# Stripers off the beach in SENC



## tmass1972 (Nov 19, 2009)

If there are stripers around SENC, and someone has some live eels and mud minnows, where and how would be the best way to try and land one? Off the pier or from the surf? Eel on a fish finder rig? Anyone crazy enough to try it with me? Im going to go and try for some black drum to eat as well. If someone would land a striper from the pier or surf what are the regs on them(size, possesion etc.) Im bored and jonesing to catch something, got a tica UEHA with a shimano baitrunner 6500 for x-mas and havent tried it out yet.


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## jeffreyweeks (Feb 5, 2009)

if you catch a striper out in the ocean in southeastern nc i'll be amazed. most of them caught around here are in the Cape Fear river or down in Little River, SC by the swing bridge. there should be a few drum and specks in the surf but many more skates and dogfish.

there are plenty of black drum in the waterway and inlets now if the cold hasn't stopped the bite. they hit cut shrimp best.


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## tmass1972 (Nov 19, 2009)

*Ill be amazed too*

I read a post on here and someone said there were stripers here in the ocean too, but no one fishes for them. Ill be amazed too if i get one! But figured while im out trying to catch some dinner, i might as well try to catch a striper while im out there, who knows? would the surf near a pier(JM) or the inlet be better? Ive got 4 live eels 2 dozen mud minnows some salted mullet 1 pound of shrimp some clams some fishbites blood worms and some ML 52's and TT's and gulp I need to catch something!!


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## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

*the post your speaking of...*

That post your speaking of is more like fishing for unicorns.

Occasionally, one will be lost down here and be caught in the Suds out on the beach.

Usually around February or March you may here of one that gets caught around the Jetties At Wrightsville. I said in that other post that ive seen one caught way offshore here as well in the early, early spring but undersized (and not legal).

The Cape Fear River has stripers. Right now you are not allowed to keep any from the river or it's tributaries. The are not overfished however there stocks are very low due to lock and dams that were palced in the river blocking there migrations for many years. Many say if you catch one of the Cape Fear river strains it will be a big fish. However the state is stocking stripers here yearly to try and increase there abundance. These are all small fish for the time being.It wouldn't surprise me if there are Hybrids being stocked as well...Which usually do not re-spawn.

Bottom line- If I was gonna go striper fishing from the surf, I'd stay North of Cape Lookout.


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## tmass1972 (Nov 19, 2009)

Thanks for the input. Im going mainly just to go fishing, try out my new rig and hopefully catch a red or black drum, but i figured while im out there maybe ill get lucky and catch me a unicorn too!


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## KB Spot Chaser (Nov 19, 2009)

Chances are that there are not too many stripers here in the surf. I have only heard of 3 caught from the surf here in the past 15 years and I talked to a many good fisherman along the way. Besides I truly feel that if there were more than just a few strays I or someone else most likely would have caught one trout fishing at night in the surf. Plenty of specks but still no stripers out of the surf in these parts for me. Ryan is absolutely right about there being some big boys in the river though and plenty of small resident stockers. Myself and a few friends do our best to try and help the striper stocks out by catching stripers at Lock #1 and releasing them above the dam. This is done by fishing off the bank on the other side by the old fish ladders and just jumping up on the concrete pad and releasing your fish. My guess is that we released about 20 last year in just a few trips. Gonna try our best to get three times that many over this year. Making plans to take adipnet over this year so I can scoop those threadfin shad that those stripers were showering in the air last year almost on the bank. Got my hands on one, put a 4/0 owner circle hook through its nose with acouple split shots and it got smashed within seconds. Lots of fun when your catching and releasing fish that will help preserve our striper fishery for years to come. good luck on finding one of those unicorns, But just maybe in your search for one you'll stumble across that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.


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## tmass1972 (Nov 19, 2009)

*Thanks*

Great Idea!!I think Ill put those eels to better use. Thanks for the advice, I definitely will do that! Sounds like a fun and rewarding experience. Could the shad be caught by cast net?


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## jeffreyweeks (Feb 5, 2009)

I've been fishing Brunswick County all my life and never caught a striper. I know a guide who does really well down in SC at Little River. I'd love to try it one day.

This year may be different due to the extreme cold. But the last few years I have never stopped fishing and there has always been something to catch. You just have to make some adjustments.

In January and February I fish the bridges for black drum. The best time is at night (when it's colder-- but that's when they bite). I usually use cut shrimp and the Fishbites bloodworm flavor. For some reason black drum hit the Fishbites bloodworms really well in the winter-- though most of the year shellfish is a better bait for them. 

Doing this and fishing inshore I catch a ton of black drum but also spot (there are spot inshore all year, though a lot of folks don't know that), silver perch, redfish and the occasional speck who hits my bottom rig. I also occasionally catch some strange winter visitors you might not see here the rest of the year-- such as hake (a strange fish, good to eat). Also there are a lot of eels out there.

One of the best things about inshore winter fishing is that there are no pinfish. As it warms in the winter and the pinfish return I stop baitfishing and go after the specks and reds.

I do not surf fish the winter because you catch more skates and dogfish than anything else. There are trout and redfish out there, but inshore is a much safer bet. 

If you fish MirrOlures anywhere you have to fish them SLOW, and sometimes not move them at all.


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## KB Spot Chaser (Nov 19, 2009)

It would be a waste of a perfectly good cast net due to all the rocks. A fine mesh dipnet works fine, and if you can't get threadfins the white calcutta swimshad work great. call me towards the middle of march and we'll put together atrip up there.(4431340)


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## drumchaser (Jan 14, 2003)

Ryan Y said:


> That post your speaking of is more like fishing for unicorns.
> 
> Occasionally, one will be lost down here and be caught in the Suds out on the beach.
> 
> ...


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## zztopsail (Jul 23, 2009)

tmass1972 said:


> If there are stripers around SENC, and someone has some live eels and mud minnows, where and how would be the best way to try and land one? Off the pier or from the surf? Eel on a fish finder rig? Anyone crazy enough to try it with me? Im going to go and try for some black drum to eat as well. If someone would land a striper from the pier or surf what are the regs on them(size, possesion etc.) Im bored and jonesing to catch something, got a tica UEHA with a shimano baitrunner 6500 for x-mas and havent tried it out yet.


I think I have stated this in other posts, but if you want to stripper fish south of OBX, your best bet is fresh water. 

You have two major impoundments of water with in a half day drive from the coast of SENC that hold fresh water strippers, that being Lake Norman around Charlotte and Lake Murray in Columbia. Your not gonna catch monsters, but 10-20 lb is not out of the question. Both lakes have implemented size and creel limits to build up the quaility of the fish with a 21 inch (aka 5 lb) min on Lake Murray and a creel limit of 5.

If you have a boat, there is a public ramp at Lake Murray that will put you right on the deep water where the strippers school year round. If you don't have a boat, then hook up with a guide. Costs generally run about $300 for a half day with 4 people so call it $75 a head. The guide provides everything you just need a licencse, and you WILL catch fish


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## Daddydobber (Mar 28, 2006)

zztopsail said:


> I think I have stated this in other posts, but if you want to stripper fish south of OBX, your best bet is fresh water.
> 
> You have two major impoundments of water with in a half day drive from the coast of SENC that hold fresh water strippers, that being Lake Norman around Charlotte and Lake Murray in Columbia. Your not gonna catch monsters, but 10-20 lb is not out of the question. Both lakes have implemented size and creel limits to build up the quaility of the fish with a 21 inch (aka 5 lb) min on Lake Murray and a creel limit of 5.
> 
> If you have a boat, there is a public ramp at Lake Murray that will put you right on the deep water where the strippers school year round. If you don't have a boat, then hook up with a guide. Costs generally run about $300 for a half day with 4 people so call it $75 a head. The guide provides everything you just need a licencse, and you WILL catch fish



Lake Norman AKA The Dead Sea if you catch a 10 lb fish here you have done something I have fished that lake for over 20 yrs and it has been declining year by year ...Over development and over fished haven't really fished it the last 2 yrs at all !!!!


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## GreenFord (Apr 11, 2009)

I saw some nice strippers at Wrightsville beach last summer ....















Wife wouldn't let me keep any........


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## ReelKingin (Aug 3, 2009)

were they undersize? lol


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## zztopsail (Jul 23, 2009)

Daddydobber said:


> Lake Norman AKA The Dead Sea if you catch a 10 lb fish here you have done something I have fished that lake for over 20 yrs and it has been declining year by year ...Over development and over fished haven't really fished it the last 2 yrs at all !!!!


Had heard that about Lake Norman but thought it was just a rumour.

Therefor Lake Murray is your choice. Action all year round, great fishing now. Damn is 1 mile from my house.

Here are some sites for fishing reports.

http://www.lakemurray.com/Lake_Murray_Fishing_Report.aspx

http://www.dnr.sc.gov/news/freshwater.html


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## kinghunter12 (Jan 24, 2009)

if any body knows any thhing on brunswick stripers i would like to know were at and catch them with what


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## eb angler (Oct 26, 2005)

The Jolly Roger has a bunch of pictures of fish caught off the pier over the years and there are a few striper pictures. I have never asked when or how but, it has always made me think there may be a few around...I don't know why the Cape fish couldn't be on the beach from time to time and I don't know if New River has any...


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## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

eb angler said:


> The Jolly Roger has a bunch of pictures of fish caught off the pier over the years and there are a few striper pictures. I have never asked when or how but, it has always made me think there may be a few around...I don't know why the Cape fish couldn't be on the beach from time to time and I don't know if New River has any...


2004 the Jolly Roger Pier had an 11 lb. striper landed on sea mullet tackle in April....4-5 days later there was a 21 lb. striper landed on the end on a king rig...the thing hit a live bluefish....

In the dark ages there use to be a 7-11 lber picked up annually by someone trout fishing in Feb offn Jollys...

How about Jan. of 2009??? ..There was a 23" striper snagged last week on the Surf City Pier.....


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## kinghunter12 (Jan 24, 2009)

:fishing:i kingfish there and aint never seen a striper caught but would love to catch one


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## bluefish1928 (Jun 9, 2007)

Loner said:


> 2004 the Jolly Roger Pier had an 11 lb. striper landed on sea mullet tackle in April....4-5 days later there was a 21 lb. striper landed on the end on a king rig...the thing hit a live bluefish....
> 
> In the dark ages there use to be a 7-11 lber picked up annually by someone trout fishing in Feb offn Jollys...
> 
> How about Jan. of 2009??? ..There was a 23" striper snagged last week on the Surf City Pier.....


skink has pics on surfside beach pier website that shows a nice size striper takne form the pier(surfside beach, SC). He claims to have caught a couple in saltwater along the SC coast


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## jellybear (Jan 15, 2006)

There was a six lb Striper snagged of the JR just a couple of weeks ago...


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