NOTE: THIS IS A POST IN PROGRESS :)
Hello, Blog Readers!
If you folks follow me on all my other social media platforms (Instagram, SnapChat -- ExtPhillyFishin, Facebook Page, YouTube), you know that my family trip down to the Outer Banks (NC) finally came to a conclusion! If you didn't know about it, I find that hard to believe. Hah.
A nice view of the Nags Head pier in Nags Head, NC.
I spent five days down there with my family. Needless to say, those five days were truly amazing! Besides all the sightseeing and etc, it was truly a blast to explore and fish all the different watersheds there -- brackish and saltwater. For this reason, first and foremost, I would like to thank my family for allowing me to do so! They are wonderful people who support what I do (YouTube part-time), and they truly deserve my respect and recognition.
Okay...now that we did the honors of thanking them, let's get right into fishing!
For this North Carolina trip, I explored the following places: The Ocracoke Island; the Currituck Sound around Corolla and Duck; Jennette's Pier and Nags Head pier in Nags Head, and the Oregon Inlet in Nags Head as well. There will be one video on my YouTube Channel for each one of these locations! Also, I will post each one of those videos below, as they are released:
Day 1: June 19th, 2016. Explored and fished the Western and Eastern inlets of the Ocracoke Island.
Day 2: June 20th, 2016. Morning. Explored and fished the Currituck Sound around Duck.
Day 2: June 20th, 2016. Afternoon. Explored and fished the Jennette's Pier in Nags Head.
More videos will come as they are uploaded on the Channel!
Videos will be coming every two days
The fishing was certainly amazing! Here is a little summary of what happened on each one of those days:
Day 1: June 19th, 2016 -- The Pinfish Invasion at the Ocracoke Island
My family wanted to explore the Ocracoke Island. Well..you guys know me -- I just couldn't resist fishing there for a bit, right? I brought down some of my rods and attempted two different locations: the western and eastern inlets of the island.
The first location was a little wooden pier right next to Mary Ann's Pond. It was a windy and tough day, so we just fished right off the boat ramp! Luckily, we ended up catching multiple different Species of fish on small pieces of squid. Photos are all below:
My old man with his first fish of the day: a Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides)
After many a Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), a yummy Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) finally decided to show up!
My Brother-in-Law gut-hooked this beautiful Northern Puffer (Sphoeroides maculatus). Too bad it got injured real bad.
Species #123 for me: the Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus). Little cutie pie, eh? :)
The greediest fish of the day: a Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata)
My father used mainly a slip-sinker setup whereas my brother-in-law and I used those pre-rigged double rigs for saltwater. The water on the western side, by the boat launch, was fairly stained and very shallow! Though, there were plenty of micro-fishes around. The eastern side, on the other hand, had a really really nice dropout of about 10 feet, right by the Ocracoke/Hatteras ferry! All three of us tried rigging cut bait and even live Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) for some bigger Species of fish, but Mother Nature just did not contribute. Hah. Thus, we called it a day.
Day 2: June 20th, 2016 -- MORNING: You will be Lucky to Catch a Fish -- PART 1
Before exploring the Currituck Sound in Duck, NC, we decided to stop by Bob's Bait and Tackle for some local fishing info. Bob was an extremely nice and forward fella! After being asked about the sound, he said: "You will be lucky if you catch a fish there!"
According to the history of the Currituck Sound, his answer was really not all that surprising! The Sound used to be a great fishery for Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) from the early 1900's until the 80's, when North Carolina suffered from droughts. At that stage, the Asian Hydrilla died off due to the high salinity levels of the Sound -- after all, most of the fresh water was gone! That was when lots of Bass died and natural reproduction diminished...
Despite all of that, I was very surprised to see some life down there! With small hooks (size #10 Mustad) and small pieces of squid, we ended up catching the following Species of fish down there:
First Species of the day: a White Perch (Morone americana). Little fella just couldn't resist that Calamari! LOL
This Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) showed up soon after! Such a cool Species to see in brackish waters!
New Species for me: the Inland Silverside (Menidia beryllina). That is when you know that Micro-Fishing pays off!
A Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) caught by my father. Although not a new Species or anything, definitely one of the coolest catches of the day! To think that a saltwater Pinfish would be that North in the sound, around Duck? Truly amazing!
Good old Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) from the Currituck Sound! What a fighter!
Possibly the biggest fish of the day, in terms of weight. Another Pumpkinseed
As you guys can see, my adventure down at the Sound really turned out to be a Micro-Fishing session! Nothing wrong with that when you are a Multi-Species angler, alright? :)
Can't say that Bob from Bob's Bait and Tackle was wrong about his statement, since we didn't catch a single game fish from the Sound. However, it is evident that the place is still striving with life!
Day 2: June 20th, 2016 -- AFTERNOON: Fishing and Exploring Jennette's Pier
For the afternoon of the same day, we shifted focus! We pretty much went from one side to another; Sound to Sea. After a quick Google Maps session, my family and I decided to explore and fish the Jennette's Fishing Pier in Nags Head!
As mentioned in the description of my YouTube video, it was well worth (in my opinion) to pay $12 to fish there. Below are our catches of the day:
New Species for me! Number 125: The Atlantic Spadefish (Chaetodipterus faber). At first glance, the fish looked really weird in my eyes! But soon I was captivated by its charm. Hah
Another new Species for me! Number 126: The Atlantic Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus). Catching one of these on the Gotcha Plug was really exciting!
Biggest fish of the day: a Bluntnose Ray (Dasyatis say). It felt super heavy for a reason! :)
And at the end of the day, we had a wonderful fish fry! Everything tasted awesome in the end!
Other folks in the pier were also catching fish. One dude landed a nice Atlantic Spanish Mackerel right next to me; another one was landing the Atlantic Spadefish one after another on the Sabiki rig. Exceptional catches of the day down there were probably a really nice Gray Triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) and a 40lbs Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) that unhooked itself right after the man lowered his drop net. :( As they say -- sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
More reports will come as videos are uploaded on the Channel!
Videos will be coming every two days
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