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.

Came across a buoy that looks a bit out of place.

The north wind and outgoing tide carried me and the kayak effortlessly to the point on Emerald Isle. While I went by the Coast Guard station it appeared as though they were setting up for a little cookout. And what a perfect place they have for a cookout, and what nice weather we all shared.

I threw some different curly tailed grubs and wasn’t getting any action. So i headed over to an island that has a little pool usually filled with some baits. But the way the wind was blowing I guess it just emptied that pool out. Last time I was here it was full of mud minnows and such. But last time I didn’t have a cast net, and of course when i have it there’s no bait to be found.

Luckily I always bring some dead natural baits with me, whether they be shrimp, or frozen finger mullet. Saturday I brought finger mullet. So I pitched one of them out and in a couple minutes I saw the end of my rod do that familiar “tap, tap, tap.” I knew then that i had something, and was going to get the skunk off me.

As i reeled the fish in I noticed it was a puffer fish. I unhooked him, and thought about keeping it , because I’ve never eaten them, and have always heard they are the real chicken of the sea. But i figured I would need 5 or 6 of them to feed myself, so I let him go.

After re-baiting and catching another puffer, I started keeping them. I ended up with 7 of them at about 12 inches. After finding a video online on how to clean them, and cooking them up, I tell you, I will never throw them away again.

Ugly little things, but dang if they aren’t tasty little devils.

I left Cedar Point at about 11am. The tide was coming in and the wind was blowing out of the south at about 5mph. So I had to fight against both of them. However, it was not so bad because it just felt good to be out kayaking.

It took me about an hour to reach my destination. The closer I got to the inlet and Emerald Isle the clearer the water was getting. By the time I arrived at the island across from the coast guard station I estimate there was probably 10 feet or so of visibility in the water.

This spot has been productive in colder times of the year so I figured there may be some fish hanging around there. I baited up some cut mullet, and dropped it in. I also was using some Berkley Gulp jerk shad. Sadly neither of the two were producing any bites.

But it was so nice I just enjoyed being anchored up out there soaking up the sun. In fact I got my first sunburn of 2010. A sure sign that winter is on the way out of here. I was not alone in my idea of paddling around this area in pursuit of fish. Another paddler in a canoe showed up shortly after me.

There were also plenty of power boats in the area. But I didn’t see anyone catching any fish. Perhaps the fish don’t realize it’s spring time yet? Though I’m sure they’ll be biting like crazy as the water temperature rises.

On the way home the tide had switched to outgoing and the winds picked up a bit. There was some one to two foot chop I had to deal with, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Took me just about as long to get home as it took to get to Emerald Isle.

I figure, if he can get out there and catch them, there’s nothing stopping me from catching them as well. However, it was so nasty this morning I doubt even he made it out. But tomorrow I’m thinking of hitting a pretty popular spot in Cape Carteret. Schoolhouse Creek as its known must be holding some trout lately. Every time I drive by there is a group of fisherman parked on the side of the road there.

My parents gave me a sweet Penn spinning reel and ugly stick rod for Christmas. So I am eager to test it out on some fish. Dr. Bogus has been hitting the spot there in Cape Carteret very regularly, so tomorrow I hope to stop by and show him how its done

At any rate, my main point is that just because the temperature is cold, does not mean the fishing isn’t hot out there. If you need some ideas or some fishing tackle stop by The Reel Outdoors in Emerald Isle.

Here is a clip from fishing a couple winters ago along the Crystal Coast:

At any rate my sister landed a nice trout that I thought my readers may like to see. I think it was like a 15 incher or more.

I’m not so sure her fiance had the same luck, but I’m sure he landed something as well as he’s a very skilled fisherman. Hopefully this post will inspire you to get out and catch some fish too. I know as I type this the anticipation of me hooking a nice one is building. We have to take advantage of the summer fishing opportunities here in Emerald isle because they’ll soon be gone. Best of luck to you should you decide to give it a go.

The fish are here and they’re waiting for you to come and get them.

They’ve got their first king of the year weighing in at a whopping 12 pounds. I was also shocked to see someone landed a nice cobia that weighed over 29 pounds. I love cobia, its one of my favorite fish to eat.

They’ve also been landing some nice spanish. The hatteras blues are definitely in the neighborhood. I noticed some of them ranging from 8 to 12 pounds. 

Another one of my favorite fish for the table, pompanos, seem to be in the area, and they’ve got some size to them! Some are breaking 2 pounds. Which is a nice size to cook up. If you’ve never ate pompano…give it a try, you’ll be hooked.

Fishing is probably one of my favorite things to do in Emerald Isle. It doesn’t cost much and you will be entertained for hours. Definitely stop by the pier while visiting our area. Whether you want to fish, or just see what others are catching, its worth the walk to the end. 

I’m off on Friday and if the weather allows I plan to do a little fishing myself. I’m not sure if I’ll head to the pier or jump in the kayak and see what I can scare up in and around Bogue Inlet.

Good luck to all you anglers, and catch ‘em up!

The water is really warming up. Its in the mid-seventies this week. Time go swimming.

The purse last year was a record $1,854,575! A boat named Artemis, the winner took $708,400 of that.

Today the waterfront headquarters opened for registration. It will open again on Friday (June 5th) at 9am and remain open until 5pm. At 6pm on Friday there will be a Lady Angler Event at the Civic Center. Tickets are $15.

The last day for registration is Sunday (June 7th) on the waterfront from 1pm until 5pm. And at Town Creek Marina in Beaufort from 6pm until 9pm.

There will be weigh-ins Monday through Friday (June 11th-14th) at about 5pm. Saturday’s is at 4pm.

Last year 177 boats were in the tournament. They caught and released 163 billfish.

This Morehead City Blue Marlin fishing tournament has come a long way since the first one back in 1957. The total prize for this inaugural tournament was a whopping couple hundred dollars.

No one even caught a marlin in that first tournament. In fact I think the first marlin caught off the North Carolina coast wasn’t until that following September. An angler from Raleigh, Jimmy Croy landed a 143 pound blue marlin. He was fishing aboard a boat called the Mary Z captained by K.W. “Bill” Olsen.

This year’s Big Rock is set to be an outstanding event. Each year the tournament raises thousands of dollars for a variety of charities.

I’d like to wish all of the anglers in this 51st Big Rock the best of luck!

I hope to make it to the scales at least one day of the tournament and get some photos of a nice marlin or two.

But this cold weather does have an upside. The fishing should actually get pretty hot during these cold days. Yes there should be some nice fishing for reds and trout if you can stand the cold. Right about this time last year a buddy and I had some killer Emerald Isle fishing. I hope this cold spell brings that kind of action back. It was cold as you want it that day.

But if I remember correctly we still killed them right into February and maybe March. So if we’re lucky this cold spell could bring in some excellent fishing to the Crystal Coast area.

And if that’s the case, you don’t want to miss out. Plenty of my friends were bummed out they never got out for some winter fishing action. I know its hard to believe, but the fish can go crazy sometimes with these cold snaps. I’m thinking Sunday may be the best day since there will be two nights in a row of bitter cold air temperatures.

What do the other Crystal Coast Anglers think?