Rod-Man Charters Fishing Report

Hi Folks,
It’s raining here at the coast and since I cannot go fishing, I can at least talk (write) about fishing.While the story this year has been the spanish mac bite, some big reds have been showing up in the last week. I took a day off yesterday and took a kid fishing (my 38 year old daughter) and we caught a flounder and two nice reds. Earlier in the last week one customer caught a 33? red…nice. Check out all the pics in my photo album: http://www.rodmancharters.com/fishingphotos/main.php?g2_itemId=648
Now here is my report:

Inshore: Redfish and flounder are biting finger mullet. The mullet are virtually everywhere in large numbers, so finding bait should be no problem. Use a carolina rig and the appropriate size egg weight and fish the docks and deep holes for best results.

Near Shore: Spanish and more spanish…all you want and any way you want. Cast to them, troll for them or even fly fish for them. Cast with small Maria jigs; troll with 00 clarkspoons fished with #1 planers and 30-35? 25# leaders; fly fish with small flies in yellow or chartreuse and stripped very fast.

Offshore: Kings and mahi are biting from 8 to 25 miles out. Some of the best fishing has been in the 18 to 25 mile range. Sailfish are still biting. Be sure to use a dredge to tease them up and have a bait running just behind the dredge.

Gulfstream: Fishing has slowed which is typical in the very hot months. As waters cool toward October look for the wahoo and tuna to bite hard.

Just a mention, the Annual Rod-Man Fishing School will be February 28, 2009 at the State Fairgrounds Gov. Martin Bldg. in Raleigh. We will have a tremendous slate of speakers to tell the when, where and how to catch the fish you are after….and of course good food. Unlike the national trend to raise the price on everything, we have decided to reduce our price to $75, down from $90 last year. We hope this will help folks be able to take advantage of NC’s best fishing school. More details coming soon.

LET’S GO FISHING!!!
Capt. Rick Bennett
Rod-Man Charters
910-799-6120

Hi Folks, We have had a few days of breezy weather but not real bad, and things have calmed back down shaping things up for a nice holiday weekend. I had a day off yesterday and enjoyed some early morning topwater action with redfish.
Now here’s my report:Redfishing has heated up and fish are biting very well. Live bait has moved into the area and the reds seem to like it. Flounder are doing well near the inlets and some are biting in Snow’s Cut and the river. A few big bluefish in the 6 pound range have been terrorizing live bait in some of the creeks.

Near Shore: Spanish mackerel are the big bite here. Trolling with clarkspoons and bird rigs or casting with small jigs has been producing very nice catches.

Offshore: Kings are biting well in the 8-10 mile areas as well as further out in the 18 to 25 mile spots. Mahi have moved in closer and are mixed in with the kings. I like pink and blue Bluewater Candy Feather Weight skirts to attract mahi. Live bait, dead bait and even GULP cigar minnows are catching fish.

Gulfstream: I have received reports of some very nice mahi and wahoo catches. A few blackfin tuna and some billfish are around as well.

It’s hard to believe the year is half over. We have entered the hot part of the fishing season, both for fishing and for the fisherman. Remember to hydrate and wear sunscreen.

We will be announcing our 2009 fishing school plans soon so stay tuned.

I hope everyone has a pleasant and safe holiday weekend and catch plenty of fish!

LET’S GO FISHING!!!
Capt. Rick Bennett
Rod-Man Charters
www.rodmancharters.com
910-799-6120