JAM’s ADVENTURES

The Weather report was not looking good for this weekend, and with last weekend being a WashOut with 6.90 inches of rain on Saturday alone.   So I awoke and looked at Weather Under Ground to see if there would be a window of opportunity.  There was storms all around us, but there was a gap, about 5 or 6 hours where I could squeak off a trip. 

I had arrange to take these guys out on a Speckle Trout Adventure, and called them immediately when I new All systems were go.  I told them that I was heading to the Marina and I would check the wind and the radar down there and call them back.  When I got to Teach’s, it was borderline, the wind was all ready on it at around 15 knots, and the gusts were much higher.  I called Zach back and told him it was a not go for a Trip, and that tomorrow did not look good either.  Told him that I would rather catch him next time he was in town, then to take him and his bud out there and Beat Them To Death.    I would rather they have fun, and there was stuff all around us and it was very squally looking.   Thats not my Style, I am about the Fun, I ain’t about Killing You.

But the Conditions were not going to stop me from going, and as long as there was no Electricity in the Air, I was on it.  Left out of Teach’s in Sunny and wind from the South at 15 to 25 knots, there was allot of Side To wave action, which can make it a PITA to get to you destination, but if ya pick the proper angle you will get there eventually. 

Arrived at the Speck hole and I kinda knew that with the way the current was running that there was not going to be allot of action, but I just paddled 3.17 miles, I was gonna fish it anyways.  Got a good angle on a the point of a SandBar and commenced to casting.  No Takers, so I moved a piece and re-adjusted my position and got back to it.  Capt. Doug Martin of the Hallelujah was in the area so I knew he was thinking the same thing I was.  Watched Capt. Doug put one in the cooler and I just smiled, cause I knew it would not take long for me to get one, and it didn’t.  From the pull on the drag I knew it was a keeper and against the current he was quite a fight. 

Netted Him, put him on the stringer and measured and photo’s for Kayak Wars, an online kayak fishing Tourney that I have played around in for 2 years.

After putting the fish on the stringer, it was not looking good over on the Ocean Side, and this squall, I could see heavy rain in it.  You guessed it, coming right for me, so I pulled anchor and started the long, near 4 mile paddle, back to the Home Port, Teach’s Lair Marina.

About a mile and a half into it I was met by torrential rains, wind gusts to 35- 40 knots and 3 foot seas, thought to myself, its gonna be a long paddle back, and I was glad that I called off the Guided Adventure, cause I was getting my assed kicked.  I always have a game plan, for when

Shit Goes Wrong, so it was not a very big deal to me and I knew that I would take an angle on the Island of JAMUDA, this would at least put the Island between me and the Hard Wind.  She was about a Mile or so away so I just put my head down and paddled my arse off.   Took about an hour of straight paddling and I arrived on dry land, the squall had passed and it was getting a little nicer, so I decided to take a walk, and look for Flotsam on the Island.  Found a few Crab Trap Buoys that were left on the Island from Irene, and I collect them and hang them off of my deck so I picked them up and brought them back to the yak. 

Had another mile and a half to go and another Squall was approaching so it was time to leave JAMUDA and head for Home.  The last mile and a half was not so bad, because your are closer to the Main portion of the Island, and it pushes the wind up and over you.  Pulled into the Marina with My Limit of Grey Trout, arms burnin from the workout, and thought to myself, Glad I did not bring those boys with me… Real Glad…

Until Next Time

JAM out

First off I would just like to Say God Bless Rodanthe, Waves , Salvo and Avon, you all are in my prayers every night, and everyday things will get a little better, Day by Day my friends.  You all are some tough folks, and I admire everyone of you, you all make me very proud to be you neighbor. 

Ever since this whole FIASCO started 3 weeks ago, I have had very little to say, because quite honestly, I believe it would have been out of line.  But there is one thing that has burned in my GUT, since the very day after the Storm.  The lack of Immediate Action on filling the Biggest Breach, and the legal and political jockeying that followed, by the Southern Environmental Law Center, Audubon, USFWS, National Park Service.  That Breach was not that big when this all started and could have been made short work of, if not for the Organizations listed above. 

SO HERE IT IS:

I call on all the good people of Hatteras Island, all the Business Owners, EVERYONE, to start a Class Action Lawsuit against all of the parties above, and a few more that I have not listed.  There total disregard for the people of Hatteras Island, must and will stop here.  It was Their Land Mis-Management practices that got us to where we are today, and they all should be held responsible, for both their Actions and their In-Actions.  

The lack of an adequate dune system, the let it go back to nature attitude and policy is why we are cut off from the rest of the World.  You all forget, these folks work for us, and at this Point I say THEY ARE FIRED..

Not to mention the Legal wrangling of our so concerned about nature, SELC and Audubon, that turned a little breach into what we have on our hands today, a Giant Mess..

The just getting supplies, and everyday goods to this Island and the Cost to do so, plus the Economic Impact to all of the Villages and Ocracoke Island, is their fault, and they should be held accountable for it. 

Please don’t take this as a Bitch, cause it ain’t, its the plain hard truth, I ain’t wanting or bitching for anything, except for these Organizations to be held accountable for their actions.. They have showed their True colors time and time again, and I am Dam tired of being on Defense, I say its Time for Offense..

Let the Games begin, I am sure we can get a Pro-Bono Lawyer for this one, what do ya think… Lets do this thing..

Until Next Time

JAM out

Fished on Friday and there was nothing too it, I flew the SKUNK Flag with no Edible Fish Caught.  I hate it when that happens, but it does, thats why they call it Fishing and not Catching.  But I don’t like to let those Skunks hang around long, so I got right back to business on Saturday. 

The conditions were much better on Saturday, and the wind had a little more West on it, this spot really likes a bit of North in it but that was not going to happen, as the wind was going to come around out of the SW bye the afternoon.  I got to the first spot, and deployed my anchor.  Rigged up with a 3/8 ounce lead headed jig and a FishBites Xtreme Scent Bright Green Shrimp Body, and got to work.  Was getting lots of Taps so I figured I would stay for a while to see what would pan out.  After a little while, there he was, a big take down and a nice tussle, and into the net, a nice 17.50 inch Grey Trout (WeakFish)   Cool I thought to myself, got the Skunk Off now I could just fun fish and not put pressure on myself, and Relax.

Messed around in the spot where I had caught the Grey for a good period of time, with no more takers except a one pound Sea Mullet, nice.  Have not seen one of these since the Storm, but was catching them regular like, right before it.  Decided it was time to get a little more shallow, I was fishing in around 16 foot of water, and I wanted to bring that down to around 8 or so.  So I headed in the direction of the Reef that runs behind Hatteras and Ocracoke Villages, found my depth and set anchor. 

Kept getting beat at, with little pesky bites and take downs, till I hook the sucker to see what it was.  It was a little Spike Speckled  Trout.  With a Spike around, I knew bigger ones had to be in the area as well, so I pulled anchor and adjusted my dept to around 10 foot, it was a perfect spot, broken bottom, Sand to Grass.  After a while of working the Grub, I got a major take down and the fish was real aerial about it,  jumpin and flipin all over the place, for some reason I knew this one was not going to make it to the Yak.  He was just too far out from the boat and going NUTZ, I was hoping that he would go deep but he stayed on top and spit the hook.

But I knew sizable fish were in the area so I stuck it out and after a few casts, I stuck one good, this one I knew WAS coming to the Yak.  You can just feel a “GOOD HOOKSET” and sure enough, he was in the net and on the stringer to hangout with the Grey and the Sea Mullet.  Hung out a while longer and lost another Speck close to the Boat, but with Three Fish on the stringer I Dubbed Today REDEMPTION SATURDAY, felt good.

We are still an Island to ourselves with NO VISITORS allowed yet.  They are working on several possibilities to get Visitors to the Islands as soon as possible.  Miss you Guys, and see ya soon,  at least ya know, WE ARE ON FISH!!

Until Next Time JAM out

Went Fishing the past Couple of Days to get rid of some Energy.  After a H-Cane, it kinda plays head games with you, the not knowing and all the stupid stuff of everyday life meld together, so I needed to BURN some of that off.  Yesterday I  did not venture to far away, due to high NE winds but I did catch a bunch of small BlueFish.  Today the winds were still NE, but allot lighter, and do-able. 

Went to the same GPS Location that I have named on my GPS, Speck-Tackler, just to see if by chance that they were still hanging around.  I figured, Ya never know, and its a good 3.17 miles one way on a whim, but what else did I have to do.  First I called the Coast Guard and registered my Vessel name with them for a return to Hatteras Island (Cause they still are not letting Boats in or out of Dare County)  With that done I rigged her, for the long paddle out. 

Took around 1 Hour cause I was going into a Head Front Starboard Quarter wind which can make it a PITA.  Arrive at the Spot and Deployed the Anchor on the Sand Bars coordinates, and got right to it with a 17 inch Speck and smiled in amazement.  These fish had hung in the area throughout the storm, the bottom conditions they just must love.  Bot Specks and Greys, together again just like the last day I went fishing before the Storm, in the exact same Spot.  It blows my mind 100+ MPH wind and Fish still Holding.  Ended up with 4 Specks the biggest one going 17 inches and one Grey right at 19 inches. 

 

 

 

 

 

I was the Only Vessel out of the Marina today because we are still under a

Naval Blockade, most of the boats are still up the Sound were they went over a Week ago to Safe Harbor their F/V’s (Fishing Vessels) I can’t see them ever doing that again after how they were treated this time, I believe next time there is a Blow these Captains will just add a few ropes, double check their insurance policies and LET HER EAT.  Residents are still not allowed back on the Island either, and it looks like the middle of next week before they are allowed back.  With Ferries the only way here and back, it is going to take quite some time for them all to return home.  The sad thing is, those that normally do stay, are very well prepared, I believe there will be a whole lot more people staying when the next one hits.. I hope these folks prepare as well as we do, or there will be allot of Busted up Boats and Dead People.. Just because the Govt won’t let them home.. Don’t you love it when your Government Protects You from You.

 

Until next Time

JAM out

 

I’m BACK, actually I never left, just all my capabilities have left me, and much to my dismay, the reasons why I did not leave this Island are becoming apparently obvious.  So much has gone on, on our little slice of Heaven we call Hatteras Island, or should I say Hatteras Islands, because we are broke into several pieces as of this writing.  If you left, you might not get back for a very, very, very long time. Some folks I have got to know, may never come back, due to the financial strains of evacuating, hence that is why I never leave.  I believe some new folks will find that out the hard way.  But I’ll get back to that, first we have to go through the Storm together. 

 

Myself and a friend of mine Scottie got a hotel room in Cape Pines Motel, right around the corner from where we live.  The reason for the motel was a no-brainer, this hurricane, Irene, was coming right for us, and staying in a Park Model Camper Trailer, with a CAT 3 possible CAT 4 H-Cane bearing down on us is just not the smart thing to do.  I have spent every one since Isabel in one and can tell you it is not very fun, it kinda feels like 2 eighteen wheelers passing by you on both sides doing 100 miles per hour in the opposite direction. 

 

But I digress, we opted for the 3 Little Pigs Theory of a Surviving a Major Hurricane, a Brick Building on a hill, with lots of supplies, enough for several days, lots of clean dry clothes, dog food for the dogs, and some Beer and Mountain Spring Water from Northern Va., and a ton of Ice. 

 

To be honest with you, this storm felt very similar to EARL, last years one, except for the direction it was coming at us.  We lost all forms of communication, late Friday Night when the last we heard of it, the Storm was 50 miles due west of our location, Hatteras Island.  The radio station went off the air, the cell phones went down, all power was cut to the Island, and we were on our own.  Hunkered down for the rest of the night after having several cocktails.

 

When morning came, it was almost like we were in the EYE of the Storm, it was DRY and the winds were down from the 80 plus it blew all night long.  So we decided to go check things out.  All looked good at the Trailer Hood, so we headed south to see how far we could get to Hatteras Village.  The Winds were still SE and a good 50 to 60 plus, and it had blown all the water out of the Pamlico Sound, when I say blown out, it pushes it to the opposite side of the sound, and you can see the dry bottom of the Pamlico for as far as the eye can see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at the marina in the village of Frisco, its called the Scotch Bonnet Marina, and all the boats that were left there, were sitting on the ground.  One of them’s weight broke the piling it was moored to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main problem of all the water leaving the Sound, is, it has to come back, and how it comes back, and in which direction, is the game of Damage Roulette, who will get it.  It can come back like a Tsunami or it can trickle back in, it just depends on the wind direction on the back-side of the storm.   A NW Back-Side Blow would Flood Hatteras, a SW Back-Side Blow would EAT Avon and the Villages up North.

 

We continued South, on what was left of HWY 12, which was now mostly, covered in sand and debris, our next spot was to check out the Frisco Pier, which was in very, very sorry shape before the Storm, and I had fully expected to just see a debris field, but as we pulled up to it, there she stood, in the same condition that I had seen it the day before the storm.  Truly, an amazing Sight, I thought she was a goner.

 

 

 

Next was down as far as we could get to Hatteras Village, which folks was not very far at all.  Just about where Isabel Inlet was formed, we drove up on a wall of water, crossing the HWY.  Not coming down it towards us, or going down the HWY away from us, but a 3 foot tall wall of water, crossing the street, like it was being shot from a super huge high volume pump. 

 

 

It was at that point that we spun the truck around and got the hell out of dodge, the wind was starting to switch around, and we had to make the run for Buxton, and the safety of the 3 Little Pigs Motel (Cape Pines)

 

 

We arrived back at the Motel and there was no doubt, that the wind had come around, and hard, but as we kinda figured, if it was hard SE on the Front Side, it was gonna be just as hard SW from the BackSide.  Not Good for points North of us, we figured that Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo were gonna get the brunt of the Returning Sound. 

 

Our Neighbor at the Cape Pines Motel, was a Nice lady, Named Mary Lea by the Sea, I have Winter Trout Fished with her, not knowing who she was, I would see her in all the “Good” spots for Trout Fishing on the Island, and we would just say hi and bye in our passings on the beach.  Mary Lea belongs to the Rescue Squad and Volunteer FD, so she had a hand held with all the communications for all the villages on the Island.  For the next several hours all we heard (and it gives me chills as I type) was first hand communications from, the first responders, stuff like 6 feet deep HWY 12 AVON.  We listened in horror, as the tide kept rising.   We knew our Northern neighbors were loosing it all, and the feeling of helplessness, over came us. 

 

Two doors down from us was Lauren and Donnie, Lauren works a Connors Super market and lives down Rocky Rollinson Road, they wadered up and were heading down Rocky to check on their trailer, they did not make it far until they ran into over waist deep water, and returned to the Motel, with the story of their ADVENTURE. 

 

At this Point myself and Scottie were thinking the worse, that our place was most likely under water.  But you can’t worry about what you can’t control, we cracked a Beer and went back to listen to the unfolding Horror on Mary Lea’s Radio.  That’s when the reports of over 10 foot of Tide was inundating the tri villages of Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo.  One Communication, spoke of over 6 foot of water in the Post office.  One of the highest spots up there.   We have lots of friends up there and it broke our hearts, but there was not a thing that we could do, just ride out the back-side and see what’s left in the morning.

 

We awoke to a sunny morn, still lots of wind on it, but nothing like the past 23 hours, we went by the Trailer Hood, and were shocked to see what we saw.  No water on the Main Road, AWESOME, we kept going down the main road, got to my place, dry as a Bone, water stopped at the road right before mine.  After a quick check we went to Scotties, we had to cut through he back way cause we could see water had covered up the bottom Section ot the Trailer Park.  When we got to Scottie’s we could see the level of water was about the same as it was in EARL, last year. 

High and Dry… What a relief. 

 

 

Then we jumped into the Truck and started checking on all our friends places, one by one they were all checking out fine, the more we saw the more I was happy, happy for my friends that they did not loose everything.  But that’s was just my Buxton Friends, what about my friends to the North, we started out in the direction of Avon but never made it passed the Food Lion, too much water in the road.  But as you can see, Askins Creek BP to a good shot, it got worse the farther north you got.

 

With North not being an option, we headed south in the direction of Teach’s Lair Marina, my place of employment.  With what we saw the night before, the 3 foot wall of water, jetting across the HWY, I expected there to be a New Inlet where Isabel Inlet was several years ago, and it did not cut, it washed over in several spots, but it did not get a chance to EAT the Road.  The heavy equipment was there clearing the road, and in no time they had it open to traffic. 

 

 

We headed back to pack up the room and move back down the road home, and start the clean-up.  At this Point there was no Power, No Cell Service, No Land Lines, nothing, the only thing we had was MAX RADIO’s BEACH 104.  The more we listened the more we saw the magnitude of the storm, it just filled in, where the Horror on Mary’s Radio brought us the night before.  Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo took the brunt of it, and well, were described to me by a War Veteran, as a War Zone.  Avon less, but the same, beaten up bad, one of our Captain’s and a Good friend of Mine “GOT EM” Jerry Teel’s house to a major beating.

 

This made the going with-out power, a cake walk, we had our lives, our pets, our stuff, these folks got devastated.  Still just relying on Beach 104, was hard, it was spotty news with very little details on what was going on down here.  Cell service was still out and there was talk of running the Villages on the Back-up Diesel generator’s that are installed just for this reason.  But it was Day 3 of no, nothing, no communications from our representatives, via the radio, but at this point, I was hearing phone calls from normal citizens from Buxton, Hatteras, Frisco, but still no public Statement or Comment by our Local Leadership.  I can do with out the Power, I can do with out the Cell Phones, I can do with out Cable News, I can even do with out water, but Please Give me INFORMATION, any way you can, I don’t care if its SMOKE SIGNALS. 

 

At this point day 3 after the Storm, the New “INLETS” that were Cut in the Island were confirmed, to US who lived here, if ya lived a million miles away you could see aerial footage of it, but here it was just rumors, when we saw the pictures, it was amazing, they just let this thing EAT for 3 days without lifting a much a s a shovel full of Dirt to put in it. 

 

Ya see, the same People (and I use that term loosely) that are shutting down our public lands to the public, denying you access by any means, on you national Seashore Recreation Area’s, the SELC, Defenders of Wildlife, Audubon, and their minions the National Park Service and US Fish and Wildlife.  Headed by the Department of the Interior, have threatened to sue if anyone tries to fill the new “Inlets” in.  What a Great Group of Individuals, don’t ya think. 

 

Ya see it’s a Wild Life Refuge, and they don’t want the road put back there, its been there for the last 80 years, but a Road, just does not conform, with a Wild Life Refuge.  I say that US Fish and Wild Life Service, and the National Park Service, no longer conform with our Island, and should begin the packing process, and leave this Island, while they still have a chance, they have out-stayed their welcome, and their services are no longer needed by the people of Hatteras Island.     

 

To Hell with the People of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, and Avon, with every tide cycle the new Inlet grows.  The only way supplies are getting here is by ferry, and its because of them,(USFWS and NPS)  that some of my good friends are suffering way more then they should have to..

 

Folks there is only one way in and one way out of this Island and that’s HWY 12 … And the people that we have put in charge of land management, want to manage us, the people, out of the picture, and off the land.  People are Bad, and Animals come First, but I guess that would depend on what type of Animal you are, if you are cute and cuddly your safe if you’re a possum, it’s a death sentence.  If you are Human, forget about it, no bridge, no beach, no rights, and now no road, or Ocean or SoundSide Access by Boats.

 

To quote Don King “Only In America”

 

They best realize, they work for US, and their BS ENVIRO-WACKO AGENDA is and will not Fly on Hatteras Island.  If our Representatives will not tell them where to go and how to get there, then it will be up to us, to show all of them the door.  They are holding up the well being and the essential aide to the Northern Villages of Hatteras Island..

 

Senator Hagan what are you waiting for????????? Tell every single one of these groups, that the People’s of North Carolina’s Lives Come First.. 

 

Oh ya think it stops there, it just gets better, ya see, I now have “Part Time” Internet Access, so now I can get some of the info that has been available for the past few days.

The more I see the more Pissed I get, as you will see why below.    

 

The National News Networks all bugged out before the storm even hit us and all went to NY, to report on the “DEVASTATION OF NY”  Which apparently, it’s no longer about the safety of humans, it’s all about selling commercial time and SCREW true reporting.  So, no one is watching what is happening down here, while the Enviro-Bozo’s have their way with us, from afar?  That’s right folks, not one of these people from any of these groups, or organizations, even live on this Island, or within a hundred miles, for that matter.   But they all know what’s best for us, that’s part of that elitist the let them eat cake mentality, well if History is not learned from, it is destined to be repeated, and you all know what happened last time that mentality was played out.. 

 

Well here it is day 4 and I got Cell Service (was finally able to call my MOM) have had steady power, AC is one of my favorite things on the planet at this point. Got all the Communications Equipment up and operational at the Teach’s Lair, at one point today everything was working,  Land Lines, Internet, and Cable TV. 

 

That did not last long, cable was on for ½ hour and died.  No big loss. Did manage to Speak to Moose and Jody on Air (Beach 104 thank God for them) about the Misdeeds of the Cretins, from the Audubon and the SELC  a few times today and hopefully reached someone out there with common sense, to step to the plate with a set of Balls, and once and for all sweep all of the Islands problems, with all these Enviro-MENTAL elitists away with one swoop of the Pen. 

 

Plan and simple, tell them all to F-OFF, fix the road, and allow the people that live here to rebuild their lives, and let us get back to the way things have been going for the last several decades, Free and Open Access to all Our Beach’s.

 

When an AGENDA built upon Idealism shuns common sense and has a total disregard for people’s lives and what is right, someone’s got to stop the madness. 

 

We are talking about Families here, Old ladies, Old Men, Women, Children, at this point I don’t care if you make a bridge out of Baby Seals, just get to these people and lighten some of their suffering. And bring some normalcy back to those who have lost so much.  

 

Never gonna happen.. Someone’s Bought and Paid For.  At this point I believe they are all bought and paid for, no matter which side of the political spectrum you swing from.  Hence the absolute failure of the US Government, is inevitable, just like Rome. 

 

I would love to hear a Public Address from Derb Carter and the SELC, and Walker Golder from the Audubon NC explain to us how we do not need a road and Ferry’s will be fine for us, up close and in person.  I believe the whole Island (what’s left of it would show) and I also believe that the world would be without One Environmental Lawyer, and it would be also minus one Environmental Biologist, and not one person would see what had happen, nor would there be a Scrap of evidence as to what had occurred.       .

 

One more little Ditty before I go, on 08/31/11 Hatteras Island is under what all I can describe to you as a naval blockade.. No boats in, no boats out, of the Hatteras ports, you might say no big deal, well yes it’s a big deal when you take your 55 foot charter boat inland, to  get away from the storm, and try to return to your Home Port just to be blocked by the Coast Guard and NCMF’s. Turned around and told to leave your home Port, by the same people that are hired to protect you.  How many of those Captains will bother leaving the next time a storm hits??? 

 

There is no reason that the Captains of the Fishing Fleet should be turned around and sent away from their Homes.  This happened to several of our Captains today, these guys have family, homes, businesses to take care of and pick up the pieces of there lives and were several miles from port when they were turned around and sent back from where they came.  I am told this is the first time in the history of Hatteras Island that their watermen were ever refused entry to their homeport, for any reason what-so-ever.   Again I ask, is this America.  

 

It is becoming plain to see that the people put in charge of running things, are not even capable of running a Lemonade Stand, but are capable of shutting said Lemonade Stand down due to lack of the proper permits. 

 

That Earthquake that was felt early last week turns out was not based in Mineral Va, but it’s epicenter was in Alexandria Va. and the Washington DC area.  It was not a new fault, it was all of our Fore Fathers rolling over in their graves, all at once.     

 

Please Help me out here: this is still America, is it not, if it is then what the hell is going on.. Look, we as Islanders could have had that first breach filled in under an hour, just by pushing the USFWS building right next to it into the hole.. That would have been a good start. 

 

They have all ready showed us they cannot Lead (USFWS and the NPS), now it is up to them whether they, Follow or GET the HELL OUT OF THE WAY.

 

Also a message to our Representatives, start Representing, no more BS form letters riding the fence, get involved, pick a side, and deal with the consequences.  Do what is Right.. Do the Right thing or we will do it for you.  Lead, Follow, or Get Out the Way, we the people will right this ship, and we don’t need the Government with its permit processes and bureaucratic red tape, or elitist “We know what’s better for the little people” attitudes, We can take care of our own, don’t make us go threw you, it won’t be pretty, that I can guarantee.  Get down off your high horse, or we will take you down..

 

In my best Dave Mustain Voice “It’s Still We the PEOPLE; RIGHT”?????????????????I believe it is off of The Peace Sells album… Peace Sells but Who’s Buying..        

 

 Don’t worry about us in Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras Village, send all you positive energy to the Northern Villages of the Outer Banks, Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo and Avon.. Contact all your Politicians, contact anyone who will listen, replace this road, stop the BS madness..  Return this Island to it’s proper care-takers, the Islander’s. 

 

It’s Freakin People’s Lives, and their worried about their property lines, of the Freakin Wild Life Refuge, that we gave them over 30 years ago, which ain’t their property, it’s all of ours. While People Suffer!!!!!!…. UnFREAKIN BELIEVEABLE…

 

I can deal with everything that you can throw at me except BullShit, and it’s getting pretty deep round here.. 

 

Until Next Time.

 

JAM OUT                                     

To borrow my Friends Capt. Rick Scarborough’s Boat name, in the Title, but there is no other way to describe the day.  It started off Rough, with a charter canceling on me due to weather, I tried to tell them to wait it out and it would be Smooth Sailing the rest of the day, but they were not willing to wait.  I guess they can stop reading here, so they don’t get their feelings hurt, cause man I blistered them, and so did everyone around me. 

First up was a 20 inch 2.50 pound Grey Trout (WeakFish), I have not seen one this big in several years.  He was a handful and did not want to be boated, but after a little struggle, he was in the net.   Measured and a Picture and back to work, kept getting nice hits on just about every cast. 

 

 

 

 

 

Thats when the Boat next to me bowed up BIG TIME, I had my camera At he ready and took a shot of this gentleman’s 22 Inch Grey Trout, which he had to release cause he all ready had his limit, one fish. 

Started to get a more Sneaky of a bite, and I set the hook on anticipation of the bite and bam, “FISH ON” , he was spunkier then the Grey, breaching the water on several occasions on the way to the net, 16.75 inch Speck, on the Stringer he goes, and I waste no time getting back on it. 

 

 

 

 

Had to wait a little while for the next hit, but when it hit, it hit hard, head shakin and breaching the whole way back tot the Kayak, into the net on on the Stringer 18.00 inch Speckled Trout.   Took a break and had some Vitamin Water, re-tied my Jig Head, its something I like to do after I catch a few fish, I hate loosing them so I am very conscious of my leader and re-tie often. 

 

After I was re-rigged I sent her back out there, and it was not long before Speck number 3 was in the net and on the Stringer, a nice 17.00 incher. 

Tide was shifting and the Bite slowed to a Crawl, watched most of the Power boats leave, and I stuck it out a while longer, with no takers, but what a fantastic day on the water. 

 

 

 

 

Caught the Biggest Grey Trout I have seen in 3 years, and had a couple real nice Specks.  Can’t wait to do it all over again, but first I’ve got to go back to my Real Job, but I’ll be back on them, you can bank on it..

JAM out

Put some new Graphics on the KAYAK the other day, and I was dieing to take the new Jolly Roger for a Speck Cruise.   It was a strange day out there, the wind never came around like it should have, and I was thinking about a run to the Inlet, but the wind was not out of the south like predicted.  So I changed plans and hit the speckled Trout Hole, first cast was a Man sized lizard fish. 

Kept on casting and ket on getting my Tail Bit off so I got my back-up rod which is rigged with a 1/2 ounce metal lure for blues.  Made a cast and got a  small Blue Fish, so I decided to stick to metal for a while.  

 

 

 

 

 

The Very next cast Rod Doubles over and Drag is burning off the reel,  I thought to myself this must be “Uncle Ray Ray” a Big StingRay, got him up to the yak, but he was still pissed, slashing his tail all around, so I aimed my rod tip at him and grabbed the spool of the reel and broke him off. 

 

 

 

 

 

Last thing I want to have happen 5 miles off of Hatteras is to get nailed by a StingRay, so breaking them off is a very wise option. 

I have been wanting to go to a spot a little further off of a mark I have on my GPS, and the conditions were not right for an Inlet run, but they were right for a New Spot Check out run.  I was already 5 Miles off of the Village another 3 or 4 more was where I wanted to be.  So I pulled anchor and started stroking to the New spot.  I have not fished it yet but the Tower Boats have been giving it allot of attention, and today was my chance to get to it with a Light NE wind.  It took me about a half hour to get to where I wanted to be, and there were several Charter boats in the general vicinity so I dropped anchor to join in the Party. 

After several casts, I felt him, that lite bite of a Speckled Trout, I rear back on the rod to set the hook, and its on.  He was jumpin and carrying on taking runs and burnin drag.  I knew it was a nice one, now just to get him to the Boat, after a little tussle, he was in the net and on the stringer. 

After a quick measurement and a photo, I retied and casted out in the general direction of where I had caught the first one, and “BAM” another real nice Speck was on the end of my line. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got him boated and on the stringer to be a dinner guest for a good friend of mine, stuck around a while longer and managed to get another Sea Mullet, seems like every trip, so on the stringer he went as well. 

Was a Great Adventure today, and the new Jolly Roger seems to work Great, I like it and the Fish seem to Love it.  Until Next Time

JAM out

Allot of folks have been asking me what do I use to fish the Sound, and this little Adventure will cover what I use in the Spring, Summer and Fall for Specks, Greys and Flounder in the Pamlico Sound.  Lets start with the most important piece of equipment, the Rod, I am partial to Ultra Lights, and I build all of my own Rods.  Right now my main go to rod is a 702-ul Lami-Glas Blank, it maxes out at around 1/2 ounce.  It is very similar to a 7 foot Bass Rod, except its has a fister tip.  My second rod on the Yak is another 7 footer, its more for throwing 1/2- 1 ounce Plugs and Lures. 

Onto the Second most important part of your setup, the Reel.  If a reel is not smooth, I can’t use it, so I tend to go more for the High end stuff.  On the 702-ul, I run a Team Daiwa Fuego 2500A.  It’s not their top of the line but it is way up there, with the deal I have with Daiwa (I don’t get them for Free I pay Their cost) it’s what I feel comfortable loosing over the side of the Yak.  I would never take it on the OceanSide, but SoundSide you are less likely to Turtle.  On the back-up 7 footer I run a Daiwa Exceller 2500, this reel is a work horse, that has done several seasons of Beach Trout Fishing as well as the last 5 Years on the Kayak, with the only issue with it being is I plumb wore the handle out on fish and had to get a replacement one from their parts department. 

The next part of both my setups is the line, I don’t use Braided line, it’s Micro Fused Dyneema, which is heated and stretched like fibre-optics are made.  It has less of a tendency to “Wind-Knot” and is a translucent in color.  I fish it in the 10 pound break test, that is a 4 pound Diameter.  300 yards fit on the Fuego and I top shot the Excellar with around 200 yards, just incase a big Drum comes along.  

I still use a Fluorocarbon Leader I join to the Crystal with a Modified Uni-Knot with 9 wraps on the Crystal side and 3 on the Fluorocarbon side. 

 

 

 

 

 

The bait of Choice is a combination of Berkley Gulp and FishBites Xtreme Scent Release, all different varieties and colors and body shapes.  It depends on how bad the Pin Fish are.  The FishBites hold up better to the PinFish, so if they are around I switch to those.  Colors depend on the water clarity, dirty water, darker color, before the sun pops, darker color.  Clear water, Bright Color, I like Greens and Pinks and Light Oranges, in clear water.  White is always my go to for the Flounder and the Colored Stuff is for the Specks and the Greys. 

 

These bodies are fished on 1/8-1/2 ounce lead head jigs, weight depends on the current and depth, of what you are fishing.  I try to go as light as possible to give the fish a better presentation on the drop. 

I also use on occasion, some real pretty hand tied stuff that a friend of mine FlatHead ties.  These are Flies for Trout Rods and a re the perfect size and weight fro what I do.  The copper and red looks like a gold fish swimming and you knows its Illegal to fish with real gold fish and thats for a reason. 

The other Plugs I use are for the Spanish and Blues both in the Ocean and in the Sound.  They are made by a friend of mines company ESC Lures, he has a great collection of sizes and colors, what I like are the small ones for the Trout Rod.  They weigh in at anywhere from 5/16’s of and ounce to 3/4 of an ounce and you can cover allot of water with them.  I also use these from the Beach and Ocean for the Spanish and Blues, I just like using smaller stuff on bigger fish, I find it more fun.

 

When ever you are in the area, stop on by the Roost in Hatteras at Teach’s Marina, I can show you some of these things and point you in the right direction, or ya can Hire me as a guide, and I’ll take ya right to the spots, and cut the fumbling around out of the picture.  When I started out in the Kayak fishing thing in 2002, there was no-one to show me anything and very little gear, so everything had to be hand made, I kinda still stick to that, with my own Anchor Trolleys, De-Hookers, Mini Cutting Board, Anchor float System, all designed by some good friends and myself.

Hope ya enjoyed the Gear Time.

Until Next time JAM out..

Been a great few days fishing here on Hatteras Island, I have been on the water three days in a row, and have covered close to 40 miles.  Today was a down day for me as I had no guided trips, so I got up to watch the Meteor Shower at around 3:30 A.M., but the moon was too full and I could not see anything.  I look at it this way, if I am going to get up at 3:30 A.M. for work, you can bet your last dollar that I will get up for FUN.  

Was at the Marina having  Coffee at around 5:30, taking a slow pace, nice and easy.  Rigged up the YAK and was at the

Trout hole before 6:30 A.M., its not much of a paddle, but its about 2 and 1/2 miles from the Marina.  I anchored up in the first spot and before I could finish my Coffee, I had another Sea Mullet (Northern King Fish) this guy was a little smaller then the others I have been catching, but its still a strange catch to me on a Soft Body Bait and a Lead Head. 

I  moved out a little further as I saw some movement in the water to the North of me, there was bait jumping and breaking water like they were running from something.  I had a FishBite Xtreme Scent Cotton Candy Shrimp on a Chartreuse 3/8 ounce lead head.  It’s a real real bright color pattern, as I was fishing Clear to getting dirty water.  The wind was at my back, so each cast I was able to cover lots of ground, and I believe the more ground you cover the better your chances are at a Speckled Trout. 

Rod Tip went down as soon as the soft Plastic hit the water, drag started to hum a little bit, I love the sound of a reels drag being worked by a fish.  I could tell it was a Speck by the head shake and aerial show, and I had him in the net in

no time flat.  I like to put all my fish on a stringer to keep them alive longer, and I will not put them on Ice till they are swimming lethargically.  I have found that once you get the stringer on him your chances of loosing him go down to ZERO, and I like them chances.   It was a real nice quality fish at just a hair shy of 17 inches, 10 Points in the Kayak Wars, Awesome.

Kept at it for a while with only a below slot Speck, right below 14 inches.  The sun was getting High at this point so I decided to move closer to the flounder hole, but on the way I saw some beautiful water and had to stop and fish it a bit. 

 

 

There was bait busting all over the place and I threw in the general direction, trying to lead them a little bit, and thats when the rod was almost yanked out of my hands.  Drag was screaming, I knew this was no Trout, it felt like a Hound Fish Gar, and a big one at that. 

 

 

 

 

 

He was going insane, as I had a good hook set on him right in his bill, he tail walked like a Marlin Does, and Sky-ed several different times.  A few of which I captured on my Camera, how  I do not know, cause i had the rod in one hand and the Camera in the other, and I was just firing blind.  These things are a blast to catch on a Trout Rod with 4 pound test. 

After the excitement of the Marsh Marlin, I decided to continue on to the Flounder Hole.  It was getting close to High-Noon and I planed to be off the water around One.  I was just gonna hit it an go with the flounder, if nothing was happening, I was just gonna continue on to Teach’s Lair Marina.  made several casts for Flounder but had no takers, so it was back  to the Lair for the End of another Fine Adventure. 

Until Next Time

JAM out

The Wind Shift thats wasn’t on Thursday, became the Wind Shift That Was Friday.  The wind was a nice a steady 15 knots, out of the NE for the paddle out this morning, with Jeff and Eric from Maryland.   I love it when we get a wind shift, if the wind stays a certain direction for too long, things get stagnant.  The SW winds have blown here on the Island for the last 3 weeks, causing heat indices to hit record Hi’s well above 110 degrees.  It has been an Inferno out there, not only do the NE winds cool us, it gets the water moving, you can anchor at your back and fish out the front. 

We headed for “GREY DEATH” at around 6:00 A.M. this morning, both Jeff and Eric had 2011 Heritage RedFish Kayaks, Jeff’s was 14 foot and Eric’s (was a loaner) was 12 foot.  Heritage makes a real nice product, quality stuff and very well put together.  I would not trade my Wilderness Systems for it but they are really nice Kayaks. 

We arrived at the spot and the current was running very very hard from North to South. 

Eric did not have an anchor, so he tied of to a pole in the sound. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeff’s anchor was a little smaller then mine and he could not stick it, it would just bounce.  I tried to tie him off to the cleat on the port side of my Yak, but my three pound anchor could not hole us both.  No problems, we will just change the game plan a little, we left Eric tied to the pole and me and Jeff would drift fish for the trout. 

 

 

 

 

Eric, bagged the first Grey as he was in the perfect spot.  Jeff and I drifted and were getting eaten up by the pin fish, we would drift, and then head back in the direction of Eric.  I only got one photo of Eric’s Grey Trout because of all the drifting and returning.  Jeff threw his anchor and drifted with it dragging, that made it easy for me to work back and forth between them, hanging out with each of them taking story and fishing.   Eric had about 4 or 5 Greys and Jeff had a real nice one all the way to the Yak as well, I got to see Jeff’s fish go right to his Yak and was withing inches of being grabbed when he pulled a Houdini and escaped. 

We decided to go hit the flats off of JAMUDA ISLAND, Jeff brought a Fly Rod with him and wanted to go give it a whirl.  I told him we would set a drift for the Island and just let the current take us to our destination.  We fished all along the mile and a half long drift and we got several nice fish. 

Jeff had a SWEET keeper Flounder right at the Yak but at the very last second, it spit the hook. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was not too long after that that I bowed up hard, still under drift, with another near Citation Sea Mullet (Northern King Fish)  that would make three in the last several outings.  Funny thing about that is that in the last 9 years I have only caught three. 

We kept the drift going and arrived at the Island where we set the boats and headed for the flats on foot so Jeff could Fly fish.  

 

 

 

 

Jeff is my second FLY Guy that I have taken on Adventure’s and it’s a form of fishing that intrigues me and I keep threatening to become proficient at it, but I got allot of sticks in the fire with what I have going on now, but one day. 

The Fly fishing just was not happening due to the wind, its very hard to fly fish even with the wind at your back.  It was a gusty wind blowin from 15 to 20 plus from the NE, so I told the guys that I had nothing else to do and if they wanted we could stay out longer, on me.  I had a really nice Sea Mullet in the box for them to take home and I wanted to hit a Speckle Trout Spot I know that was very close by.  They were down so we departed from the Isle Of JAMUDA and headed for the Speck Spot.  The bottom I look for, when Speck fishing in the sound is called a Broken Bottom, that consists of Sand to Grass lumps and valley’s and holes with varying depth from 3 to 10 foot or more.  You will not catch Speck on a muddy bottom, they are ambushers, and Like to hide and attack. 

Jeff’s anchor held and I drifted with Eric for a bit, and headed back were Jeff was anchored up and drop anchor on a spot I always fish.  Changed up my Bait, and put on a FishBites Xtreme Cotton Candy Shrimp.  When the Pin Fish are thick I find that the Fish Bites hold up a little better then the Gulps.  If the Pin Fish are not heavy I use the Gulps if they are thick I use the Fish Bites.  They both produce fish and you will always find some sort of combination on my Yak, as it is all that I use back there 90 percent of the time.  Neither Company has an exclusive on me so I fish what I feel like, but if either company wanted an exclusive on me, lets just say we could talk. 

After several casts, I had a little drag taker, from the hit to the head shake to the jump out of the water, I knew it was a Speck.  After a brief tussle I boated and cooler’d the Spunky Speck.  Now the fellas could have a nice little Dinner with their Wives. 

We hung out a bit and fished, but there were no more hits to be had.  We decided to call it a day and headed over to Eric.  We hung out around the Island had a Drink of vitamin water, discussed rigging, and rested for the paddle back with the wind in our faces, the paddle and current look stronger then it actually was, and that was a nother nice thing.  It was just one of those days 4 different eatable species and 2 different trash fish species.  One heck of a day on the water with like minded folks.. Jeff, Eric,  It was GREAT Fishing with YA.. look forward to next year…

Until Next Time

JAM out