Alex Anderson of Montpellier, Virginia, and Steel Caricofe of Weyers Cave, Virginia, with a croaker they caught on the Southport City Pier Wednesday morning.

Alex Anderson of Montpellier, Virginia, and Steel Caricofe of Weyers Cave, Virginia, with a croaker they caught on the Southport City Pier Wednesday morning.

After not receiving more than brief showers for several months, southeastern N.C. had baked into moderate drought status, with salt water working its way up the Cape Fear River to above Wilmington.

We were desperate for rain, and when it came it rained so hard and so often it was creating flash flooding and running off into the creeks and rivers before it could help much. Finally, after several weeks of scattered downpours, we have emerged from most of the drought issues and back to a rating of Abnormally Dry, which is pretty common for summer. Fishermen and others who enjoy being outdoors are hoping the break of several days in the rain and thunderstorms is a sign of moderation.

This week’s early weather forecast includes a substantial reduction in rain and thunderstorms, at least until the weekend. However, nothing is totally without mitigating factors and this week’s issue is wind. There was a break in the wind over the weekend, but that followed winds brisk enough that one day of fishing was canceled in an Edisto, S.C., billfish tournament and no boats ventured out the first two days of a Morehead City billfish tournament.

Now, the early forecast includes generally southwest winds of 15 knots and higher through Friday. Those winds only fall out to 10-15 over the weekend, and thunderstorms return to the forecast through at least early next week. Most fishermen don’t mind light to steady rain as long as there isn’t thunder or lightning. You just get wet in rain. On the flip side, lightning is dangerous and wind makes the water rough. Maybe rain, at least rain without the often accompanying thunderstorms, is the lesser of these issues?

Continuing the oddities of the summer of 2022, for the third week the National Hurricane Center Map (www.nhc.noaa.gov) is clear and the National Hurricane Center says they don’t see any potential cyclone formation in the Atlantic for at least five days. Mike’s Weather Page (www.spaghettimodels.com) agrees in the five-day window, but said the EURO Model has been sniffing around a wave at the African Coast for a few days and over the weekend the GFS Model began showing it also. They believe the amount of Saharan dust in the atmosphere will hold off any strengthening for a while and that they should know more as it approaches the lesser Antilles around the end of the month.

ICAST, the International Convention of the Allied Sportfishing Trades, was held last week in Orlando, Florida. This is where the fishing tackle and accessory manufacturers first show their new products for the coming year, plus any tweaks in the current line. The American Sportfishing Association sponsors ICAST and said the show had grown from last year and was an indication things are going well in the fishing and related businesses. There is a report below.

Temperatures and humidity remain in the danger zone. Please take preparing for them seriously. There were reports of several folks “falling out” at different outdoor events last week and we need to avoid this. Fishing is relaxing – when done right, but fishermen are exposed to heat and sun.

When you are going fishing – or doing any other outside work or activity – dress and prepare for the extreme heat. It’s really pretty easy and a good habit to form. There are many tech materials for hot weather clothing and some even repel insects. Buy and wear sun protective clothing, plus a wide brim hat, sunglasses and reapply sun screen every couple of hours.

Water is the key to staying hydrated, so drink lots of water. An occasional sports drink or two will help with replacing electrolytes, but shouldn’t be a steady diet. Avoid soft drinks and adult beverages as they don’t help hydration and may actually deplete your body of needed fluids. Prepare, protect yourself and don’t take chances.

The Oak Island Recreation Department has been holding a series of Surf Fishing Seminars throughout the summer and will continue them into the fall. The next one is this weekend, July 29 and 30. More information on these events is available below or by calling 910-278-5518.

Now that it’s summer and the weather is nice, more people are getting out fishing. When you catch those big fish, think about emailing pictures of them to us at sports@stateportpilot.com or captjerry@captjerry.com. This report will be coming weekly through Thanksgiving. Scales and Tales always welcomes pictures and fishing reports from readers. If you had a great fishing trip and or have a picture of a fish that makes you smile, send the picture and some details on the trip. We look forward to highlighting outstanding reader catches.

The weather has been on replay for the past several weeks and the combination of thunderstorms and wind has kept a lot of fishermen off the water. The early forecast for this week has a few dry days, but also a lot of wind. With more dry days the water is clearing and there should be some inside fish moving to and through spots that are protected from the wind – once you get there.

I received a few comments in the past couple of weeks about how the river can be calm and then get rough quickly or be rough and calm quickly, so here’s a tip for figuring that out. Our predominant summer wind is from the southwest and this blows up the river. The river will be roughest when the tide is falling against a southwest wind and much calmer when the tide is rising. Our predominant winter wind is from the northeast, which blows down the river, and the river will be roughest when the tide is rising and calmer on the falling tide.

I understand and appreciate that boaters without local knowledge should follow the buoys and markers in the river. Unfortunately, when it is rough, it is roughest in the channel. The channel in the Cape Fear River is for the ships and no small fishing boats require 40 feet of water. The current will be less and the river not as rough on the sides out of the channel. Don’t go busting through this unmarked water running fast the first time, but make a few slower runs and watch your depth sounder to see how you can get out of the nastiest conditions, but still be comfortable in 4-6 feet of water. This knowledge will help the comfort of your ride greatly on windy days or when a sudden wind surprises you.

With the wind and concerns about rapidly appearing thunderstorms, many fishermen have stayed inside the inlets this week. The good news is there are fish to be caught, but the bad news is they can be hard to locate at times. The water is gradually clearing after all the rainwater runoff and some places are clearing faster than others. Cleaner water is usually more productive, but there are exceptions.

The number one exception to cleaner water is water that is holding a lot of bait. Even if other conditions aren’t in their preferred range, fish will hold where there is an abundance of food. There are odd bends and pockets throughout the creeks and marshes that seem to always hold bait. These are good places to begin fishing – and some days you never move.

When fishing in dirty water, noise and scent help fish locate your lures or baits. Scent simply should smell like food. The sound must be something that isn’t too loud or irritating, like the rhythmic click of a rattle as a bait is worked. The rhythmic splash of a topwater lure sometimes helps, but we must remember that trout and drum generally move to feeding below the surface once the sun gets up in the sky a bit.

Sometimes you’ll get a weak pass that misses a topwater later in the day. Don’t give up on that fish or waste time trying to convince it to hit a topwater. Quickly cast a suspending or sinking lure to the same spot and you’ll often get a stronger strike and a hookup. Many redfish tournament fishermen use this technique will good success.

There have been some good mixed catches of speckled trout and red drum, but they aren’t everywhere. The fishermen catching them regularly have been reluctant to share much information, but gave a couple of tidbits for this week. The first is that they are fishing live baits, primarily shrimp, suspended under a float. The second is to let the float carry the bait beyond your normal drift.

They said everything in the water likes to eat shrimp and I agree. The key is getting the shrimp to where the fish are on that particular day. Sometimes the fish don’t return to the exact same place or maybe the tide is moving slower or faster than normal. By allowing your bait to drift farther, you may find the fish are farther down the bank. It would be a shame to give up on a spot when the fish were just 10 yards farther down the bank or at the other end of an oyster rock.

Don’t forget the inshore standards and check creek mouths, points, oyster rocks, sand or mud bars, docks and anything else that concentrates and/or interrupts the current. Trout generally like water a little deeper, drum will feed in water so shallow they sometimes show their backs and flounder season doesn’t open until September 1.

There weren’t any local reports from offshore this week. I believe it’s safe to say the offshore bottom fish are there and will be biting once the sea conditions allow getting out to them. Some black sea bass, grunts and porgys have been caught in water shallower than 100 feet, but many of the black sea bass are too short to keep. Fishermen traveling to more than 100 feet of water should find these, plus beeliners, triggerfish, grouper and more.

With all the offshore water warmer than 80 degrees, dolphin and sailfish have broken away from the Gulf Stream and are occasionally being caught while feeding with king mackerel. There are more dolphin following the kings than sailfish, but one sailfish trumps several dolphin. The kings have been found pretty consistently around rocks, wrecks and reefs in roughly 60 feet of water. Fishermen have been enjoying better success by slow-trolling live baits, but have also caught kings and a few dolphin while trolling dead baits.

Closer in, fishermen are catching Spanish mackerel. The action has been a little more consistent off the west end of Oak Island as the water is cleaner there, but fishermen are also finding them scattered along the island to the Cape Fear River Ship Channel. Small shiny lures and jigs trolled or retrieved quickly have been catching Spanish macks well.

Pier and surf fishing has been slow and most fishermen attribute it to the dirty water. The water is hot too – and that doesn’t help. When clear water moves in, fishermen catch a few Spanish macks, but the action has mainly been small croakers, black drum and a few bluefish. Fishermen on the piers down the coast in S.C. and up the coast at Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Island are seeing cleaner water and have caught more Spanish and a few kings. Fishermen are eternal optimists and believe the local pier and surf fishing will improve once the hard rains slow a bit and the water clears.

There are a few reports of ladyfish and tripletail being caught in the lower river. These are summer visitors from farther south and they are welcome. Ladyfish are welcome for their hard runs and acrobatic jumps, while tripletail fight hard and taste good.

Scales and Tales runs each week through Thanksgiving and we like to fill the page with pictures from readers. Send those pictures of you smiling wide and holding your latest catch to us at sports@stateportpilot.com or captjerry@captjerry.com. Include a few details of your catch and we’ll gladly share them with all our readers.

NOTE: Size and number regulations for all coastal species may be found in the Hot Topic links at the top right of the Division of Marine Fisheries home page at www.ncdmf.net. This page also has links to DMF news releases and fishery proclamations. There are provisions on each of these pages to register to receive e-mail notification of fishery management issues and changes.

ICAST (the International Convention of the Allied Sportfishing Trades) was held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, with several special events at other area locations, the week of July 18-22. ICAST is the annual gathering of sportfishing related manufacturers to show their lines and highlight products being introduced for the coming year. ICAST is produced by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and exceeded their expectations with more than 12,000 exhibitors, buyers and media members attending the event to showcase and see the widest array of fishing gear, tackle, accessories and apparel available under a single roof. It was indeed the industry’s largest trade show for the year.

The ASA is made up of more than 800 member companies and organizations who share a stake in promoting sportfishing for community and commerce and ASA President, Glenn Hughes said, “The show was fantastic. The show exceeded our expectations, and most importantly exceeded exhibitors’ expectations. Everyone I spoke with said how wonderful the show was and how the energy is as good as it has ever been. The fishing tackle industry is alive and well and looking strong for the future.”

“When you think about it, the fishing industry is born out of ideas,” said ASA Chairman of the Board Jesse Simpkins, VP of Marketing, St. Croix Rods. “At ICAST, there are new products and new ideas at every booth. This is the best place to showcase them. Most of the major retailers already have meetings set up with the big guys when they come here, but they’re also looking for that 10x10 booth that may have a unique product they can blow up into the next multimillion dollar seller.”

For 2022, 73 countries, all 50 states and Puerto Rico were represented at ICAST. The show floor was very busy, with exhibitors reporting back-to-back meetings and shoulder-to-shoulder attendance at their booths. There was also an increase in companies participating in the ICAST On-The-Water-Product-Demo-Day and in the New Product Showcase.

The On-The-Water-Product-Demo-Day, was held on Tuesday. This day is for companies to have samples of their latest and greatest ideas outside and on the water for ICAST attendees to try out. This began a few years ago and has become larger and more popular each year.

ICAST featured Friday as Youth Angler Development Day and opened the doors to high school fishing clubs affiliated with Major League Fishing and B.A.S.S. to give them an inside look at the business side of sportfishing. Designed to showcase job opportunities within the fishing industry, ASA’s partnership with the two largest grassroots bass fishing organizations on the planet was designed to show the young anglers that there are careers in sales, marketing, tech, product development and logistics in the sportfishing industry.

The New Product Showcase is a highlight of ICAST. This is where companies showcase their new products in 30 categories and buyers and media folks vote on what is best in the show in each category and overall. It is considered an honor to top a category and the overall “Best of Show” award gives “King of the Hill” recognition and bragging rights. This year 565 exhibitors entered more than 900 new products in the New Product Showcase.

Thirty manufacturers earned “Best of Category” awards and an Alaskan startup company won the coveted “Best of Show” award.

It was a brand-new idea that became the signature story of this year’s show. In their first visit to ICAST, PacBak earned the “Best of Show” award in a field where most of the recognizable brands in fishing were represented. PacBak, is the idea of founder Brian McKinnon, who developed the one-of-a-kind cooler and sealer system to help anglers clean, seal and refrigerate their catch while in the Alaskan back country. This readily concept readily transfers to vacationing locally or any situation where it would be beneficial to clean and vacuum seal your catch for storage. Fishermen obviously liked the idea - It was the hit of the show! Check it out at https://pacbak.com.

“We are brand new,” said McKinnon. “We are still on Kickstarter. One of the retailers we talked to told us we needed to come down to check out ICAST. Now, we are getting so much press and interest. We couldn’t have done that without ICAST.”

The Oak Island Recreation Department is hosting surf fishing classes again this year and they are currently scheduled through September. The next class will be this weekend, July 29 and 30.

All of the classes include a classroom session at the Oak Island Recreation Center Friday evening that covers everything from equipment, rigs, baits, locations, catching fish and even preparing your catch for dinner. Participants who choose the full class that includes a session on the beach Saturday have the opportunity to practice their newfound knowledge under the watchful eye of the instructor. Participation on the beach on Saturday is limited so all fishermen get personal attention.

The instructor for the surf fishing classes will be Ian Sands, an Oak Island resident who has fished the local waters for many years and is also a licensed charter captain.

Participants are asked to bring their own fishing rod, tackle box and sand spike. Bait and rigs for Saturday will be provided by the Oak Island Recreation Department. Saturday times are tide dependent and will be announced. The dates for the currently scheduled classes are: July 29 and 30, August 12 and 13 and September 9 and 10. More information is available by calling 910-278-5518. Online information and registration are available at: https://oakisland.recdesk.com/Community/Program.

The Kayak Fishing Inshore Circuit came to town Saturday, with a tournament for N.C. waters south of Cape Fear. The tournament, which featured red drum and flounder, operated on a CPR (catch, photograph and release) format that allowed participants to include flounder even with the season closed. Fish were scored on length, with fishermen allowed to score two fish of either species and one fish of the other species. Participants could launch at the Southport/Oak Island Wildlife Ramp, the Sunset Harbor Wildlife Ramp, the Bricklanding Road Wildlife Ramp and the Sunset Beach Wildlife Ramp.

Andrew Imes of Sunset Harbor enjoyed being on his home water and used his local knowledge to score the win. He totaled 78 inches and was the only fisherman to record more than 70 inches. Fabio Andrade finished second, with 69.5 inches and Mike Dunning finished third with 62.5 inches.

The Wrightsville Beach Inshore Challenge, presented by Fisherman’s Post magazine, was held Saturday, with weigh-in at Wrightsville Beach Marina. In past years, this has been a multiple species tournament, but with flounder season closed, it was a red drum tournament this year. Participants had to follow N.C. regulations that include the 18-inch to 27-inch slot limit. Fishermen reported catching a surprising number of red drum larger than the slot, but all were released and only slot drum were weighed.

The crew of Team Reelin’ It scored the win with their chunky 7.76-pound red drum. This also won the Single Drum TWT and provided the base to win the Two Drum TWT when paired with another fat redfish of almost 7.0 pounds to finish with 14.73-pounds total.

The crew on R&T also had a good day. They scored second place overall, finished second in the Single Drum TWT and earned Top Lady Angler honors for Brittany Pigford. The crew of the Dirty Oar also came up big. Their 6.98-pound red drum was good for third place overall, third place in the Single Drum TWT, won the prize for the largest red drum caught by a Sea Tow member, earned Top Junior Angler honors for Cody Fogleman and paired with their 6.66-pound second red drum to score second place in the Two Drum TWT. David Powell earned Top Senior Anglers honors with his 6.34-pound red drum.

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