School is Out, time for Summer Fishing: Cobia, Reds, Flounder...
Capt. Jot Owens
May 30, 2012
Wrightsville Beach - Saltwater Fishing Report
School is out and summer fishing is here! The last few weeks of fishing have been very good, the weather some days not so much. The fishing seems to be right on schedule; the Cobia have been showing good, I'm starting to catch bigger Flounder and the Choppers Blues are at there peak and should start to slowly thin out soon. Here are some of the notably catches from the last few weeks that my clients have caught are; a nine & half pound Flounder, a eighteen pound Chopper Bluefish and two Cobia; a fifty-two and thirty pounder. Summer is here; its time to go fishing!
I love to catch Cobia; here are the ways I target the big brown beasts. This time of year I look for Cobia around inlets, shoals and bait schools; near shore/offshore reefs and ledges are also a good place to look too. The water has been stained lately from all the wind and rain; this makes it much harder to see cursing Cobias. With that said, try to look for clearer water pockets to see the Cobia. I throw big jigs, swim baits and live bait to the Cobia when I see them. Color really does not seem to matter, brighter the better; Blue Water Candy makes some very nice Cobia jigs, check them out at our local tackle shops! Tip your Cobia Jig with a four inch Shrimp or five inch Jerkshad from Berkley Gulp; this will help get that Cobia to eat that jig! When I'm not sight casting for them, we are fishing around inlets, shoals and near shore artificial reefs. I float fish, bottom fish and kite fish in these areas with live menhaden, blues and mullet as bait.
The hot weather has really brought out the Flounder and they are finally showing up in better numbers, there are still a lot of smaller ones inshore, but the bigger ones are showing every day! Most of the Flounder fishing I'm doing is just off the beach and around the inlets. I've caught Flounder on both live and artificial baits lately, what I have seen is more numbers on live bait, but more keepers on artificial baits. Mud minnows on light Carolina rigs with #one L42 Eagle Claw hooks are catching the numbers of Flounder. Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five & six inch sizes are getting the most keeper Flounder; ‘yes the nine pounder' came off a six inch Jerkshad in pearl white color! I'm rigging these Jerkshad on 1/4oz, 3/8oz and 1/2oz jig heads with longer hook shanks in red or gray color.
The bigger Reds are starting to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets. You never know when you might hook one of these hard fighting fish. When I fish for bigger Reds, I use fresh cut or live menhaden and mullet. I use fish finder rigs with 7/0 or 8/0 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. One tip I can give you when fishing for Bull Reds, is don't use to light of tackle for these bigger Reds. If you fight them to long, there is a chance you can tire them out to much and kill them. Try a med/heavy rod and a reel with at least thirty pound mono or braid, this will help you get the fish in quicker; with a better chance of a good release. Check to see if the Red has a yellow tag in its back; there are a fair amount of tagged Big Reds out there.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Reds, Blues and Flounder: Penn Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes Penn Conquer 2000. Cobia fishing reels: Penn Battle 5000, 6000 & 7000, Penn Fathom 25N. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast Cobia Line: 30 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Penn Legion Medium and Medium heavy. Cobia Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Cobia; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Reds, Blues, Flounder: Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.
If you would like to get real time and on the water reports, as well as free tackle giveaways each month; check out my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Capt-Jot-OwensJot-It-Down-Fishing-Charters-LLC/134340373310487\
Thanks for reading this report, if you have any questions just let me know!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
Target Species:
Cobia, Redfish, Flounder, Chopper Blues
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