Yeah, doing all the "offseason" crap now too. Man there's a lot of crap to take care of it seems.

Oh! I have pics too. They were taken with a shitty, two year old disposable, but I'll upload anyways. Check the gallery!

[Edited on January 7, 2008 at 10:31 AM. Reason : ]

[Edited on January 7, 2008 at 10:38 AM. Reason : ]

1/7/2008 10:29:31 AM

Nice work. I've never caught a shark, but I've seen some big ass cruise by the boat.

I'm itching to fish the Rockfish Shootout this week but I don't think I will have the time. Might try to fit in one more tuna trip if the weather looks nice. I'm just so frustrated with fishing in the last couple of months that I need to end the season on a good note. The Captain and I have been at each others throats more than ever because of our lack of pullage. Jeepin4x4 knows how that goes down!

Anyone know much about the current electronics out there? We are thinking of doing a complete overhaul.

1/7/2008 11:04:01 PM

I'm new to fishing...and wanna try catching some rockfish here in the tar river or roanoke around nash/edgecombe/halifax co.

I'll likely be bringing my dad fishing with me, who's got tons of experience with saltwater fishing.

I wanna be ready when the fish get here but have no clue what lures to get for rockfish.

All my shoping will be done at walmart.
I know the stuff that works varies a lot, but can yall point me out to brands and models of lures for rockfish that I can find at walmart?

1/7/2008 11:10:28 PM

^^^ Thanks man....we were pretty stoked just because it was the first real trip out and to hook a big fish like that....didn't matter the species :-)

First, to make sure we're talking about the same thing, it's stripers down here. I've never heard anyone south of the mason-dixon line call them rockfish.

I have no experience fishing in the places you mention, but I can offer some advice about lures. I assume you'll be just casting for them, no trolling or schooling? Try a double rigged set-up with buck tail, trailing it with an ice fly for both schooling fish and for regular casting. Also we use a bucktail with a white curly tail worm pushed onto the hook (as if you were plastic worm fishing).

Spoons, bucktails and spinners are the most popular striper baits.

But if you aren't chasing schooling striper or trolling for them, the absolute best way to fish is with bait...live shad is best...but cut bait works also.

[Edited on January 8, 2008 at 12:28 PM. Reason : ]

1/8/2008 12:27:43 PM

Thanks for the info.

I started working in the Northampton/Halifax area about 2 years ago. When I first heard "rockfish" fishing I had no clue what the guys were talking about.
After asking a million questions they finally said they're the same fish as a striped bass.

1/8/2008 1:38:40 PM

I use them interchangeably

1/8/2008 4:39:03 PM

caught two rock and a nice flounder in slocum creek on sunday

one rock was on a mirrolure and the other and the flounder were on a strike king redfish magic soft plastic

we always used cut herring when we fished the roanoke, but iirc they're illegal to possess now b/c of low numbers. cut shad works sometimes and is fun to catch on darts and spoons. live eels are good if you can keep them untangled.

[Edited on January 8, 2008 at 4:50 PM. Reason : good luck]

1/8/2008 4:45:54 PM

slo cum

1/8/2008 4:46:21 PM

Quote :

"Anyone know much about the current electronics out there? We are thinking of doing a complete overhaul."

what kinda system are you gonna use?


right now we've got Furuno navnet on the dual 17 displays which is neat , but supposedly our new boat's gonna be all raymarine and we're supposedly gonna have interent with it so we can pull up to the moment charts and stuff

I'm still trying to figure out all the bells and whistles on the Furono stuff...

all I can do with the stuff we have is switch between views (radar/plotter/gps) and find whatever destination we're looking for and run the chartplotter and I can find fish/bait lol

http://www.navnet.com/

there is some nice shit out there now

[Edited on January 8, 2008 at 4:57 PM. Reason : g]

1/8/2008 4:55:50 PM

We are running a NavNet system right now. We just don't get a clear bottom reading when trolling because of outboards and seas. I also want to be able to keep the fish finder on the big screen but still have my current loran coordinates.

What we discussed today was upgraded the fishfinder blackbox, adding a through-hull transducer, and adding a stand alone repeater and then unlock all the VHF channels so we can hear the charter boats.

I toyed with the newest Garmin network system, it was tits. All touch screen, HD and detailed.

1/8/2008 5:11:23 PM

get a haircut and get a real job

1/8/2008 5:13:08 PM

i'm just friggin jealous

1/8/2008 5:14:23 PM

^^^haha yeah that shit is bad ass

Quote :

"We are running a NavNet system right now. We just don't get a clear bottom reading when trolling because of outboards and seas. I also want to be able to keep the fish finder on the big screen but still have my current loran coordinates. "

I know what ya mean

I dunno if it's Donzi's fault or a crappy transducer, but once we run, I have to use the washdown to put water in the transducer so it'll read

which kinda sucks if you're in a hurry


dude, lets go get drunk and bang out some bottom fish.... apparently some biiiig black sea bass are biting right now too

^^ I got a haircut, the bitches love it

^ loller

[Edited on January 8, 2008 at 5:15 PM. Reason : .]

1/8/2008 5:14:29 PM

I know zip about saltwater bottom fishing, its on my to-do list.


^^^Shut up...IAN

The through-hull is where its at, but if you run aground or scrap it on the trailer



[Edited on January 8, 2008 at 5:20 PM. Reason : No 'r' in 'bottom']

[Edited on January 8, 2008 at 5:21 PM. Reason : fdsd]

1/8/2008 5:19:51 PM

yeah pretty much

I think donzi fucked up when they mounted our transducer


haha not to mention we beat the snot out of that hull on a regular basis

I like trolling and stuff, but I enjoy bottom fishing, I hung out with the Ngs the other night at new years... they are some bottom fishing legends

1/8/2008 5:25:36 PM

I just got a call from my Ole Man...they are on the fish on Day 1 of the Tournament. Good luck pops!

1/10/2008 11:11:48 AM

You are giving me the damn itch!

Ive got nobody to take me out for a while, and the reds arent biting that well anyway with the water as cold as it is here.

Dammit!

I cant wait to get back out there and catch some more. I guess now is a good time to take all the reels apart and clean and grease them.

1/10/2008 11:25:06 AM

^^ hell yeah


thats awesome man


^ or go hit up the fishing show

[Edited on January 10, 2008 at 2:24 PM. Reason : !]

1/10/2008 2:23:46 PM

I forgot about the show this weekend. I might check it out and see if I can find any deals on tackle. The seminars blew last year.

Still waiting to hear back if they have landed a fish for the weigh in, they had a drag screamer on first thing but it ended up being two 20lbs fish on a tandem rig.

1/10/2008 2:32:58 PM

yeah, I dunno what I'm gonna buy out there


I might just pick up some new rigs to try them out


hahah yeah, like with kings, a 12 pound foul hooked king will run like a damn 30 lb fish

1/10/2008 2:35:09 PM

Yeah, i cant wait for the show down here in Charleston.

1/10/2008 2:42:28 PM

hey do you like charleston? lol

1/10/2008 2:43:52 PM

Restricted and PWR, check out South Chatham Tackle's booth at the show...they have a king plug called a pirate lure. If you don't already use one in your spread, they are money.

1/10/2008 2:59:09 PM

word I'll check em out

I don't think we have any


is it a lure or set up for live bait?

1/10/2008 3:13:29 PM

It's a bait rig really. Basically a lead head with a skirt...good for cigar minnows or ballyhoo...keeps them swimming straight with no twist and also make them run under surface a bit.

We've had a little success running them (in what little bit we've fished last year), but everyone I know swears by them. I know a few charter captains tear up kings on them.

But you guys prally fish more live bait than anything.

[Edited on January 10, 2008 at 3:22 PM. Reason : ]

1/10/2008 3:22:04 PM

word, ok


I mean, we use different things, skirts, plugs, etc... but it's always got a pogie or a ribbonfish behind it

we'll usually fish 4 rods topwater and drop a downrigger on each side

we cut off 2 engines and just bump the middle one in gear and troll super slow 90% of the time

thats the one thing about kings, I hate having to troll so damn slow, because the fucking sharks kill our shit sometimes

1/10/2008 3:25:52 PM

Do you use a downrigger ball or planer?

1/10/2008 3:56:59 PM

I love Charleston, I mean fishing wise we have access to saltwater and freshwater creeks, the harbor which has some great spots, the jetties, and offshore. We have the mud flats, which is crazy for fishing reds.

Other than fishing, its a pretty cool town to live in, my wife and I love it so far.

1/10/2008 4:12:50 PM

^^ balls

we have useed planers, but usually just balls on electric downriggers



^ I <3 charleston, just hate SC

1/10/2008 4:15:42 PM

So do you guys have any pointers on actually finding the fish? I am in a different area than you guys entirely, but being pretty amateur at fishing, we have a lot of days getting skunked for 8 hours.

Im definitely willing to go searching for the spots, but we have no clue what to even look for.

Weve gone to a bunch of seminars around here and tried to make some friends, but people are so tight lipped its crazy.

I definitely dont want specific spots, just some tips on how you guys scout and find spots you think fish might be at.

1/11/2008 8:31:59 PM

Depends on what you are fishing for....inshore I always have my charts with wrecks on it or its all sight fishing for something like Cobia. Offshore I look at SST Charts, look for debris, temp breaks, drops off and the bottom machine.

But as far as tools for figuring out a game plan, I use the internet (message boards), Sea Surface Temperature Shots, Word of Mouth, Experience. Just talk to people at tackle shops or go down to the docks. You would be surprised at what people will tell you.

Fish with people! There are always people looking to split the costs of fuel, bait, ice, etc who will take on a boat 'ho' and even swap tips

Quote :

"we have a lot of days getting skunked for 8 hours."

For every badass trip we have, there were 5 trips of shit we had to suffer through. I haven't caught a meat fish in the last 3 trips we have taken.

[Edited on January 12, 2008 at 12:37 AM. Reason : gffsg]

1/12/2008 12:32:46 AM

Thanks for the info.

We have been trying to go at low tide and scout dips or holes in the creek beds, then coming back at high tide, but I think the water temp is really hurting us right now. We havent even seen bait fish in a month. (We used to be able to find and pull up a dozen or so per cast of the net).

My wife did get me a handheld marine gps for christmas, and Ive gotten all the charts loaded into it, so Ive been using that to start to mark spots where we see stuff, and spots where we dont. Hopefully that will eventually start to give me a kind of overview of where the fish are hanging out.


Oh, and im the boat ho . I dont have one, so I have to hitch a ride with other people (hence my personal handheld GPS).

[Edited on January 12, 2008 at 8:52 AM. Reason : .]

1/12/2008 8:51:53 AM

i have a boat but hardly ever have time to fish...

1/18/2008 11:35:20 AM