The Wondering Southern Boy: "Here Spot, Here Spot" and other thoughts about Fishing the Coast of NC

Residents and visitors in North Carolina are quite fortunate to be in such a great State. No one knows this better than the NC Sportsman. From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Atlantic Coast, there are opportunities to be in the great outdoors and if you are so inclined, to fill your freezer with wild game and fish. One of the most productive times of the year is when the cooler weather comes around and fall arrives. When the kids go back to school and the leaves start to change deer season comes much to my delight, but there is another reason for sportsmen to rejoice in NC, the annual migration of saltwater fish on the coast is well underway.

A little nighttime surf fishing with my son Logan

I love to fish, both fresh and salt water. I love fishing most any time of the year except when it is freezing cold outside. Summer fishing is fun and can be productive, but let's just tell the truth about it, surf fishing in the summer is pretty much an excuse to go to the beach. (as if you really needed an excuse.) Most folks who grew up in the coastal plains of NC will tell you that Fall is the main time of year for coastal fishing. For the most part, Fall is very comfortable weather in our little part of the world. I have referred to it as Goldilocks weather "Not too hot, not too cold, but just right." There are some exceptions of course, the coast of NC is prime fishing waters for off shore bill fish and other trophies sport fisherman dream about during the summer. One way I look at things is there are several different types of salt water fishing and all of them are fun and volumes can be written about each. I don't really have a lot of experience with off shore fishing so I really can't write much about that. I have friends that love it and go several times a year. I even have a life long friend that makes his living as a Captain of an award winning charter sport fishing boat. (My shout out to the Carolina Time). You can fish the rivers, sounds and the Intracoastal Waterway from a smaller boat and do very well also, but due to time and space, we will just limit this conversation to two of the best ways to start the journey of salt water fishing, "surf fishing" and "pier fishing."

Pier fishing and surf fishing were my first experiences with salt water angling that I remember. As a kid my family would take yearly trips to the beach and the whole family would rent a house for the week. I don't mean a small group of folks, I mean the whole clan. All of the Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and "the whole Hee Haw gang" would load up in one house for the week. The women would sun bathe, shop and do other "woman stuff." The men and some of the women including my Grandmother (Na Na Bessie) would fish and not worry about anything but catching the tide right and what was biting. We would fish either in the surf or on the pier, what was biting would dictate where and how we would fish. I remember all of them catching fish, but it seems to stick out in my mind that my Uncle Robert was the standout of the crowd. The fish caught that week would help supply the family fish fry that always came some time after. My family's favorite fish to target were flounder and spots. The family is way to large to all fit into one house and one trip these days. I know that each individual family group still spends a good amount of time down where the map turns blue. My wife and son and I still go down every year with my Mom and Dad and my Sister and spend the week. Its good family bonding time and an excuse for us to "wet a hook or two."

Fishing with Dad

Let's talk about the lowly "Spot" for a moment. For those of you that don't know, the spot is a small fish that is basically in the drum family that has one "spot" on each side just behind the gills that we Southerners go crazy for. They are not particularly hard to catch. They really don't put up a fight. There is no real special fishing technique to speak of. So why do we go nuts over spot fishing every fall? Simple, the spot is one of the best tasting pan fish that God ever put fins on and they can be caught in good numbers. No big secret, not hard to figure out, they just taste that darn good. This is a NC fish fry staple. The spot gets most of the attention on the pier but the often overlooked whiting (Virginia Mullet) is, in my opinion, as good of a pan fish as the spot. I will put either against the much overrated flounder any day. I have started heated arguments with that statement, but I will stand by it. How do you catch a spot? Easy, use a double drop rig that consist of two small hooks, and a lead weight. Use blood worms or common earth worms for bait. Fish off the North (left) side of the pier beyond the breakers. Spots migrate from the Chesapeake Bay area to warm Southern waters in the fall. This funny little fish will not swim under a pier so it is useless to fish for spots on the South side of a pier. They tend to "run" in large schools and, timing is everything. I have been blessed enough to do many kinds of hunting and fishing in my life, but there is something special about being on the pier during a heavy spot run. It usually starts near the breakers and poles start coming up as folks are "setting the hooks" down the line. Almost without fail some redneck (usually me) starts yelling "Here SPOT, Here SPOT!!" like he is calling his lost dog. For the next few minutes folks will be hauling them up one or two at a time. The longest spot run I can remember lasted about 30-45 minutes. Near the beginning or end of the migration it can be hit or miss at best.

And some people still ask, "Why do that call it a Spot?"

Pier fishing can be a great way to catch many other species of fish. King Mackerel, Blues, Red Drum, Black Drum, Pompano, Flounder, and Sheepshead just to name a few. You will see as many different types of fisherman as there are different types of fish. Each fisherman with his or her on specialized gear and ideas of the best techniques. The fishing pier in the fall is loaded with a cross-section of the population of the South. There are no races, sexes or classes of people on the pier, just fisherman. Pier fishing can be enjoyed with very little money tied up in gear, or you can chose to outfit yourself with the most expensive rods and reels out there. As always though there is a down side. There is always one in every crowd that has his butt on his shoulders and cusses and whines every time some one crosses his line or crowds in beside him. When the spots are running, it gets crowded. That's just part of the game and if you get upset by being crowded and are going to make everyone miserable around you.... stay home or better yet take up an indoor sport like solitaire. I remember one fellow showing his rear end one night and made a threat to cut anyone's line that touched his. One lady who looked to be in her mid to late 70's from Robeson County NC told him, "Mr, I paid my money to be out here, just like you. And you can do whatever you want, but if you pull that knife out of your pocket to cut anything but bait, we are going to be one less on this pier tonight." She never even got up off of her bucket she was sitting on and never flinched. Let's just say she took the wind out of his sails and he kept his mouth shut the rest of the night. For the most part, people on the pier are courteous to each other and help each other out.

Kure Beach Pier

My favorite way of fishing from the shore is what is known as "surf fishing." This type of fishing is, as the name suggest, done in the surf from the beach. Typically we fish for flounder, black drum, red drum, blues and pretty much whatever we can get to bite a hook. You can catch spots from the surf, it is very rare, but not impossible. Like pier fishing, it doesn't have to cost a ton of money to outfit yourself, but you can spend as much as you want. It can get expensive if you want really nice gear. I will say that you get what you pay for and if you are really into fishing and want your gear to last, you will need to pay a little more for good gear. Some of the beaches we go to allow you to drive a four wheel drive on the beach. If you can't drive on the beach, a good beach cart is a good investment. There are many different ways to fish from the surf for many different species of fish so it may be wise to start out with someone more experienced and learn from watching, listening, trial and error. During nice weather, a surf fishing trip can make a great family trip even if you are the only one fishing.

One thing I love about this type of fishing is you are not crowded most of the time. There is a bit of an unspoken code that we don't crowd each other. Here are some other rules (written or unwritten). Never set up and intentionally fish near swimmers. Follow your local game and fish laws. This last one should go without saying but some folks think the rules don't apply to them. If you are in a place that allows you to drive on the beach, educate yourself to how you should equip your vehicle, the local rules and regs, and the type of terrain you will encounter. Driving on the sand is different, not hard, just different. You can have $100,000 4WD truck with 44 inch tires and still get stuck if you are an idiot. Remember that almost everything in the ocean can and will hurt you. Equip yourself to handle fish with teeth, sting rays, jelly fish or other critters you may drag up out of the water. A good pair of gloves, tongs/grippers and pliers are a must for any salt water tackle box.

Dad and I at Holden Beach

Fishing like many outdoor activities that I enjoy helps me to unwind. Ancient people who lived near the ocean knew that the sea helps heal many things. I think they were right, but I also believe ocean and the heavy salt air seems to help clean out the soul. I really enjoy spending the day out on the coast alone, with family or good friends even when the fish don't bite. Come ready for the day with plenty of bait, food, water and sun screen. I tell folks all the time that I love to hunt and fish but I'm not great at any of it. I have been lucky a few times and caught a few fish. I have been on trips where I didn't even see a fish all weekend, but I have always brought something home. Every time I go fishing down on the coast of North Carolina, I have brought back memories of time well spent.

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."~Henry David Thoreau