Be Content, The Sea Hath Fish Enough

I recently returned from surf fishing at Emerald Isle, NC. In the past I have shown pictures of fish taken from Emerald Isle's surf. We are very fortunate to know a beachfront cottage owner there who offers us a generous discount when renting his property. In the past, I've always managed to catch enough fish in the surf there to have a respectable family fish fry by the fourth or fifth day. This trip was no exception.

The first couple of days were rough. The weather was blustery and rainy. There was a great amount of seaweed in the water and the current was so strong a five ounce sinker could not keep your bait in place. Hard fishing only yielded sharks and small northern puffers. Sad to say, nothing worth keeping. On the third day, things began to change. Water conditions become noticeably different. The current weakened to where a 3 ounce sinker could hold bottom. The shore was littered with seashells broken and battered by the previous two days of bad weather. Before dawn I am on the beach. My fisherman's sense was on high alert. I could envision the fish cruising under the surface. In my mind's eye, I  pictured the bluefish on the hunt in the trough running parallel to the beach. Sunrise brought in a nice bluefish bite and when that died down, the 8 to 10 inch whiting eagerly took shrimp baited hooks cast just behind the first break. By 8:00 AM I had a fair amount of fish in the cooler and I took a little time off to eat breakfast and set up a sunshade and beach chairs for my girls. The rest of the day consisted of playing with my girls, picnic on the beach and building sandcastles. I managed to cast my lines a few more times and while the bluefish stayed away, the whiting consistently took bits of shrimp or a freshly dug up sand flea.

The next morning I was on the beach again before sunrise. Knowing I have enough for a fresh seafood meal this week, I now concentrate more on sports than sustenance. Bluefish and whiting again make their appearances. I keep a few and throw back more. I attach a Hopkins lure to my rod during the bluefish bite, however the blues weren't in the mood. They much preferred the finger mullet over the metal so I switched back. When the sun got a little higher I targeted the whiting and put four or five of those in my cooler. Later that day I bring out my Alvey rod and reel. I never have any more or less success with the Alvey than I do with my other rod and reels, however I do enjoy the stares and comments beachcombers give as they walk by. The whiting continued to bite all day off and on. Later in the afternoon the blues made another appearance and it was nice to reel them in. I really enjoy the bluefish's fight and instinct for self preservation. You reel him in and when he gets close to shore he finds it in him to offer up a little more resistance. Thank you bluefish for your fighting spirit. You are worthy fish.

On Friday the bite died down. Little to nothing took the lines. It was just as well, I again got to play with my daughters, repair washed out sandcastles, capture sand fleas in bucket only to release them and look up down the beach for seashells. Normally we hold our fish fry on Friday, however the girls only wanted to eat hotdogs and frankly after a long day of playing with them I didn't feel like cooking anything major.

Saturday morning I walked out on the beach just after sunrise and BA-BAM! The bite was on! I knew we would definitely cook our fish that night because on Sunday we would have to return home. I also knew we had enough fish and wouldn't need to keep anymore. All was well, I was regularly reeling in the fish and throwing them back. Then around 9:30 or so the 12 inch+ whiting showed up and I kept the next four. The twelve inchers continued to bite, however I forced myself to throw them back. We really had more than we needed. All in all, the bite lasted all day with just a few breaks. Some fishermen about 100 yards from me claimed to have spotted two five foot sharks swim by and wanted to know if I had seen them. Alas, I never saw them. That night I cooked up several whiting and bluefish filet's in a most simple fashion. I greased down a cookie sheet, placed the cleaned fish on the pan and set them in a preheated 500 degree oven. Five minutes into the cooking I turned over the fish and returned the fish to the oven for another six minutes. Pulling the fish out of the oven, I checked the meat to make sure it was visually white and flaked easily with a fork. I served these up with a can of Bush's Baked Beans and some coleslaw. Voila! A seafood dinner unrivaled by many restaurants.

Tight Lines and Fresh Bait!

R. M. Callaway

BLUE FISH BLITZ: TO BAIT OR TO LURE?

Reports from Hatteras Island have been coming in the last few days of 10 to 15 pound bluefish being taken from the surf. If your looking for a serious pull on your rod, then pack your SUV and surf fishing tackle and motor down to the Outer Banks. Voracious, tough and toothy predators. One to five pound Blues frequent the NC surf, providing surf casters action from March through December. When bait is frequent and conditions right the schools of larger Blues follow the bait close to shore. The world record was caught at Hatteras by Jim Hussey in 1972. This Blue weighed in at 31 pounds 12 ounces. Regardless of size, when hooked expect the Bluefish to put up a good fight. They hit hard, make long runs and jump to shake free of the hook. Their survival instinct is strong. When you muscle a hooked Blue close to shore, expect the fish to renew its struggle, one more desperate push for survival can be expected. Pound for pound this proves to be one tough fish.

Bluefish generally travel in schools of like sized fish. Should you find yourself catching four to five pound Blues, don't expect a 15 pounder to be lurking in the school. Bluefish are indiscriminate hunter killers. The small Tailor Blues find themselves on the menu for the larger Chopper Blues. As a point of survival, smaller Blues avoid larger Blues. Like some species of shark, Blues attacking a pod of bait fish can get worked up to a frenzy. Dashing wildly about, teeth slashing, the Blues descend upon their prey ripping fin and flesh. In their wake, the prey are left torn in half eaten pieces. To witness a Blues Blitz is to see an awesome sight. Once while fishing Hatteras Inlet, I waded out about twenty yards to waist deep water in order to cast my bait a little further out to a fishy looking rip just out of reach. Suddenly, all about me there was a flurry of Blues and bait tearing up the water. After a half moment of shocked disbelief, I high tailed it back to shore in fear of getting my waders (or something else) punctured by an over zealous Bluefish. My father laughed as he tossed a rig in the area I vacated and pulled out a respectable five pound Blue.

In most cases, light casting or spinning tackle is sufficient for catching the average bluefish in the surf. Wire or heavy mono leaders are a necessity, otherwise you will have to deal with cutoffs by the Blues' toothy mouths. They are not picky eaters, so virtually any bait will work. Live or fresh cut fish, squid, or shrimp work just fine. When fishing bait for Blues, I like to use a two hook fireball rig. This is your basic two hook rig, made up of a leader of heavy fluorocarbon with a swivel at the top to attach to your shock leader and a duolock attached at the terminal end for attaching a pyramid sinker. Along the length of the rig are two dropper loops. Each loop has a brightly colored Styrofoam ball and a hook.

Many artificial lures are successfully used on Bluefish, I like Hopkins Lures and Gotcha Plugs. Cast out and wait a couple of moments to let the lure sink, whip your rod toward you and retrieve your lure quickly. Keep fishing your lure all the way to shore, the Bluefish could well be in the suds when he takes the lure.

Bluefish are perfectly fine to eat. The key to good tasting Bluefish is to clean and prepare the Blue quickly. During the bite, take a moment to get your catch on ice and after the bite go ahead and gut and bleed the fish. Do not let the Blues sit in your cooler all day. They are best if caught, cleaned and eaten all on the same day. When you fillet the Blue, trim away the dark meat, this will help in keeping the meat from getting too fishy in taste. Cooking can be simple - just pan fry or broil until the flesh is white and easily flakes with a fork. If you are making hushpuppies and have some buttermilk to spare; let your fillets bathe in a shallow bowl of buttermilk for about thirty minutes. Pull them out of the buttermilk bath and pat dry. Dredge your fillets in flour, give a quick dip in an egg bath, next dredge through cornmeal, salt and pepper to taste and pan fry in butter. Broiling is even simpler. After bathing your fillets in buttermilk and patting dry, salt and pepper and brush with a coat of melted butter. Set your fillets on a well greased pan, place in a pre-heated oven about four inches from the heating element. Should take about four to six minutes per 1/2 inch thickness. Should your fillet be over 1/2 inch in thickness, turn once halfway through broiling.

Good Luck and Tight Lines,

R. M. Callaway

Early morning catch - Emerald Isle Fall 2010

My Girls and Father -in- Law checking out that evening's dinner