[Drumdum]

I'd like to know what all of your favorite fish to catch is on pier&surf,strictly NC.. Be it for the fight,tablefare,beauty of the fish,the thrill of the chase,or whatever? Here's the choices,all are my favorties.. We're gonna do the small guys first and I'll post on the big guys next.. Just curious as to what you folks actually target..

 

[bluerunner]

well i voted for spanish on your board, guess i'll vote for flounder here, since i love to catch both of them, depending on what's biting.

 

[k-tom]

sea mullet

Hands down, but a 3 lb. pomp ain't bad either.

 

[OBX Rookie]

We only get one pick, your stressing me out DD. LOL I like them all too!

 

[Drumdum]

bluerunner,ya voted spainish on my board and flounder on this one.. It's strange,but on my board spainish have it hands down and on this one flounder,with specks in second?? Well I voted specks on my board because I use a "float tube"(defined boat ) a lot and so do many on that board,so I didn't say strictly pier and surf. With it narrowed down to that,I got to go with sheepshead to be the best at tuggin,trying to get one of them hooked is close to impossible,thus the "thrill of the chase,oh and did I say they eat some kinda special as well?? My favorite to eat on there is without a doubt seamullet,but I went for all beauty,thrill,and eatin.

 

[bluerunner]

how do you clean sheepshead dd? my cousin caught a 10lb'er in Cape Fear river last fall and that thing was a pain to clean, ended up only getting a few chunks and a tenderloin like piece from each side when we filleted it.

 

[Kenmefish]

Sea Mullett got my vote but I'll take whatever is biting at the time.

Tight lines...

Ken

 

[Drumdum]

how do you clean sheepshead dd? my cousin caught a 10lb'er in Cape Fear river last fall and that thing was a pain to clean, ended up only getting a few chunks and a tenderloin like piece from each side when we filleted it.

VERY CAREFULLY bluerunner,they have sharp spines on the top and some "evil bones" inside.. I was fishing OI bridge pilings one day and caught 25 of them rascals,from 5 to 10lbs.. Man,you talking about a job!!!! Well,to say the least I came out of it with about 6k worth of "pin priks" in both hands...
But,I will tell ya this,if I catch that many again I will stop at 2 fish,because they DO TASTE GOOD ,but I'd have to get a transfusion nowadays,if I cut myself that many times cleaning fish!

PS Can't get over you knowing Angelo,that's pretty cool...

 

[bluerunner]

yeah like i said haven't seen him for several years, but back to them sheepshead, there was a surprisingly small amount of meat for such a big fish. the crazy thing was we were fishing for whiting on a dropoff in the river itself, no pilings or anything within at least 200 yds. he hung that thing and thought he was hung on the bottom. when he finally brought him to the boat and he netted him, we were surprised to say the least, never heard of a sheepshead(especially one that big) being caught in open water on a piece of cut shrimp!!!!!:jawdrop:

 

[Cdog]

I picked bluefish cuz thats th only one i have "targeted". As far as sheepshead, thats what I picked on your board DD I got one a few years back on Hatt. Measured it an released it an went to th roost to give my report. Steve told me by th size of it I had prolly released a citation sheepshead. Caught it on fresh peeler.

 

[Drumdum]

I've seen the rascals while I was castnettin a reef for mullet down here in Hat one time,they were on the edge.. They are stucture oriented,so an edge or "dropoff" will work,but pilings and such do work better.. They like shrimp,clams,bluecrabs,sandfleas,and of course thier favorites fiddler crabs... IMHO

 

[poleant]

Specks on an ultra light is my favorite especially when you hook a big female on 6lb test in the grass what a thrill to watch that little setup get a workout. Also target small stripers with it too, fun!

 

[Drumdum]

Yeap,Poleant you're right,but I've never caught a speck over 5 and a quarter.. I know they are out there,at least 3 or4 yr ago they were. Right now they seem to be on a "down cycle",mainly because of a couple of freezes we've had with the last few winters. I like catching them on light tackle as well. Been working up to a flyrod,just can't seem to get the spinner out of my hands long enough to do it though.. Mainly with those guys,it's the thrill of the chase.Awful hard to get them to eat if they don't want to,kind of like a largemouth or striper at times when they become finicky,but it's sure fun to try..

 

[the rhondel]

You sure know how ta ask the tuff questions DD gonna go with the tasty flounder if I thinks thats gonna be my best shot at the time and I'm workin up an appetite. The rest of them rascals just a rig change away.Thank god for the "gotcha" so I dont have to make that decision sometimes....the R

 

[Dr. Bubba]

yum!

another vote for sea mullets!

 

[SEMM]

All Time Favorites

With out a doubt, my historical all time favorite fish (other than red drum, speckle trout, and spanish) has got to be sheepshead. We used to lambast the he!! out of 'em under the OI bridge before it shoaled up (my favorite piling went from 30 feet deep to 5 feet deep).

We were rigged and ready for 'em too. Had a 16 ft painter's pole with a net attached to it. Made netting 'em much easier. This was some of the best and most memorable trips me and my Dad made together. Don't know if he's got any more fishing trips in him now, so I treasure the memories.

The absolute best day we ever had was 20 that we kept. We caught lots more, but threw everything under about 4 pounds back. Left 'em biting as well. My personnel best was a tad over 13 pounds, but was caught before NC had citations for 'em.

Didn't see this poll on your site DD. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. I've been in New Mexico for the past week, and have been out of touch.

SEMM

 

[Anthony]

I don't fish NC enough but since this is a poll, I'd have to say flounder, even though I don't catch that many. They are tricky to catch, fight fairly well, and taste great. I wonder what the favorite is in MD. I may do a poll in MD, as long as DD doesn't sue me for copyright infringement .

 

[Drumdum]

Re: All Time Favorites

With out a doubt, my historical all time favorite fish (other than red drum, speckle trout, and spanish) has got to be sheepshead. We used to lambast the he!! out of 'em under the OI bridge before it shoaled up (my favorite piling went from 30 feet deep to 5 feet deep).

We were rigged and ready for 'em too. Had a 16 ft painter's pole with a net attached to it. Made netting 'em much easier. This was some of the best and most memorable trips me and my Dad made together. Don't know if he's got any more fishing trips in him now, so I treasure the memories.

The absolute best day we ever had was 20 that we kept. We caught lots more, but threw everything under about 4 pounds back. Left 'em biting as well. My personnel best was a tad over 13 pounds, but was caught before NC had citations for 'em.

Didn't see this poll on your site DD. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. I've been in New Mexico for the past week, and have been out of touch.

SEMM

Yeap ya told me about that one in person,Steve.. Ya got any "missle pics" ta show??
Thrower up there,Anthony,I'd be curious to see what they like to catch up there too..

 

[Hat80]

Remember the 70's?

God I miss those Blues blitz's....Tightlines

 

[Drumdum]

Hat 80 just go to one of these wrecks down here in the springtime,I think you'll get all the big blues action ya want.. Those guys used to look like "black carpets" coming under the planks. Just stand there with a hopkins and wire leader and bail those rascals.. I remember when I first started fishing planks for kings one fall,every rod on the pier was screming by the time everyone sorted it out,everyone on there was cut off except one guy and he pulled in a 18lber.Those were the days.. They used to be like "clockwork" right around Thanksgiving.. And the "skinnyones" always came in the springtime..
PS Be careful what you wish for in the surf though,those guys just love specks....