" awaited. Frankly, we were having fun, and the oyster toads provided ample fun for two erstwhile anglers lately more accustomed to diapers and deadlines than singing drags.
The trip to the docks proved fruitless, so Elliott headed the boat back to the high rise for a final effort before we had to head back to Raleigh and reality.
Our first pass on the trestle side produced a few strikes but no fish, so Elliott motored back to the bridge side and tied up between the trestle and the bridge. The incoming tide seemed to rouse the residents, and we boated two more flounder about 17 inches long and several toads and bass.
Just before we were about to leave, Renee set the hook (again) and called for Elliott to get the net. I expected another oyster toad, but the bend in her rod said otherwise. A flash of silver got our attention, and soon Elliott scooped a 23-inch gray trout that later weighed 4 pounds.
"That's the great thing about fishing Carolina rig and a mullet minnow," Elliott said as he pointed the boat back to hill. "You can catch anything, and that's also the great thing about saltwater fishing - you never know what's on the other end of the line."
- E-mail Mike Zlotnicki at mikez@newsobserver.com.
Mike Zlotnicki, Raleigh News & Observer
BEAUFORT, N.C. - After a week of worrying about rain, I think we would have welcomed the thought as Chris Elliott eased his skiff from the dock at the airport ramp in Beaufort, N.C. Even though it was just after 7 a.m., the air hung thick like a wet bedsheet on a clothesline, promising a muggy outing that we hoped would by accented by some flounder.
That would be later in the day, though, when the tide would be more favorable. To start the day, Elliott suggested we head to Beaufort Inlet and troll Clarkspoons for Spanish mackerel and bluefish. The two species had been plentiful in recent days, and Elliott thought we could put some meat in the box before targeting the flatfish.
My wife, Renee, and I didn't really care. Having fished with Elliott on several occasions when he lived in Raleigh, we knew he would have a handle on what was (or wasn't) happening. This was a turbo-trip, an overnighter - conditions and catches be damned. We had two grandmothers back home watching the kids, and we wanted to maximize our opportunities afloat.
Elliott and his bride, Rhonda, relocated to Gloucester in October, and he has split his time between guiding locally and fishing professionally on the national bass tournament trails. I have fished with a lot of good anglers, and Elliott is one of those folks who "has the knack," for a lack of a thesaurus. Plus, he is an affable sort, which is a bonus when you're spending 10 hours in a boat with someone.
Elliott maneuvered the 20-foot Southern Skimmer into the neck of the inlet and had two Clarkspoons deployed behind planers in no time. A couple of passes produced just two keepers - one Spanish and one blue - so Elliott headed to the mouth of the inlet looking for birds working the formerly abundant schools of glass minnows.
"You should have been here a couple of days ago," he said. "You could walk across the Spanish and blues. One boat landed 90."
Just our luck. But we knew Elliott's preference was flounder, and he was just biding his time until a favorable tide allowed for flounder fishing.
A quick run out of the inlet to the Triple S Pier produced only one ambitious small Spaniard, so we motored back to an inlet tideline, where one of the planers tripped hard. After a short, spirited battle, Renee brought in a 23-inch cobia, which displayed its bigger brethren's spirit while being released. A keeper blue followed soon after.
Used this episode to close the trolling part of our tour, Elliott made a short run to a Beaufort marsh, where a couple of cast-net tosses garnered enough mullet minnows to fuel the flounder search to follow.
Our first stop was the drawbridge at Beaufort, where Elliott tied off the boat to pilings and prepared our rigs. The structure blocked the wind, making the stop stifling.
Renee preferred spinning tackle, so Elliott handed her a Bass Pro Shops rod mated to a Penn 4400 reel spooled with 30-pound test Reel line. Elliott and I had BPS rods with Ambassadeur 5500 C3 reels spooled with 30-pound test mono. A 2-ounce barrel sinker and a No. 2 Eagle Claw Kahle hook made up the fish-finder rigs on the business ends.
"Cast about half way to the stuff on the shore," Elliott said, motioning to the broken concrete on the shore, "and ease the bait back. You can't fish it too slow."
To the typical bass angler, we were fishing a Carolina rig, with one exception.
"When you feel a bite, don't set the hook," Elliott said. "Wait at least 30 seconds for the flounder to eat the bait. A couple of minutes isn't too long."
For a weekend basser like me, the wait was excruciating, but Renee, with no "bad habits," boated two keeper flounder before I relaxed enough to get it right. Soon, a school of small blues moved in and reduced our baits to heads on hooks, so Elliott picked up and moved to spot No. 2, the high-rise bridge between Morehead City and Beaufort.
"This is the ultimate community hole," said Elliott, alluding to the score of boats present, "but with good reason. It gets pounded because they catch fish."
With an incoming tide, Elliott tied the boat to the railroad trestle next to the high-rise pilings and baited the lines. A mixed bag of two flounder, some juvenile sea bass and fat oyster toads caused Elliott to head for the Morehead City Docks, where he thought the chance of a "doormat" awaited. Frankly, we were having fun, and the oyster toads provided ample fun for two erstwhile anglers lately more accustomed to diapers and deadlines than singing drags.
The trip to the docks proved fruitless, so Elliott headed the boat back to the high rise for a final effort before we had to head back to Raleigh and reality.
Our first pass on the trestle side produced a few strikes but no fish, so Elliott motored back to the bridge side and tied up between the trestle and the bridge. The incoming tide seemed to rouse the residents, and we boated two more flounder about 17 inches long and several toads and bass.
Just before we were about to leave, Renee set the hook (again) and called for Elliott to get the net. I expected another oyster toad, but the bend in her rod said otherwise. A flash of silver got our attention, and soon Elliott scooped a 23-inch gray trout that later weighed 4 pounds.
"That's the great thing about fishing Carolina rig and a mullet minnow," Elliott said as he pointed the boat back to hill. "You can catch anything, and that's also the great thing about saltwater fishing - you never know what's on the other end of the line."
- E-mail Mike Zlotnicki at mikez@newsobserver.com.