Gotten out a couple times on the river and found some nice cats. Shad bite hadn't been hot for spinning gear when I've been out. Fly rod guys were getting them more consistently. Biggest cat was 43 lbs, a few in the high teens to low 20s.
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No, but have fished and swam in the rivers that hold them. I actually touched the side of a small gar fish while swimming in a Florida river but I don't think I would do that to a Musky.
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It's my buddy's Carolina Skiff 218 DLV. Pretty good boat for my buddies first one. Not smoothest ride but we take it on the bay regularly during cobia season.
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Got a late start this am but finally got back out for a couple hours. As I'm leaving, Mrs D says "catch a redfish on your last cast for dinner". I said I'd rather catch it on the first cast...picked up a small slot red on cast number 4 or 5, lol. And that was about it, just one other small (13") flounder; both on Slayer's version of "opening night" (purple haze) on a gold trout eye jig.
I launched in Palm Valley instead of St Aug, just to play the projected wind. Surprised to see the water up there is still stained. Maybe should have stayed in the 'hood; ocean blue/green down here. But really no good options if the wind kicks up.
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Work's been nuts and I started selling flies in the Ace Hardware on Marco, so I've had time to fish for exactly 20 minutes over the past 4 weeks... On the plus side, I caught 4 speckled trout in that 20 minute session. Other than that, y'all keep posting big ass fish so I can keep being jealous!!
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I'm scheduled to be at a conference in Marco on 7/21. May or may not try to fish. Will double back with you early that month to see if it might be worth the effort. I want to catch a snook, even a little one, really bad.
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If you want snook Marco is a great spot to do that, early morning crack of dawn can be killer to sight fish them off the beach. I dunno about that time of year well but in the summer they love anything that imitates a bait fish
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You should! I should be into a slow(er) time work wise then and would probably be able to take a half day to fish. Beach fishing around that time is absolute fire normally. Anything about 3 to 4 inches long and white in color ought to do just fine off the beach!
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Finally got to the New in spring and aside from the one musky landed the trip was a bust, the smallmouth would not eat anything we threw in any manner of presentations and when we finally caught one we realized they were still really lethargic and had little to no energy it seems. Looks like we were a week or two early for the smallies but atleast the musky kept us entertained all three days. Fished three whole days and between two of us we landed 3 smallmouth and 1 musky so yeah next year I'll probably stick to turkey hunting or atleast just focus on musky and leave the bronze guys be. We fished every bait in the box over the three days and tried every trick we knew outside of chucking suspending cranks as we dont usually carry them and didnt have them on this trip either. The musky was fun and we got it in quickly and back out to swim another day, he was about 29 inches and 6-7 pounds looked to be spawned out.
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It couldve been 2 inches for all I cared I was elated to simply hook something other than a log or rock for once. Some days its catching the other days its really fishing.
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That's a rough outing, but at least you didn't get skunked. Early spring is always hit or miss it seems. I've not fished the New in a couple of years, and would love to get up there after turkey season. It seems like late April / early May were always good times to be on the river when I lived in Blacksburg. Shitty thing is the best spawn window is a couple of weeks and can get blown out by spring rains, so it's hard to hit it right. Keep at it. Nice musky!
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Dont get me wrong I had a blast still just the fishing for smallies was a bust. I'm still over the moon that we managed to catch a musky and see a bunch more it felt good to do that atleast. We were really hoping to hit the pre-spawn feed but judging by the fish we caught and the lack of any locals out either looks like we were off by a week or two but the prespawn bite is difficult to plan on. Until we caught one finally we actually were worried we had arrived on the spawn and that was why they had lock jaw but looks like the temps need to rise a little bit more is all.
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Things are lighting up in SC, probably the best inshore fishing of spring this past week or two. I've been head down at work and spending any free time I've got trying to get this boat done before summer.
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Trying to prep and make plans with all the folks I try to fish with that I didn't get to join last year. Hopefully people still like me enough that I get a ride or two. I have a feeling piers will be insano this year.
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Hello from Big Pine Key. Day 8. Haven't done a ton of hardcore fishing as I'm visiting and hanging with friends traveling the world on their sailboat. We've been drinking, snorkeling, drinking, fishing, drinking, exploring.... you get the idea. I've seen a few tarpon, countless sharks, and six permit of which I had a shot at one but he didn't see the fly. Yesterday I finally caught my first bonefish! Found a school of 40 of them pushing down a bank that I'd scouted for two years now. It paid off. Ended up catching my second a few casts later. They were both smaller fish, 3 pounders, but man they are fast when hooked. The wind is honking today so I'm getting some work done and heading to the Everglades tomorrow for a day or two before up to Sarasota to visit family, then back to RVA. Will post a full report when I return.
Took a trip to Cedar Island, NC with the wife last week. We took our kayaks out and paddled around the bays and sandbars. caught about 100 stingrays, no fish. i should have switched to artificial bait, but was more into drinking beers while my bait soaked. it was a good time regardless. That area is great for kayakers between the sound and marsh areas, it would take a year to see it all.
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Comments
Gotten out a couple times on the river and found some nice cats. Shad bite hadn't been hot for spinning gear when I've been out. Fly rod guys were getting them more consistently. Biggest cat was 43 lbs, a few in the high teens to low 20s.
good lord!
Yeah, what Dave said. That, and I'm not showing my kids these, they'll never get in the water again. Nice fish!!
Those things are tame in comparison to a toothy 40" Musky.
I'd agree with that. I believe Musky are more ambush than catfish.
I don't have much fear of swimming anywhere unless there's some shark attacks recently.
Hokie, Are you a musky nut too?
No, but have fished and swam in the rivers that hold them. I actually touched the side of a small gar fish while swimming in a Florida river but I don't think I would do that to a Musky.
Nice cats! What river?
Pretty work. Nice ride too.
It's my buddy's Carolina Skiff 218 DLV. Pretty good boat for my buddies first one. Not smoothest ride but we take it on the bay regularly during cobia season.
I hope to get out in April at least.
Holy smokes bud, those are some big cats. Great job
Thanks! Definitely can't complain about them but there's some real monsters out there double that size
Got a late start this am but finally got back out for a couple hours. As I'm leaving, Mrs D says "catch a redfish on your last cast for dinner". I said I'd rather catch it on the first cast...picked up a small slot red on cast number 4 or 5, lol. And that was about it, just one other small (13") flounder; both on Slayer's version of "opening night" (purple haze) on a gold trout eye jig.
I launched in Palm Valley instead of St Aug, just to play the projected wind. Surprised to see the water up there is still stained. Maybe should have stayed in the 'hood; ocean blue/green down here. But really no good options if the wind kicks up.
Should have put this in the April report, but pictures from this past weekend.
looks like a future OG, OC, or NT to me; will probably like cheese : )
Finally able to check in. Hi guys! Been a while!
Work's been nuts and I started selling flies in the Ace Hardware on Marco, so I've had time to fish for exactly 20 minutes over the past 4 weeks... On the plus side, I caught 4 speckled trout in that 20 minute session. Other than that, y'all keep posting big ass fish so I can keep being jealous!!
I'm scheduled to be at a conference in Marco on 7/21. May or may not try to fish. Will double back with you early that month to see if it might be worth the effort. I want to catch a snook, even a little one, really bad.
If you want snook Marco is a great spot to do that, early morning crack of dawn can be killer to sight fish them off the beach. I dunno about that time of year well but in the summer they love anything that imitates a bait fish
You should! I should be into a slow(er) time work wise then and would probably be able to take a half day to fish. Beach fishing around that time is absolute fire normally. Anything about 3 to 4 inches long and white in color ought to do just fine off the beach!
Cool! I'll touch base a couple weeks ahead of time
Beachfront sounds great...and easy.
Finally got to the New in spring and aside from the one musky landed the trip was a bust, the smallmouth would not eat anything we threw in any manner of presentations and when we finally caught one we realized they were still really lethargic and had little to no energy it seems. Looks like we were a week or two early for the smallies but atleast the musky kept us entertained all three days. Fished three whole days and between two of us we landed 3 smallmouth and 1 musky so yeah next year I'll probably stick to turkey hunting or atleast just focus on musky and leave the bronze guys be. We fished every bait in the box over the three days and tried every trick we knew outside of chucking suspending cranks as we dont usually carry them and didnt have them on this trip either. The musky was fun and we got it in quickly and back out to swim another day, he was about 29 inches and 6-7 pounds looked to be spawned out.
Gotta get out and get the experience. It's all building and you will be on em next year. Glad you could get a couple nice fish.
It couldve been 2 inches for all I cared I was elated to simply hook something other than a log or rock for once. Some days its catching the other days its really fishing.
That's a rough outing, but at least you didn't get skunked. Early spring is always hit or miss it seems. I've not fished the New in a couple of years, and would love to get up there after turkey season. It seems like late April / early May were always good times to be on the river when I lived in Blacksburg. Shitty thing is the best spawn window is a couple of weeks and can get blown out by spring rains, so it's hard to hit it right. Keep at it. Nice musky!
Dont get me wrong I had a blast still just the fishing for smallies was a bust. I'm still over the moon that we managed to catch a musky and see a bunch more it felt good to do that atleast. We were really hoping to hit the pre-spawn feed but judging by the fish we caught and the lack of any locals out either looks like we were off by a week or two but the prespawn bite is difficult to plan on. Until we caught one finally we actually were worried we had arrived on the spawn and that was why they had lock jaw but looks like the temps need to rise a little bit more is all.
Very quiet on the fishing front this week, other than hearing good tuna fishing off the OBX.
Things are lighting up in SC, probably the best inshore fishing of spring this past week or two. I've been head down at work and spending any free time I've got trying to get this boat done before summer.
Trying to prep and make plans with all the folks I try to fish with that I didn't get to join last year. Hopefully people still like me enough that I get a ride or two. I have a feeling piers will be insano this year.
Hello from Big Pine Key. Day 8. Haven't done a ton of hardcore fishing as I'm visiting and hanging with friends traveling the world on their sailboat. We've been drinking, snorkeling, drinking, fishing, drinking, exploring.... you get the idea. I've seen a few tarpon, countless sharks, and six permit of which I had a shot at one but he didn't see the fly. Yesterday I finally caught my first bonefish! Found a school of 40 of them pushing down a bank that I'd scouted for two years now. It paid off. Ended up catching my second a few casts later. They were both smaller fish, 3 pounders, but man they are fast when hooked. The wind is honking today so I'm getting some work done and heading to the Everglades tomorrow for a day or two before up to Sarasota to visit family, then back to RVA. Will post a full report when I return.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2dT2-Dqzz/
Hell yeah! Congrats on the nice bone!
Damnit, I tried to avoid that by not calling it a Boner like some guys do... Fail.
Thank you!
Took a trip to Cedar Island, NC with the wife last week. We took our kayaks out and paddled around the bays and sandbars. caught about 100 stingrays, no fish. i should have switched to artificial bait, but was more into drinking beers while my bait soaked. it was a good time regardless. That area is great for kayakers between the sound and marsh areas, it would take a year to see it all.
It is a beautiful area with a lot to explore for sure. Glad you had a good time
my sister lives in MHC and I have yet to visit; should I take my 'yak when I go? Map says Cedar Island is about an hour away.
I would say you should. Gives you more options than being on foot. There's plenty of areas to drop in a kayak.
I'd say definitely. There's great kayaking all over that area, not just Cedar Island.
Yes. Tons of options all around MHC up to Cedar Island. Cedar Island is a 50 minute drive up "Down East" from MHC. Some serious backwoods NC landscape