Cabin-Fever Beater

Head offshore from any southeastern port to find great bottom fishing during late winter and early spring.

When cabin fever gets to you, and you reach the point you have to get out and clear your sinuses in the salt air, an offshore bottom-fishing trip is as close as it gets to finding a sure-fire cure.

Off the N.C. coast, especially the southern coast, there are many hungry denizens of the deep just waiting for you to drop them a line.

Finding a suitable weather window is usually more difficult than finding a rock or wreck surrounded with ravenous bottom fish eager to take a shot at pilfering your baits.

Capt. Butch Foster of Yeah Right Sportfishing Charters (910-845-2004 www.yeahrightcharters.com) in Southport knows how much fun these winter bottom-fishing trips can be and relishes being the fish doctor with the cure for cabin fever.

Even on those few nice days when he doesn’t have charters, he is often out with family and friends laughing, making lots of smiles and stocking the freezer with tasty fresh fillets.

Foster said the closest ocean bottomfish during the late winter and early spring would be black sea bass. He also said many fishermen made the mistake of underestimating these fish as they consider them too easy to find and catch. He said this should be considered a positive attribute.

“Fishing out of the Cape Fear River, I begin looking for late winter sea bass as close as Lighthouse Rocks,“ Foster said. “When we leave from Lockwood Folly Inlet, I begin looking at the Lockwood Folly Ledges. I have also often found them on the WOFES and most of the artificial reefs.“

Foster said all of these locations were within sight of the beaches on a clear day, with Lighthouse Rocks being the farthest off — at approximately 8 miles for the nearshore edge. He added that the sea bass would begin at this range and usually also be found on some of the structure out around his deepest grouper ledges at over 40 miles offshore.

“Sea bass are a lot of fun to catch as they are always hungry and willing to bite,” Foster said. “In addition, they are very tasty on the dinner table and turn out good cooked just about any way. It is a clean, white meat, with a very mild flavor and usually quickly becomes a favorite of anyone who samples it.”

If sea bass have a down side, it would be the effort required to clean a mess or limit of them. While they are delicious, there isn’t much meat on those that are barely legal size. Many gourmands of sea bass actually prefer the smaller ones and choose to scale them, remove the head and internals, dredge them through flour, corn meal or a preferred breader and introduce them to a pot of 350-degree peanut oil. In just a couple of minutes they are golden brown and ready to be devoured in a few bites. Even those with smaller appetites will eat several.

Heading offshore brings the possibility of catching more and larger fish.

Grouper are the primary target of offshore fishermen and during the late winter/early spring finding them usually requires making the run offshore to 80 to 120 feet of water.

Out of Southport and Oak Island, this is a minimum of 25 miles and some favorite spots are over 40 miles offshore. To travel this distance and back in, it takes a good weather window to even attempt the trip.

In addition to several species of groupers, the deeper water also holds bee-liners (vermilion snappers), red snappers, hogfish, several species of grunts, an occasional spiny lobster, larger sea bass and various reef fish such as cobias, amberjacks and barracudas. Light lines deployed in the surface current occasionally produce king mackerels, wahoos, tunas, dolphins and even a rare encounter with a roaming billfish.

Foster said positioning the boat over the fish was one of the most important skills for successful bottom fishing.

Regardless of where he is fishing, Foster approaches anchoring in the same manner. He works into the current, looking for elevation changes that rise (move from low to high).

These elevation changes provide a lee on their lower side and allow the fish to feed without constantly having to battle the current. The elevation changes may be a slope, ledge, wreck or artificial reef.

“It is a must to be able to get our baits down to feeding fish,” he said. “I anchor up on the top of the rock or across the ledge and then let out enough line to position the boat directly over it.

“I use a special anchoring system and a windlass, which allows me to position the boat very precisely and get the fishermen over the fish. Some folks like to drift — and they do well with it — but I prefer to anchor and fish specific schools of fish.”

Foster’s anchor rig is slightly different for open bottom or wrecks, but works on the same principles. For open bottom, he uses a 22-pound plow-style anchor, with 90 feet of 5/16 chain lead before switching to rope. Over wrecks, he switches to a grapnel style anchor and cuts back to 20 to 30 feet of chain.

Foster said the extra chain helps the anchor bite and hold. He said he initially was using Danforth-style anchors, but kept bending them and switched to the plow looking for an anchor with stronger metal.

“I have to use a mechanical windlass with this anchor system,” Foster said. “No one can pull it by hand. Heck, even one of the big anchor balls won’t break it loose if it’s hooked deeply and it sure won’t float it.”

Foster’s philosophy on bottom-fishing rigging is to keep it simple. On his sea bass rigs he doesn’t use leader or swivels but ties the rig in the line coming off the reel.

Foster’s sea-bass outfit and rigs begins with a lighter stand-up rod in the 30-pound range and a Penn 320 GTi reel loaded with 50-pound-test monofilament line. At the end of the line he ties a loop, using a double surgeon’s knot to hold, but allow changing the sinker.

Approximately 5 to 6 inches above the sinker he makes another loop to attach the bottom hook, a 3-inch loop and again uses a double surgeon’s knot. A second hook is added 12 to 18 inches above the first hook, using a similar loop and knot.

Foster’s hooks of choice are Eagle Claw Circle sea hooks in the L-197 Series in size 4/0. He noted the hook must be attached by doubling the loop and inserting it from the back of the hook and then looping it over the hook’s shaft.

The hook would hang incorrectly if attached otherwise (see diagram).

“This rig works well for sea bass, porgy, bee-liners, grunts and more,” Foster said. “It has also caught reef donkeys (amberjacks), sharks and even some groupers, even though it is rather light for that.

“When you are offshore in the ocean and put out a baited hook, you don’t know what may bite it, so you should be prepared.”

Foster’s grouper outfit and rig is heavier in several ways.

He begins with a 50- to 80-pound stand-up rod and a Penn 6/0 reel loaded with 50- or 80-pound-test mono line. Much like an overgrown Carolina rig, his grouper rig has an egg sinker on the main line, just above a 250- or 300-pound Berkley barrel swivel. The egg sinker may be anywhere from 8 ounces to a pound or more, depending on the depth of the water and the amount of current.

Below the barrel swivel, Foster ties a 3-foot length of 150- to 200-pound-test monofilament leader with a Penn 9/0 circle hook at the other end (see diagram).

“I like to fish offshore on a south to southwest wind, which is a high pressure cell in our area, and the fish are usually biting,” Foster said. “The smaller fish are also affected by changes in the barometer, but not to the extent of the grouper.

“There are times the small fish will bite and groupers won’t. Something you don’t want to see is a bite falling off while you are still fishing. This usually means the current is slowing or changing, and you will need to move to get back on the fish.”

Foster believes squid and cut bait will catch most of the offshore bottomfish well. He said salted squid is tougher and harder for the bait thieves to steal but prefers cut bait, with his favorite being a fresh cut piece of a trash fish or bait thief.

Foster prefers to use a live pinfish or cigar minnow for grouper. He hooks his live baits behind the anal fin and said it allows them to swim better and bring attention to themselves, therefore getting them eaten.

“I tell my charters to put their rod in a rod-holder and only drop the line about 10 to 20 feet at a time and let it stay there for 15 or 20 seconds before letting out more,” Foster said. “This helps keep the baited hooks from tangling with the main line and also lets them feel bites and know if they are dropping through fish on the way to the bottom.

“When they hit the bottom, I tell them to leave the rod in the holder and crank the reel about three cranks. This gets the weight off the bottom and allows them to see a strike.

“Using circle hooks, the fish usually set the hooks, so we don’t have to jerk the rods to set them.

“I tell the fishermen to leave their rods in the holder until they have cranked the fish off the bottom before lifting the rod out of its holder. Especially with larger grouper, you have to get these fish off the bottom immediately or they will get back in a hole in the structure and break off.”

There are some very strict regulations for offshore bottom fishing, but many fish can be caught and most kept. Check out sidebar with this story and web sites noted there for latest regulations in this ever-changing fishery.

Foster said he always puts out at least one light line with an unweighted live bait or small dead natural bait. This bait is trailed in the current for surface fish and can produce surprises. Common catches are king mackerels, dolphins, wahoos and tunas, but occasionally a hungry sailfish can’t resist this bait.

Bottom fishing is a great way to spend a late winter/early spring day off the southern N.C. coast.

Fish are usually biting and it is great exercise with the extra benefit of filling your freezer with many tasty meals of fish.

The weather is usually warmer and sunnier over the offshore waters and gives you a head start on replenishing your tan for the coming season.

On a good day you might make your neighbors jealous in several ways.