# clueless people



## fish123 (Aug 26, 2008)

There was a guy pin rigging the other day out on the Ocean Crest. He had an Eagle Claw Surf Beast reel, on an Eagle Claw spinning rod with the tip broken off, and 50 LB mono(he couldn't have had more then 80 yards). The reel had a broken clicker, and drag was locked down. His bait was hanging halfway in the water, dead hooked only in the tail so it hung vertically.

I feel like I need to help these people learn, not only for them, but I think they pose a danger to others because they don't know the drills and that could result in tangles and ultimately lost fish. What do you guys think. The problem is to many get offended if you try to help them.


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## SquidStrip (Jan 15, 2008)

Oooooooo.... a googan string, I like these.


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## NCGUY (May 14, 2010)

I guess the best thing would be to ask if he needed help. If not stay away, you will probably end up with a hook in when he casts


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## ReelKingin (Aug 3, 2009)

try to help, offer help....ask about his rigging design and go from there. If they have no intention of learning then just walk away and watch out lol


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

fish123 said:


> There was a guy pin rigging the other day out on the Ocean Crest. He had an Eagle Claw Surf Beast reel, on an Eagle Claw spinning rod with the tip broken off, and 50 LB mono(he couldn't have had more then 80 yards). The reel had a broken clicker, and drag was locked down. His bait was hanging halfway in the water, dead hooked only in the tail so it hung vertically.
> 
> I feel like I need to help these people learn, not only for them, but I think they pose a danger to others because they don't know the drills and that could result in tangles and ultimately lost fish. What do you guys think. The problem is to many get offended if you try to help them.


 Just start conversation and ask what he is fishing for.. Then slowly slide info in that will help.. If he gets offended,just explain what can and will happen with someone in the "middle" when a fish gets hooked.. Tell him you know he doesn't want to be responsable for someone loosing a fish,and you would be glad to help him get his chit straight... If he's still an arse,just walk away and wait for something cool to happen.. Usually those are the kind of folks that WILL get a hit.. Could be pretty halarious to watch..


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## fish123 (Aug 26, 2008)

Drumdum said:


> Just start conversation and ask what he is fishing for.. Then slowly slide info in that will help.. If he gets offended,just explain what can and will happen with someone in the "middle" when a fish gets hooked.. Tell him you know he doesn't want to be responsable for someone loosing a fish,and you would be glad to help him get his chit straight... If he's still an arse,just walk away and wait for something cool to happen.. Usually those are the kind of folks that WILL get a hit.. Could be pretty halarious to watch..


That's what I'll do next time. What i did was, as I was leaving, I said, "Do you want some advise" he said yes sure I replied "Listen to those guys(pointing to the group of old timer king fisherman on the T) and ask them lots of questions, about your rigging and what not". I figured, maybe he'd ask somebody and they'd show him the way.


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## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

Yea, I have found that If I go ahead and ask people if they need some help early on, they will be fishing better soon too. I to used to be careful of asking people too but I found that most will take you up on that offer very quickly, and you might find yourself making a new partner friend too.


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## ssstw1 (Jul 19, 2010)

As a novice I greatly appreciate anytime someone offers me advise whether solicited or not. I do know to filter the whacko advise I get from time to time... but truly appreciate local knowledge as I often fish when on vacation and rarely in the same spot more than once or twice.


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## jb1edlover (Jun 12, 2010)

I too am new to king fishing... I've set up a few times before but still learning the ropes. So far I've gotten mixed opinions on others. Some folks can tell you're new just by the way you act. The first timers or new folks have "that look" in their eyes when they get ready to cast out the anchor rod and are worried they are going to cast over the top of someone. I never had that problem thank goodness. As a matter of fact when I cast out my anchor line I get a lot of "Holy Crap Dude".... I almost send it out to the gulf stream! Seriously though I learn something new each time... Last time I put out the anchor rod, hooked my release rig and couldn't reach my fighting line, so I just bent over and let go of the release rig and down it went.... I played it off cool though (thank goodness I had several more in the tackle box). 
While I didn't get a lot of offers for help because I'm the new guy on the pier, I sit back and watch all the others and learn from just watching. My first recommendation to anyone is to spend a day on the "T" just watching and don't even take a rod... you'll learn tons just watching!
JB


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## MBsandflea (Jun 27, 2004)

I'm still relatively new on the pier I fish now, but I've been kingfishing for about seven years. Last weekend a guy arrived and put out a rig with a Penn 309 as a fighting rod and it was obvious he was only using about 20lb mono on it. He got a run, and learned a big lesson in the process when he had it in free-spool with the clicker on and the drag completely set. As soon as he turned the clicker off it backlashed into a horrible mess and about ten seconds later he flipped it into gear to keep the fish from knotting the birdsnest up tighter.....it snapped and his fish was gone. 

Within five minutes he had two guys stripping and respooling his 309 and everyone else getting his stuff up and setting him up right. There were probably ten people kinging altogether and he had nine helping him get bait back out. I let him use my 6/0, another guy set him up with a more appropriate leader, another with a better slider...etc. He was lucky he chose to fish where he did that day, on many other piers he'd have gotten the looks and been told he shouldn't be there if he didn't know what he was doing. 

I can usually tell if the help I offer will be wasted or not. Usually I just approach the person and offer a few subtle tips, if they ask for more I offer more....if they don't, then they get the look, a smirk and one more offer when it blows up in their face. After that, I just make sure their mess doesn't interfere with mine if I have a run.


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## topwater1pro (Oct 7, 2009)

Ill be one of those clueless people in about 3 weeks, but at least i will be prepared!!! Have tackle, no knowledge and will travel .... I am sure the first time someone tries to fish for a king/cobia it can be a stressful expierience


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

This is my first post, I like the topic so I will post a reply
I Kingfished a great deal in the past on the Northern OBX piers in the 1980's and 1990's. Kingfishing has its own special demons, I was one of them until I retired from the summer planks....... 

It was all ways a huge conflict for inexperienced people King Fishing for the first time and the potential to ruin other fishermens opportunities due to faulty rigging and tackle selection. 

I found that trying to politely explain the game to uninitiated was often met with resistance. If they asked me I would explain in detail, if they wanted to learn, especially for a child, I would go to great length to help, as I had been a child and clueless myself in the beginning.......Others who are not open to advice and help, get to remain clueless all their lives.....

The above situation would be an excellent opportunity to at least, see a King or Cobia for it will be drawn to the "Clueless" rig and as DD mentioned by fate, the King by mystical powers eat the "safe" bait, That "Clueless" rig will be the one to get smoked........:fishing:

If the drag is locked, or the tip wrapped the problem takes care of itself in seconds.......Kings especially large old Kings know this instinctively, thats why they hit these rigs........free meal with near zero chance of being gaffed......win win situation for the King Mackeral.......


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## jb1edlover (Jun 12, 2010)

ok, now I'm trying to decide if that is sarcasim or if you're trying to be serious!!! 



> Kings especially large old Kings know this instinctively, thats why they hit these rigs........free meal with near zero chance of being gaffed......win win situation for the King Mackeral.......


Now you're saying that kings swim around looking for "clueless" king fishermen and easy baits, with less chance of getting gaffed? This is the funniest post I've read in awhile!
JB


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## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

Garboman said:


> This is my first post, I like the topic so I will post a reply
> I Kingfished a great deal in the past on the Northern OBX piers in the 1980's and 1990's. Kingfishing has its own special demons, I was one of them until I retired from the summer planks.......
> 
> It was all ways a huge conflict for inexperienced people King Fishing for the first time and the potential to ruin other fishermens opportunities due to faulty rigging and tackle selection.
> ...


Hey Garbo...LOVE your posts...I regularly read the OTHER BOARD..

Just tell me Y U ain't back to fishing the ends of piers again??
U obviously miss it...

NO THERE AIN'T THE FISH....but the fishermen are a LOT DUMMER .....
Lots of fish produced ACES....(and Ass's!)...back in the day...
... and the Lack of fish have produced a less experienced group..

Few and NONE know how to beach a fish now... few and none hustle GOOD BAIT for KEY times..... (pinfish and other crap gets fished ALL DAY!)....and the general mentality is....HOPE I GET LUCKY!!!

There are still fish to be caught....there is an Anomaly going on on the Jolly Roger Pier this month that almost defies explanation..
TARPON out the ying yang....EVERYDAY for the last 3 weeks...multiple strikes and TONS more SEEN FISH....they are picking a king along too..

..the rest of "MY ISLAND" (Topsail) its nothing but muddy water and long days with a shark now and then....(i fish the other end of the island)

Maybe if U left Hatt....up there it seems U only have a chance if its NE WIND in the summer... and its DEAD on any other wind...

Y not break out the old anchor and 10,000c and see if U can't hang with the new bloods???..

I'm in my 41st year of this stuff and while it ain't even worth comparing to "back in the day"...it can still get interesting.....

I got another Tarpon back in june..(1st one in the state this year)....nice cobia last year....along with enough kings mixed in to keep me "summer fishing".......I hit the surf come Labor day and don't look back til next spring....I DON'T FISH EVERYDAY or even every week....(just enough to say I fish)...(I fish Smart..NOT HARD!)

There is STILL A PATTERN to be learned which is still what makes U famous and successful....

Come on now G...wouldn't U love to see somthing grab your crap one more time???

Well it comes thru your post that U would anyhoooo......


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## flyrod66 (Aug 6, 2009)

ssstw1 said:


> As a novice I greatly appreciate anytime someone offers me advise whether solicited or not. I do know to filter the whacko advise I get from time to time... but truly appreciate local knowledge as I often fish when on vacation and rarely in the same spot more than once or twice.


Same goes for me too. My trips to OBX to fish are few and far between. I welcome any advise from experienced fishermen.

That's why I love this forum. It helps fill the gaps between times that I can actually put a hook in the water.

I just got back from Nags Head. The water was 65 degrees there because of wind direction and that pesky Labrador current, so no fish biting. Spent a couple of hours at Hatteras just before leaving (water temp above 70º) and caught a bunch of Croakers. 

All this stuff about wind direction and water temp was new to me but thanks to some locals who explained it all to me, that's just more good info to go under my hat.

Already planning an October trip back to Hatteras to try to hook into some fat Drum.

Can't hardly wait!!!


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Loner said:


> Hey Garbo...LOVE your posts...I regularly read the OTHER BOARD..
> 
> Just tell me Y U ain't back to fishing the ends of piers again??
> U obviously miss it...
> ...


 I doubt Garbo is gonna leave Maryland in the summertime to try to go to Topsail at the right time ne or e patern,he's too strung out on drumm'n.. 

Now you could probably sell that to Rodwatcher if ya tried.. 

Good ta see yer still at it... btw,congrats on the tarpon...


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

"Y not break out the old anchor and 10,000c and see if U can't hang with the new bloods???.."

At the moment I have some issues with Family and have been unable to get to the planks, or beach.

Like Kenny says I pretty much just fish for Drum these days.....when I get to fish..... and as far as King Fishing I have some rigs ready to go, however the old 10000C is sitting in a ziplock body bag with out line, clicker is wore out, she is oiled and clean, still works however the old Abu spent many years out in all weathers and perhaps should rest up a bit...... I would feel more comfortable with one of my 4/0's or my 6/0 in order not to waste an opportunity with less than perfect tacke.

Even back in the day one had to have the right wind and there was no guarantee that fishing would would be acceptable when designing vacation time around it. That is why one summer I went to the planks for the weekend and ended up staying 10 years............ no real regrets but I did spend more than my share of time watching a bait swimming nervously under a pin......

My reason for leaving the Beach was a beautiful woman, but I had reached my limit with some of the controversy detailed in this post about the conflicts with both of new and experienced King Fishermen. When Kings or Cobes were around I would get pretty excited and I had my share of verbal confrontations with the fellow King Fishermen and I needed to give it a break, the conflicts seemed to overide the fun of it.......... 

Most of these end of the pier conflicts are non existant with Drum Fishing, Drum Fishing rewards those with casting skills and leaves the luck of the draw out of the equation. There are only around twenty people that you have to worry about competing with rather than five or six million who come out to the end, see a large gamefish caught and then want to get in the game..... I can't blame any of them, I was seduced at the age of thirteen spending the month of every August in my parents vacation cottage, watching the Kingfishermen on Kitty Hawk go at in the 1960's.....

Some of my best days King Fishing were just at the beginning of the Fall Drum season on Rodanthe. Fish for Kings until Dark and then put out the Drum rigs and you fished until you were to wore out and headed for bed, knowing you would be up before dawn, only to do it all over again......Drum might not comply especially in clear water, but when you put out a bait, a freight train shark was sure to make that Abu sing....... I miss the large inshore sharks almost as much as I do the multitudes of King Mackeral..
The day before the Halloween storm that developed into the "Perfect Storm" rolled through Rodanthe at the end of October 1991 we put 37 citation King Mackeral on the deck and the next evening put Twenty Citation Drum in the net, after that surf came up with the Storm.......The Kings were migrating from the Virginia capes, traveling down the first slough from the Beach and hitting Rodanthe pier and turning out, a guy fishing for Kings for the very first time with a faulty Abu spinner kept getting smoked, cause he was first in line, the Kings hitting his baits ten feet off the side before they made it out to the Tee, I think this new King Fishermen lost around ten or twelve due to tackle and inexperience........After watching more than Fifty hits to the baits closer to the Beach from mine, I finally pulled up anchor thirty minutes before full dark and put out off the side of the pier up nearer the Beach.... I was smoked in less than five minutes and that is how I made it into a Group Photo of the Rodanthe Crew twelve or so of us all holding Large Kings, Russell laughing as he held his day's largest King high to obscure my face, me forever hidden behind a Fall "Perfect Storm" King.......

My Appraiser has a Condo on Topsail and he has been trying to get me down there for years in the Fall, He is not a fisherman and we have spoken about me showing him the ropes...... So be careful what you ask for..........
One morning you Topsail fellas may get out to the end and find it covered up with Surfsticks and a couple of Yankees.........a cooler of cold brew, a couple of King Rookies, neither of whom have King Fished in a decade......as far as hanging with the new bloods.........Folks like the Taterman, well the Kings and Cobes will have to decide that...... 

If I do make it out to Topsail, :fishing: you can bet that my old urges will intervene and I will be putting my anchor out in the "Hot Corner" regardless of whether or not there is an invitation to do so........bad habits like people never change.....


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## G-Hype (Jul 8, 2010)

Drumdum said:


> Just start conversation and ask what he is fishing for.. Then slowly slide info in that will help.. If he gets offended,just explain what can and will happen with someone in the "middle" when a fish gets hooked.. Tell him you know he doesn't want to be responsable for someone loosing a fish,and you would be glad to help him get his chit straight... If he's still an arse,just walk away and wait for something cool to happen.. Usually those are the kind of folks that WILL get a hit.. Could be pretty halarious to watch..


I couldn't agree more. I am always willing to learn something new so if someone approaches me normally I am very receptive. If they are willing to learn help them if not sit back and watch the showopcorn:


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## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

Garboman said:


> "Y not break out the old anchor and 10,000c and see if U can't hang with the new bloods???.."
> 
> At the moment I have some issues with Family and have been unable to get to the planks, or beach.
> 
> ...


...wish I could find "Only" a "COUPLE of YANKEE'S" on the pier.....we be already covered up with them thangs bo....

.."Hot Corner" hogs are already abundant....that kind of stuff is no different than it was 30 yrs ago!!
The advantage down here is U have a chance to catch on something besides 1 wind...
Down here Menhaden CHANGE everything!!!...no moon phase...no wind..or wind wrong bad...Mud TO THE STREAM.....And let MENHADEN show up!!...AND U GOT FISHING!!!

...And as for U coming in the fall.... NO PROBLEM!!....I DON'T FISH OUT there in the FALL ANYMORE...can U SAY ZOO??? (love my sandfleaing and mirroluring toooo good!)
..G reckon U could post That PICTURE!!!!


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

"The advantage down here is U have a chance to catch on something besides 1 wind..."

Sounds like the Topsail fellas do not need this "Damn Yankee's" help in the Topsail hot corner.

When I fished the Northern OBX in the 1980's there was not just one wind to fish ie. light NE while preferable if one wanted to travel from Kitty Hawk to Frisco you could catch Kings on just about all light winds with the exception of 15 mile and up Due West wind or the Busch Beer wind as it was known

SW wind would find us vacating 58 degree Christmas in July Labrador Current water in Nags Head and we run 75 miles south and would be stacked up at Frisco where SW is an onshore wiind. 

I think one major aspect was the Bait situation, onshore winds bring in both the clear water, Plankton and the filter feeding Menhaden. I really feel that if Omega was bought out by a NC fisheries Fund and they get their Omega Nutrients from somewhere else besides the Menhaden, Fishing for the large inshore gamefish would be the good old days all over again.....
I might have to come out of retirement.....

Light SW at Rodanthe was fine as long as it did not blow above twenty and kick up the mud. Rodanthe was twenty five feet deep off the end pilings back in the day before we lost the end, and could produce on any light wind. One problem was Rips coming down from Oregon inlet, a wall of current would come foaming down from up north and that rip of cooler water would end the fishing for that day for sure.......

SE was best at Rodanthe, especially in June when the Cobes were migrating

NE was good for Kitty Hawk, Avalon, Nags Head, OBX and Rodanthe

Frisco, Kitty Hawk and the deepwater Diamond of Rodanthe are now just memories to those who were able to fish them

If early fall is a Zoo at Topsail, perhaps I should stay North and hit LIP, or Carova Beach for Drum instead. 

Come October I do not care what is being caught if it does not have spots on it and a copper tint to it.......:fishing:

Post some photos of them Tarpon fellas........


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## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

.....Hey G man....We learned about ya'lls water and wind problems from some of our regulars that went up there to try and get a BIG KING...
WE HAD FISH....BUT THERE WAS SIZE up there on the Banks piers..

Down here every pier had 1-50lb. king each...as the pier record!! Like since they had been built!!!....a few had 2 50;s....

So our fellows decided to invest in some time UP THERE trying for a Big king..
One of our Jolly Roger Regulars went to Jennettes Pier and spent 3 days and GOT A 49 lber!!!! WE WERE DULY IMPRESSED!!

But he is the one that made us aware of the ONE WIND RULE...he said when he got to the pier in the morning the water was 63 degrees...the wind changed and in the afternoon it went to 79 degrees...He went and hustled a back-water supply of pop-eyes and GOT HIM a big king!!

We knew ya'll had BIG FISH but we didn't ever believe U had any numbers up there....down here AVON pier got ALL THE PUB......and we had a few regulars go up there and catch some fine Cobia in june and july..

We ALWAYS had numbers down here...1970-1982 the weakest pier on Topsail was good for 100 pier kings...most averaged 250...or so..

We know cause most of the piers KEPT BOARDS where U wrote em all down on ....and the other piers kept Books with each years fish...

I fished a pier that landed 511 in 1975 and 490 something in 1976.....200-300
was just another year in the 70's.....
We had Fishermen and FISH....
We had NUMBERS too...
My wife use to be the seceretary for our pier club and KEPT the boards from year to year..

Top guns in 1975...JUST KINGS....
..63
..44
..39
..39
..36
..35
..32
..32...I still have all kinds of stuff written down from the time "69-80"...
BUT the big fish those years was 1 50 lb which was the pier record and the next year it was 44 lb...and out of 511 kings we had only 2 over 40 lb..

But we had fish!!!..and we were CUT-THROAT too!
I kept my personal bait tank across the road under a dock....even with a beautiful bait tank...the serious fishermen KEPT THEIR OWN..
I NEVER fished a PIN FISH til I MOVED to Wrightsville bch!!!

But it was HARD fishing too...stay mad and ill ALL DAY....lots of clique groups and they DIDNT LIKE EACH OTHER EITHER..
I seen lines cut.....bait stolen...and if CERTAIN folks LEFT the end for even a quick trip to the pier house..THEY EITHER ALWAY GOT PICKED..(hooks empty)or Their anchor got CUT and their rig was wrapped UNDER THE PIER!!!!..EVERYTIME!!..and when they got back EVERYONE was as SURPRISED AS THEY WERE and no one had seen anything!!!

I have seen the bait tank CLEANED OUT going into the PERSONAL bait basket over the side..AND U DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO ASK if U could have a bait..
U KNEW THE ANSWER!!

LIKE U said somewhere else...WE WERE GREEDY over them big fish!!!

Lots of fish DID produce a higher quality fishermen.....but it did produce a higher quality Ace in the Hole too!!!......(I was called both)
There WERE fights too.....(cont)


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## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

...We knew about the BIG KINGS up on the Banks Piers.....and ya'll had LOTS OF COBIA..
I still remember going thru all those polaroids on the Frisco Pier and picking out the kings pics over 40 lb..
There were more 40-50 lb kings just on that pier than ALL the Topsail piers combined since they were built...
Didn't a lady get a 63 lb king up there somewhere?... and we ALL know about that 68 lb. pier king on Avon or Rodanthe...

Cobia...we had em at Topsail back in the day..but NOT the BIG ONES that have showed up in the last decade...
I remember lots of Cobia from 25-50 lbs....but the Island trophy would always be 50 to maybe 65 lb..I saw one 77 lb. cobia in all the years I fished Dolphin Pier...and Jollys had 2 in the 80s in the late 60's or early 70's..

But come 2001 and there was a 70 lber on Jolly Roger...then the next year a 73 lb. ..next year a 74 lber and then an 80 lber...since 05 there have been few and none....I got one of those big ones..but no one got 2..
The ONLY citation or even legal Cobia last year on the whole Island was a 45 lb. I picked off coming back late August..this year there were a few hung..but NONE LANDED on the whole island..

I visited Frisco Pier and met John Kane and in one spring...2002-2003?? he personally had a 69-66-63 and a 50 something cobia...

Avalon....Avon.. and Frisco have all landed 90 lbers.......maybe Rodanthe too..
We had a crew of Topsail boys go up to Rodanthe a couple of Julys to fish for those Cobia...U know..the 6/0 and International 50 crowd visiting the 10,000c and squidder crew....(we heard some tales!!!)..AND THEY CAUGHT some fish too!!!

Wanna talk about Tarpon?? I know a man who landed 4 in 2 back to back weekends on the Dolphin Pier....(but he only got 5 for his career)
He was ahead of the rest of us in the learning curve..
I also know a fellow who landed 2 in less than 24 hrs on the Surf City Pier..

The Pier I fished on landed 8 one year and 3-5 EVERY YEAR...(WE HAD A RIG and a pattern)....
Jolly Roger Pier landed 8 about 3 yrs ago....

Topsail ALWAYS had TARPON......we have held the state record twice and currently hold it...
The ONLY reason I still throw my anchor rod is to see or hang a silver boy...

I know 2 men who have landed 6 each....I mean actually caught em....this day and time a lot of folks get the things close and count it and THAT AIN'T IT..but its a different era..
The last year the Dolphin Pier was open a friend of mine, (now gone) landed 3 for the summer....

There has been a major anomly on the Jolly Roger Pier this july...they have had Tarpon on everyday for 3 WEEKS!!! ..but they have only put 3 on the pier...
Remember what we said about the quality of the fishermen?? Well if the fishermen from the late 70's to early 80's had been fishing there would have been about 20 landed...
The group they have have broke em off..got their reels cleaned out ...and put em under the pier and just haven't HOOKED EM UP...

The 2 fish we have ALWAYS had in GREATER abundance than the Banks Piers were Tarpon and Amberjack...

One more for the king numbers thingy...
Angelo Depaola has 500 plus kings from a pier..
BUT I personally know of 6 more fellows with over 300 pier kings...and only 1 of them even fishs anymore...

G-man a lot of this numbers stuff sounds like Bull U know what...but THERE USE TO BE FISH....


But come on down and try the island...NOW DAYs it don't TAKE BUT ONE to MAKE YOUR DAY!!!...
And like yourself I too have been bit of a planks historian...I have books of all kinds of useless crap and pictures.....


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Just wish you'd post some of the pics,Loner... 


I had one of those "short careers at king'n".. From 75 to 79.. Good numbers on Frisco back then.. We had over 500 caught one of those years with a couple of tarpon thrown in.. Don't remember all of the 40-50lbers you're speaking of,unless they came in the 80's,but we did catchem in numbers,but the avg fish was from 15 to 25lbs.. We had one regular from down your way come and pay us a visit back then.. He came down quite a few weekends to give it a try.. Nice guy,considering all the bs we handed him...  He had the normal rig you guys still use down there which consisted of 3 trebles,which we called a "Christmas Tree Rig".. He had a big ole 6/0 fishing right along side our 10 and 9000 abu's.. Nowadays it's the norm,we were using floatrigs back then (occasionally a pin attached inside the float),and waaay behind ya'll on that "learning curve"...:redface: 

We used two singles,that could be the reason why we caught the cobes,although I think we just had more around period... In 78 we caught and landed over 40 cobia off that pier.. Was my best year on cobes a 73,68,and my very first was a 40lber.. We'd see as many as 10-20 a day back then,with many window shoppers,kings did the same..

Only managed one tarpon in those days and that was off Kitty Hawk.. Did manage to loose many on jumpoffs fishing Frisco.. As many as 5 in a day..:redface:

You are right about one thing for sure,that is anglers back then seemed to put more on the deck by ratio of those hooked...


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

Loner those are some kind of numbers for Kings!

I fished a few days when forty to fifty Kings were decked on Nags Head Pier
and Rodanthe. However I think the most any of the Northern OBX piers King season totals would be more in the 100 fish range, I would venture to say I have seen more Cobia than Kings. I caught four over fifty one summer along with a couple thirties....

My biggest pier Cobia was 70 pounds in 1985 NHP

1996 the year I decided to leave the Beach in Rodanthe there was a 65 pound King my dear friend Rick Belton caught.

In a two week period in late June 1996 there were at least twenty Rodanthe Kings over Fifty pounds. All the Kings were large, no snake Kings. I felt at the time that this was a sign the fish were no longer reproducing and the fishery was about to collapse..a lot of the Nags Head King fishermen came to Rodanthe that summer and the end was real crowded. So crowded and testy that I realized I was no longer in love with the game......

65 pound King at Nags Head Pier is the largest on Northern OBX piers I know of and that Big Avon King that was lost and obviously on his way to Rodanthe......

In 1985 on July day we decked 50 some Kings on Nags Head pier and one King came in on my bait that was in the seven foot long range and pushing 90-100 pounds, that was the biggest King I have ever seen in my life, in perhaps 600 full days spent at the end of the planks. He was one scary looking Mombo.....Drifted in to the baits, hung motionless looking up at me from the pilings, then almost as if he was bored, drifted off again.

You are right about the AJ's, they cover up the offshore wrecks but seldom come to the planks, I caught a 50 pounder AJ once, but that was the only one of two large ones I ever saw. I let him go over the side, a Tourist scolded me for not giving him the fish.......I was in a bad mood cause I was dissapointed in not having a big King for to sell, I discovered it was an AJ at the last moment and was crestfallen...........Tourist kept hassling me for not giving him the AJ, I told the Tourist that he was welcome to catch him himself as the fish was still alive and had been gaffed close to the tail.........I dejectedly walked out back to the end and pulled one of my buckets for another bait to slid out.......

Like Kenny said there were big numbers in the early days of Frisco, but that strain was fished out by dropnetters and hydraulic reel comms. I used to fish Commercial for a few years and there was one Captain that was taking 5000 pounds of Kings a night dropping dead cigar minnows into schools stacked up on offshore wrecks.

There are a lot of small Kings taken in the boats, but I would think the average Northern OBX fish that I saw were in the twenty pound range and up.

Funny that you fellas made the trip to Avon....... In the day we never considered Avon to be a King Hot spot due to predominant shallow water. We termed Avon only to be a Drum pier, and a fine Drum pier it was. In my time I never once put an Anchor off of Avon. I am not saying pin rigging was a loss on Avon, I will say it was shallower, and I preferred deep water, deep water stayed fishable longer on adverse winds...
I fished every other pier on the Northern OBX for Kings but Avon. Although October Drum season in 2004 I was on Avon, the water was crystal and while we were catching a few Drum and big biters. every hour or so in the morning a bathtub sized boil was kicking up right off what we call the "Dork Hole" on the North Tee....... A large something was killing 2-3 pound Bluefish feeding on Glass minnows.:fishing:

I had a 4/0 on a Surfstick in the Truck and told my self that one more boil and I was heading to the Truck and jigging up a Bluefish to slid out there and discover what was making those giant Boils........................

However the Twins, and Jimmy and everyone else was hard at Drum Fishing and that was what I was into too, so the 4/0 stayed in the Truck...

I was not about reel in my Drum rod and was not too sure how the Avon fellas were going to take to me putting a pin rig out in the Dork Hole and a Drum rig off the front......................If it had been Rodanthe that anchor would have gone out.......................

As Kenny will attest when I hit the planks for Drum fishing I will carry three- four Drum rods out to the end if the Pier will let me.................I like plenty of spares......


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## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

...we gonna have to quit on this thread!!!..

I looked yearly at the Frisco Pics from the late 80;s to the early 2000's....still un-real for size...

..the best day I ever personally fished was a 32 king day....we (Dolphin pier) had a 37 king day as our record day..
...there is pretty good evidence that Triple S or one of the Morehead/Atlantic bch piers landed 58 in one day with pogeys being the draw..
I fished lots of 20-25 king days.....My best day was 5 kings and a 19 lb. football..out of 9 strikes...3 use to be my number..
BUT I had 22 kings in may once... and a 26 king October....(I worked at the Pier)
I had a 3 king day once that had a 36 lb. ...a 30 lb..and a 12 lber......

The real reason we picked Avon pier was because we really didn't KNOW about the other piers...
Avon was WELL ADVERTISED down here... and Jennettes was too..but they were famous for SHARK FISHING!!!!
Angelo Depaola still tells us about the time in early November..... when he spent his week up there Drum fishing.... of landing an 18 lb. king and a 40 something drum the same day...

I have multiple 65 lbers in one day..BUT they were AMBERJACKS!!
I landed Pier Jacks up to 78 lb...but there was a 105 lber landed on Mercers pier and several in the 90's from Topsail Piers...

How thick were Amberjacks??...I landed a 50 lb. Jack every month from April thru November in one year ...WITHOUT TRYING..(the eat what kings eat!)

30 AJ strikes wasn't at all unusual down here... and out of the 30 ..maybe 5 landed..(til we learned How!!!)..when the came in schools and clear water they LOVED to shoot the pilings on the stike!!!


20 kings over 50 lb. in 2 weeks!!!.....Dayuuum....!!
63 lb. king....65 lb. king ..68 lb. king.......another Dayuuummm!

One other "History Note".....when we were REALLY TARPON fishing the planks, we were allowed to FISH ALL NITE.....(not anymore for most piers)
Tarpon hit as well at nite as the day time and sometimes BETTER...MANY Tarpon caught nite fishing...(and still could be!)

We went about Tarpon fishing with all seriousness...we put away the little treble king rigs and RIGGED HEAVY..
8' of 90 lb. Sevenstrand with a 5/0 single..(needle eye or welded ring) and a 1/0 triple strength mustad treble...2-3 inch drop....(U alway went for the mouth hook)..we "off-set" the single and painted both of em black and sharpened the $hit out of em..
Tight drags and strong hook set were in order EVERY TIME the REEL CLICKED OR TOOK OFF..
6/0's mainly ...with 40 lb. ande on em...15' of doubled line with a ball-bearing swivel...SHARP GAFFS....and we mounted most of what we caught too!!

I saw kings flipped out of the water and actually saw one killed stone dead on the hook set...
BUT it was day and nite without break for however long U fished...
Caught some fine Hammerheads and Lemons too..

We put out the strongest hooks we had at the time....our trebles for king rigs were thoes Eagle Claw stainless steels....a Tarpon would break them all to crap just by closing his mouth on em wrong...

Now days that VMC 4x and 6x will land any Tarpon out there...the state record of 193.5 was landed on 3 red Diachie's..(but it was MENT to be caught!)

Some of us Nite fishermen found out the Pamplico Tarpon hit at nite on a full moon and guess what????(yea they do!!)

My Pictures are all in laminated books and would mess em up to move em...and I don't know how to post anyway....

I have really enjoyed this fellows...I really use to LOVE that game...but the truth be known....I could quit at the end of any season....fewer piers..bigger crowds...and I have caught the fish....and my name is LONER for a reason....


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

"Angelo Depaola still tells us about the time in early November..... when he spent his week up there Drum fishing.... of landing an 18 lb. king and a 40 something drum the same day..."



I was out Drum Fishing on Avon pier in either 2003?-04?-05? There was an smallish older man out there with a White Lamiglas or Fenwick 10 foot fiberglass one piece Heaver................I think it had a red/white/old school butt wrap on it......
This was somewhat unusual as most of the time its only the regular crowd out Drum fishing on Avon, it is an intimidating place to an outsider....because it is tight quarters and the Best casters on the OBX are there, and they are serious all the time.......Even Russell and I get serious when we go to Avon.................The topic of the thread "Clueless People" are not found on the end of Rodanthe or Avon come late October...............

I think it was Russell, but it could have been Kenny who took me aside and told me that that the polite little old man, sitting on the Bench who was out Drum Fishing with us was the "Man" Kingfishing............When I was told the number 500 Kings, I did a tally in my mind on the years and effort it took to reach that Milestone......one I would never make....................................a milestone that likely no living man will ever make....................

I did not speak with Angelo but thinking back on him he seemed to be all ways smiling....................:fishing:

Pray he is doing well..................................


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

*Alive and doing well from what I hear..*

Tater and I saw him last yr on Avon,think he caught 4 bigguns that week,and as you said,grinning from ear to ear.... He has "moderized" a bit with a 7000c and a graphite stick,still fishes as hard as ever... Can only hope I can do half of what he does when and if I get to be his age....

??? for ya Garbo??? Why didn't ya tell Loner WHY you bring that many rods and reels to the end?????


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## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

..Angelo is a friend of mine..he is 89 yrs. old and still throws a squidder and heaver to anchor with.....he landed a 13 lb king last sunday......he don't fish as long everyday but he fishs almost ever day.....


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

"??? for ya Garbo??? Why didn't ya tell Loner WHY you bring that many rods and reels to the end????? "

Since DD has seen me in action, I will blame it on Alcohol :beer:If I get to drinkin time to time I have operator error, why re spool when you can just grag another rod ready to go............mostly shock knot blowups.....Larry Haack taught me if you are not blowing up from time to time, throw harder.........
if you are still not blowing up, get back to the weight room............
On Rodanthe we would fish two Drum rods each if it was not rough or crowded........If I was out there by myself I would put three or even four out........................................


Loner...... Since Angelo is your friend and the "Man" if I get to fish with him, I will send him home with one of my 1509's for luck.......................... Most of them I wrapped.................it would allow me to justify picking up a couple of Inferno Blanks...........and make all the Avon Boys net for me one afternoon in October..........I will be talkin so much trash that they will all decide to pack it in for the night...................................make me net the rest by myself..........

May have to lock down this thread if I get going on casting a heaver.........


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Loner said:


> ..Angelo is a friend of mine..he is 89 yrs. old and still throws a squidder and heaver to anchor with.....he landed a 13 lb king last sunday......he don't fish as long everyday but he fishs almost ever day.....


 Oh yeah,he had his trusty squidder there as a backup,but was throwing the newer fandagled version of a drumrod... I just hope he makes it down again this yr,fun just to hear some of the stories...

As far as "clueless people",you need to sit and talk with this gentleman if you ever get the chance... Class,real class,and flat out knows about some king'n off the planks (as well as it's history).....



Garboman said:


> "??? for ya Garbo??? Why didn't ya tell Loner WHY you bring that many rods and reels to the end????? "
> 
> Since DD has seen me in action, I will blame it on Alcohol :beer:If I get to drinkin time to time I have operator error, why re spool when you can just grag another rod ready to go............mostly shock knot blowups.....Larry Haack taught me if you are not blowing up from time to time, throw harder.........
> if you are still not blowing up, get back to the weight room............
> ...


 Had an incriminating photo,as you well know.. My puter crashed a while back and it's gone...


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