Brunswick Beacon review of my Surf and Saltwater fishing book

BY SARAH SUE INGRAM
BEACON CORRESPONDENT

What kind of fish likes to bite bait on gold hooks?

Is the summer or southern flounder caught most often in our inshore waters?

Which fish’s hormones give it the color of its belly?

The answers to these and many more questions can be found in the new book “Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas” by Beacon fishing columnist Jeffrey Weeks.

The 177-page, soft-cover book is a quick and easy read, and Weeks’ enthusiasm for fishing becomes contagious—as if we needed any more encouragement to grab a hook and line.

What anglers need is an angle (all puns intended) to catch more of our favorite fish, and this book has good tips.

The book has chapters on how to target flounder, red drum, speckled trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, pompano, spot, croaker, black drum, sea mullet and sheepshead.

He has 20 other chapters of useful information such as using scented soft baits, winter fishing, night fishing, surf-fishing tips, pier-fishing tips and taking a kid fishing.

Read more:

Charlie the Tuna won't like 'Surf and Saltwater Fishing,' anglers will

Easy Carolina recipes for king mackerel

King mackerel are a prized gamefish along warm southern saltwater coasts due to their fighting ability and the fact that they come right up to the beach.

Both boat and pier saltwater anglers love to grapple with king mackerel, and there are many tournaments held this time of the year.

See the recent fishing article King mackerel champs warm up by catching wahoo

King mackerel are also a very tasty fish if prepared correctly. They can be steaked and grilled, as well as broiled, baked, and fried.

Easy Carolina king mackerel recipes

Charlotte sportsfishing club brings local anglers together

If you are a saltwater fishing enthusiast in the Charlotte area then you probably want to join the Charlotte Offshore Sportsfishing Club. The long-running club has a grand tradition which brings together Charlotte-area anglers who share a love of surf, inshore and offshore saltwater fishing.

“Charlotte is a long way to the coast so access to a local saltwater fishing club helps satisfy the fishing itch,” says member Craig Birchfield. “Beer, buddies and fishing tales on a Wednesday eve, good stuff.”

The Charlotte Offshore Sportfishing Club is a nonprofit family organization which meets the second Wednesday of each month at The Captains Galley on 11032 East Independence Boulevard in Matthews, NC.

Charlotte saltwater fishing club brings local anglers together

Easy seafood recipes for live blue crabs and lobsters

Here are three very simple seafood recipes for preparing live lobster or blue crabs. Included are Maine Easy Boiled Lobster, Carolina Easy Boiled Blue Crab, and Lowcountry Easy Steamed Blue Crab. The first one is obviously borrowed from northen cookbooks, the last two are traditional Carolina seafood recipes.

You can find live lobsters at many Charlottte area grocery stores these days. Live blue crabs can be obtained from seafood markets on the southeastern NC coast or by crabbing for them yourself in the lowcountry inshore waters.

Easy seafood recipes for live blue crabs and lobsters

King mackerel tourney champs warm up by catching wahoo

The day before they won last weekend’s 2011 Fall Brawl king mackerel tournament out of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center, Captain Keith Logan of Feeding Frenzy Charters along with Ryan Bright of Dallas, TX and Scott Smith of Charlotte headed out to the Gulf Stream looking to first hook up with the king’s rowdy cousin, the mighty wahoo.

King mackerel get all the glory in the fall along the Carolina border, as anglers line up for tournaments that showcase the South’s premier saltwater sportfish. But offshore anglers should not forget that there is another member of the mackerel family out there which can get bigger and go faster than the mightiest king mackerel

King mackerel tourney champs warm up by catching wahoo

Carolina seafood chowder and gumbo recipes for Fall

Fall in the Carolinas means it’s time to put the seafood chowder or gumbo on the stove. The autumn wind starts to bite and the kids need nutritious meals, as the school year begins to stretch and they participate in that last burst of recreational and outdoors activity before the winter hits.

There are also family gatherings and holidays, and Carolina seafood chowders and gumbos are a great alternative to traditional holiday meals and a great way to feed a lot of people in that downhome style.

There are many Carolina seafood chowder and gumbo recipes. You can choose one below or find a lot more choices on my Surf and Salt soups and chowders webpage. Some of my favorites are in this article:


Fall Carolina seafood chowder and gumbo recipes

New Review by the Cary Citizen for for Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas!

Book review by Matt Young.

Cary, NC – File this one in the “short drive from Cary” category.

As Cary-dwellers, we are walking or driving distance from great places to fish in North Carolina.

The biggest pond nearby is well, the Atlantic Ocean. We are a little more than a 3 hour drive from the Outer Banks and just a couple of hours a way from Wilmington and the southern barrier islands. The fish species bounty is as vast as the ocean. And so are the “types” of fishing.

Surf? Pier? Canal? Deep sea? Marsh? Brackish? The choices are many. And every excursion presents new questions about type of bait, what is biting, type of tackle, when to fish and a hundred other questions.

Local author Jeffrey Weeks boils the  North Carolina saltwater fishing experience down to 175 pages.

New Review for Surf and Inshore Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas by the Cary Citizen

OCP sunset photo by Bob Collins

October 2011 sunset pic from the Ocean Crest Pier taken by my friend Bob Collins.

Hot Carolina spot fishing on the Sea View Pier

Spot fishing has been recently hot on some of the coastal Carolina piers and anglers are rushing down to the coast to get in on the action. Spot are a tasty panfish of the sea the really put on big runs during the fall when they are targeted by saltwater anglers.

Due to their hormones in the autumn they sport bright yellow colors on their underbellies which has given them the traditional local name of ‘yellow-bellied’ spot.

And when the yellow-bellied spot are running, you want to be there.

Hot Fall Carolina spot fishing on the Sea View Pier

Got a great book review from Capt Gordon Churchill!

Capt. Gordon Book Review: Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas 

Buy Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas Now from Amazon.com for $10

How to rig Gulp saltwater shrimp for inshore saltwater fishing

Today's inshore anglers have a big advantage over the fishermen in the past due the wide availability of synthetic baits, whose realism and scent has made artificial lures so life-like fish actually will hit them more aggressively than the real thing.

The leader in this rapidly growing market is the Berkley company out of Iowa. Berkley Gulp baits are the number one lures for prime inshore saltwater fish like speckled trout, redfish, flounder, and bluefish.

They also work on a lot of other aggressive inshore species such as snook, Spanish mackerel, striped bass and big pompano.

To learn how to rig and fish them read on:

How to Use Gulp Saltwater Shrimp for Inshore Fishing

Carolina fishing tips for catching sea mullet

It's fall and Carolina saltwater anglers are pulling in plenty of nice sea mullet from our local piers and beaches. Sea mullet are a great tasting panfish that is rarely targeted directly but is a wonderful catch for folks bottom fishing or fishing for fall spot or red drum.

Sea mullet, also called whiting or kingfish, are an important food and small game species along the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico. There are three different species that overlap in places, but all look similar and are caught by identical methods.

Fall fishing tips for catching sea mullet

Yes Carolina fishermen, bluefish are good to eat!

Bluefish get more love from anglers than from cooks, especially in the south. Carolina saltwater fishermen love to catch them, but many don’t believe they are good eating and are just a feisty sport fish.

Bluefish of all sizes are caught by fishermen in the Carolinas on Gotcha-style pencil plugs with red headed models being the most popular, as well as fresh bloody cut bait fished on bottom rigs. They put up a terrific fight and you’d better watch your fingers once they are out of the water!

Yes Carolina anglers, bluefish are good to eat!

SE Carolina fishing report: redfish in creeks, flounder, blues, spot

Fall Carolina inshore saltwater fishing is in full swing on the southeastern NC coast, with all of its usual shifting winds, occasional rainstorms, heavy tides, and hit and miss fishing. Fortunately that also means a ton of moving mullet schools, shrimp, and crabs in the water and a lot of nice bait and choices for anglers.

 Photo courtesy Captain Smiley Fishing Charters

As has been the case since the summer started, fishing is strong for red drum inshore and out at the jetties. Redfish are following finger mullet schools as they make their way around rocks, bridges, docks, and in and out of creeks. The Little River Jetties are not producing as many big red drum as they were a few weeks ago, but there are still plenty of redfish between 16 and 28 inches.

LOTS more, continue reading the report:

SE Carolina fishing report: redfish in creeks, flounder, blues, spot

Try the Penn Conquer rod and reel combo for Carolina inshore fishing

When you are planning for fall Carolina inshore fishing, consider using the Penn Conquer rod and reel combo as your go-to speckled trout, flounder, striper, and redfish solution.

As we prepare for the fall fishing season in the Carolinas many inshore saltwater anglers are buying their fishing gear.

You probably already know what fishing tackle you want…you know, those flashy MirrOlures, soft scented Gulp baits, and sparkling redfish spoons. But do you have the right rod and reel combo to throw those lures?

Try the Penn Conquer rod and reel combo for Carolina inshore fishing

Fantastic fall sea trout recipes

Speckled trout are a type of sea trout, not really related to freshwater trout at all but members of the saltwater family that also includes red drum and croaker. They are very popular inshore saltwater fish in the Carolinas.

Like their freshwater namesakes, speckled trout are noted for their excellence on the table.
You can also use the northern cousin of the speckled trout, the weakfish (or gray trout) in these recipes.

Weakfish are the other major type of sea trout on the Atlantic Coast but they don't occur south of the Carolinas.

For more on catching and cooking sea trout check out my new book Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas.

Fantastic fall Carolina sea trout recipes

Tips for using Gulp saltwater shrimp for speckled trout and redfish

Today's inshore anglers have a big advantage over the fishermen in the past due the wide availability of synthetic baits, whose realism and scent has made artificial lures so life-like fish actually will hit them more aggressively than the real thing.

The leader in this rapidly growing market for anglers is the Berkley company out of Iowa. Berkley Gulp baits are the number one lures for prime inshore saltwater fish like speckled trout, redfish, flounder, and bluefish. They also work on a lot of other aggressive inshore species such as snook, Spanish mackerel, striped bass and big pompano.

Tips for using Gulp saltwater shrimp for speckled trout and redfish

Fall Carolina seafood recipes

Fall is a great time for Carolina seafood. The shrimp is fresh, the anglers are catching fish right out of the ocean, and the seafood markets have a great bounty.

Local Carolina seafood lovers can catch their own or buy seafood at the market. Local seafood markets will be better than grocery stores, which will be better than big retail stores. Get your Carolina seafood as fresh as you can.

For tips on catching and cooking carolina seafood check out my new book Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas

Meanwhile, try one of these tasty Carolina seafood recipes for dinner tonight:

Fall Carolina fresh seafood recipes

Sunset Beach flounder and redfish fishing getting better

The first fall cool fronts have moved through the Carolinas and with them better fishing has come our way. A lot of nice flounder are being caught right now, along with those ever-reliable redfish. Pier fishing is still off and on with occasional spot showing up and some kings having been decked.

The big news is the flounder bite around Sunset Beach. Lots of flounder are around structure inshore, around the inlets, and in the surf near the piers. I’ve gotten a lot of questions about the flounder bite so I decided to let you in on how I helped one angler.

Sunset Beach fall flounder fishing getting better