Fatback On A Fish Finder Rig

Atlantic Menhaden, also known as: Mossbunker, Peanut Bunker, Bunker, Pogy, or Fatback. Whatever you may call it (we'll call it Bunker, as it is most commonly referred to in the bait and tackle shops on the Outer Banks) - this is a prime choice when tossing bait out into the surf in hopes of catching trophy fish or a yummy dinner from the Outer Banks surf. Red Drum, Bluefish, Striped Bass, Flounder, Sharks, Spanish Mackerel (to name a few) all prey on this common, yet important forage fish. Traveling in large schools, bunker swim the bays, estuaries, inlets, surf and other near shore coastal waters off the Atlantic Coast. In the late summer and early autumn, the juveniles (Peanut Bunker) are leaving their estuary home for the ocean. Game fish feast on these young fish as they migrate along the shore. You can get fresh Bunker during most of the year at the tackle shops on the Outer Banks, as there is a sizable population of these fish in and around the Outer Banks. I usually pick up a few pounds of Bunker, cut the bait into steaks and attach a chunk to a fish finding rig. If I do not immediately cut the bait, I at least gut the fish in order to keep it fresher, longer. It is important to keep your bait fresh. Never let it soak in the melt water of your cooler. Doing so, will strip away the smelly fish oils in the meat and make it less appealing to your quarry. I place my bait in a water tight bag. Then I place this and a frozen bottle of water in a small cooler kept inside a larger cooler full of ice. Along the same line of thought, always replace the bait on your hook every fifteen minutes. Fresh bait is the best bait. If you prefer artificial lures over bait, there are tin squids out there that are designed look specifically like the Peanut Bunker. When the schools of juveniles are close to shore and being busted up by the game fish consult with a local tackle shop for lure recommendations - I make it a point to talk with the crew at Red Drum Tackle Shop in Buxton, NC when I travel to the Outer Banks.

The Fish Finder Rig is perhaps one of the best forms of terminal tackle when fishing with a piece of Bunker steak as bait. It is nothing more than a single circle hook snelled to a length of leader material. Thread a pyramid sinker attached to a sinker slide to your shock leader. Attach your hook leader to your shock leader via a swivel. This arrangement will allow the fish to take your baited hook and swim away with it without feeling the weight of the sinker. I like to take a dozen or so 12 inch pieces of 80 lb fluorocarbon and snell them to hooks the night before a fishing trip. This allows me to have spare hook and hook leaders at the ready for a quick change out when needed.

Referring to Bunker as Fatback always makes me think of Scallops wrapped in bacon. Mmmm...

Deep Fried Bacon Wrapped Scallops

Wash 1 pound of Scallops and pat dry with paper towels.

Wrap one or two Scallops in 1/2 piece of bacon - secure with toothpicks.

Heat oil to 350 degrees.

Roll Scallop/Bacon wrap in flour. (1/4 cup flour spread on a saucer)

Quick dip in egg wash. (1 large egg and a splash of buttermilk, beaten and placed in a shallow bowl - use this as the egg wash.)

Next dip in day old corn bread crumbs. (3/4 cup of day old corn bread crumbs.)

Cook in batches until golden brown.

Drain on paper towels.

Best served hot.

You can substitute 1 pound of shelled, deveined Shrimp for the Scallops if you prefer.

Cobia versus the Least Tern - OBX Beach Access Closed

Versus

Well - it has happened. Access to the Point has been lost. One bird lays an egg and the National Park Service ropes off the access to Cape Point. In this case, it was a Least Tern egg discovered by the park service that resulted in the closure at access ramp 45 and closes beaches to ORV's and pedestrians about 1.7 miles from the access point at ramp 49. To add insult to injury - the closure does not directly close the Point - it just cuts off access. Technically - Cape Point itself does not lay within the closed area; however - to reach Cape Point via off road vehicle or on foot can not be done due to closures.

It is almost time for the Cobia to come through and I was feeling a strong urge to spend some time chasing them. Thanks to the closures, fishing for Cobia from the surf is all but impossible.

Ok - I am going to vent - - what choice do I have - the best places to fish for Cobia along the outer banks are blocked thanks to government over-reaction to prior inaction. If you are unaware of the situation concerning off road vehicle access to the beaches of the Hatteras National Seashore, here it is in a nutshell.

In 1972, Richard Nixon signs an Executive Order requiring an Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) management plan for National Parks (this includes Cape Hatteras National Seashore).

Twice since this order, the NPS created an OVR plan - they just never listed in the federal register. By not doing this, the NPS was out of compliance.

It was determined by the Department of the Interior, that the best way to come up with the required plan was through a Negotiated Rule-making process. This involved participants from the local community, the NPS and National Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife, and Southern Environmental Law Center.

In August of 2007, a Federal District Judge ruled against a person cited for reckless driving within the park. The judge made note that ORV's were illegal to drive in Cape Hatteras National Seashore since there was not an ORV plan in place.

Southern Environmental Law Center, representing Defenders of Wildlife and the National Audubon Society recently filed for a preliminary injunction in U. S. District Court requesting that beach driving be banned at the most popular recreational areas of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. April 11, 2008 - the parties involved in the lawsuit (the NPS and the SELC - not the citizens of the USA, NC or even the counties in which the National Seashore resides.) agree in principle to a settlement in the case. On April 29th a consent decree is filed with the judge presiding and on April 30th the judge approves the consent decree. This established the parameters for closures based on bird and turtle nesting. One of the immediate effects is the closure of the beaches from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. Thanks to this, the "sunrise" bite has been blocked.

On May the 8th, the park service, under the conditions of the consent decree, closed access to the beaches due to observed nesting behaviors by some Least Terns.

I consider myself very fortunate to have surf-fished along the Outer-banks of NC and especially "the Point" for over twenty years. I have been blessed to see the sun rise over the ocean while standing waist deep in the surf with a fishing rod in my hand. I think of all the good times I had with my friends, brothers and late father catching fish at this "Mecca" of surf-fishing. As it now stands, once mostly open access has now been restricted. The best places to fish will be closed more often then they will be open. The hours of access will be restricted as well. I will continue to surf-fish along the outer banks, limited as it now is, I will make the best of a bad situation.

What can we do? - Write, email, or fax your newspaper, Congressmen, Senators, the National Park Service, the Department of Interior and anyone else who will listen. Express to them your displeasure with the current circumstances concerning your access to our National Seashore. Be civil, there is no need for harsh or threatening words. Obey the law - just work to change laws that are against what it means to be American.

Tight Lines.


RM CALLAWAY

Fishing for Stripers in the NC Surf - My Observations

Striped Bass or "Rockfish" can be caught in the North Carolina Surf. Generally, these are caught along the Outer Banks in the winter or early spring. The winter-time stripers are best caught from the surf using the infamous "Hatteras Heaver" style rod. These 12 foot rods are needed to cast a lure or piece of cut bait 200 to 300 feet out to sea.
When fishing with a lure, I find that a large Hopkins, a tin squid with a bucktail, or a 1-1/2 to 2 oz leadhead bucktail lure with a plastic tail work for me. Be sure your lure has some weight to it, you'll need this weight to "load" your rod up for a long cast. Fishing for striper using cut bait is much the same as fishing for a big red drum. I like to use a fish finding rig. This is a large circle hook attached to the end of my leader material with a pyramid sinker attached to the leader so that it can slide up and down the the leader freely. This allows for the fish to take the bait without feeling the weight.
The winter time stripers are usualy the big females returning to the Outer Banks after spending the summer up north. They are making a return trip to their spawning waters in the Albermarle sound. To find these fish when working the surf, look for the birds diving and feeding close to shore. Odds are the baitfish there are being pressured by stripers or bluefish. Either way if you can get your lure or bait out there, you increase your odds at hooking up on a fish. The winter time striper along the Outer Banks can be a very big fish, so be prepared to have a real work out when attempting to land the fish. It is not uncommon to hook up with a 30+ pound striper when you catch one that time of year.
The springtime stripers are generally wayward schoolies and only range in the 5 to 20 lbs range. I have had most of my hook-ups on the these while fishing near or in an inlet. Be sure to return these to the water so they can live to fight another angler another day.