Well folks, we have had some cooler weather lately, but it seems that it has not hurt the fishing much at all. The water temps did not go down to much maybe a few degrees, but over all the fishing has been good to great most days. One thing I have seen lately is a good amount of bait showing up around the area, always a good sigh!

Redfish fishing has been pretty good the last few weeks, but one thing I’ve found is the weekdays have had more constancy of good Redfishing due to all the fishing pressure on the weekends. I have seen some very nice Reds lately coming form some shallow water spots, my clients this last week have caught some Reds over thirty two inches inshore. Those are some nice Reds for early May in shallow water and on very light tackle. Using bigger baits has paid off for me in the last two weeks with these bigger fish starting to bite.

One of the winners for me in the last few weeks for the Reds has been the Berkley Gulp Ripple Mullet, now I know I talk about this bait a lot; hey it works! Great swimming action and the proven fishing catching scent of Berkley Gulp! The colors I prefer in the Ripple Mullet are rootbeer gold/chart tail, goby magic chart tail, new penny and pearl white for the Redfish. Rig these baits on a red, black, brown or gray jig head with a thirty to fifty pound mono or fluorocarbon leader and you are good to go! I’ve never been a big user of spoons for Redfish, but I’ve been playing with a new spoon lately, well new to me at least. The spoon is a product of Sébile and it’s called an Onduspoon; let me tell you this spoon has got some action! I’ve caught some very nice Reds and Chopper Blues on this spoon in the last few weeks. The Onduspoon has rattles built in to it; great action and sound. The colors I prefer are gold, natural shiner, blue althea and red head; check them out at www.sebile.com

If you would rather go with the live/cut bait root for the Redfish, there is plenty on bait around; small mullet and menhaden are in most of the local creeks. The days I’ve caught bait, one cast of my net has yielded plenty bait for the day. Light Carolina rigs with an Eagle Claw L 42 #1 or 1/0 hook and twelve to sixteen inches of forty pound mono for leader as a rig. Fishing creek mouths, oyster rock edges and marsh grass lines will produce Redfish for you. Just remember fresh lively baits will catch more fish!

There has been just about all the Bluefish you want around the inlets lately and a good number of Spanish mackerel showing up as well. Trolling Clark spoons and small deep driver lures has been the key to success. Clark spoons in sizes #0, #00 and #1 in colors silver, gold and pink flash seem to work the best. Thirty or forty pound clear mono leader will work just fine and don’t forget the ball bearing swivels for those Clark spoons to keep you leaders from tingling up! There have been a few nice Chopper (bigger) Blues around the inlets in the last few weeks; casting bigger lures like the Onduspoon #3 or shallow water crank baits will find these bigger Blues. Just remembers a light steal leader for these fish for they will bite right through mono leaders.

Flounder fishing is really picking up around the area. Most of the Flounder are eating little menhaden and Mud minnows on light Carolina rigs. The Flounder are mixed in size to just under keeper size to a few over five pounds. I have caught some Flounder on Artificial baits as well. I have had the best luck with Berkley Gulp mud minnow in pearl white, sardine, killifish and new penny colors. Rig the grubs on a red or black jig head for best results. Flounder fishing should stay consistent right through the summer and fall.

Last but never lest; Cobia are starting to show up around the area waters. I look for Cobia around inlets, shoals and bait schools; near shore/offshore reefs and ledges are also a good place to look too. With the water being so clear it has been easier to see those brown logs in the water. We are throwing big jigs, swim baits and live bait to the Cobia. Color really does not seem to matter; but “go bright”! 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. You can chum if you like, but the sharks will come and they will come in numbers!

Fishing Gear I use:

Reels Penn Fierce and Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes. Cobia Fishing reels: Penn Battle 5000, 6000 & 7000, Penn 320LD. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast and Berkley Fireline braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Cobia Line: 30 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Fenwick HMG GS 70M-MF, Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy. Cobia Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.

Thanks for reading this report, if you have any questions just let me know! If you would like to go fishing drop me a line; I’m booking now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

The weather has been just right lately for good inshore and near shore fishing; the great thing is the fishing has been great too! I feel that we are about two weeks ahead of the normal water temps and fishing for this time of year! Here is this weeks fishing report>>>

I’m seeing Bonita, Blues and a few Spanish when we are trolling off the beach to five miles off. Trolling Clark spoons and small deep driver lures has been the key to success. When using the Clark spoons, I would recommend the pink flash spoon in sizes #00, #0 and #1; the pink flash series has really helped me put more fish in the boat. A bird rig on top with a Clark spoon about five to six feet behind it or Blue water Candy Spanish daisy chain (blue, silver, pink) have worked very well on top too. Look for birds working or marking bait on you fish finder is the way to find the feeding fish. When the fish are not on top, I’ve caught some nice Blues and a few Bonita by casting a spoon out and letting it sink down before reeling is in. I’ve found that some times these fish are deeper and you can get them by getting down to deeper water.

With all this warm air lately the Redfish and Black drum have been moving in to the shallower waters. I caught some very nice Reds and Black drum this last few weeks in waters of five to as shallow as one foot deep. The trick for the Reds has been Berkley Gulp Alive in patterns three inch Shrimp and Mud minnow; fishing these baits around docks, oyster rocks and grass lines. Going with lighter jig heads 1/16oz and 1/8oz is working well on the fish that are in one to five foot of water. Bait fishing is still good and will continue right through the summer. Red and Black drum are hitting cut shrimp and mullet on Carolina rigs around the same areas; docks, oyster rocks etc… You never know how big or little the drum will be when you are bait fishing; we’ve had reds as small as fourteen inches and as big as over thirty inches lately.

The Flounder fishing should really start to pick soon, I look for Flounder around the inlets and just off the beach in the spring/early summer mouths. Small baits like mud minnows are great ‘Flounder finder’ baits, you can use these baits for a long time before they die and they are pretty easy to catch. Another way I really like to catch Flounder is with five inch Berkley Gulp Jerkshad; the pinfish don’t seem to tear these apart quite as fast as live baits. Just rig the Berkley Gulp Jerkshad like any grub and keep the flat side of the Jerkshad facing up where the hook comes out. Don’t really worry too much about color, but I would recommend going with brighter colors for Flounder fishing.

Fishing Gear we use:

Reels Penn Fierce and Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes.
Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast and Berkley Fireline braid in 8, 10 and 15 pound. Rods: Fenwick HMG GS 70M-MF, Ugly stick lites 6’6” and 7’ Med & Med-Heavy. Leader material: Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon. Stren Fluorocarbon leader material in Tannic and Gunsmoke tints; tannic for river and stained waters, gunsmoke for clear water applications.

Thanks for reading this report, if you have any questions just let me know! If you would like to go fishing drop me a line; I’m booking now for this coming summer fishing season and don’t forget to take a kid fishing!

Good Luck,

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

I hope everybody is making through this winter so far, the weather been up and down and that is an understatement! There are some fish biting but you just need to go on the right days to catch them. If you’re settled down for the winter and don’t feel like fishing, hit a local or regional fishing school or boat show; you never know what you might learn or see!

The Redfishing lately has been pretty good most days when the wind is not howling and we’ve seen some nice schools of Reds. Warmer, sunny and lower wind days can be the key to catching these inshore winter Redfish. It’s not hard to catch them once you find’em, look for these Reds in creek with dark colored bottoms and oyster rocks never hurt. Scented soft plastics like Berkley Gulp should do the trick to get these Reds to hit. Patterns in Gulp like Shrimp in sizes 2” and 3” are my go too, colors that seem to work the best are pearl, molting and new penny. Try lighter jig heads like 1/16 and 1/8 when winter fishing; lighter jig heads help you to work the lure much slower and still look nature as possible.

I’ve made quite a few trips to the Cape Fear River year; there are two different kinds of fish to chase in the Cape Fear, Catfish and Striped Bass most all winter long. Here is a few ways to put a CFR Striper on your line. Try Berkley Gulp and Powerbait Jerkshad in 5’ size; in pearl & new penny colors. Work these baits slowly and always rig them weed-less; there are many hangs in the Cape Fear River. Look for Stripers on drop-offs, dock pilings and reed-grass lines.

If you would like to give the Catfish a try, use baits like cut mullet, chicken livers and cut eel. I use heavy Carolina rigs when I fish for catfish. Try an Eagle claw L42 2/0 to 4/0 hook with fifty or eighty pound mono leader to make your carolina rig. Look for the catfish on drop-offs from five to twenty feet of water. We have seen some blue cats over thirty pounds caught in the river so try not to use to light of tackle; these are not always your ‘farm pond channel cats’!

*If you know any one or your looking for a Bay boat my 2008 Ranger Bay 2200 is for sale please look at this link for all the info on this well maintained Ranger. www.boattrader.com/listing/200... If you have any questions or would like to see/test drive please let me know.

Fishing gear I use:

Gear used: Redfish and Striped Bass: reels Penn Conquer 2000 and Battle 2000 & 3000 spinning reels. Catfish Fenwick HMG GS 70MH-MF. Fenwick HMG GS 70M-MF for Redfish and Striped Bass. Line: Spiderwire Ultracast ten and fifth teen pound. Fluorocarbon leader material, Stren Tinted Fluorocarbon in tints Gunsmoke for clearer waters and Tannic for river or stained waters in thirty pound for Redfish and Striped Bass.

In other fishing news; it’s boat show and fishing seminar/school season. Here are some of the shows I plan to speck at or appear at.

February 4th, 5th and 6th, 2011 - Raleigh Convention Center Boat Show - Raleigh, NC. www.raleighconvention.com/boatshow/ This is a great show with lots of the “top of the line” boats form around the world. I’ll be there with other Ranger Pro’s to show you all the great benefits to the Ranger Saltwater line of boats.

February 12th Fisherman’s Post 6th Annual Saltwater Fishing school. www.fishermanspost.com/fishing-school I look forward to this school, I’ve wanted to participate in this school in the past but my winter schedule did not allow me to. I’ve herd many good things about this school in the past. There will be more than twelve local captains at this year school to help you learn all there is to know about any kind of local saltwater fishing.

February 19th, 2010-Cape Fear Christian Sportsman Fish Fest. www.capefearsportsmen.org/fishfest This is a great free event! I’ll be speaking on two topics this year; Cape Fear River Striped Bass fishing and my very popular MirrOlures with success seminar.

February 25th, 26th and 27th Bass Pro Shop 2011 Spring Fishing Classic, Myrtle Beach, SC. I’ll be answering any questions you have about products made by Penn, Spidwire, Berkley, Fenwick, Minn Kota, MirrOlure and many others you want to purchase at this sale. Bass Pro is also offering there Reel Trade-Ins program for you to save money on your new reels purchased from Bass Pro.

Thanks for reading, hope to see you at a boat show or fishing seminar this winter; please come by and say hello.

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
Penn Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

I hope everybody is making through this winter so far, the weather been up and down and that is an understatement! There are some fish biting but you just need to go on the right days to catch them. If you’re settled down for the winter and don’t feel like fishing, hit a local or regional fishing school or boat show; you never know what you might learn or see!

The Redfishing lately has been pretty good most days when the wind is not howling and we’ve seen some nice schools of Reds. Warmer, sunny and lower wind days can be the key to catching these inshore winter Redfish. It’s not hard to catch them once you find’em, look for these Reds in creek with dark colored bottoms and oyster rocks never hurt. Scented soft plastics like Berkley Gulp should do the trick to get these Reds to hit. Patterns in Gulp like Shrimp in sizes 2” and 3” are my go too, colors that seem to work the best are pearl, molting and new penny. Try lighter jig heads like 1/16 and 1/8 when winter fishing; lighter jig heads help you to work the lure much slower and still look nature as possible.

I’ve made quite a few trips to the Cape Fear River year; there are two different kinds of fish to chase in the Cape Fear, Catfish and Striped Bass most all winter long. Here is a few ways to put a CFR Striper on your line. Try Berkley Gulp and Powerbait Jerkshad in 5’ size; in pearl & new penny colors. Work these baits slowly and always rig them weed-less; there are many hangs in the Cape Fear River. Look for Stripers on drop-offs, dock pilings and reed-grass lines.

If you would like to give the Catfish a try, use baits like cut mullet, chicken livers and cut eel. I use heavy Carolina rigs when I fish for catfish. Try an Eagle claw L42 2/0 to 4/0 hook with fifty or eighty pound mono leader to make your carolina rig. Look for the catfish on drop-offs from five to twenty feet of water. We have seen some blue cats over thirty pounds caught in the river so try not to use to light of tackle; these are not always your ‘farm pond channel cats’!

*If you know any one or your looking for a Bay boat my 2008 Ranger Bay 2200 is for sale please look at this link for all the info on this well maintained Ranger. www.boattrader.com/listing/200... If you have any questions or would like to see/test drive please let me know.

Fishing gear I use:

Gear used: Redfish and Striped Bass: reels Penn Conquer 2000 and Battle 2000 & 3000 spinning reels. Catfish Fenwick HMG GS 70MH-MF. Fenwick HMG GS 70M-MF for Redfish and Striped Bass. Line: Spiderwire Ultracast ten and fifth teen pound. Fluorocarbon leader material, Stren Tinted Fluorocarbon in tints Gunsmoke for clearer waters and Tannic for river or stained waters in thirty pound for Redfish and Striped Bass.

In other fishing news; it’s boat show and fishing seminar/school season. Here are some of the shows I plan to speck at or appear at.

February 4th, 5th and 6th, 2011 - Raleigh Convention Center Boat Show - Raleigh, NC. www.raleighconvention.com/boatshow/ This is a great show with lots of the “top of the line” boats form around the world. I’ll be there with other Ranger Pro’s to show you all the great benefits to the Ranger Saltwater line of boats.

February 12th Fisherman’s Post 6th Annual Saltwater Fishing school. www.fishermanspost.com/fishing-school I look forward to this school, I’ve wanted to participate in this school in the past but my winter schedule did not allow me to. I’ve herd many good things about this school in the past. There will be more than twelve local captains at this year school to help you learn all there is to know about any kind of local saltwater fishing.

February 19th, 2010-Cape Fear Christian Sportsman Fish Fest. www.capefearsportsmen.org/fishfest This is a great free event! I’ll be speaking on two topics this year; Cape Fear River Striped Bass fishing and my very popular MirrOlures with success seminar.

February 25th, 26th and 27th Bass Pro Shop 2011 Spring Fishing Classic, Myrtle Beach, SC. I’ll be answering any questions you have about products made by Penn, Spidwire, Berkley, Fenwick, Minn Kota, MirrOlure and many others you want to purchase at this sale. Bass Pro is also offering there Reel Trade-Ins program for you to save money on your new reels purchased from Bass Pro.

Thanks for reading, hope to see you at a boat show or fishing seminar this winter; please come by and say hello.

Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
Penn Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139