It takes perseverance and good weather for anglers to catch some of the best-tasting fish of the Continental Shelf.
Anthony Ng is one of the top grouper fishermen in North Carolina, targeting many species of colorful tasty bottomfish at all depths of the water column.
He keeps his 30-foot Bimini model Grady White boat at a marina in Atlantic Beach, a short overland drive from his home-based business in Winterville.
On a warm summer morning, dawn promised a perfect day of fishing as the center console boat left the dock, heading eastward through Beaufort Inlet then across an ocean so slick it felt like the boat was skimming across a pool of mercury. At 40 miles, the boat passed the Big Rock, a normal destination for fishermen out of Morehead City area with a day of trolling on their minds. But Ng continued across the slick sea another 10 miles before idling his 250 HP Yamaha four-stroke engines.
There are not many days when a center-console boat can go that far for bottom fishing without profoundly pounding the anglers. But that’s what makes snowy grouper ideal for small craft. Fishermen can certainly catch the deep-dwellers from large craft. But superbly slick conditions are the only conditions for when they are likely to be caught.
“There’s the break,” Ng said. “Look at those snowy grouper down there.”
Ng circled the area, searched for fish with a color depth-finder. Different-colored patches just off the bottom indicated concentrations of predators.
Snowy grouper also are called chocolate grouper and golden grouper. But N.C. fishermen and federal regulatory agencies call these amazing fish snowy grouper because of the coin-sized white spots on the sides of young fish. As the fish age, they turn coppery or brassy colors and lose their spots. A dark patch running along the top of the dorsal fin further distinguishes them from other groupers.
The depth indicator read 450 feet at the first sheer drop Ng found at the edge of the continental break. Another peak jutted just offshore from the initial dropoff, showing part of the underwater cliff had dropped away, teetering before falling into deeper water, according to a geologic timetable. An underwater valley in between held the greatest concentration of fish.
The trouble with catching them was getting baits to that extreme depth inside a relatively small target area, then reeling up snowy grouper, that can exceed 20 pounds.
While some anglers feel using electric-assist drives with fishing reels isn’t sporting, by the time they reel a grouper 400 to 500 feet, they change their opinion. Add a 2-pound sinker to the terminal tackle and even reeling in a fishless hook represents a challenge.
Ng owns Fish-Ng Accessories, Inc. and his main product is an electric-reel assist called the Precision Auto Reel. Catching snowy grouper and other deepwater species creates an unparalleled testing opportunity for perfecting his equipment.
“When we fish for snowy grouper, we modify our motors by switching the push-button switch for a toggle switch,” he said. “You can’t hold the thumb switch down that long without your thumb getting sore so we offer the toggle switch as an option.
“You leave the rod in the holder, watch for the tip to twitch and hit the toggle switch to set the hook. Once you have him hooked, you keep him coming. Once he’s above the ledges, he’s high enough the rig won’t get hung. But he still might pull the hook because they’re strong fish.”
It sounds easy. But there’s more to deep dropping than dropping bait down and reeling fish up. The difficult part of catching snowy grouper is finding a day with the right conditions and still making yourself head that far offshore when so many fishing opportunities are located between the bank and the break.
Read the rest of this story in the South Carolina Sportsman archives.
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