Ode to the Speckled Trout by Dr. Bogus (11/98)
The Trout is a fish
You’d like on your dish
They’re as frustrating as they can be.
Neither plug or live bait
Nor grub or cut skate
Could reverse your fate called fish-free.
Even when they’re in sight
Don’t mean that they’ll bite
They’ll feast whenever they please.
Oh this shell game they play
“That’s trout fishin’” we say
And we love it from this year to next.
Now my frosted hands tingle
The thoughts of Kris Kringle
And visions of trout yet to be!!
USACE dredging schedule: Looks like Bogue Inlet will get some dredging later this month. The Merritt will be here from Dec. 11-17 and Dec. 27-31.
http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Portals/59/docs/navigation/Dredging/FY14%20Dredge%20Schedule-%203%20Dec%2013.pdf
Surf at Bogue Pier ranged from a high of 70 to a low of 54 with an average of 61.7 for the month (blue diamonds). Bogue Sound water temps ranged from a high of 70 to a low of 44 with an average of 56.2 for the month (red squares).
Dr. Bogus’ “Trouter” mini-Fishing Report for 11/30/13. Surf 60°, sound 58°.
NOTE: www.ncoif.com is finally back and better than ever!
Every Monday Morning at 7:30 am on www.TheTalkStation.com. 107.1 FM (WTKF), 1240 AM (WJNC). If you can’t listen on the radio, you can log in to www.TheTalkStation.com and listen on-line or check out Coastal Daybreak on Facebook. The show will be linked there as an mp3 file. Now rebroadcast on each Sunday morning at 6:00am.
SPONSORs OF THE WEEK: These are VIP sponsors of Dr. Bogus and www.ncoif.com so please support them this season, Crystal Coast Adventures, Cape Custom Rods, Coastal Marine & Sports, Reel Outdoors Bait & Tackle and Village Market, Emerald Isle Realty, Cape Crusader Charters. Check the Sponsor’s section of www.ncoif.com for details and contact information, and please tell ‘em Dr. Bogus sent you!
Prior to this week’s freeze, speckled trout fishing has been holding up in the marshes but with a lot of spikes (juvenile speckled trout) in the mix. The normal late season and over winter locations like the feeder creeks along the sound and the rock jetties Lookout, Shaq, Radio I.) have produced mostly undersized specks as well. And this is ditto for the surf, where traditionally mid-November and Thanksgiving particularly, were the peak of the trout season along the beach for us surf fishermen. In addition, the arrival of large numbers of juvenile trout usually indicated the end of the trout season along the beach. We will just have to wait and see. This time of year, are hours of daylight dwindle and water temperatures fall, we expect the specks to be heading for their winter homes which are south of where they normally are found and west, that is up into the deep water creeks which also hold plenty of food in the winter. So what are the best way to target trout in the so called off season.
Did any specks show on the beach after the cold front? What’s in the stopnets? What are the best live baits for trout and how do you fish them? What are the suspending baits? What did the November water temps look like? Sciaenids for surf, but are there any black drum around? Are the trout in the creeks yet? How about the Cape Lookout Rock Jetty? Need an update on Bogue Banks or Topsail piers? I got it! On Wednesday I surf fished from one end of Bogue Banks to the other, what did I see? Black drum regs, have changed, so what are they? Any changes afoot in speckled trout size or bag limits? For this and much more, you can subscribe to the full “Totally Bogus Fishing Report” for less than 7-cents/day, still only $25/year. It’s getting close to summer fishing season, so there’s no reason for YOU to miss out! Just send a check for $25 and your e-mail address to:
Dr. Bogus
P.O. Box 5225
Emerald Isle, NC 28594
The Ask Dr. Bogus Fishing show, heard every Monday morning at 7:30 on WTKF, 107.1 FM and 1240 AM can now be accessed on the Coastal Daybreak Facebook page. Sign up and be a friend at: https://www.facebook.com/coastal.daybreak and never miss a show. And now WTKF daily programming, including the Ask Dr. Bogus radio show is available in live streaming audio too. Just go to www.thetalkstation.com and click on the arrow. Just click to listen, it’s just that easy!
Bogus Notes: 1) Check me out at www.Facebook.com/Dr.Bogus. 2) Log onto my web site at www.ncoif.com. 3) “Ask Dr. Bogus” is on the radio every Monday 7:30 AM, WTKF 107.1 FM 1240 AM. Call in and Ask Dr. Bogus, 800.818.2255. 3) I’m located at 118 Conch Ct. in “Sea Dunes”, just off Coast Guard Rd., Emerald Isle, NC 28594. Mailing address is P.O. Box 5225, Emerald Isle, NC 28594. Don’t forget a gift certificate for your favorite angler for fishing lessons or my totally Bogus Fishing Report subscription. Please stop by at anytime and say “Hi” (252.354.4905).
Commercial red drum season closes tomorrow
MOREHEAD CITY – Commercial fishermen have likely exceeded the red drum harvest limit allocated for the winter harvest period, and the season will close Saturday.
Landings calculated just from electronically-submitted trip tickets showed fishermen have caught 144,258 pounds of the 150,000-pound harvest limit allocated for the Sept. 1 – April 30 harvest period. Paper trip tickets for September and October have not yet been entered into the database, and most of the November trip tickets have not yet been received.
“Since many fishermen report their landings through paper trip tickets, the red drum landings may be above the harvest limit for this period,” said Louis Daniel, director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.
Daniel issued a proclamation today closing the fishery as of 8 a.m. Saturday. For specifics on the closure see Proclamation FF-61-2013 at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/proclamations.
Daniel said he will present options for dealing with any overages to the annual harvest limit at the February Marine Fisheries Commission meeting.
The N. C. Red Drum Fishery Management Plan allows for an annual harvest limit (Sept. 1 through Aug. 31) of 250,000 pounds. Of that, 150,000 pounds is allocated to the period Sept. 1- April 30 and the remainder is allocated to the period of May 1-Aug. 31. Overages in overall 250,000 pound harvest limit must be deducted from the subsequent year’s annual harvest limit.
The red drum season will not reopen until at least May 1, when the summer harvest season begins.
For more information, contact Lee Paramore in the division’s Manteo office at 
252-473-5734 or Lee.Paramore@ncdenr.gov.
Marine Fisheries Commission adopts changes in shad/black drum fisheries (I have edited this to cover black drum, spotted sea trout and sheepshead only)
MOREHEAD CITY – Action taken by the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission last week will bring regulatory changes in the American shad and black drum fisheries in 2014.
The commission voted to shorten the American shad season in the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River system. The commission also voted to implement recreational and commercial size and possession limits for black drum.
There are no size and possession limits on black drum in North Carolina, but an Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Fishery Management Plan requires states to implement black drum possession limits and a minimum size limit of at least 12 inches by Jan. 1, 2014 and at least 14 inches by Jan. 1, 2016. The commission voted to implement the following regulations:
14- to 25-inch total length slot size limit (but allow one fish longer than 25 inches total length to be kept)
10-fish recreational bag limit
500-pound commercial trip limit
In other business, the commission:
Approved a draft supplement to the Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan for a 60-day public comment period, from Nov. 18-Jan. 18. The draft supplement provides the commission with alternatives to stricter commercial and recreational spotted seatrout fishing regulations set to begin in February.
Adopted a slate of other rules that include giving the division director proclamation authority to set size, recreational bag, commercial trip, gear, season and time restrictions on the taking of sheepshead if needed to maintain a sustainable harvest…
Dr. Bogus’ “Sciaenid” mini- Fishing Report for 11/16/13. Surf 58°, sound 47°.
NOTE: www.ncoif.com is finally back and better than ever!
Every Monday Morning at 7:30 am on www.TheTalkStation.com. 107.1 FM (WTKF), 1240 AM (WJNC). If you can’t listen on the radio, you can log in to www.TheTalkStation.com and listen on-line or check out Coastal Daybreak on Facebook. The show will be linked there as an mp3 file. Now rebroadcast on each Sunday morning at 6:00am.
SPONSORs OF THE WEEK: These are VIP sponsors of Dr. Bogus and www.ncoif.com so please support them this season, Crystal Coast Adventures, Cape Custom Rods, Coastal Marine & Sports, Reel Outdoors Bait & Tackle and Village Market, Emerald Isle Realty, Cape Crusader Charters. Check the Sponsor’s section of www.ncoif.com for details and contact information, and please tell ‘em Dr. Bogus sent you!
According to Wikipedia, the Sciaenidae are a family of fish commonly called drums, croakers, or hardheads for the repetitive drumming sounds they make and include 275 species and are found in both salt and fresh water. Their croaking mechanism involves the beating of abdominal muscles against the swim bladder. They are excellent food and sport fish, and are commonly caught by surf and pier fishers.
Here in North Carolina, by my count, we have at least eight species which includes sand perch, spots, croakers, the only silent member of the family, the sea mullet (kingfish), gray and speckled trout and red and black drum. These are some of the most sought-after fish by coastal anglers for both food and fun. As most of you know, I love to catch red drum. Some of these fish are caught year round, with fall very special for the red and black drum, the trouts, especially the spotted sea trout or speckled trout, sea mullet and of course one of the more diminutive, but much sought after of the species, the spot.
Did any specks show on the beach after the cold front? What’s in the stopnets? Any gray trout? Any spots in the ICW yet or the pier? What did the October water temps look like? Sciaenids for surf, but are there any black drum around? Are the trout in the creeks yet? How about the Cape Lookout Rock Jetty? Need an update on Bogue Banks or Topsail piers? I got it! On Wednesday I surf fished from one end of Bogue Banks to the other, what did I see? Where are the stopnets? Any false albacore around? Where are the “Gun Mounts”? What did I catch at the Iron Steamer in PKS? One fishing pier is being extended another under construction, but where are they? If you want to bottom fish the surf, where are the hot spots? Black drum regs, changes are coming. Any changes afoot in speckled trout size or bag limits? For this and much more, you can subscribe to the full “Totally Bogus Fishing Report” for less than 7-cents/day, still only $25/year. It’s getting close to summer fishing season, so there’s no reason for YOU to miss out! Just send a check for $25 and your e-mail address to:
Dr. Bogus
P.O. Box 5225
Emerald Isle, NC 28594
The Ask Dr. Bogus Fishing show, heard every Monday morning at 7:30 on WTKF, 107.1 FM and 1240 AM can now be accessed on the Coastal Daybreak Facebook page. Sign up and be a friend at: https://www.facebook.com/coastal.daybreak and never miss a show. And now WTKF daily programming, including the Ask Dr. Bogus radio show is available in live streaming audio too. Just go to www.thetalkstation.com and click on the arrow. Just click to listen, it’s just that easy!
Bogus Notes: 1) Check me out at www.Facebook.com/Dr.Bogus. 2) Log onto my web site at www.ncoif.com. 3) “Ask Dr. Bogus” is on the radio every Monday 7:30 AM, WTKF 107.1 FM 1240 AM. Call in and Ask Dr. Bogus, 800.818.2255. 3) I’m located at 118 Conch Ct. in “Sea Dunes”, just off Coast Guard Rd., Emerald Isle, NC 28594. Mailing address is P.O. Box 5225, Emerald Isle, NC 28594. Don’t forget a gift certificate for your favorite angler for fishing lessons or my totally Bogus Fishing Report subscription. Please stop by at anytime and say “Hi” (252.354.4905).
Public comment sought on spotted seatrout management measures
MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting public comment until Jan. 18. on a draft supplement to the Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan.
The draft supplement provides the Marine Fisheries Commission with alternatives to implementing stricter commercial and recreational spotted seatrout fishing regulations set to begin in February. It was developed to address a commission vote in August to keep the current commercial and recreational size, bag and trip limits for spotted seatrout – action that requires a change in the fishery management plan.
Under the current fishery management plan, the existing regulations are14-inch minimum size limit, four-fish recreational bag limit, 75-fish commercial trip limit and weekend commercial closure (except in Albemarle and Currituck sounds) . In February, the daily recreational bag limit will drop to three fish per person, with a Dec. 15-Jan. 31 recreational closure, and the commercial trip limit will reduce to 25 fish, with no commercial closures if the draft supplement is not adopted.
The draft supplement examines the reasons for not implementing the stricter management measures and provides the commission with the option of maintaining the existing regulations.
The draft supplement also provides the commission the option of implementing less stringent regulations that keep the 14-inch minimum size limit but increases the recreational bag limit to a six-fish (with no more than two of the six fish greater than 24 inches). This option would eliminate the commercial trip limit but keeps the provision for no commercial possession or sale on weekends (except licensed finfish dealers).
Written comments should be sent to Chip Collier, 127 Cardinal Drive, Wilmington, N.C. 28405 or Chip.Collier@ncdenr.gov.
Draft Supplement A to the Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan can be found online at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/fmps-under-development.
For more information, contact Collier at 910-796-7291 or Chip.Collier@ncdenr.gov.
Dr. Bogus’ “DrumBlitz” mini-Fishing Report for 11/9/13.
Surf 67°,sound 63°.
NOTE: www.ncoif.com is finally back and better than ever!
Every Monday Morning at 7:30 am on www.TheTalkStation.com. 107.1 FM (WTKF), 1240 AM (WJNC). If you can’t listen on the radio, you can log in to www.TheTalkStation.com and listen on-line or check out Coastal Daybreak on Facebook. The show will be linked there as an mp3 file. Now rebroadcast on each Sunday morning at 6:00am.
SPONSORs OF THE WEEK: These are VIP sponsors of Dr. Bogus and www.ncoif.com so please support them this season, Crystal Coast Adventures, Cape Custom Rods, Coastal Marine & Sports, Reel Outdoors Bait & Tackle and Village Market, Emerald Isle Realty, Cape Crusader Charters. Check the Sponsor’s section of www.ncoif.com for details and contact information, and please tell ‘em Dr. Bogus sent you!
Blitz is German for lightning, usually related to the WWII air attacks by Germany on Great Britain, but in the fall we anglers think of the lightning feeding frenzy of migrating fish getting ready for their long winter hiatus. Of course historically, the Hatteras bluefish and striper blitz’ along the surf are legendary. It is what fall fishing should be, “a rapid or overwhelming outpouring of many things at once,” a blitz. The hair-raising excitement of busting frenzied feeding fish along the surf and anglers casting artificials, mostly metal spoons like Kastmasters and Hopkins etc. into the feeding frenzy, hoping to hook a fish or two before they move on down the beach and out of reach, then out of sight. This past week was such a week, red drum busting and running the beach, false albacore and even some bluefish in the mix. For several days running we landed big and fat slot and above red drum, fat three to four-pound blues and even a couple of us beached some blitzing false albacore, heart pounding and holding our breath hoping to turn the albie before it spooled out line. It’s scary when the you the spool starts to show through the last few wraps of fishing line. It doesn’t get any better than this for a diehard surf fisherman that we are.
Did any specks show on the beach after the cold front? Any gray trout? Any spots in the ICW yet or the pier? What did the October water temps look like? Has the flounder bite on the beach picked up yet? Any black drum around? Are the trout in the creeks yet? Need an update on Bogue Banks or Topsail piers? I got it! On Wednesday I surf fished from one end of Bogue Banks to the other, what did I see? Where are the stopnets? Any false albacore around? What did I catch at the Iron Steamer in PKS? One fishing pier is being extended another under construction, but where are they? If you want to bottom fish the surf, where are the hot spots? Black drum regs? Any changes n speckled trout size or bag limits? For this and much more, you can subscribe to the full “Totally Bogus Fishing Report” for less than 7-cents/day, still only $25/year. It’s getting close to summer fishing season, so there’s no reason for YOU to miss out! Just send a check for $25 and your e-mail address to:
Dr. Bogus
P.O. Box 5225
Emerald Isle, NC 28594
The Ask Dr. Bogus Fishing show, heard every Monday morning at 7:30 on WTKF, 107.1 FM and 1240 AM can now be accessed on the Coastal Daybreak Facebook page. Sign up and be a friend at: https://www.facebook.com/coastal.daybreak and never miss a show. And now WTKF daily programming, including the Ask Dr. Bogus radio show is available in live streaming audio too. Just go to www.thetalkstation.com and click on the arrow. Just click to listen, it’s just that easy!
Bogus Notes: 1) Check me out at www.Facebook.com/Dr.Bogus. 2) Log onto my web site at www.ncoif.com. 3) “Ask Dr. Bogus” is on the radio every Monday 7:30 AM, WTKF 107.1 FM 1240 AM. Call in and Ask Dr. Bogus, 800.818.2255. 3) I’m located at 118 Conch Ct. in “Sea Dunes”, just off Coast Guard Rd., Emerald Isle, NC 28594. Mailing address is P.O. Box 5225, Emerald Isle, NC 28594. Don’t forget a gift certificate for your favorite angler for fishing lessons or my totally Bogus Fishing Report subscription. Please stop by at anytime and say “Hi” (252.354.4905).
Surf at Bogue Pier is blue, Bogue Sound is red. Surf averaged 72.1 and ranged from 79 to 65 for the high and low of the month. Average for Bogue Sound was 68.9 with a range of 80 to 56.
