Another bumpy day (but we got it done)
Agosto 24, 2019
Hampstead
2 fotos
Trip Summary
Trip Summary
Saturday, 8/24 was another day that defied the weatherman! Reports called for light winds from the southwest, but first light saw a steady breeze out of the north and east. Heading out of Topsail Inlet, it didn't seem too bad, but the further we got from shore, the more that wind impacted the chop, which was running perpendicular to the swell.
The target was to start off at about 18-20 miles and hope for a suicidal dolphin or big king, but the rough seas changed my mind and we held up on some artificial reef at about 8 miles from the beach. Got lines out, fishing king rigs with frozen Spanish sardines (if anyone is wondering... cigar minnows are hard to find this summer), when we saw the first big bait ball ripping up the choppy surface.
On our first pull past the bait, the top line went off and I could tell right away we were on a good king. Our first fisherman, Erich, was up. After a pretty solid fight, he had the fish alongside, and I put the gaff in and made it final. Solid fish, probably a little north of 20 lbs. Best of all, though, it was Erich's first offshore fish! High fives all around.
Just as we got that one in the cooler, the other top line went off. This time it was Russel's turn. He managed to get the fish turned and coming to the boat, but then he got caught up in the flat line and in the confusion, the king threw the hook.
Seas increased steadily after that, and before long it was too rough to be fun and the fish stopped cooperating. We headed inshore and fished along the beach for Spanish mackerel. It took a minute to hit the action, but when we did, it was fun! Not a lot of big fish, but a lot of action for a while anyway.
Wrapped up a good day with a scenic run up the Intracoastal Waterway back to the dock.