# Add something here,Please.. :)



## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

seamullet
pompano
bluefish
spainish
drum
albacore or bonita

I'd like for all of you to add to what I say on rigging for all of these species of NC fish,cause,to be sure I'm going to miss a lot here.. This is for the beginner who needs a helping hand in the learning process..


Seamullet:bait bloodworms,and shrimp have worked better than anything else for me.
rig double bottom rig with kalye hooks
Pompano: shrimp,and sandfleas would be the top of my list.
small gold kalye hook attached with droper loop and 1 oz or maybe less sinker(in other words as small as possible  ) at the other end.
Bluefish: lures gotchas,stingsilvers,hopkins,topwater poppers
for bait cut fish is best,IMO
heavy 50lb mono double bottom or single with dropper loop or fishfinder rig. Inline circle such as 4/0 eagleclaw is fine.
Spainish: lures gotchas,stingsilvers,drone or clark spoons
As far as bait,livebait is best,such as fingermullet and small spot,or if you can obtain them,large glassminnows.2to3/0 livebait hook.
Drum: lures grubs,bucktails,hopkins,topwater poppers
Bait crabs,mullet,menhaden,seamullet,bluefish,spot,or most any cut fish.
Fishfinder rig,or high-low Hooks 
13/0 mustad circle,10/0 owner circle,9/0 eagleclaw circle,inline 8/0 Gami circle.. These are the hooks that most feel are the safest as far as catch and release.
False Albacore and Bonitas: stingsilvers,gotchas,drone,and clark spoons.
Live bait & 3/0 livebait hook is deadly with these two species,finger mullets,and glassminnows are the best,IMO..


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## Hooter (Nov 19, 2003)

*Add Somethin*

DrumDum,

You pretty much covered it, only thing I'd add would be when fishin for blues with lures (I use mainly Hopkins), specially choppers, use a steelon leader bout 18" long, loop crimp at the lure and loop crimp with a swivel at the other end to which you'd tie your running line. The swivel helps to get the best lure action IMO.

Good fishin to all.
Hooter


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## angelfish (Mar 18, 2004)

*heres what i can offer...*

seamullet: lots of cut bait. small bits of shrimp,squid, and crab work best to me. I know this rig is horriable but i found that a 2 hook bottom rig works the best for them, sand fleas on the hook will almost be a guarantee.

pompano: Are you allowed to cast net pompano in NC if so thats a great way to catch them, if your skilled enough to throw your net into the surf if not then...Any small crustations or clams found in or near the surf..using small fish has never yeilded any results for me, the best thing seems to be sand fleas and pieces of shrimp fished off the bottom.

bluefish: CUT BAIT, CUT BAIT, CUT BAIT! O Yeah and more Cut bait!!!! BLUEFISH LOOOOOOOOVE CUT mullet , i cannot stress this enough, be it on the top or bottom the blues love the cut bait....if you encounter a school of blues tho you can basically throw anything you want out with a steel leader and you will hook up even if its only your hook....lol.

spanish: Off the pier Sabaki rigs work wonders also clark spoons yield amazing results...and i mean amazing. The spanish love shiny lures running past them. I noticed menhaden(pilchard or elwey, whatver u call them) freelined also work really well.

drum: What type of drum!? Red Drum LOVe pieces of mullet i found out like the tail. If you cut a striped mullet's tail off and hook it near the mouth of a channel or where the tide moves and have it on the bottom you are bound to catch something, thats what we do at St. Simons when the Reds run in November. I know Reds also love live shrimp floated near them in the channels too...we used to catch puppy drum like that along with trout in St. Marys GA. Black Drum: THey love shrimp...dead shrimp on bottom rigs. In my own experiences with drum i have noticed that they love murky water and love to be in the deep parts or holes. Where i used to fish they lived where the Whiting usually were. Cut shrimp and baby crabs work really good. When i say baby crabs i mean like small blue crabs.

albacore or bonita: Sorry i cant provide any info on these....the only Albacore or bonita i ever see is inside a can with Bumble Bee stamped on the outside
 


Drumdum i have no clue how old or what the skill of this angler is but this is quiet a list of fish to go after....but in my opinion it seems like the angler should be using some bottom rigs and a heavy dose of sand fleas and shrimp.....Mullet would also seem to work well for them. Most of these fish are common in the surf so i would think that about 2-3 ounces would have to be used....prolly in the pyramid form.?! I really hope my blabbing has helped in some way....i at least feel better hoping i contributed. O yeah and i suggest using mustad hooks instead of owner or the other hooks we commonly use due to these fish being located in the surf and sand, because the sharper hooks will have a tendancy to dig into the sand easier and thus causing false alarms!? Just what im thinking Hope it helps!


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## the rhondel (Feb 6, 2003)

If I could humble myself before the great one........I've done pretty well using shrimp for the puppies and have caught albies on Hopkins(had my picture in SWS ad for Hopkins with two I caught)....the R


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## Topsailbum (Apr 10, 2003)

"R",
I thought that picture was actually in the post office.


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## bluerunner (Jun 30, 2003)

spanish if you don't want to spend the money on a sabiki, or want something a little sturdier, then a gold hook rig made of 6-8 #1 Gold aberdeen hooks tied on to 20lb leader material using a dropper loop with a 1oz diamond jig on the bottom is the best way to catch spanish i have ever seen. You can also use red, white, and striped drinking straws such as those found in fast food restaurants on the hooks for some more color.


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## nmb surffisher (Mar 3, 2004)

*hey R*

what issue of SWS? i'd been a subscriber for years and would like to see the pics.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

*I told ya'll I'd leave a bunch out..*

 

As for the steel leader,haven't used that for bluefish in yrs. I've always used heavy mono,the bigger the bluefish the heavier the mono. Haven't used a hopkins in a looong time,but I is a great bait,and yes,a swivel should be used to help with action and line twist,it's about the only lure I would use a swivel with.. Oh,"R" thanks for bringing up the hopkins,caught my first on lure that way. PIC in SWS? Man,you are one "famous" rascal,first the Rhodels fame,now I find out you got your pic in SWS,you be the man..  Angelfish,I should have written "false albacore".. By whatever name(false albacore,fat alberts),these guys are "screemers"!! OH,and the sabaki or pompadora? rigs,they didn't have those around back when I first started plankin,back then we made our own rigs with gold hooks,simular to the one,bluerunner discribed. All those rigs will catch spainish,bluefish,small jacks,trout,sandperch,and "greenies" >> we called them threadfin or "hairyheads".. 
Thanks for the posts guys,it may be of help for those that are just getting thier feet wet in NC fishing out of the surf or planks. You guys are the greatest,hopefully they'll be some more replies,but ya'll covered a lot of ground...


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## Smoothbore54 (Jun 8, 2003)

*Flounder* 

I like a Carolina Rig with about a #2 hook.

The thing to remember about a Flounder, is that He's a killer.

He _will scavenge,_ but He really prefers to kill a *live *minnow.

The other thing is to keep it moving along, slowly. 

And in the surf, pay attention to the last 30' of the retrieve. 

On the beach, Flounder are often right at the edge of the "Back wash."

So are the Mullet and Pompano.


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## Wilber (May 20, 2003)

Nice job DD. One thing I found out recently is The little Black Drum love clams and so do the Sea Mullet. Have you ever cleaned a Sea Mullet and found his belly full of Coquina Clams. Think about it, not a whole lot of difference.


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## the rhondel (Feb 6, 2003)

TOPSAIL...I thought the postoffice picture was a much better likeness too  .....NMB...that was a good while ago and I would love to get a reprint of that ad.However ,when I contacted SWS a few months ago,they said those dates were for "inhouse"inquires only,whatever that means. If ya find the issue with "the ARK" on the front you're in the general time frame  ....the R


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Wilber said:


> *Nice job DD. One thing I found out recently is The little Black Drum love clams and so do the Sea Mullet. Have you ever cleaned a Sea Mullet and found his belly full of Coquina Clams. Think about it, not a whole lot of difference. *


 Yeap,Wiber,clams would have to be a great bait for seamullet,cause spadefish sure suckem down.. 

Thanks for putting the flounder up there Smoothbore,shoulda put it up there first up.  Live baits I've seen work well are mudminnows (gudgens) finger mullet,small spot,and I've seen pinfish do a job on big ones before when nothing else was available.. As far as strip bait,shark belly is hard to beat,lizard fish belly is a trick also,and in a pinch skate wings work too.. In recent yrs I've caught many while speckle trout fishing using a grub or fin-s also..


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## Cdog (Mar 18, 2002)

Well yall pretty much covered what I know but like Smoothbore said about flounder applys even more so with SeaMullet an Pompano, in close! Alot of times they will be right on th edge of th first drop off. Last summer I was fishing an not catching. Walked out into th surf an saw lil pompano swimming by in ankle high water. Cast to where th waves made th last lil break an started catching pomps an lil sea mullett right at th break. Sometimes we cast over th fish.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

*Couple of extras for the rigs*

One of these is "self tested" and I know for a fact it works. I've been fishing for flounder,simular to the way Smoothbore posted,not quite,but close.  Take one of those "new fancy props",yeap I know Smoothbore stay with the "tried and true". I agree for the most part,but I've used the chrome,chartruse,and bright red ones,when just plain bait didn't work and they did the trick.. 
Folks have told me that if you put a red bead above your hook you get more bites from seamullet and other bottom fish,but I couldn't see any difference? 
Folks have also told me,I have never tried it,but they swear it works over regular live sandfleas. They say boil them,yes,boil them?? Till they turn pink then chill them on ice. They say they get more bites than with regular live sandfleas?? If I go pompano or sheepshead fishing this yr I'm going to give it a try..


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

*Pilchard aka Scaled Sardine*

The PILCHARD aka SCALED SARDINE

http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/bigs/fish4270.jpg

Dave F


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

*2004??*

Man,I forgot all about that post...


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## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

Tis the season.

_*I can't say enought about bucktails right now*_. John, my brother Kyle and I left out today after noon. Fishing by 1pm. Three Limits of big Black Seabass within an hour. We threw back at least two limits of keepers of the one pound class. Even more fish when you count the barely legals and undersized.

We fished Spros again today and some handmade look-a-likes tipped with squid sometimes. THe chew all the hair off in about twenty minutes.

3 ounce works the best in and up to about 80 feet. Four ounce after that until about 120, then the 6 ounce.

Ive got work to do in the am cleaning.....


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## StriperChaser (Dec 12, 2007)

One more thought on the flounder thing. I have in recent years utilized the Saltwater gulp strip bait in the white or pearl. This I use when I can't net any live bait. I have been very successful cutting a strip in a long "V" shaped pattern and using on a flounder type or carolina rig. It can be used same as dd mentioned with the shark belly and etc. I have found this is a very tough bait that will last for several fish. I keep several packs in the box and can say that although not as effective as the real thing it can save a day when there are flounder to be caught but no live bait around. I have burned them up in the hook many times with this bait


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## Byron/pa (Mar 14, 2007)

Great Thread



> This is for the beginner who needs a helping hand in the learning process..


One request I'll make to you folks that are good enough to share info with others - be just a bit more specific.

As an example, twenty years ago when I first got into surf fishing, someone told me that hopkins spoons were good lures for blues (which they are) So there I was, standing on the beachs of OBX in mid july with a half dozen new 4oz hopkins on a way too heavy spinner. And yes, those huge hopkins did end up catching some blues at OBX - in December. 

So, maybe, if you suggest a certain lure, you could throw in some advice on sizes/colors - same goes for bottom rigs, circle hooks, etc.


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

this is just my opinion from somewhat limited experience:

blues/spanish: you will never find me using anything but a fluorocarbon leader when plugging for these fish, they are usually found in clear water and if you are plugging then you are relying on the fish's sight to see the lure, the spanish especially will shy away from visible leaders. just go to basspro and get a 50yd spool of ande fluorocarbon leader in 25 to 30 or 40lb test for 15 bucks and alberto your braid to a 18-24" piece of that, use a mirrorlure loop knot (with a small loop to reduce tangles) to attach the plug. i use 25lb fluoro for my plugging leaders and lose a blue due to a bite off approximately 1 in every 50 fish, i think that is worth it b/c you get way more hits with a fluoro leader, the plug's action is better, etc. favorite gotcha colors: if i want to catch anything red head/white body or red head/chartreuse, if i want spanish and not blues then all white, or white head/pink body, or blue head/white body. the ones with the metal bodies work well but are a little pricier. the original gotcha plug action is much better than the basspro imitation ones in my opinion.

pomps: 20-25lb fluoro leader, 2-3 hook dropper rig with dropper loops about 8" long, 8mm orange bead, and gami octopus offset circles #2 with sand fleas smaller than a grape (hooked up through the digger and out the back of the shell making sure the space between the hook point and shaft is clear so the circle will work)...also if you want before you put the flea on cut a tiny piece of a fishbites bloodworm or orange-colored fishbites clam strip and put that on the hook, gives some scent. paint your sinkers fluorescent orange with jig paint if you are really hard core. personally i think that 95% of the 2-5lb fish are out past the 2nd bar and you will only catch dinks behind the breakers but that is only my personal experience on topsail, if you want 1lb fish you can downsize the hook/sand flea and keep it the bait in real close. you will catch tons of sea mullet with this rig as well, both in close and deep (again i always get the huge mullet out far). fish the moon phases!

sheepshead: if you are having problems with pinfish nibbling the legs off your sand fleas then switch to fiddler crabs, they usually leave these alone. fiddler crabs a lot easier to store for prolonged periods of time as well.

best all around bait for anything is fresh shrimp, the fresher the better. get it off the docks, keep it buried in ice at ALL times, and cut off the heads as soon as you get it (most of the bacteria responsible for decaying the bait are found in the head region). the way you can tell it is fresh is by smell (it shouldn't have any, only smell like saltwater), flesh should be firm and the shell/head should be firmly attached, usually it is a nice gray-blue color...if it is getting reddish, flimsy looking, and smelling shrimpy well then have fun at the skate rink. when i just want to put the kids on some fish we head to the pier with 2 hook bottom rigs w/3oz sinkers and #2 to 4 hooks and use marshmallow size pieces...this will catch spot, pups, black drum, pomps, sea mullet, sheepshead, even blues and all the pinfish/skates/sharks you could want, kids don't care what kind of fish it is.

good all around artificial for the beginner: 3/8oz reg jighead with a 4" gulp chartreuse swimming mullet. i usually hop it slowly along the bottom, but you can drag it along the bottom or work it like a swimbait in the middle of the water column, it is hard to work it wrong. will catch trout, reds, flounder, etc. only problem is price, if blues are around i would switch to a hard mirrolure unless you are bill gates and can afford changing it on every cast.


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## dirtyhandslopez (Nov 17, 2006)

Pretty much everything is covered. Two bits of info I would like to add though. I used cut finger mullet this year a lot with great success. Take a finger mullet and filet it, then take the filet and cut that into three or four tiny flag shaped pieces and load them onto a two or three hook dropper rig. Got to have a sharp bait knife though. Also when making dropper rigs, to make the droppers stand out, a piece of a plastic tubed q-tip cut to to size make quite a bit of difference and keeps tangles down.


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## rivercat (Nov 24, 2010)

how bout a timeline on when we can expect all these fish to be at the surf? For example I don't want to buy mud minnows for flounder till what June right?


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## jay b (Dec 1, 2002)

Time line is important but water temps are more-so. Watch the local reports and look for the 50-55 degree mark to return for flounder.

When it comes to using live or fresh bait it's hard to beat what you can catch yourself in a cast net right where you're fishing, you know "match the hatch". A lot of fish will change what they eat on a seasonal or locational basis just because of what's available so that's what you want to try to have on your hook.

Red Drum are a great example; they are usually taken on Blue Crabs (peelers or hard) in the spring as they migrate north because the crabs are just busting out of the bottom sand or mud from their winter nap and sheding for the first time at the same time the Drum decide to come back. Then in the fall as they migrate south they're usually looking for Spot, Mullet or Menhaden as those species are around in large numbers migrating also.

Great rerun of a 6 yr. old thread by the way !!


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

Silver Perch Bloodworms
Sea Robbins Cut jumping mullet
Lizard Fish Live finger mullet or live Shrimp
Hog Fish Fresh Shrimp
Black Willy Lime Green Tube Jig
Baby Grouper Lime Green Tube Jig

Spiny Drum Bait (Water Temp under 60 a bait cast for Drum can load up on Gumby, works real nice)
Smoothy Striper Bait (Cooler Water brings in the big smoothies)

Pompano 10 foot Cast Net
Pier Spot 10 Foot Cast Net (surprises the little suckers after dark, resting next to the pier pilings) 

All of these techniques work


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Byron/pa said:


> Great Thread
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Stingsilver in chrome would be a good one for bluefish.. Imo,it can cut the wind better in the cast than a hopkins,and catches as well also.. They come in many sizes as do hopkins.. Gold hopkins isn't a bad choice as well. You may want to get a lighter rod so you can throw lighter metal also.. Plenty you can catch with metal,spainish,false albacore,bluefish,puppydrum and big ones as well,and I am sure I'm leaving out plenty more.. Stingsilver,glassminnow lure,castmaster,hopkins all are good lures,especially if you see fish actively feeding.. Stingsilvers and glassminnow come in a variety of colors,you'll find days when they hit white,blue,chartruese,pink,green and many more..

Bottomrigs can vary as well as hooks.. Many prefer circles,some kayles,some j's,ya just have to experiment with what works best on a specific species for you.. Myself,kayles work.. Bottomrigs like a typical double bottomrig tied with a sugeons loop for the sinker on one end and same on the other for the swivel,and two droppers tied in the middle for the hooks,are pretty much standard.. You can doll them up a bit to your liking by adding beads or surgical tubing,whatever works for ya.. Myself, it's red or orange beads added for pompano.. You can use a Carolina rig as well,for flounder they can be deadly,either with cutbait on a straight j hook,small bucktail or teaser.. Another way is to use trout jighead,like 3/8 or less oz with fin-s tails,regular grubs,and many other look alikes of plastics as well.. All these in varied colors. Also a gulp lure or fishbite lure works well also.. 

Just spouting off,hopefully that helps and not being too vague??

I know it's a 6yr ole thread,but if it helps those just starting,I'm all for it..


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## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

Man those flounder. I like the 55 to 58 degree water to but in the fall. Thats how we find them offshore. They stay in front of that cold water and stack up like oriental rugs.

Drum in the spring, I've found (I'll thank Kenny for this) that is all about temps. When the temps are right, they are right, and they will eat...Anything! as long as you go the bait in the water. I've been in on some early bites in poast years.


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## Dr. Bubba (Nov 9, 1999)

cool old thread, Kenny.

I just want to add I'm a huge fan of the crab too. I believe I've caught most of the species we desire (big and small) on different size hunks of crab more than anything else. spring/peeler/buster time is a given. But cutting hard crabs works whenever they are around.


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## Captain Awesome (Jul 27, 2010)

Since I am more of a visual learner like most, I put together this simple image of a horizontal cross section of a typical beach. Now I am no way near an expert but figured I could help a little and learn a lot with it. The numbers along the bottom are a way to identify where you would typically find/fish for various species. I'll put in my short list (the little I might know) and allow other to add to it. Obviously this may not apply to all areas, outsucks and other structure cause fish to relate slightly differently but the hope was for a general idea.










4-6 Dig for sand fleas
8-12 Flounder, Mullet, Pomps (Mainly Dinkos)


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## Frogfish (Nov 6, 2007)

each of the species can be caught in a multitude of ways, but i'll just post my favorite:

Whiting/Seamullet: Chicken rig with Fishbites and small kahle hooks
Pompano: Same as above but with fresh sandfleas or cut shrimp
bluefish: Chicken rig with cut mullet. Off the pier, I will plug for them with gotchas
Spanish: really only chase them off the pier. I love to freeline bait...ballyhoo, pilchards, sardines. My favorite artificial is a small white crappie jig. 
Red Drum: crabs or cut mullet/spot on a 5/0 owner circle on a fishfinder rig


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