# Report from Topsail, on-going....



## nissan11 (Jan 24, 2010)

I decided I would start a new thread and update it through the week. 
I drove down to topsail on Saturday afternoon. I drove up to the North end and caught some finger mullet in the cast net. I tried for flounder while I was there but had no luck. 
Tht evening I hit the surf on south end about a mile below the JR pier and caught 2 small blues on cutbail on blues rigs. 
Yesterday (Sunday the 8th) I hit the surf in the afternoon as the tide was coming in. I had two 12' spinning rods out with blues rigs and cutbait and my 11' heaver with a diawa sealine x20 on it had a fish finder rig and a blue head. At about 5:30 pm (1 hr before high tide) the diawa started screaming. That fish pulled steady drag for a few minutes and then the 60lb leader broke right above the hook. 
I re-tied and put a finger mullet head back out on that rod. At high tide (7:02pm) the diawa really SCREAMED! This fish was a monster, it was headed for Europe and never slowed down. In about 2 minutes it ran all the line off the reel. I had it spooled with 290yds of 15lb line. I was so frustrated that this morning when I woke up I drove to the tackle shop and bought a diawa sealine x40. I spooled it with about 450yds of 20lb line. This afternoon I hit the surf in the same location with blues rigs. It was just after low tide. My dad caught a few small blues and whiting. As the tide was getting close to high I rigged up my new weapon and took it to the sand. I put another blue head on the identical setup as the evening before. 
I checked the bait every 20 minutes and at about 7:45 (right before high tide again) the x40 starting singing. The fish ran straight down the beach pulling steady drag. I walked after it and even walking at a steady pace the fish was still pulling line steady. After about 30 minutes I was getting close to the pier so I started turning the drag one click every few minutes. About 300 yds from the pier the fish finally started to tire and I started getting some line back. He started swimming back the other way (south) and I really started to get some line back. When I got him about 75 yds from the beach the line went slack. The 60 lb leader broke clean right above the hook, again. I was so mad at myself. It will be nothing but wire leader for the rest of the week. I hope I will have a picture of the monster for you guys later this week. Tonight I am going to hit the JR pier for whiting, spot and maybe dogfish late. I will report back tomorrow. 
BTW, I absolutely love the diawa reels. This is my first trip with them and they cast amazing. 

finger mullet caught on the north end












My favorite 2 reels











Here is a pic my brother took this evening while I was fighting the fish I lost.


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## cidman (Sep 10, 2007)

nice report


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## bluefish1928 (Jun 9, 2007)

maybe a tarpon or cobia?


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## Fish Hunter (Jul 31, 2002)

There have been some big sand tigers in the area and this time of year, towards the north end some bull sharks will start showing up. All the way to the north end, I have hooked a few, that no matter what I used, it was a losing game.  But fun while it last.


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## Oldscout2 (Sep 15, 2008)

Hope you find him again Nissan11


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## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

..walked out on seaview pier yesterday at DEAD LOW tide and there was a solid 8' "brown marlin" trolling the beach right down there with the SWIMMERS!!!!...big sharks with teeth bite 60 lb off....Tarpon jump and drum get caught....


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

Last August was out on the Jolly Roger near dusk and the water was glass and you could see the bottom, you would not believe the size of the sandbar (?) sharks that were cruising in 3 feet of water near the pier, I always think about that any time I wade deeper than my knees.


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## drumchaser (Jan 14, 2003)

Nice report, good luck with that monster tomorrow. Those reels are very nice, got one when they first came out and performs the same to the day.


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## KB Spot Chaser (Nov 19, 2009)

400 lb. mono, you'll get him.


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## nissan11 (Jan 24, 2010)

I hit the surf around 5 this evening. The wind was blowing pretty hard and the surf was rough. I couldnt find any sinkers that will hold the bottom but I tried to make due with 11 ounces of lead on two rods. 
At approx 6:18pm (high tide was 8:42pm) the blues started biting. I caught a couple doubles and then a few one at a time. All caught on blues rigs with cut shad that I caught in a cast net in the new park in surf city. I was catching all the blues on my fav. setup, my diawa x20 and 11ft heavy action rod with 12lb line. In the middle of the blue bite my rod snapped in half mid-cast. I guess thats what I get for trying to cast 11 ounces of lead on a rod meant for 2-8. 
I had enough bait so I went ahead and threw out a blue head on my fish finder rig, and 100lb wire leader this time. At about 7:10 a small shark (4 ft) hit the blue head. It came in real easy but spit the 9/0 circle hook in the shallow water. 

About 20 minutes later something else hit a blue head and ran for about 30 seconds before the circle hook came out of its mouth. After that I switched back to a regular hook but didnt get any more hits. Im convinced the circle hook, even with a straight shank is not as effective with the wire going through the eye of the hook. I had no problem hooking fish with the same hook the last 2 days when I was using a snell knot with the line running through the back of the hook eye. Does wire not work well with circle hooks? 

I continued fishing until 10:30pm and only caught one more blue fish on a blues rig and a small black tip. Nothing hit big chunks of cut blue or blue heads. 
I am going to hit the surf again tomorrow and I will report back.


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## drumchaser (Jan 14, 2003)

Thanks for the update. Sorry to hear about your rod. Their pretty good about working with warranties.


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## nissan11 (Jan 24, 2010)

Today the wind was calm (2-5mph) and the surf was low. The water was also more clear than the last few days but I still wouldnt call it "clear."
I hit the surf at 7:30am to catch high tide which was around 9:02. The blues were schooling so thick you could walk on them but they wouldnt hit anything. I soaked shad, mullet and blue fish fillets. I also casted glass minnows, gotchas and crocodile lures with not one hit. I fished until about 10 and took a break. At dead low tide I noticed the drop off at the breakers for the first time this trip. I broke out the bottom rig and shrimp and caught two small pomps in a row, then a million pin fish. Also, at dead low tide the bluefish started biting good. I caught them on any kind of cut bait on blues rigs. I didnt catch any more pompano all day. This evening I hit the surf again about an hour before high tide. I had no hits on the blue head until about 10:30pm when I caught this small shark. Im not sure what kind it is, maybe a sand tiger? He didnt put up much of a fight after his short run. Judging by his size, the other ones I hooked must have been at least 6'.
Tomorrow I am going to hit the North end again for flounder and fidler crabs. Im going to stop at some docks on the way back to try for sheepshead. I am slow going to keep a blue head soaking in hopes that the big one will come back.
Also, I just want to say that Rusty's bait and tackle right over the bridge in holly ridge is my new fav. tackle shop. I was looking for a replacement heavy action 11-12' rod for my diawa sealine and East Coast had NOTHING. I went to Rusty's and he had about 10 different rods that would have worked for me. I settled on a 11'6" pinnacle shoreline classic. 
Also, can anyone ID this fish for me? I caught it this evening and have never seen it before, thanks.


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## Dr. Bubba (Nov 9, 1999)

nissan11 said:


> .
> Also, can anyone ID this fish for me? I caught it this evening and have never seen it before, thanks.


banded drum, and that's a big one.


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

Awesome reports. Thanks for sharing.


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## nissan11 (Jan 24, 2010)

It was very calm again this morning with low winds and low surf. I went to the North end and tried for some flounder on an outgoing tide and had no hits. I hit the surf at low tide and couldnt keep the small black tips off my hooks. I eventually switched to a live pin fish and had a hit but it missed the hook. I caught the biggest blue of the trip right after low tide fishing off the sand bar with cut pin fish on a fish finder rig. No blues the rest of the afternoon. Its storming right now but if it quits raining Im going to fish this evening into the night for the big one again. 

Here are some pics I took today. 


Chopper













Jolly Roger....


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## nissan11 (Jan 24, 2010)




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## NCGUY (May 14, 2010)

that second pic looks like the storm is trying to start a water spout!


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## Oldscout2 (Sep 15, 2008)

Nice pics of that storm


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## drumchaser (Jan 14, 2003)

Awesome pics!!


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## Drumbeater (Jul 18, 2010)

No pic of the Bluefish?!?!? lol!! 

I really like those pics of the storm.. awesome


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## time2be (Sep 16, 2008)

Nice stuff makes me wish I was there. I'll have to wait till oct. Good luck with the big one.


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## bluefish1928 (Jun 9, 2007)

Dr. Bubba said:


> banded drum, and that's a big one.


i thought that is a silver perch?

but i'm not sure


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## nissan11 (Jan 24, 2010)

I fished right after the storm from about 7:30 to midnight. I got skunked. There was very little wind (2-3) mph and the water was flat. I couldnt keep cutbait on the hook tonight, I guess the hard heads like this weather. Tomorrow is my last day and tomorrow evening I plan on fishing with live pin fish. It will be my last chance to get the big one I met early this week.


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## N topsail fisher (Feb 13, 2005)

Nissan get reports. These are getting me ready for next weekend at topsail chasing those sharks. 

How much was the Pinnicale rod I've got one and would like another.

Good luck with the rest of your vacation.


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## nissan11 (Jan 24, 2010)

It was $85.

Today the wind was dead and the surf was small, the water was as clear as glass. I fished a bottom rig with sand fleas and shrimp and only caught pin fish, no pomps. 
I fished two rods with live pin fish ALL DAY and didnt have one hit. I did see a few schools of big blues (5lbs or so) about 2 casts off the beach. 
I didnt catch one blue fish all day. 
Im taking a break and am going to let the tide come in a little. At around 8 I am going to go back out and put some pin fish heads out and maybe some live mullet. Tonight is my last chance to get the big one. I plan on fishing until about midnight so that I can catch high tide.


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## nissan11 (Jan 24, 2010)

Well, I didnt land the big one. I fished until midnight and a storm finally chased me inside. I had one rod with live 6" mullet on it and another with a blue head. I changed the bait every 30 minutes and didnt get a single hit. Oh well. I definitely had my fair chances at a big fish and I was not prepared. Next time I will be.


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## HStew (Jan 8, 2009)

Hope you got the big one by now, it's 12:34a.m.. Thanks for keeping everyone posted for some good reading , updates,etc. Good pics. too! These Summer storms,you know, can sure show you some cool stuff. Those pompano don't like it too calm, or too much the other way for that matter. I have seen the dinks blitz the beach just after a heavy daytime storm though!


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## HStew (Jan 8, 2009)

I didn't see that you posted at 12:15 a.m. when I posted at 12:45. I am pretty sure you will pop a monster the next time. Thanks again.


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## Oldscout2 (Sep 15, 2008)

Great reports, next time you'll get a big un.


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