NC Fishing - Hunting - Outdoors Reports

by Capt. Matt Wirt

Gray trout, weakfish, or sea trout, there are many names for this species. I call them day savers. When the fall northeast wind is howling offshore and the flounder or reds don’t want to cooperate inshore, the gray trout are usually a sure thing. These structure oriented fish provide excellent action and are great table fare. The gray trout is an aggressive species and will hit a variety of lures and live baits. Here are some tips and techniques that will hopefully save your day as well.

The typical size of the gray trout in our area range from 12 inches (a 2 year old fish), up to some near 25 inches (an 8-9 year old fish). These trout grow rapidly and the average life span is 9 years. For a fish of this size I prefer a 7’ ultra light action rod with 15 lb braided line. The ultra light rod makes it much more challenging and seems to result in a greater hookup ratio. These fish are often called weakfish due to their weak mouths. The lighter tackle with a light drag puts less pressure on the fish’s jaw and you get to experience the full capabilities of this nice fighting species.

Gray trout are opportunistic feeders. They are structure oriented and don’t travel far to hunt their prey, instead they position themselves around structure and sit back and wait for the prey to come to them. They prefer near shore wrecks or live bottom areas such as John’s Creek or AR-378. When I am fishing an area of live bottom I prefer to drift and cover more ground. If we are targeting the structure I like to anchor up wind or beside the wreck where the current will allow me to present my bait or lure in front of, or beside the base of the wreck. Anchoring in the deeper offshore waters can be challenging to say the least. It might take two or three sets of the anchor, but you will be rewarded when it is executed properly.

The weakfish is not a very picky eater. The larger fish will consume mullet, menhaden, small croakers, pinfish, and other baitfish. The smaller ones stick to shrimp, small crabs, and clams or scallops on the ocean floor. The gray’ will feed throughout the entire water column. I suggest having both live bait and artificial lures when targeting the gray’s. When using live bait I prefer medium finger mullet on a Carolina rig with a number two hook, and just enough weight to get it to the bottom. We use 20lb Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon leader, it does a great job without breaking the bank. I have found that I can use a much lighter leader when using fluorocarbon verses mono because the fluorocarbon has a much harder coating and it is much more resistant to abrasion. As for lures, we have been using a product called Gulp that is made by Berkley with excellent results. This product breaks down little by little in the water and leaves an excellent sent trail. The 3” or 4” white curly tail grub they produce seems to be the best so far. When targeting Gray Trout with curly tail grubs it is very important to use a Gitzem jig head. These jig heads make your grub come alive! Instead of the normal up and down motion of most jig heads the Gitzem jig head goes side to side due to its unique design. This keeps your lure in the strike zone much longer and drives the trout crazy! I have also had success with sting silvers as well, with pink or white being the best color. 20 lb fluorocarbon leader works great for the jigs as well. Jig the artifical’s with your wrist and not your entire arm. This will increase your hookup ratio and will prevent tearing the hook out of their weak mouth. The trout will usually bite on the fall, and you should have an automatic hook set on your next jig stroke. Upon hook set, reel quickly five or ten times to get them away from the structure then back off and play it as easy as possible until they reach the net to avoid tearing the hook out of their weak mouth’s.

August to mid December seems to produce the best results and the early spring months are great producers as well. I prefer a water temp between 55 and 75 degrees when targeting the grays. When caught they should be iced as soon as possible. They have very tender flesh, are easily filleted and are great when fried. When targeting the grays positioning is everything. If you are ten feet to far from the structure you might not get a bite. It’s all or nothing. Good luck and hopefully this will put you in position to put some nice gray’s in the boat, and remember to leave a few out there for the next guy.

Capt. Matt Wirt

By Ted Lake

Deer Calls

Have you ever asked yourself, do deer calls really work during the early archery season? Or what about grunting and rattling during the rutting season? The answer is yes. In the northern states many archery deer hunting seasons start in early October. Here in Michigan, the deer season kicks off Oct. 1st. One of my favorite calls to use is the Bleat in a Can or calling with my mouth in the early season. When calling with my mouth, I simply make the sound, “blat” or “mat” trying to imitate either a mature deer or a young fawn. Mature does seem to respond to the fawn bleat “mat” more so than the “blat” which I use when trying to call in a mature buck. This type of calling seems to work best in the early season before the rut sets in.

Modern deer calling didn’t start or it was not accepted until the early 80’s when companies like Quaker Boy of New York, Haydel’s of Louisiana and Woods Wise Products of Tennessee started mass producing the white-tail deer calls. Many archery hunters like me and my Dad started calling with our mouths as early as the late 60’s. Most calls that are produced today, imitate the grunting noise of the buck and the snort and bleat noise made by all white-tail deer. Rattling of antlers is also considered a type of call. For this particular call, I like using the antlers in a bag. The reason for this is the bag is not bulky like carrying around a set of antlers would be. I usually have the bag of antlers tied around my leg or in my front pocket where I have easy access to it. If you use antlers for your choice of rattling call, you either have to hang them up in your stand or lay them down on your platform. Both of these types of antler rattling work well during the rutting season.

The grunt call is also an excellent call to use during the entire archery season. This call stimulates the deer’s curiosity and the noise is made by both the doe and the buck. Most people think only the buck makes this low pitched noise during the rutting season. Not true.The doe makes this same noise, only not quite as loud as the mature buck will make. It is also believed that grunting will scare off the smaller buck. That is not necessarily true. Although the smaller buck may not want to get into a battle with the larger buck, they are curious and anxious to see a battle. Grunting calls work very well during the rut.

Keep in mind, during your archery white-tail deer season, using one particular call may not work as well as another on any given day. This is why I carry or use different calls all season long. In order to master a call, all you have to do is practice and listen to the deer talking out in the wild and then imitate them. It really does work! Listen and Learn!

Captain David Baxley
Headhunter Outdoors
Surf City, Topsail Island, NC
(910) 329-0818

Hi folks, Capt. David here with this weeks outdoors report. The fishing is still pretty good in the surf now with a lot of Red drum and Speckled trout biting. I’ve heard of people catching them on live bait, cut bait, and artificials. The main thing seems to be fishing! Right now the fish are biting from one end of the island to the other. Try and find a sandbar just out from the beach and fish on top of the bar. The best time to look for a likely spot is to cruise the beach at low tide and look for waves breaking out in the water away from the shore break. Birds working is another good way to find fish. A lot of time the fish are feeding on bait in the water and are forcing the bait to the top where the birds can get at them too. Cast a bait out into a feeding school and who knows what you might catch. Remember to stay within the size and creel limits too. The Marine fisheries guys really don’t want to write you a ticket and ruin your fishing trip. Catch and release is also a good practice and it will keep you out of trouble. Oh don’t forget your camera for that big one either.

The sound is still doing ok on the Drum and trout, Just find some dark bottom and fish during the heat of the day. The dark bottom will warm up the surrounding water and get the fish moving and feeding. If you fish artificials just remember to slow down a little, cold fish are slow even when feeding in cold water. The number one thing to remember is that you ain’t gonna catch fish if you ain’t fishin’!
On the hunting side let me tell you a story! You folks remember me tell you about my buddy that I helped get back into bow hunting. Well he called me Friday night to tell me he had just tagged his fifth deer of the season. It was an old spike buck but any deer with a bow is special. It’s a primal thing I guess? I reckon I created a monster in that boy but hey it’s all good!

On another note my little buddy Wayland Batson has been at it again as well. He and his dad went hunting last week up around Clinton and he got another deer and a 4 piont buck to boot. His dad is trying to say he shot the deer too but I know who got him! They also got a doe and some of the other members of their party were successful as well.
I went duck hunting over the holiday with Leon Phelps and a friend from western N.C. and we did okay for the early season. we got a few Buffleheads and a ring-neck. We say quite a few birds and we were nice enough to give them a warning shot to let them know where we were to make it sporting. Honestly we just missed those birds. I think those birds are getting kevlar feathers at the base on their way through.
Well thats about it for the week so take a kid with you and be safe while you’re out there folks. Happy Holidays! Capt. David.

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