# Choppers from the sand and a few reds and blacks too.



## Kingfish258 (Jun 30, 2010)

Had a good week caught 4 citation blues in the sand and a few over slot reds and some tasty black drum also.


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

Great photos, congrats on a great trip!


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## lil red jeep (Aug 17, 2007)

That was one heck of a trip! Did you catch them in the Topsail area?


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## RaleighKing (Mar 25, 2008)

What rigs/bait were you using?
nice fish!


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Nice job,thumbs up on the pics...


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## fishin757 (Nov 29, 2010)

DUDE seriously!! why am i never there when the fish are biting?!?!? nice fish though looks like fun


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## tjbjornsen (Oct 31, 2009)

Great Trip!
Great Pics!
I haven't seen Blues that size for ages, was that down in Topsail?


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## Meakle (Jun 5, 2006)

Awesome catch, thanks for sharing and posting the photos!


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

tjbjornsen said:


> Great Trip!
> Great Pics!
> I haven't seen Blues that size for ages, was that down in Topsail?


Is it just me, or do the blues look skinny? (I'm no bluefish expert, to be sure)

We don't get blues that big down in my neighborhood, but they are always pretty plump. I would have expected a bigger specimen to be proportioned a bit differently...


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## NTKG (Aug 16, 2003)

solid7 said:


> Is it just me, or do the blues look skinny? (I'm no bluefish expert, to be sure)
> 
> We don't get blues that big down in my neighborhood, but they are always pretty plump. I would have expected a bigger specimen to be proportioned a bit differently...


springtime big heads... they look much better in the fall


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

Great work. Congrats.


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## abass105 (Jun 13, 2006)

Great trip. Glad you had some luck. Thanks for sharing.


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## moose22dog (Feb 17, 2010)

wow nice feeeshing!!!!,only thought blues got that big up northeast coast.... congrats!!:beer:


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## Kingfish258 (Jun 30, 2010)

Thanks guys! They were at topsail and yes they are skinny.


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## NTKG (Aug 16, 2003)

Kingfish258 said:


> Thanks guys! They were at topsail and yes they are skinny.


hope that didn't come across like I was being a smart ass. There was a post asking about the choppers being skinny and was referencing springtime, definatley not trying to take away from what ya'll did.


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

NTKG said:


> hope that didn't come across like I was being a smart ass. There was a post asking about the choppers being skinny and was referencing springtime, definatley not trying to take away from what ya'll did.


I thought your reply made perfect sense. It answered my inquiry concisely.

Still nice fish. I don't care for bluefish, but they are awesome to catch...


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## Fish Hunter (Jul 31, 2002)

Yo D, nice work. I am truly upset that I could not get there. Just wait to you hear the reasons why.  But, pretty work, very pretty. And the photos are outstanding.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

moose22dog said:


> wow nice feeeshing!!!!,only thought blues got that big up northeast coast.... congrats!!:beer:


 World record was caught on Hatteras Island...


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## NCsurffisher (Jun 27, 2004)

*skinny springtime blues*

Lots of the eastern population of bluefish overwinter off the Carolina capes. They fatten up on fatty bait (menhaden primarily) to fuel the trip down from the northeast and mid-Atlantic. They still expend energy during the winter and especially during the spring when there is less food available and their metabolism increases which cases them to lose weight. The fish are ravenous by the time the water starts warming and baitfish start returning in the spring. They'll keep eating and following baitfish north during their spring/summer migration. At the end of the summer and fall they'll feed even more heavily for the migration back south. 

Those same skinny blues we catch in the fall are usually "normal" size by the time they reach the northeast summer feeding grounds, but they can be totally bloated in the fall and early winter. Unfortunately, we haven't seen a significant run of big fall blues along the outer banks for years, even though the population and age structure appears to be recovered. On the other hand, we've had good and sometimes great spring surf fishing for big blues. In the spring, they seem more scattered and often hit cut bait rather than in the fall, when they are often tightly schooled and aggressively hit lures. Peak times for the big choppers in the NC surf are late-April to mid-June and (if they show) November and December.


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## Kingfish258 (Jun 30, 2010)

NTKG said:


> hope that didn't come across like I was being a smart ass. There was a post asking about the choppers being skinny and was referencing springtime, definatley not trying to take away from what ya'll did.


I know man everone around the island said the same. If it was fall the one that was 40 inches long one might have been the new state record, but they were thin. They sure fought like a bull drum


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## Kingfish258 (Jun 30, 2010)

Fish Hunter said:


> Yo D, nice work. I am truly upset that I could not get there. Just wait to you hear the reasons why.  But, pretty work, very pretty. And the photos are outstanding.


Don sure missed ya! was waiting on the call. I will be back down this weekend give me a call, you always got a place to stay with me.


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## jeff18 (Mar 27, 2010)

very nice


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## MDubious (May 10, 2008)

Very, very, very nice!!! Those blues remind me of where I grew up on Long Island; big ole' chommpas


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## drumchaser (Jan 14, 2003)

Nice drum an choppers.


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## jcf15h (Apr 13, 2011)

Very nice fish, where did you catch em?


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## surffshr (Dec 8, 2003)

very nice indeed.


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Nice! God I wish the big blues would come back like they did in the 80s.


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## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

Good Job and Good report.


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## bstarling (Apr 24, 2005)

*You left one*

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Bill


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## Fishman (Apr 23, 2000)

nice catch. I wish the blues would come up here in the bay like they use to back in the day.


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## Kingfish258 (Jun 30, 2010)

IT ONLY LASTS ABOUT A WEEK OR SO, and they are gone.


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## Finger_Mullet (Aug 19, 2005)

Nice catch Bill!! Switching back to spinning gear?? 

Darin


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## bstarling (Apr 24, 2005)

:fishing:


Finger_Mullet said:


> Nice catch Bill!! Switching back to spinning gear??
> 
> Darin


Thanks Darin.
It's fun to change around once in a while. I used to use large spinners and Squidders both as my goto's. Two of my all time fish catchinist reels are a Mitchell 302 and a Daiwa GS9. I picked up that reel a couple of years ago to throw at cobia and never used it for that or anything else. I did find that it works nicely on my 1507 and holds 300 yards or 30 Suffix braid. Dang thing throws really well and I guess I'll keep on using it along with some of the conventional stuff as well. 

Bill:fishing:


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## Danny (Jan 3, 2005)

Hey Bill,
Good to hear you're out and about. See if you can convince Darin to come out & we'll all go fish. He seems to want to stay around home.

Danny


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## bluewaterfisher (Nov 11, 2010)

might i ask what type of rod is in the pic with both of yall holdin yalls reds....the guy on the right


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## Finger_Mullet (Aug 19, 2005)

Danny,

I lost the urge once I started crappie fishing. Started longlining and got good at it lately. Been fishing Lake Reese in Asheboro the past 2 weeks and been killing them. Once the water warms up and the minnows start coming to the lights I will be slaying them during the day and at night at Jordan and Harris. Gonna start striper fishing at the end of the month at Jordan. Got to get good at that and I will take you on a guided striper trip. 

May go down in the next month or so. Roy has been wanting to take me out on the boat. We may hook up and fish soon. Either fresh or salt water. When Bill gets Kayla all set up for college he is coming up. We will have to get together.

I still have your smoker to. It is in the basement. 

Darin


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## Kingfish258 (Jun 30, 2010)

bluewaterfisher said:


> might i ask what type of rod is in the pic with both of yall holdin yalls reds....the guy on the right


Jeff the guy on the right has a tsunami air wave 9' and me on the left that is a key largo 8 1/2' beach runner


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## kiss my bass (Apr 19, 2011)

Great fish and sounds like a fun time! What kind of terminal tackle were you using on your fish finders? (ie. line, hooks, weight, bait?)


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## bstarling (Apr 24, 2005)

I can't speak for Kingfish258, but it looks as though he is using a fishfinder rig of sorts. I was using a standard cannon ball fishfinder rig and five ounces of lead with a big fat mullet head. Pretty much my goto drum rig. 

Bill:fishing:


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## Kingfish258 (Jun 30, 2010)

kiss my bass said:


> Great fish and sounds like a fun time! What kind of terminal tackle were you using on your fish finders? (ie. line, hooks, weight, bait?)


Main line 17lb suffix tri, shock leader 50 lb cajun line, leader 50 lb floucarbon. 5/0 octopus circle gami. 150 or 70 lb Kroc stainless swivels. and for fish finder i use tsunami ball bearing snap swivel. 3-4 oz of lead


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## biggestsquid (Jan 6, 2010)

NCsurffisher said:


> Lots of the eastern population of bluefish overwinter off the Carolina capes. They fatten up on fatty bait (menhaden primarily) to fuel the trip down from the northeast and mid-Atlantic. They still expend energy during the winter and especially during the spring when there is less food available and their metabolism increases which cases them to lose weight. The fish are ravenous by the time the water starts warming and baitfish start returning in the spring. They'll keep eating and following baitfish north during their spring/summer migration. At the end of the summer and fall they'll feed even more heavily for the migration back south.
> 
> Those same skinny blues we catch in the fall are usually "normal" size by the time they reach the northeast summer feeding grounds, but they can be totally bloated in the fall and early winter. Unfortunately, we haven't seen a significant run of big fall blues along the outer banks for years, even though the population and age structure appears to be recovered. On the other hand, we've had good and sometimes great spring surf fishing for big blues. In the spring, they seem more scattered and often hit cut bait rather than in the fall, when they are often tightly schooled and aggressively hit lures. Peak times for the big choppers in the NC surf are late-April to mid-June and (if they show) November and December.


NC -- If you read the book "Blues" (I forget the author) you will find his theory on them is that they may range slightly N/S but primarily inshore/offshore. I found this interesting as Ihave noticed differences in the NC vs NJ bluefish.

Where ever they travel they are definitely thicker in the fall when their shoulders and bellies have grown to fit their head.


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## Bullred (Mar 13, 2010)

Very nice catch.


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## BlueHwy (Sep 1, 2009)

Great fish. Great trip.


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## akhan (Mar 17, 2011)

What bait are you all using?


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## bstarling (Apr 24, 2005)

From a previous post:

"bstarling 
Registered User
Join Date
Apr 2005
Location
Burgaw, NC
Posts
871
I can't speak for Kingfish258, but it looks as though he is using a fishfinder rig of sorts. I was using a standard cannon ball fishfinder rig and five ounces of lead with a big fat mullet head. Pretty much my goto drum rig. 

Bill"


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