I am booking anglers to fish for False Albacore at Harker’s Island, NC this October and expect the action to be nothing short of spetacular! Watch the video that is attached and enjoy the action, but be careful, I can’t slow my heart rate down for five minutes after I watch it.
I have dates available that include October 24, 25, 26, aand 27. I have a house already booked and the closest airport is in New Bern, just about 45 minutes drive. This is a world class fishery and nothing has gained popularity like the false albacore fishing at Harker’s. Give it a try!
FISHING CONDITIONS: Some of the best days I have seen this summer occurred this week. Blue fish running with the Striped Bass and now Spanish Mac in large numbers all in the same area of the middle bay. Many large blues and we caught a Spanish that was 24 inches long. Lower bay is still good for Cobia and I am setting up for a run at them next week.
WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 85 Degrees, Lower Bay 78 Degrees, Near Coastal 78.
MOST COMMON BAIT: Bunker, Crabs, Silver sides and other species.
“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: Mid bay Striped Bass and blues and Spanish Macs are eating small Clousers with flash easily. These imitate silver-sides.
RECOMMENDED LEADER: Upper bay use standard 7 ½ foot or 9 foot tapered or non-tapered 20 to 30 for the Striped Bass. Add a little wire for the blues and Spanish or expect to lose flies. For Cobia use straight 80.
BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT: 12 weight rods was the primary and the 10 weight was a secondary for prospecting for the Cobia. Rods must have large arbor reels. Blues, Spanish and Striped Bass I’m using 9wt with large arbor reels.
IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Primary lines were full sink. Floating lines for the breaking fish work great as well.
BEST TECHNIQUES: Cobia are often lurking at floating channel markers in the lower bay. I use both floating and sinking lines with large poppers or bait fish imitations. When located several passes will usually get one on fly then the work out begins. Pull away from the structure and get them out of the cable area under the marker. Expect to have a long fight with these large fish. For the Mid Bay breaking fish, just cast into the active areas and retrieve with a quick retrieve. Always hopeful for Spanish these fish will get you into your backing in a flash!
COMMENTS: I don’t know how long this activity might last but it is clearly the best of the season.
7-DAY OUTLOOK: A cooling trend is offering relief from the summer’s heat and high flood tides are providing good current for these fish.
LOCATION:Virginia Lower Bay and Maryland Middle Bay
SPECIES:VA, TarponMD, Blues and Striped Bass.
UPDATE:August 9, 2010
FISHING CONDITIONS: Normally hot days but most often the water and breezes keeps us cool.VA is giving us a Tarpon surprise with many fish on the flats, yesterday brought one to the boat that went over 100 pounds.MD is being consistent with nice Striped Bass (up to 28 inches) and Bluefish are showing up and some are real bruisers up to 22 inches.
WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 85 Degrees, Lower Bay (Barrier Islands) 80 Degrees, Near Coastal 78.
MOST COMMON BAIT:Bunker, Crabs, and other species.
“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: For Tarpon the hookup came with an olive Bunny Fly which I suspect was mistaken for a crab, there were many crabs in the water.Mid bay Striped Bass and blues are eating silver sides imitations easily but bunker and larger bait is around and is being devoured by the blues.Use a large imitation for this.
RECOMMENDED LEADER: 80 pound test, 7 ½ foot or 9 foot non-tapered for the Tarpon and 20 to 30 for the Striped Bass and Blues.
BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT:12 weight rods was the primary and the 10 weight was a secondary for prospecting.Both had large arbor reels for Tarpon.Blues and Striped Bass I’m using 9wt with large arbor reels.
IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Primary lines were intermediate with either clear sink tip or a full clear intermediate line.I used full sink whenever the water depth got over 8 feet.(I didn’t use it often.)Stripers and blues are best on full sink line.
BEST TECHNIQUES:Finding Tarpon spots can be tough but once located I was able to target locations using my trolling motor to get in close for a cast.I would try ten casts per location and move on to other Tarpons and locations for the next.Watch the depth and switch to sink lines if necessary to cover the water column.Slow strip the crab pattern or moderate retrieve for a bait fish pattern.For the Striped Bass and Blues, fast retrieves once the line gets down to the depth of the fish on the sonar.Strip immediately if the fish are on top or water depth is shallow.
COMMENTS:A large Tarpon like mine was exciting and I hope to put you on one, but it is a tough game.I have been amazed at the number of fish above the 150 pound mark that I saw this trip.
7-DAY OUTLOOK: Tides and weather are good and with my new flats skiff I can get into the shallow areas that were just a high tide location when using my center console.Maryland waters are fishing well at dusk but any time of day seems to be producing once the fish are located.
FISHING CONDITIONS: Truly the best Tarpon fishing I have seen in years. Despite the few turns in the weather nothing put these fish down. The only real summer condition that concerns is the possibility of thunderstorms. Keeping up with weather forecasts and radar images on my cell phone are a must! Winds can throw up a chop on the water but nothing of consequence where we are fishing. Strong or weak tidal flow didn’t seem to make much difference over the days I spent down there this past week. We always found Tarpon.
WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 85 Degrees, Lower Bay 80 Degrees, Near Coastal 78.
MOST COMMON BAIT: Bunker, Crabs, and other species.
“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: Nothing worked so I can’t give you a play by play of the best working flies but we used several popular patterns including the Malzone Black Death, the same fly in Chartreuse and White as well as some half and half’s on the ten weight rod.
RECOMMENDED LEADER: 80 pound test, 7 ½ foot or 9 foot non-tapered.
BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT: 12 weight rod was the primary and the 10 weight was a secondary for prospecting. Both had large arbor reels.
IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Primary lines were intermediate with either clear sink tip or a full clear intermediate line. We didn’t try a full float or full sink but perhaps we should have.
BEST TECHNIQUES: Find the Tarpon first, on this we got lucky and discovered two hot locations. Watch for rolling fish and attempt to place the fly in the fishes feeding/sight zone. Strip slowly. When fish are caught here this works. Locating fish feeding and plentiful is the key to success.
COMMENTS: Larger fish above the 150 pound mark got caught in the past week according to one source (on bait). Truly this trip I saw more giants than I have ever seen in the Barrier Islands on previous trips.
7-DAY OUTLOOK: Tides will be changing to more outgoing this upcoming week. Looking around the same ares for fast current coming off the flats from the new direction are key. I have planned an early trip for this week hoping that that can make the difference.
SPECIES: Striped Bass, Blue fish, Atlantic Croaker, Cow Nosed Ray (Raja Bonasus), Tarpon, Shark
UPDATE: July 13, 2010
One of many caught that trip
FISHING CONDITIONS: Very Good in Mid Bay! Some trips are still plagued with slow fishing. It seems to just turn off, and you can’t get the fish to bite. But for most the action has been outstanding. We are getting more blue fish every trip and many are good sized (18 inches). Some trips have been almost overwhelming with the sheer number and quality of the fish being caught. Last night we went well over 200 fish with many over 18 inches. This is summer fishing at its best! For the many people that love poppers as much as I do, they are getting reaction bites that are unbelievable. Stripped fast the biggest fish of the day are on top water! LOWER BAY, you better bring your own fish. Weekends are super crowded in all the popular areas and no one is catching. My trip for Tarpon and sharks netted a skunk although we saw one decent sized shark and four Tarpon. Just couldn’t make the connection.
WATER TEMPERATURE: Mid Bay 81 Degrees, Lower Bay (CBBT) 78 Degrees, Near Coastal 77.
MOST COMMON BAIT: Silversides, Spot, Bunker, Crabs, and Perch.
“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: Large (four inch) half and half’s, blue and white is still working best although all white and chartreuse and all white are good choices as well. Having a bunker style pattern is essential if you want to have a larger fish look at your offering. Smaller Clouser style minnows (1 ½ inch) in various dark and white colors are working at times better than half and half’s. Having a little flash tied in seems critical as it matches the body of silversides. When you find breaking fish, poppers or gurglers are working well on top water fish. These work at dusk and dawn in shallow water too.
RECOMMENDED LEADER: 20 to 30 pound test, 7 ½ foot or 9 foot non-tapered.
BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT: 9 weight with large arbor reel
IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Full sink line in the fastest sink rate for waters around 6 to 12 feet and full float in skinny or if you happen to see fish on the surface or when fishing at dawn and dusk.
BEST TECHNIQUES: This time of year looking for birds is the best game in town. Birds help us locate the actively feeding schools of Striped Bass and we can quickly determine the preferred bait, the size and coloring so we can select the best fly or lure to use once the frenzy is over. Fishing after the breaking fish is slow but effective if you drift in the same area or similar area where current is strong. Incoming and outgoing tides are working but current speed is important.
COMMENTS: Larger fish (24 inches and up) are present in the schools and getting to be a regular catch. Keep a lookout when other fish area being pulled in and if another angler is on board they should be casting at your fly caught fish to pick up followers. This can be a nice bait and switch method to find better fish.
7-DAY OUTLOOK: It’s warming up to be a great summer. Weekday trips are better for fishing with less boat traffic and starting either early or late in the day and fishing for four hours in twilight conditions can be a very nice alternative to mid day sun.
FISHING LOCATIONS: Found in water less than 20 feet deep and frequently in the shallowest of water, this fish is easy to sight fish for. Back bays and less desirable waters are perfect habitat for this species. High temperatures seem to make them happy and they feed and breed all over the Chesapeake.
MOST COMMON BAIT: Oysters, clams, mussels and small bait fish.
“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: Large (four inch) half and half’s, blue and white is still working best although all white is a good choice as well. Some reaction to other popular colors as well such as white on chartreuse. Never use poppers or other top water offerings for this species.
RECOMMENDED LEADER: 20 to 30 pound test, 7 ½ foot or 9 foot non-tapered.
BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT: No special tackle required, 9 weight rod with large arbor reels are fine, but use care when fighting and landing because these fish can break rods easily.
IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: Almost any line will do provided the fly can get down to the level the Cow Nosed Ray can see and be able to eat.
BEST TECHNIQUES: Get into an area that the Rays are plentiful and not all spawning (easily detected by the numbers of pairs of Rays swimming one over the other). Feeding occurs all hours of the day but can be especially good in the hours when the light is low. Rays don’t fear boats and will move around and under your boat even in the shallowest of water. Good quality imitations of bait fish like a half and half will work but don’t expect every time you get the fly in the face of one these fish it will eat. Casting beyond and bringing the fly out from under the fish is best and not too fast. Rays will expend just so much energy to chase a fly. When fishing with someone it is helpful if they are using a pole to aid in positioning the boat to maximize your casting. Once the Rays eat the fly, let the line nearly clear the deck before you set the hook in order to prevent tangles from getting caught in the guides. Once the hook is set with a firm strip strike the Ray will leave your immediate area surprising quickly. Expect lots of turns and if in the area of structure, like stumps or rocks try to control how far the Ray gets into them. Typical runs will get into your backing and once you gain it back will do it over and over. This is a great fighter on a fly rod. Once exhausted carefully remove the hook with a long handled hook removal tool. The Ray will still put up a fight but can be released safely with careful handling. NOTE: the Ray has a barb located at the base of tail near the body that can inflict terrible pain on you if you get too close, and don’t bring him on board your boat, its way too dangerous.
COMMENTS: Cow Nosed Rays are growing in numbers and can be found all over the Chesapeake as well as other areas of the mid Atlantic. They are not prized as edible and do not look good mounted over your mantle but can provide the most big fish excitement during the summer doldrums that you can imagine.
Trying to salvage this winter fishing is looking like an impossible task. Cold water temperatures have kept me at home much of this winter, at least since the end of December.Ice has been a problem, both at the ramps I use, in the water and if the deck of the boat gets wet, on the boat.I hope this is the last report that I send out with no actual fishing.
Meanwhile, I have been working on tackle, the boat and plans for an expanded fishery in the Barrier Islands along the coastal waters of VA. Despite striking out on several Tarpon trips this past summer the clients saw many Tarpon in the water. Hooking up was the problem. We also saw a good number of sharks in the same, shallow waters. They were either Blacktip or Spinner Sharks and were average size of about 5 feet. Either species would be a good fight on a fly rod, identification will only come with a hookup since the two sharks are similar in coloration and shape. If they are spinners expect to see a lot of jumping and acrobatics. I plan to use chum to attract the sharks to the boat and then we can them throw flys that should get there attention. Tarpon respond to chum as well as many other species so it’s a win, win. Preparing for the trips I have set up several shark rigs both on fly and spinning with extra strong abrasion resistant leader, and wire bite tippet. Fly rods will be the award winning HELIOS 12 wt coupled with the new MIRAGE reel. A stronger, lighter outfit just isn’t available.
In addition my preparations for spring include replacing all my fly reels with the MIRAGE reels from ORVIS. These new reels are lighter and have a drag that is superior in every way to most other reels and this reel is light weight. What a combo for the HELIOS rods!
FISHING CONDITIONS: Good numbers of Cobia are being caught on live bait as well as sight fished.Sight fishing includes free swimming fish spotted by scanning the water and checking buoys for fish in the shadows.
WATER TEMPERATURE: low to mid 80’s
MOST COMMON BAIT:Bunker, spot.
“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE:
Blue and White, half and half
White over white, half and half.
RECOMMENDED LEADER:most commonly I use short (6 foot), straight sections of fluorocarbon leader material for fly or spinning in minimum 60 lb test.
BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT: Use nothing less than a 12 weight rod when targeting with a fly rod, or heavy stand up tackle for spinning.High quality reels like Van Staal’s for spinning make this quick work.
IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: I used full sink lines to work the fly into the water column quickly.The boat movement was a challenge brought on by the wind and current in the lower bay.
SPINNING REEL OUTFIT: I have selected a short, six foot to seven foot, medium fast action rod with a Van Staal Reel…This will be spooled with braided line of 30 lb test or heavier and a heavy 60 lb fluorocarbon leader at the lure…
BEST TECHNIQUES:Work lumps near deeper water channels.Fish seem to like the area.Chum helps to get the fish in the zone.Bunker works best for chum.When running between markers for sight fishing opportunity, continue to scan the water for free swimming cobia.Be prepared to throw a lure or fly in the water immediately.
COMMENTS:Cobia is great eating.Bring your cooler and know a source for ice to keep the meat preserved.
7-DAY OUTLOOK: Hurricane action has the water stirred up.Winds can be delivering rough outings but the incoming tides have been laying down a bit.
“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE:
Bunny Fly: Merkin crab style head with a bunny strip tail.
White over white half and half
RECOMMENDED LEADER: most commonly I use short (6 foot), straight sections of fluorocarbon leader material for fly or spinning. For this trip I selected straight (non-tapered) 50 pound test.
BEST FLY ROD AND REEL OUTFIT: For Tarpon, 12 weight rods with Vortex Reels, lots of backing.
IDEAL FLY LINE TYPES: I used two types for this trip. I use shooting head fly line with interchangeable heads. One rod was set with full float head. Another rod was set with sinking head line for serious deep dredging.
SPINNING REEL OUTFIT: the most common I use is a short, six foot, medium fast action rod with a Van Staal reel. This is spooled with lots of braid in 50 pound test and a 50 pound test fluorocarbon leader.
BEST TECHNIQUES: This is sight fishing for Tarpon. Cruised in areas of known sightings and looked for any signs from bubbles, Tarpon rolling or a big “vee” on the water. Spend only a brief (15 minutes) time in one area before moving around to another area. This Barrier Island area is huge and finding a few “happy, feeding” Tarpon is an effort.
COMMENTS: This trip was different for me. I was in a client’s boat which was set up for shallow water fishing. Thank you S.P. for the use of your Maritime Skiff. We were able to fish in shallow water and pole when stealth when necessary. We had our first tarpon experience within a few minutes of starting by nearly running over 4 tarpon in 3 to 4 feet of water. This set the tone for the day at high levels. We spotted and cast at over 10 more tarpon, but admittedly this first early morning shot was the closest we ever were to the fish. Lot’s of blind casting here for a possible hook-up.
My personal experience with this fishery is that if a person is willing to put in the time and can cast pretty well they can catch a tarpon here. It doesn’t have the clear waters of some of the spots in Florida but for a fishery that Virginia residents can drive to for a few days of fishing this place is assume. Imagine being one of only a few people in Virginia to catch a tarpon in VA waters!
7-DAY OUTLOOK: Our second day was pretty poor with winds that stirred up the surface to a light chop. Not unusual for this area and not impossible to see Tarpon in, but clearly a lot more challenging. Full moon was a help with the tides but would like to see it higher, which would have occurred if the winds had been from the south. I hope to fish here in about two weeks with the new moon, it should be better in many ways by then.
FISHING CONDITIONS: Winds from the North changing to the West. Water clarity, murky, less than 12 inch visibility
WATER TEMPERATURE: 70’s
MOST COMMON BAIT: Grass shrimp, small bait fish, not identified but probably bay anchovies.
“MUST HAVE” FLIES IN DESCENDING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE:
CHAURTRUESE AND WHITE HALF AND HALF
WHITE OVER WHITE HALF AND HALF
TARPON CRAB IMITATION WITH BUNNY TAIL
ANCHOVIE IMITATION
RECOMMENDED LEADER:
6′ 16LB OR LARGER FOR POPPERS AND SINKING LINES.
9′ 16 LB OR LARGER FOR STREAMERS ON FLOATING LINES OR IF EARLY MORNING AND FISH ARE IN SKINNY WATER.
BEST ROD OUTFIT: ALWAYS NINE FOOT NINE WEIGHT WITH LARGE ARBOR REEL. THIS IS UNDERSIZED FOR LARGE TARPON BUT YOUNG TARPON IT WILL WORK WITH CAREFUL USE.
BEST TECHNIQUES: STEALTHY APPROACH AND EARLY.
COMMENTS: I was using a Kayak for this outing and was pleasently surprised when at the mouth of a tributary to first see bait fleeing into the air, followed by a sizeable wake from a large fish and after trying several casts from the Kayak having a 20 to 30 pound Tarpon leap into the air. I presume I surprised it and he was making my day before leaving the scene for parts unknown.
7 DAY OUTLOOK: with tides in the new moon, high flood stage the outlook for fishing was good. Covering water by kayak is time consuming but could have been very rewarding. My estimates of tarpon population is that it is not yet time to expect a lot of sightings. Maybe in July…
FISHING CONDITIONS: Some of the best days I have seen this summer occurred this week. Blue fish running with the Striped Bass and now Spanish Mac in large numbers all in the same area of the middle bay. Many large blues and we caught a Spanish that was 24 inches long. Lower bay is still good for Cobia and I am setting up for a run at them next week. 
seen in years. Despite the few turns in the weather nothing put these fish down. The only real summer condition that concerns is the possibility of thunderstorms. Keeping up with weather forecasts and radar images on my cell phone are a must! Winds can throw up a chop on the water but nothing of consequence where we are fishing. Strong or weak tidal flow didn’t seem to make much difference over the days I spent down there this past week. We always found Tarpon. 
detected by the numbers of pairs of Rays swimming one over the other). Feeding occurs all hours of the day but can be especially good in the hours when the light is low. Rays don’t fear boats and will move around and under your boat even in the shallowest of water. Good quality imitations of bait fish like a half and half will work but don’t expect every time you get the fly in the face of one these fish it will eat. Casting beyond and bringing the fly out from under the fish is best and not too fast. Rays will expend just so much energy to chase a fly. When fishing with someone it is helpful if they are using a pole to aid in positioning the boat to maximize your casting. Once the Rays eat the fly, let the line nearly clear the deck before you set the hook in order to prevent tangles from getting caught in the guides. Once the hook is set with a firm strip strike the Ray will leave your immediate area surprising quickly. Expect lots of turns and if in the area of structure, like stumps or rocks try to control how far the Ray gets into them. Typical runs will get into your backing and once you gain it back will do it over and over. This is a great fighter on a fly rod. Once exhausted carefully remove the hook with a long handled hook removal tool. The Ray will still put up a fight but can be released safely with careful handling. NOTE: the Ray has a barb located at the base of tail near the body that can inflict terrible pain on you if you get too close, and don’t bring him on board your boat, its way too dangerous.
would be a good fight on a fly rod, identification will only come with a hookup since the two sharks are similar in coloration and shape. If they are spinners expect to see a lot of jumping and acrobatics. I plan to use chum to attract the sharks to the boat and then we can them throw flys that should get there attention. Tarpon respond to chum as well as many other species so it’s a win, win. Preparing for the trips I have set up several shark rigs both on fly and spinning with extra strong abrasion resistant leader, and wire bite tippet. Fly rods will be the award winning HELIOS 12 wt coupled with the new MIRAGE reel. A stronger, lighter outfit just isn’t available. 
