The real fishermen that might catch this post know that fishing on the coast often is at its peak in the fall. I've been dreaming of a fall fishing trip to the North Carolina coast for years. Work has always gotten in the way. This year there seemed to be a little break in pace of things towards the end of October.
I sent a note to Captain Tom Roller of Waterdog Guide Service in Beaufort, NC. He said he could take me out either Friday morning or afternoon, October 28. Knowing that my wife and oldest daughter would likely enjoy sleeping in the first day of our trip, I picked the morning. The weather even looked good when I picked it. Of course weather never stays the same.
Captain Roller agreed to pick me up on the dock at the Beaufort Inn at 6:30 am. I always get excited before a trip like this. The knowledge that it might be one of those unforgettable days catching fish makes it hard to sleep. I was up by 5:20 am and had a hearty breakfast of nabs and a coke. There's actually not a lot of choice at that time of the morning when you're in a hotel room. As soon as I had rolled out of bed I stuck my nose out to check the weather, and it didn't look good. There was a steady rain and gusty winds.
About 6:15 am I made my way out to the car and grabbed my rain parka. Unfortunately I had neglected to bring any rain pants. As I was sitting on a dry bench watching the dock for Captain Roller's Jones Brothers Skiff, I started wondering if I was absolutely crazy. It was about fifty degrees and the wind was gusting over 20 mph. Before I had time to come to my senses, Captain Roller slid up to dock, and the adventure began.
We made a short trip out into the marshes and starting fishing. It wasn't long before we started catching some serious fish. The speckled trout came first. There were three beautiful ones just under four pounds each and a number of smaller ones. Then a few really nice flounder started mixing in with the trout. Finally the puppy red drum starting hitting. They were absolutely gorgeous, some with an iridescent blue on the ends of their tails. I caught so many puppy drum that I lost count and returned all of them safely back to the waters so they could fight again. We kept a few trout and some flounder for eating.
Captain Roller tells me that I got an inshore slam by catching keeper size trout, flounder, and puppy drum. All I know is that I had the best half day of fishing in my life.
It only stopped raining and blowing long enough for us to take a few pictures before heading back to the dock, but as far as I was concerned the sun was shining the whole time, and things couldn't have been better. Of course I have to admit to spending a long time in a hot shower once I got back. My jeans and tennis shoes were soaked, but I'll never forget what a great time I had.
When I told my wife, what a fantastic trip she had missed, I suggested that she might want to consider joining us the next outing. She looked at me like I had lost all my marbles. Then she said that fishing in the rain and wind at fifty degrees Fahrenheit would not be her first choice even if she didn't have to get up before six to do it.
Apparently my wife and our daughter had slept until 8:30 am, had a leisurely breakfast which included the Beaufort Inn's famous Katie's Breakfast Pie and then had wandered through the shops in Beaufort. They had even driven the car the short distance to the shops so they wouldn't get wet.
Some people just don't know how to have fun. However, she did seem to enjoy the fresh trout that I cooked Sunday night and the fresh flounder we had for lunch today.
That certainly won't be my last fall trip for fishing in Beaufort. I hope the weather is just as good the next time.
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I noticed the post on ncwaterman.com and found your blog here. Sounds like we both love to fish the Beaufort area. I have a friend who has a house on Harker's Island and was down there 4 weekends ago. We caught some nice puppy drum, all an inch shy of the slot. Your trip sounds like you had a great day. I can't wait to get down there again, hopefully when the albacore come in. Anyway I commented because I go to VT and miss the NC coast like no other. NC is my home. It is one special place isn't it? Just thought I'd leave you a post since we are in the same area, thought it was a great example of what a small world we live in. Thomas
Posted by: Thomas | November 01, 2005 at 05:31 PM
Thomas,
Thanks for the comment. It's a smaller world than you think. I'm out at Va. Tech on a regular basis. I'm doing consulting for the National Lambda Rail dark fiber network and the Mid-Atlantic Terascale Project. Virginia Tech is a big part of both efforts. I'm actually living in Roanoke because of Va. Tech. After we moved down from Canada, and I transferred from Apple Canada to Apple USA, I eventually ended covering Virginia Tech from our home in Columbia, MD. That was a pretty long commute so eventually Apple moved me to Roanoke. President Steeger was Dean of the College of Architecture back in the eighties when I started coming to Blacksburg.
I have a couple of friends out in the area who also love to fish the Carolina Coast.
It is a very special place. In spite of the mistreatment the planet has received the marshes down there remain one of the great marine resources on the east coast. We just took our daughter up to Harker's Island while we were there. It was pretty damp. I guess they've had about 25 inches of rain in the last six weeks or so. Next trip I promised to take her over to Cape Lookout which is one of my most favorite places on earth.
You might like this post.
http://viewfromthemountain.typepad.com/david_sobotta_weblog/2005/06/the_best_twenty.html
And this album of Southern Outer Banks photos on my Flickr page.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ocracokewaves/sets/621806/
Hang in there college will be over in the blink of an eye.
Good luck if you get to go down this fall. I hope you have as great a time as I did. What I really hope is that we take care of SOBX so that we can be having a conversation about the great fishing twenty years from now.
Posted by: ocracokewaves | November 01, 2005 at 05:55 PM
For me it is not just about catching the fish but also about experiencing the quiet beauty of the river and the surrounding environment. It is such a relief after the crazy fast paced life of the modern world. No pollution, no traffic jams and no people! Do not get me wrong I am a real people person but it is so relaxing just sitting back on the edge of a river and fishing.
Posted by: steven davies | July 06, 2007 at 10:30 AM
I would have to agree with you. We just got a boat to do more fishing, and hopefully catch some bigger ones, but often the most enjoyable times are when we are just anchored and nothing is biting.
We just took a wonderful trip up the White Oak River, but there was not much room to fish from the edge of the river.
http://coastalnc.org/uptheriver/
It was a beautiful spot. We even found out how to drive there so we could check it out from the land.
There was plenty of parking at Haywood Landing and no crowd there.
http://viewfromthemountain.typepad.com/oncearestonresident/2007/07/the-reston-park.html
I recently enjoyed this sunset from my Kayak.
http://coastalnc.org/neatwhiteoaksunset
It was very relaxing, and I haven't been catching very many fish.
Posted by: ocracokewaves | July 06, 2007 at 11:59 AM