# Speckled trout closes noon on wednesday



## speckhunter80 (Oct 3, 2011)

FF- 9-2014















PROCLAMATION



RE: SPOTTED SEATROUT 



Dr. Louis B. Daniel III, Director, Division of Marine Fisheries, hereby announces that effective 12:01 P.M. Wednesday, February 5, 2014, the following will apply to spotted seatrout:



I. HARVEST RESTRICTIONS



It is unlawful to possess, transport, buy, sell or offer for sale spotted seatrout in coastal and joint fishing waters of North Carolina except dealers will have until Wednesday, February 12, 2014 to dispose of unfrozen spotted seatrout in their possession taken prior to the closure. 



II. GENERAL INFORMATION



A. This proclamation is issued under the authority of N.C.G. S. 113-170.4; 113-170.5; 113-182; 113-221.1; 143B-289.52 and N.C. Fisheries Rules 15A NCAC 03H .0103, and 03M .0512.



B. It is unlawful to violate the provisions of any proclamation issued by the Fisheries Director under his delegated authority pursuant to N.C. Marine Fisheries Rule 15A NCAC 03H .0103.



C. This action was taken to control fishing effort following a severe cold stun event under the approved management strategy in the Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan. 



D. It is the intent of the Fisheries Director to open the spotted seatrout season for commercial and recreational fishing by proclamation on June 15, 2014 after surviving fish have had the opportunity to spawn.



E. This proclamation supersedes Proclamation FF-7-2013 dated February 8, 2013 and FF-20-2012, dated March 26, 2012.









February 3, 2014

9:00 A.M


----------



## KB Spot Chaser (Nov 19, 2009)

took long enough


----------



## StillSearchin (Apr 9, 2007)

CCANC finally got their wish, catch and release only. Fully expect a fly fishing only designation within the next couple years. 

Booyah!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## WNCRick (Sep 24, 2007)

heard about a few kills, that sucks.....


----------



## speckhunter80 (Oct 3, 2011)

More then a few . The Pungo and Bath Creek was loaded with dead and stunned fish


----------



## WNCRick (Sep 24, 2007)

further north, so you know better than I do, still a shame after a couple good years


----------



## jakiger (Sep 22, 2006)

WNCRick said:


> further north, so you know better than I do, still a shame after a couple good years





http://www.northcarolinasportsman.com/details.php?id=4025


----------



## WNCRick (Sep 24, 2007)

thanks speck.....


----------



## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

speckhunter80 said:


> More then a few . The Pungo and Bath Creek was loaded with dead and stunned fish


Bath Creek what a great place, hate to hear this. I have spent many an hour catching in there..


----------



## dlpetrey (Oct 30, 2013)

Terrible. And not one thing can be done about it. Saw all the trout...puppies too?


----------



## Ghostrider (Jul 27, 2010)

Does this mean that there will be no trout fishing off the piers through the spring and summer?


----------



## Ryan Y (Dec 1, 2005)

Yea until June 15th.


----------



## speckhunter80 (Oct 3, 2011)

Ghostrider said:


> Does this mean that there will be no trout fishing off the piers through the spring and summer?


NO, you can still fish for trout you just can not keep any.


----------



## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

StillSearchin said:


> CCANC finally got their wish, catch and release only. Fully expect a fly fishing only designation within the next couple years.
> 
> Booyah!!!!!!!!!!!


...CCA needs the earth to open up and SWALLOW ever member.....


----------



## Ghostrider (Jul 27, 2010)

Well it is going to be a lot of throwing gotcha plugs for Blues and Spanish...and flounder fishing until that receives a moratorium...


----------



## gshivar (Aug 29, 2006)

Thinking bout launching at Calabash in am and going spec trout fishing. Oh yea - I can't keep any in NC. Will go to Little River, a few miles southerly and if I can catch them I think I can keep 10!! Some things are just over my head. best - glenn


----------



## fish militia (Nov 1, 2004)

I am no lover of the CCA.

So I can say the CCA had little to do with the shut down. This is NCDMF protocol when there is a substantial speck stun and this is not the first moratorium because of this.

I spoke with the PR officer at DMF and she informed me that the stuns that the officers have seen and documented were no joke and that doesn't include the many they wont know about because they were in open water flats that no one saw.

I am thankful that the proper steps were taken to protect the stock until further assessments can be made.

Because yeah-- the speck fishing has been great the past two years and lets face it--winter is far from over and this may not be the last time this happens this year.

Pic is from DMF near Leechville


----------



## bronzbck1 (Jun 13, 2007)

The speck fishing has been good from a boat but until they return to the surf real good then I have to disagree about how good it has been. Saw good signs of gray trout this year in the surf but they where all dinks so maybe one day.


----------



## fish militia (Nov 1, 2004)

Percy,

The NC coastal waterways are vast. Just because the fish did not show up in the surf in front of Buxton or Frisco doesn't mean the numbers are not good.

Actually-- the same reason the sound fishing has been so good for them from "boats" is the reason their Hatteras appearance has been low--mild winters.

There has been no reason for the fish to push out.

This time last year Swan Quarter, Juniper Bay and Long Shoal were all producing a fair number of a fair class of trout. This in 45-50 degree water on days that had 40 degree air temps...and one could catch them on everything from plastic, mirror lure or top water.

Not to mention the action places like Top Sail, Surf City and Wilmington were seeing this time last year.

Speck fishing this past fall from the surf was outstanding from Kitty Hawk too OI--great numbers and a good class.

Overall this year the specks got hammered--maybe not from the surf on Hatteras, but that is no way to gauge the entire state or population.

Too many factors go into whether a fish shows in a particular area over and above their numbers.


----------



## bronzbck1 (Jun 13, 2007)

Rob I have and fish from 5 boats. I live on the sound and fish the sound. I surf fish the beaches from Kitty Hawk to Ocracoke almost daily. I stand by what I said I just haven't seen a come back. We catch really nice ones from the yaks & center console in all the sounds (4) and when your on them it is every cast. So many pups might have a lot to do with them not being in the surf, they might have them pushed out. All the tubers in Hatteras say there are plenty of Grey trout but there are hardly any in the surf. You can catch a puppy on a grub right now in every hole or ditch from the Point south, 6 months now of unbelievable fishing


----------



## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Haven't speck fished the way I used to in quite a few years,but have been on them when it was good as well as bad.. From what I've heard from friends of mine is that they were good here in Hatty,and piers n of oi were into some BIG fish.. I'm not fully behind the closure for one reason,hate to see those fish that are on the ice go to waste.. Not behind coms making a killing with easy scoop job,or folks scooping over their limit that are recs,although do not want to see a resource setting there rotting so seagulls get to feast in winter.. Scoop them babies up and send them to a food bank.. As far as the closure, erring on the side of caution is not a bad thing.. Unless one has a degree in ichthyology,and or has their hands on the fishery full time,not just in one area but all of the sound and ocean in ne NC,they can't really say for sure good or bad... I have no problem with what they are trying to do.. jmho


----------



## fish militia (Nov 1, 2004)

Percy,

If you fished the surf up this way in the fall and boat/yak fished for specks, then you already know how good the fish were.

Seen this same argument play out a 100 times before when the bite was slow at Cape Point.

The Point or Ocracoke had bad years, so most swore up and down something was wrong with the drum stock...but they got hammered everywhere else.

The fish can't be in huge numbers everywhere, every year--that's CCA dreaming there.

And yes..the puppy drum fishing has been insane..They are still getting burned at OI.
After 9 months of wearing them out..I'll take a break on that front.

For sheer dialog reasons only and not to pick a fight..

But the puppy drum really aren't biting North of OI any more, so I have to assume the stock is not all that great any more.


----------



## gshivar (Aug 29, 2006)

Well my 2 cents. Been slinging mirrolures at specs since 1958. There are good years and there are slow years. MOTHER NATURE in NC controls the sp trout population, period! Be it very cold winters, dolphin, big blues, etc. A thought: we are going to have cold winters - every 2 years / 5 years? who knows. Why do we have to have a 4 fish limit when nature is going to take a toll?? best - glenn


----------



## speckhunter80 (Oct 3, 2011)

Let's say you have 10 million fish, one group harvests 750,000 and another harvests 250,000 and in harvesting these 1,000,000 fish another 100,000 fish are killed by mishandling, regulatory discard etc. Another 100,000 are killed by predation etc.. So now you are left with a potential breeding stock of 8,800,000 but only 6,000,000 of those are breeding age. These fish have been studied and it has been scientifically determined that you need a breeding population of 5,000,000 for the species to remain a viable healthy self supporting species. Now throw in that every 4-6 years Mother Nature comes along and kills 3,000,000 of which 2,250,000 are breeding fish. Now you have reduced your breeding stock to 75% of what you need. Will the species suddenly die off, NO but if the non Mother Nature factors are not reduced it will die a very slow death. By reducing the harvest by 35% or 40% you have now increased the breeding stock 1,750,000 to 7,750,000 and Mother Nature kills 3,000,000 breeding fish and now you have 90% of the amount of breeding stock you need as opposed to 75% under the old creel limits.


----------



## bronzbck1 (Jun 13, 2007)

[QUOTE
But the puppy drum really aren't biting North of OI any more, so I have to assume the stock is not all that great any more.[/QUOTE]

Puppy fishing is still good north of IO it is just off the hook down south. Pups are there they just slow down in less than 45 degree water but I know of plenty being caught. Like I said just my observation of when I put away my drum rods in Nov. and pick up a trout rod through spring. I have caught plenty trout,more than most, but to my observation they are not back and this cold stun isn't going to help.


----------



## speckhunter80 (Oct 3, 2011)

In a nutshell....if Mother Nature is gonna kill half of them it is better to start over with 10 breeding fish then 5


----------



## dirtyhandslopez (Nov 17, 2006)

Absolutley.


----------



## StillSearchin (Apr 9, 2007)

fish militia said:


> I am no lover of the CCA.
> 
> So I can say the CCA had little to do with the shut down. This is NCDMF protocol when there is a substantial speck stun and this is not the first moratorium because of this.
> 
> ...


Didn't intend to suggest they shut it down, only that they push for c&r only for recs and you know how they'd love to see the comms out of the picture.


----------



## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

StillSearchin said:


> Didn't intend to suggest they shut it down, only that they push for c&r only for recs and you know how they'd love to see the comms out of the picture.


....can U imagine how much the comms would love to see the recs cut out????


----------



## StillSearchin (Apr 9, 2007)

Loner said:


> ....can U imagine how much the comms would love to see the recs cut out????


I've not heard of any movement on part of comms to cut out the recs, even though the recs are responsible for the great majority of SST harvest. I have heard there are rec groups meeting with some true hugger groups such as PEW. Some of those type groups would love to see us all cut out, leaving the fishies to live in peace and harmony. Don't get me wrong, I think PEW has done some good things, just don't think we need them involved with managing our local fisheries.


----------



## WNCRick (Sep 24, 2007)

> Quote Originally Posted by Loner View Post
> 
> ....can U imagine how much the comms would love to see the recs cut out????



I think a lot of this stuff is in peoples heads, my commercial fishing buddy laughed when I bitched about only keeping four trout after buying the gas, paying launch fees, etc... His reply was "hell take me with you and you can keep 75" 

JME, but not exactly anyone trying to drive out the rec angler....

He's a crab guy by trade and even offered me all the pots I could haul if I wanted to CRGL and set a few free of charge.

I just don't see that attitude at all in this area...

Rick


----------



## Loner (Sep 9, 2009)

WNCRick said:


> I think a lot of this stuff is in peoples heads, my commercial fishing buddy laughed when I bitched about only keeping four trout after buying the gas, paying launch fees, etc... His reply was "hell take me with you and you can keep 75"
> 
> JME, but not exactly anyone trying to drive out the rec angler....
> 
> ...


....ok...but don't look tooooo close.....


----------

