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MyWar
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/02 14:47:59 (permalink)
So from what I’m reading, it’s very important to put drum on ice immediately after you catch them because they die quickly on a stringer or in a basket.

They’re fun enough to catch. They don’t jump out of the water like a bass but they get big and pull hard. They must eat damm near anything. I’ve caught them on bitsy bugs, live crayfish, shiners, nightcrawlers… Maybe I’ll take one home and grill it sometime.
Timachro
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/02 15:59:53 (permalink)
I caught a drum in the yough river with a power grub on a jighead!
 
pensfan1
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/06 14:07:44 (permalink)
Went up yesterday. We stayed inclose again and flat lined plugs. Seems like anything with some purple is the preferred flavor right now. 20-25FOW. Boxed 8 nice ones. 1 snipe, a few sheepies and 1 huge cat. Fished from 7 to 1ish.
Porktown
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/06 15:48:29 (permalink)
Did you keep those sheepies?  
 
What is a snipe?
pensfan1
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/06 16:09:35 (permalink)
A snipe is a throwback walleye. Just a name one of the "old" guys I know calls them.
eyesandgillz
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/08 13:54:01 (permalink)
come on Pens...you are supposed to be the guinea pig for taste testing the sheepy...
 
Pork, slot size black drum are really good.  The really big ones, like 40+ pounders, are fun to catch on light tackle but too big to keep, at least they were, in TX.  They are filled with worms when they are that size anyways, as are the bull reds.  
 
Most of the legal black drum I caught ended up as shark bait though...either whole live or fresh dead chunks.
Porktown
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/08 15:54:04 (permalink)
Eyes,
I have only caught slot black drum myself, never had the chance to reel in a monster.  I thought they were really good eating and fought rather well.  Although most that I have caught were pretty close in grabbing sand fleas in the first trough and not much room to run.  They do have a pretty big head to them, so even larger slot black drum seem to have relatively smaller amount of meat than I was expecting them to have.  Once trimmed, the meat is as white as any other that I have had.  I had read that about the bigger ones being worms and mushy meat.  I have not heard that of reds, but isn't surprising that any larger fish that hangs out in the shallows would end up getting them from exposure and the amount the bigger ones eat.  I have read that pelagic or epipelagic fish make for the best sushi, since they are less likely to have parasites.  Makes sense to me.  I'm just fine releasing a bull red to make more puppies to go with some hush puppies!
CAPTAIN HOOK
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/09 07:53:14 (permalink)
I have a friend who swears cooking smaller Sheepies on the grille are great eating. He claims ones under 20 " are his choice anything larger forget it. He says they have a slight shrimp / lobster taste . I'd say icing fish down fast is always a plus on any species you plan on eating. Problem is getting drum around 20" or less is a challenge on Erie . They are scrappy fighters when hooked and Erie has some monsters . I've never tried them personally .  
eyesandgillz
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/09 08:48:50 (permalink)
Porktown
Eyes,
I have only caught slot black drum myself, never had the chance to reel in a monster.  I thought they were really good eating and fought rather well.  Although most that I have caught were pretty close in grabbing sand fleas in the first trough and not much room to run.  They do have a pretty big head to them, so even larger slot black drum seem to have relatively smaller amount of meat than I was expecting them to have.  Once trimmed, the meat is as white as any other that I have had.  I had read that about the bigger ones being worms and mushy meat.  I have not heard that of reds, but isn't surprising that any larger fish that hangs out in the shallows would end up getting them from exposure and the amount the bigger ones eat.  I have read that pelagic or epipelagic fish make for the best sushi, since they are less likely to have parasites.  Makes sense to me.  I'm just fine releasing a bull red to make more puppies to go with some hush puppies!




Even nice sized speckled trout had some worms...I would try to dig out the ones I saw while filleting them and the slot reds but, you can't get them all.  It all cooks up the same and just adds to the protein content!  Just couldn't mention it to the wife or she likely wouldn't have eaten any of them......  
 
Even some of the bigger offshore fish had worms...especially larger amberjack... 
MyWar
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/15 08:32:21 (permalink)
Any recommendations for a good braided line?
CTKsnowman
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/15 08:49:14 (permalink)
I've been running Spiderwire stealth braid this season, no complaints so far. 

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rippinlip
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/15 09:52:47 (permalink)
Sheephead must be prolific. I was at Lake Ni****ing in north Canadia drfting a crawler in60 feet of water and caught a big one.

You should have been here yesterday.............. Streams are made for the wise man to contemplate and fools to pass by [Sir Izaak Walton]
snagr
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/15 11:35:22 (permalink)
MyWar
Any recommendations for a good braided line?



power pro.  
 
more expensive than other braids, but worth it in my opinion compared to the other braids i've tried.  
pensfan1
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/15 22:53:17 (permalink)
I use Power Pro #20 n #30
eyesandgillz
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/16 00:15:47 (permalink)
I am still using power pro, 20# that is 18 years old on some spinning reels.  It has seen salt, sand and freshwater.
Porktown
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/16 06:36:42 (permalink)
I do power pro too. Some of mine is pretty old too.
jfel5472
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/16 08:38:43 (permalink)
I second Power Pro! I find the spectra fiber they use is the most durable and it stacks on reels better. Suffix 832 has the Gore fiber which is good but I still find Power Pro better. 
Fisherlady2
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/16 10:48:57 (permalink)
We have used power pro for years on our trolling gear. No problems with it.
pensfan1
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/16 11:45:40 (permalink)
I think the first spool I bought is about 12 years old. I've turned it around maybe twice so far.

Everything I fish has braid on it, except for my threaded minnow/trout outfit. My flat lining set ups are BGs on Riversiders 8'6 med-lite with 20#PP. Braid has been a revelation in the trolling world, IMO. Zero stretch makes for a high hooked percentage, rather than the "rubber band" action mono has. My line counter/dispey rods have 30# on em. Heck I even have it on my crappie rods. Like Eyes stated, it is more money though. Can't go wrong with buying something once.. jus say'IN, IMHO..
MyWar
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/16 16:35:23 (permalink)
Seems like power pro is the consensus choice.

I’m really coming around to braid with a flourocarbon leader for presentations like drifting unweighted plastics. Not as much line twist, and you can feel the lightest little taps. Flouro seems like it’s still the way to go for stuff like dragging jigs across the bottom (?).

I took the boat to wilhelm this morning for the first time this year. The water was super murky and muddy. I fished the end up around launch 1, got a few small bass and got chased off the water by the storms. Surprisingly the lake was practically deserted so it was pretty peaceful. I need to put more time in on this lake to get a better handle on the patterns, but it’s a long drive and these days I have more fun fishing rivers and creeks, so it’s hard to justify the haul.
eyesandgillz
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/18 20:42:53 (permalink)
No stretch can be a blessing of a curse, depending on what u r fishing for.  Some stretch can be good, like when pulling a dipsy and a steelie smashes it.
Porktown
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/19 10:09:59 (permalink)
eyesandgillz
No stretch can be a blessing of a curse, depending on what u r fishing for.  Some stretch can be good, like when pulling a dipsy and a steelie smashes it.


I don't troll much, but I do loosen my drag when I am targeting fish that I know will hit hard or make runs.  Too many instances of steelies, wipers or Spanish macks straightening hooks or breaking leader line on a tight drag (or mono running line if not using braid). 
 
I just got back from Emerald Isle and one of the things that I learned from casting for the mackerel.  Only landed one this year and lost a few others.  Turned half into ceviche, the other half into saba.  It was delicious!  I used the same rod for some smaller surf bottom fishing and would need to tighten down a bit when bottom fishing with the heavier sinkers on hook setting or wouldn't get a good hook set.
 
Of course, NC puts a ban on keeping flounder and I catch a doormat!  Got two others, depending on the ever changing size range, could have been keepers too.  Beyond those, fishing was slow.  A ton of lizard fish, a small bluefish, 2 small sharks (I think black tips or sharpnose), small croakers, small whiting and pin fish.  Still beats the heck out of sitting behind my work computer!  Kind of hard to get back into things...  
eyesandgillz
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/19 11:44:51 (permalink)
I'll be beaching it in less than two weeks...trying Surf City, NC this year.  Tough to find anything.....
Still haven't decided if I am taking my fishing gear or not.  We are staying on the back side of the island but it is narrow (a long 3 block walk to the beach) but it looks like I would have a place to launch a kayak on the back side easily.  Might rent a tandem SOT for the week so I can tool around in the marsh and maybe drag it to the beachfront a couple nice days....would def. want my bay gear at least if I was doing that.  
How much is the tourist one week license these days?  I haven't looked in awhile.
Porktown
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/19 12:17:46 (permalink)
Not taking fishing gear???  Wha, wha, what???  I pack my fishing gear when work has me within 60 miles of the salt, unless it is Jan/Feb...  If I went for a week without my fishing gear, I would have to quit fishing and take up golfing!  Which I have debated this past year!  
 
I hear you on not being able to find anything.  We waited too long and couldn't find a house.  We couldn't find anything between DE to NC that fit our checklist.  Besides a few that were completely price gouging.  We split our crew into three condos.  Which was less than the cost of a house for the bunch, so wasn't bad at all.  We were ocean front, which was nice, some of us had better condos than the others.  Being in the condo complex may have actually have been a bonus for the teen kids, not that I was too much of a fan of that, but kept them contained a bit. 
 
It took a bike ride for me to get to the back side and not much access for back side fishing in EI.  I talked to one of the locals, he said the puppy drum and trout fishing was hot right now.  I didn't get any in the few times that I tried.  I had mackerel on the mind, so mostly stayed front side and just easier for me.  Renting a kayak would be a great asset, if you can get it in and out easily and a safe place to store.  I assume the same species biting in the ICW behind Surf City, I think probably 20 miles by air from where I was, so fishing should be similar (all depends on conditions at the time).  I had a few nice takes while fishing behind and did get one of the smaller flounder there.  A ton of finger mullet at the back side spot that I had fished.  I had some nice strikes on chart/pink Z-Man diesel minnow (I think called electric chicken or something).  My nicer fish came at the inlet though, right where it met the ocean.  That was about a mile walk for me (had a few close calls with the early morning coffee effects)...  Mackerel was on a lead casting tin that I bought a bunch of blanks from Ebay and finished myself (chart/holographic silver foil), so kind of a bonus thrill of something I put time in making.  The flounder was on a Doc's Goofy jig which are big down in Florida (pink/white with a chart/green teaser, hit the lure).  By that time in the week, I was figuring to try something new.  I'll definitely be using those more.
 
10 day tourist salt license is $11 + $2 processing fee.  With how much the average meal is at a restaurant now days, it is pennies compared to the rest of vacation cost!
pensfan1
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/19 20:03:13 (permalink) ☄ Helpfulby rippinlip 2021/07/21 12:23:21
Well, we went out of Elk today. The mouth is open and very passable. Still have to becareful and go slow though. The ramp was a mess. 8 inches of thick black mud. It was nasty, slippery and stinky. We did our best to keep it out of the boat and the truck. It was an adventure but we succeeded for the most part. Someone needs to take a snow shovel down there. You know for the greater good of the village. 👍👍

As for the fishing... launched at 9AM, punched a 2 man by 1PM. We lost some at the boat, missed some, but hey thas fishin. 42-44FOW. Size 0 dispey, 1 setting@135. ALL MEAT. Some super healthy fish. 3 under 20". The rest were 22" n up with my personal best today. 28.5" prolly 8lbs. Think we counted 20 snipes and 2 white perch. We had a blast, can't wait to go back. Maybe Friday.
post edited by pensfan1 - 2021/07/19 20:12:44
eyesandgillz
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/20 12:35:02 (permalink)
Pork, 
What Condos were you in?  If you ever make it back down there and do the condo thing again, try the Ocean Club in Indian Beach.
Scroll through the pics:
https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x89a8edf43ac3e1bd%3A0x4a20a1d86672a6b6!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipO8FkXv8er0tznXFdUqn0XMXuIaBe5Uu2ACQOg1%3Dw240-h160-k-no!5sOcean%20club%20condos%2C%20Indian%20Beach%2C%20NC%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipO6Czo22enMxpSZwWnmUktmHtXCN316EQWodn4o&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXw_fJhfLxAhXQKFkFHez_B-gQoiowEnoECEYQAw
 
They have frontside and back side condos and you have access to all the amenities, including their dock on the back side (unless they have changed things since we were there).   We fished and crabbed off of it and if you aren't afraid to wet wade, a nice sandy entrance to wade fish the back side shorelines.  
 
We stayed at an ocenfront condo and drove and parked back by the backside pool when we wanted to fish and crab.  
 
Another rig to try for flounder is a tandem rig...I used it during the fall run in TX all the time.  
Use a 1/8 or 1/4 oz jig head and plastic body of your choice (salt water assassin, curly tail, shrimp body, whatever) but on the hook tie off a tag line of fluoro about 18" or so and tie of a kahle hook so the dropper left is about 12".  On that, put a live mud minnow or finger mullet.  (size of the jig head depends on the size of the live bait u r using).  Drag that puppy along the bottom.....the jig will stir it up and attract and if they don't bite on it, almost too hard to resist the small live bait that immediately follows.  Always got to wait to set the hook for the flatties too....I lost a TON in the beginning setting the hook too soon...they love to barely hold the bait in their mouth and then swim off with it...I have sometimes opened the bail and waited 30 or more seconds before setting the hook. 
 
You can alsow use a 3-way swivel for the tandem if you want but I always liked less hardware in the water....or, you could use heavier fluoro leader like 30#, tie the jig head on one end and the hook on the other and just do a simple loop knot in the middle to tie off to.  Just make sure the heavy jig is on the the shorter tag end so the bait is trailing.
 
 
Porktown
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/20 20:07:12 (permalink)
We were at the Point Emerald Villas. I really like the Point area. Pretty much any time that I am on vacation or the road for work that takes me near the beach, I always scope the inlet areas. Just so much more bait and action in those areas. Kind of like the tail races of a dam on the rivers. No doubt there are many structures that hold fish, but that area in and close to the inlets are fish attractors.

I wasn’t trying to catch flounder at all. I have tried before, but knowing that I couldn’t keep, I wasn’t trying at all.

I used similar rigs as the tandem noted. It is the “John Skinner” rig. That guy is an East Coast saltwater living legend. His techniques work well. Not sure if he actually invented any, but puts them on YouTube…
pensfan1
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/24 10:21:24 (permalink)
Went to 48ft out of Elk yesterday. I figured it's about 3 to 3 1/2 miles. That's about as far as I ever want to go with my rig. Took us 22 minutes to get in from out there with my 20HP and it was semi flat. It ended up 2s outta the NE by the time we hit the mouth. I might be in the market for a 25 or 30 next season.

Fishing was terrible in close. We covered water from 42, which is were we blasted them Monday, all the way into that 20FOW. We caught all snipes. A friend gave me a tip to run out deeper so we did, as I said. We got 8 in 45 minutes on meat n dispeys. All really good fish ranging from 20" to 25". We are going out of Shades starting next week, as you can hit 40s n 50s only a couple miles out. Which is more my "speed". Good luck to anyone going out and enjoy. We have all next month.
CTKsnowman
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/24 11:06:36 (permalink)
pensfan1
Went to 48ft out of Elk yesterday. I figured it's about 3 to 3 1/2 miles. That's about as far as I ever want to go with my rig. Took us 22 minutes to get in from out there with my 20HP and it was semi flat. It ended up 2s outta the NE by the time we hit the mouth. I might be in the market for a 25 or 30 next season.


My 14' with a 20HP on the back survived 2 seasons of Erie before I decided to upgrade to a bigger boat. 

I'll be fishing the north eastern part of Erie (N.Y) next weekend, hoping to put some meat in the boat. 

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Irisheyeball
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Re: anyone fishing 2021/07/28 17:34:00 (permalink)
I belong to another forum, Lakeontariounited, that shares lots of nice pics of fishing and hunting stuff.  just wanted to remark on its latest posting which includes a pic of a 26 lb Ontario steelhead.  Caught and released on the north shore I believe.  Anyway, it's truly spectacular. 
 
 
post edited by Irisheyeball - 2021/07/28 17:47:34

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