# Top Sail 8/10/19 info



## jimim77 (May 6, 2016)

Hey guys. . . 

finally getting back down after a year off. can anyone shed any insite on the surf fishing conditions? how is the bite? has it been more of a early morning or night bite? my last trip my best times was actually during the tide coming in and catching pomps in the suds. my kids had a ball. the fish were hitting right at their feet when retrieving in even. i didn't look at the tide charts yet.

bait shop said shrimp (which i hate to use, cause it's just plain ol' hard to hook it to stay on) and blood worms (which I have never had any luck with). i usually just use cut bait strips or chunks from mullet I catch.

i'm horrible with my casting net still or maybe cause there just wasn't much bait in the suds.

We fish with double loop drop rigs on 2 poles and we use fish finders on the other 2.

any info would be awesome.

i saw the one report from back at beginning on july, but nothing more recent.

i appreciate it,

jim


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## DANtheJDMan (Aug 29, 2012)

jimim77 said:


> Hey guys. . .
> 
> finally getting back down after a year off. can anyone shed any insite on the surf fishing conditions? how is the bite? has it been more of a early morning or night bite? my last trip my best times was actually during the tide coming in and catching pomps in the suds. my kids had a ball. the fish were hitting right at their feet when retrieving in even. i didn't look at the tide charts yet.
> 
> ...


Buy medium fresh shrimp at the fish market (table shrimp) 1 1/2 lbs and peel them and cut them into 3-4 pieces and put into 2# of Kosher salt. Shake the salt and shrimp up as you add more shrimp and keep in the fridge/cooler. 
Just overnight the shrimp will lose moisture and get tougher and stay on the hook. 
Use #4 hooks or smaller on river rigs and catch all kinds of fish. 
Look at the foam move down the beach. Where is stops moving left and starts moving right that is where you want to fish. 
Fish all distances and catch lots of fish. No fish then move. 
Have FUN and good luck. 
DAN


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## jimim77 (May 6, 2016)

thanks dan. i appreciate it the info. i have only been down here now 5 times so i still don't know the beaches at all so that info is very very helpful.

i'm going to do that with the shrimp for sure.

#4 hooks is what I actually use. I always struggle with hook size in the surf. at home I have no issues cause i know why i'm going to target, but wit the ocean since i don't know it well enough I just try to catch whatever we can hopefully eat. pomps, blues, spots, drum. i just hope for the best.

so another question. . . i started watching you tube videos again tonight as i tie my rigs. 

i use a very simple double drop loop rig. no metal. i tie my 2 loops 4 inches long i shoot for.  space in-between each drop loop is 10-12 inches. i leave 4 inches on top and bottom with a surgeons loop at each end. 1 for my sinker and the other for attaching to my snap swivel main line. typical setup.

should i change this up? i see these videos that say use beads to target pomps and to use a single drop which is 3 feet long to target them also? i feel a 3 foot drop off the rig is kinda wonky to cast? also saw wrapping the sinker with color to attract fish? i don't get this either cause i always thought the sinker gets buried anyway from the waves and movement of surf. that's why it always takes a bit to get it out of the sand when setting the hook if need be.

any advice there. i think keep it simple but again what do i know. i have never had problems catching fish on trips. always enough to feed the whole house 1 night and enough bait to use for the week. 

and i deff have fun! i look forward to this trip all year. it's all i talk about while fishing at home. my favorite fishing at home is for river catfish cause it's like fishing the ocean. it's just so much fun. sit back drink a few and wait for the hit. this year i started using circle hooks at home in the river cause they always have helped me in the surf. so i guess i have learned something from ocean fishing cause we have deff caught more cats this summer than in the past due to missing hookups.


thanks again.

jim


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## poppop1 (Feb 16, 2004)

You may also want to try Fishbites, orange EZ- Flea, and or White shrimp flavor, they stay on the hook longer, maybe helpful for your kids, just use your same rig you are using with shrimp, cut a piece about the size of your finger nail or so, try this on 1 rod, use shrimp on the other, see what works best that day. My oldest son and family will be near Surf City that week also, wish I could too, good luck,...pop.


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## Scooter (Mar 6, 2005)

For the type of setup/fishing you describe, this summer has been a little slower for me than normal. Done OK with sea mullets, some really good days/bites on BIG sea mullets and lots of them, mainly on the outer bar/clear water. Not as good as usual on pompano...but enough to keep me excited. Not as good on black drum as usual, but usually 1 or 2 a day, mainly up close/along the beach. Last summer they we much more consistent. Im fishing all different times of the day, tides, etc. Hand tied flouro rigs, small circle hooks, no hardware. Almost exclusively with fleas. Ive been able to find sand fleas with a little bit of work all summer. Half the fun hunting them, especially if you involve the kids. 

Take your cast net...jumping mullets are already on the beach. Have not fished for the red ones much at all, but they are around for sure. August is a good month for them as they are right with the mullets.

I fish some from beach (casting) for black tips and spinners....they have been about normal.


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## jimim77 (May 6, 2016)

thanks for the info. all i want to do is catch fish and i'm happy. i'll have to pack my net. i wasn't going to bring it cause i'm still not the best with it, but i'll bring it. if i can catch a drum or 2 each day i will be ecstatic!

tonight i tied some carolina rig leaders to use vs my fish finders to just keep it a little more simple. we will have 5 rods. my plan is 3 double drop rigs. no hardware and 2 carolina rigs. i have 1/0 on the 1 rig and #1 on the other carolina rig. my drop loop rids i just use small circle hooks.

i'll see what happens. i was going to buy more fish bites. i'll get some shrimp and salt it like said above. grab some frozen mullets to get me going with cut bait till i start catching like i always do and i really think i might try some crabs on the carolina rigs for something new to try.

so pretty much throw it all out and see what happens. 

thats what we do on the river when we go for cats. setup 4 rods with 4 different baits. see what the cats want for dinner and then load all the rods wit the same bait till they stop biting and regroup. 

i'm easy to please. my first summer surf fishing years back i caught spots all day and night. i had a ball. my buddies laughed at me all week but i had fun.

jimi


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## Scooter (Mar 6, 2005)

Not to beat up on other methods, but just to share. Understanding that there are certain times of the year/circumstances that dictate the used of frozen bait, I hardly ever use it in the spring/summer/fall. I typically keep fresh frozen as a backup, but Ive learned that spending the extra time/effort, particularly for the type of fishing you are describing, normally significantly increases my success rate.

Maybe because hunting bait is half the fun for me. I dont remember the last time i bought bait of any kind. Ive learned that the most successful surf fishermen tend to be the most successful bait catchers as well. Just and encouragement to practice that skill as well...summertime at the beach is the perfect time to do so!


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## jimim77 (May 6, 2016)

So pretty much the wind is a mess and the surf is so much rougher than any trip we have ever taken here. Today it was ok in the morning but then the wind picked up and still haven’t died down. I can’t get over how windy it was last night. Like we were going to get a tornado. 

It’s making holding the bottom a pain. I was using 4-5 oz last night to hold. I usually use 2-3. 

So I bought some frozen mullet to get me going but didn’t need to use it. I started off with pink fish bites. Shrimp. That got me a few pomp’s and spots to use. Since then I’m catching mullet all sizes to use if I want. 

Blues come through every morning for 30 mins like usually. It never fails. I’m going to start using that for bait. I never have but the guy fixing our sink today saw I was towing rigs and he asked what I was catching. Said I hope your using the blues for bait. I said no cause I actually like to eat them. He said use those tonight. He also had me add small floats to my double loop rigs. I have never used floats. I keep it simple. No hardware except my snap swivel on main line and my weight. I added the floats this afternoon and I had a really good hour as the tide was coming in. I don’t know if it was the floats or the fact that I raised my first loop to 14 inches off my weight cause I really feel like my bottom hook is getting buried in the surf. 

All in all it’s ok out there. Slower than other years. Or I got spoiled over the years. No drum yet. I really really want to hook into a drum or 2. 

I just wish the darn wind would calm down and the surf would ease up. It just seems like the beach is so much different. Small drop offs which we never experienced. The sand is 6 inches of crushed shells. 

Just really wonky. Maybe it’s where we are. Usually we are in northtopsail right off the bridge in one of those first 2 developements. This year we are down on the beach right down from the first camp site. 

Hopefully tonight will be good. The mullet are deff around. Good size ones too. Maybe I’ll fry them up for the kids and myself.


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## Benji (Nov 19, 2014)

jimim77 said:


> So pretty much the wind is a mess and the surf is so much rougher than any trip we have ever taken here. Today it was ok in the morning but then the wind picked up and still haven’t died down. I can’t get over how windy it was last night. Like we were going to get a tornado.
> 
> It’s making holding the bottom a pain. I was using 4-5 oz last night to hold. I usually use 2-3.
> 
> ...


 WTF!!!! Pompano is NOT for bait!!! You EAT them!!!!


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## jimim77 (May 6, 2016)

Small. Very very small. Lol I know. I love em’ too. 

I’m trying here. I used the pomp for bait cause the skin holds well in the surf. It’s just so rough. 

Last night was rough. The craps are in full effect. I have my bait up high. I know I do. I can’t even use a Carolina rig cause the crab are on it instantly. I actually brought 2 craps in last night. 

I don’t know. I’m fishing like I always do. No trying to be fancy or switch things up. Trying all kinda bait. 

Fish bite shrimp is pretty much my go to. 

This morning a few mullets and 2 spots. Not even a blue. Lots a bait stealers again. 

Sorry I used the pomp but it was small and I wanted something with some good grip. The other pomp’s will get eaten today actually. Going to go out and fillet now. 

Jim


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

Keeping the bait up high will not help, blue crabs can swim. When the crabs are thick I fish with cut crab (I will actually go wading with a net or go to the sound and catch a bunch for bait, remember the regulations). Take a live blue crab and quarter it, pull off legs. Take a fishfinder rig & run a 3/0 to 5/0 circle hook through one of the leg openings and out through the shell. Put one of these in the trough right next to the beach - I have caught plenty of nice black drum this way in the Topsail surf, last August I pulled out a 7lb'er 15 feet off the beach doing this in the middle of the day. Put another bait slightly further out for reds. Cut crab is the only thing that will last for any amount of time on the bottom when crabs are thick IMO.

August is the dog days and fishing is usually slow. Rarely there are some big pomps that cruise way off the beach in Topsail in august, i usually manage several citations in a week but it takes a lot of fishing to accomplish it. Also takes a looong cast and live fleas usually. The small stuff is in close.


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