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$79 to Raleigh-Durham

1K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  capt_gordon 
#1 ·
Who's going to the big albie mecca this fall?

Can it be done 'on the cheap' meaning an inflatable kayak to paddle with the tide to inlets and channels where a 120ft cast can reach them?

thanks in advance
 
#2 · (Edited)
A kayak would be destroyed by the run and gun captains blinded by little tunny fever.
It would also be a fairly long paddle out to the hook. Maybe if you camped there? Sounds like fun, but maybe in the long run, staying a couple of days in Moorehead City and going out with a guide would be cheaper and net more fish than a week on the beach. Split it with a friend. Hooking a 15# FA in a kayak would be priceless.
Woah! inflatable!! nooooo. Stand on the hook and surf cast. Take the shuttle out. Stay at Caliko Jack's (grim:( ).
 
#3 ·
Juro, I would advise pretty strongly against the inflatable kayak. It might be of some use inside the hook, but if the fish are in there then it's bound to be a zoo with all the other boats. Anywhere else the current can really get ripping, and it's not a place I'd want to be in a kayak.

It can be done on the cheap by taking the ferry out and fishing from shore on the hook, but it's VERY hit or miss. I've posted reports from amazing trips I've taken down there, but I also know folks that have gone down and spent a solid week fishing from shore without even getting a shot at an albie.

You could also look into renting a boat for a day- compared to boating up here it's pretty easy going down there, people seem to be a bit more relaxed in general(although I've heard this is changing as more people from up north trailer their boats down), and the navigation is quite a bit simpler, in most cases the worst you have to worry about is sandbars.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the reply.

I probably should've been more explanatory, my objective would be to stake out a shoreline structure that has adequate flow and bait concentration to attract large hardtails to be fished from shore with the new beach rods. The yak would only be used to reach these structures, so it's specifically a shore flyfishing gig for me. I recall an unreliable ferry service mentioned last year, will have to search that up. But the inflatable is so compact it would be a waste not to bring it.

With a standard line, I am throwing 120' (including leader) and with a matched shooting head and 120' of running line using a large stripping basket I should be able to add a significant distance on top of that, maybe 140-150 feet total if the wind is not in my face and good lord willing and all that. Also, these rods are made to tangle with big fish so it would be a great test. I've been landing stripers in the 15#-30# class thru the season on them since the spring migration without a problem, I would like to test them on some speedsters bigger than the small ones we find up here, if I can pull it off.

Maybe a better approach is to drive down with my pickup loaded to the hilt with gear. Although time is lost, money is short because I will be able to bring everything I need to camp in total comfort.

The key question is whether there is a good shoreline fishery for these big hardtails, anything similar to the Vineyard or Nantucket would be worth the drive for me to put the Atlantis rods to the hardtail test.

Maybe a '03 farewell tour with stops along the famous coastline haunts is in order. This would make the drive reasonable between fishing spots and the fishing is very good along the way in November. That's probably the best way to do it on the 'cheap'.
 
#5 ·
Eddie -

You're making a few assumptions here. I am only interested in shore fishing as a trial for beach rods. As I mentioned, no interest in fishing from a yak or a boat for that matter only as a means of getting around inside. I interact with tides constantly and understand how to work with verses against them very, very well. I see your point though, it wouldn't be a game for everyone.

I would've just spent some time on the islands around here, but the fish are really too small up here for what I want to test. Casting distance and time of the fly in the water is already well tested, I want to feel something with incredible speed on them and I want to reach them from shore.


Eddie said:
A kayak would be destroyed by the run and gun captains blinded by little tunny fever.
It would also be a fairly long paddle out to the hook. Maybe if you camped there? Sounds like fun, but maybe in the long run, staying a couple of days in Moorehead City and going out with a guide would be cheaper and net more fish than a week on the beach. Split it with a friend. Hooking a 15# FA in a kayak would be priceless.
Woah! inflatable!! nooooo. Stand on the hook and surf cast. Take the shuttle out. Stay at Caliko Jack's (grim:( ).
 
#6 ·
In my limmited experience, the shore fishermen seem to stake out on the same 100yd. stretch just inside the hook. They wait all day for a couple of shots. I respect their resolve, but it seems like the payoff could be VERY small. I'm under the impression that shore guys don't move around that much. I'm not sure that there would be much advantage. The fish move around so fast, one might be better off staying in one place and letting the fish come to them. That 100yd. stretch is probably as good as it gets.
As for the kayak, it's one long beach. You could walk almost as fast as you could paddle, only to see them blow up where you just left.
It takes about 30 nin. to motor out to the hook. I would hate to have to paddle that distance in an inflatable.
Others with more experience could correct me, I would be happy to be proven wrong.
Juro, Montauk is blowing up right now. It could be the perfect place for your goals. As for the roosterfish, I know some spots in Baja that would be perfect.
 
#7 ·
Eddie -

Thanks that's great advice. The shore game sounds pretty limited, at least as far as common knowledge goes.

I've been thinking Montauk since Mikes and Penguin's reports and it's a heck of a lot closer albeit the funny fish aren't very big it's a perfect casting challenge.

As you know I have been obsessing over the roosterfish... might be just as well to stick to the striper game, save my money up for a nice trip with the wife down to Cabo or something. I don't think I'd have to twist her arm too hard.

In any case I am jonesin' for a big beach / big fish situation! The migration seems to have been stalled along the outer cape. The canal is gettting a lot of fish and there's lots of fish on the north shore still, the outer beaches were strangely quiet last time out... but I have a feeling it's the calm before the storm and as the spring migration was late, the fall will be too.
 
#8 ·
J,

If you call the Harker's Island Fishing Center they can hook you up with a ferry service to the outside - they used to advertise that they ran one themselves. People cap out there as well.

Or drop Capt. Nugent a line - he will be down there & I'm sure they woud drop you off at the hook.

As mentioned - if the fish are in that area & you are in a yak - you will become albie chum! :eyecrazy:

Good luck,

Roop
 
#9 ·
Juro- The ferry services(except for HIFC, whose captain regularly ditched work), at least in my experience, were reasonably reliable in that if they said they'd bring you out or pick you up then they'd be there. My only complaint was with their timing, ferrys were sometimes an hour or so late leaving in the moring and about the same amount of time early coming back in the evening- making for a fairly short day out there.

If you were going to try to make it out with the kayak I think it'd be a long, but doable, paddle. It wouldn't really make sense unless you were camping, and in that case you'd be better off with the ferry anyway.

It is legal to camp out on the hook(with a free permit), it's just a bit of a pain. Picture camping on the dunes at monomoy- sand gets everywhere, and if it's windy, things can get pretty unpleasant. I spent a couple of nights out there convinced that the tent was going to implode from the winds.
 
#10 ·
As has been stated before the beach fishing is fairly unreliable but it does come off sometimes. Right now things are not looking too impressive with a few hit and miss schools some days but most days nothing.

It is conceivable that you could chill at my crib if you give me enough notice. I live in Beaufort. There is often a good run of fish in Beaufort Inlet. You just never know. You could fish off of Ft Macon Jetty or from Shackleford Point. Ft Macon you can drive to and Shackleford you need a boat (there is a RELIABLE ferry at the town dock). You can also rent a nice kayak in Beaufort. It's not too long of a paddle to the inlet beach from town (not short either). I have caught fish from the beach at both places.

If you fish at Cape Lookout there are two ways to do it. As mentioned above, many folks choose to stick in one spot all day and that can work. There is also good beach structure all along there from the hook to the point and beyond and I have caught fish from my boat all along there in water that was so shallow that the fish landed on dry land when they were feeding.

I am pretty sure I can help you out in whatever fashion you need. I have scaled back my albie charters to only take out folks I know and that has left me more time to fish on my own.
 
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