Today the weather was supposed to be more like summer instead of spring along Emerald Isle and the Crystal Coast. So I hit the water in search of some fun in the sun.
And boy was I glad I did. After the brutal winter we had, it’s so refreshing to have summer bearing down on us rapidly.
I started out just drinking coffee at the pier in Emerald Isle shortly after sunrise. It quickly became obvious that today would be an excellent day to be at the beach or on the water searching for fish. After a couple cups of coffee I decided to go fishing.
I started out in the marsh behind my house looking for finger mullet to use for bait. Last week they were everywhere. However today there were none in my area. So I headed to one of my favorite spots, the point in Emerald Isle.
This place used to hold a lot of fish at pretty much any time of year. But since they fixed the inlet much of it has filled in with sand. Either way it is a good place to wet a line and work on the tan.
From Cedar Point it can be quite a paddle if the conditions are not wokring in your favor. Today I left on a falling tide and little wind. So the tide carried me right to the point.
Once I arrived I netted some bait with my trusty cast net. I also netted some mullet that were too large.
Every few minutes a school of large mullet would come by and hang out with me for a while. I also had the occasional vacationer stop by to see what I was catching.
The action was slow when I first arrived. Likely because the tide had gone slack, and I usually have the best luck here on a falling tide. I had all the right fishing tackle; I used live bait, shrimp, and every variety of lure.
Then as the tide came in a few feet, so did the fish. I started catching chopper blues like crazy. I finally had to stop fishing and catch plenty of bait, then go back to fishing to make the most of the bite.
I got into several runs of blues this size. They ranged anywhere from 15 to 18 inches. Using my ugly stick rod and Penn reel, they never stood a chance. All fish were released unharmed to swim and fight another day.
Now it’s time for a shower because I smell like fish and time to hit an Emerald Isle restaurant for dinner and/or check out the night life.