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Friday, June 30, 2006
NC DMF to Consider Raising Red Drum Bycatch Limit
 The NC Division of Marine Fisheries has decided to review its commercial bycatch limits for red drum (a.k.a. redfish, puppy drum) to determine if existing limits are too low. Commercial fishing for red drum is not permitted, but often gill nets set for other species entangle reds as well. Under the current law, commercial fishermen who inadvertently catch reds are allowed to keep 7 fish per day within the 18-27 inch slot. Any additional red drum must be discarded. NC DMF officials will be examining the sales of red drum to see how often the daily bycatch limits are hit for each vessel. If the limits are hit regularly it will be assumed that additional reds are being caught and discarded. More on the bycatch limit is available from the Jacksonville Daily News.
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Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Knotts Island Ferry Runs Aground
 Yesterday morning the Knotts Island Ferry ran aground during its usual crossing of the Currituck Sound and stranded 26 people in 13 vehicles for several hours. The ferry was departing the Knotts Island side when the engine failed and strong winds blew the disabled ferry onto a nearby sandbar. A local resident was kind enough to shuttle folks to the shore where they waited several hours for crews to free the ferry. The Cape Point has been transferred from its usual duties between Hatteras and Ocracoke to cover for the disabled James B. Hunt, named for the former governor. The Cape Point will remain on loan until repairs are completed and appropriate safety inspections are complete. We have no further information at this time on how the Cape Point's emergency transfer will impact Hatteras to Ocracoke schedules but keep your eyes on the comments below for an update. More on North Carolina's ferry schedules is available in our coastal NC travel info section; more on the Knotts Island ferry's accident is available from The Virginian-Pilot.
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Thursday, June 22, 2006
Washington Baum Bridge Boat Ramp Set for Expansion
 The Washington Baum Bridge public boat ramp in Kill Devil Hills is about to undergo a $1.35 million expansion. Starting this fall the ramp will be improved from the existing three-lane ramp, built in 1993, into a five lane ramp with parking lot renovations, a new storm water design, and new floating and fixed docks. The project will also include a bridge to the adjacent spoils island, an outdoor classroom, an observation deck, interpretive trails and composting toilets. We're glad to see public boating access improving and look forward to more improvements as the state begins to leverage the new funding from next year's recreational saltwater fishing license. More on the expansion is available from the Outer Banks Sentinel.
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Sunday, June 18, 2006
116.5-Pound Cobia Landed Off OBX; IGFA and NC Records Pending
 Last week Billy Ray Lucas of Wilson was fishing with Troy Crane of Grandy aboard Crane's Marauder, a 35-foot Bertram, out of Oregon Inlet when he landed a new NC state record cobia. Lucas' cobia weighed 116.5 pounds and beat the old North Carolina record for a cobia of 113 pounds caught in 2003 on the shoals at Cape Hatteras. The catch is also eligible for a new world record for cobia in the 50 pound test line category. Both records are pending but it appears that everything is in order for Lucas to have his name in a few record books. Lucas was sight-casting to cobia on sandbars when the record cobia bit a bucktail jig with a squid strip. More on the pending record is available from the News & Observer.
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Saturday, June 17, 2006
Chainlink wins Big Rock and $768,537
 In dramatic fashion, The Chainlink of Goldsboro captained by Ralph Griffin of Morehead City won the 48th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament with a 501.5-pound blue marlin that angler Wes Seegars battled for nearly seven hours. The winning marlin was fought for nearly seven hours and wasn't landed until nearly 100 minutes beyond the time when the Big Rock usually ends. Big Rock allows anglers to fight any fish hooked during regular hours until the fish is either boated, released, or breaks off. The Chainlink's win of $768,537 from the Big Rock's record purse of $1,593,425 was the boat's second Big Rock win. The boat also won the 1994 Big Rock when it was called the Salty Fare. The Skirt Chaser took the lead from the Can Do Too on Friday with a 486.5 pound marlin but will have to settle for the second prize of $283,147. The Can Do Too's third place finish was worth $183,565. The Pisces IV, a Charlotte-based boat captained by Tim McKellips, captured the release division to win $97,170. More on the final results and gamefish winners is available from the Big Rock Tournament website. Over the last few days we have had the pleasure of spending time in Morehead City and participating in the tournament festivities and have to say that each year is more exciting than the year before. If you didn't get a chance to attend thetournamentt this year, be sure to check out the fun next summer; it is always a great party.
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Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Alberto Keeps All Boats Ashore
 For the first time in more than 20 years not one boat went offshore Wednesday as all Big Rock competitors attempted to dodge Alberto. 186 of the 188 registered boats turned in lay day forms before 9AM, the other two boats missed the deadline but also elected not to fish. Since no gamefish were landed Wednesday, daily prize money rolls into the previous and following daily prizes. We're glad to see that the lure of a big payday didn't cause any competitors to take unnecessary risks. There are only 3 days of fishing left but things should heat up for the second half of the week. More on the washout is available from the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament's website.
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Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Can Do Too Maintains Lead on Day 2
 The Can Do Too held on to it's lead Tuesday and the only marlin brought to the docks didn't make the minimum requirements. The Sensation of Morehead City was the only boat to land a blue marlin but unfortunately their catch hurts a lot more than it helps. Big Rock tournament rules require all marlin brought to the docks to be at least 400 pounds or 110 inches in length, since the Sensation's marlin fell short they will be penalized 400 pounds from the weight of their largest blue marlin and 400 points from accumulated release points. Daily winners in the gamefish categories: The Fly Buoy from Pittsburg who won $1,253 for their 26.95 pound dolphin. The Fish Dance, captained by Keith Green out of Carolina Beach landed the only wahoo Tuesday. The 44.4 pounder that angler Mark Reyner reeled in turned out to be worth $2,089. The Sweet Margalit of Raleigh and captained by Nuke Guthrie captured the tuna daily prize and took over the division lead with a 62.2 pounder reeled in by Raleigh angler Doug Abrams. Since this was the only tuna brought to the scales, it netted the Sweet Margalit crew $2,089. More on day 2 is available from the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament's website.
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Monday, June 12, 2006
Can Do Too Takes Big Rock Lead After Day 1; Purse Hits $1,589,550
 Quite a few folks waited until the last minute to register for the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament because of Tropical Storm Alberto, but the late entries pushed the tournament purse to a new record, $1,589,550. After the first day of fishing, Can Do Too grabbed the lead with a 451.5-pound blue marlin caught at 12:19PM Monday by Wyckoff, NJ angler Sidney Gold. Can Do Too just did beat the other marlin landed Monday by Razorback Express that weighed in at 432.5 pounds. Second place is still a lucrative position, payout for the number two marlin will be $276,347. Marlin aren't the only target for Big Rock, other gamefish are also eligible for great prizes. The Barbara B of Greenville released the first billfish of the tournament to qualify for a $2,000 daily prize and The Tuna Fever of Manteo won $1,253 for landing the largest dolphin (53.15 lbs) of the day. The Tuna Fever could win an additional $7,522 if their dolphin proves to be the largest caught during the tournament. The Tuna Trappe of Wilmington also won the daily wahoo prize for their 79.05-pounder to capture the $1,253 daily prize for that division. Thursday looks to be rough as the tropical storm pushes north but there are still five days of fishing left. The complete schedule of events is available from the Big Rock Tournament website.
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Sunday, June 11, 2006
Big Rock Tournament Purse Over $1M Again
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The 48th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament kicks off Monday morning and all eyes have been on Tropical Storm Alberto. While the weather looks to be a little rough, it doesn't appear to have deterred anglers. As of 5PM this afternoon, 174 boats were registered to take part in the Big Rock Tournament and the purse was up to $1,480,475, over $1 million for the ninth straight year. Of the 174 boats registered so far, 131 had registered for all levels of the competition and the prize for this year's largest blue marlin has grown to $718,387. Wednesday and Thursday look to be the slow days this year as many should stay at the dock as TS Alberto pushes north. Competitors fish only 4 of the 6 designated fishing days so it appears that Alberto is making the decision easy for captains. Some of the Fishing-NC.com crew will be heading down to Morehead City to provide coverage; keep your eyes peeled for tournament updates all week long. The list of 2006 tournament participants and schedule of events are available from the Big Rock Tournament website. Be sure to check out their tournament webcam and live audio coverage if you can't join the fun.
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Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Debate Over New Fishing Pier in Oriental Gets Ugly
 In contrast to our usual updates on the loss of another North Carolina fishing pier, Oriental has been exploring the possibility of building a new one in Lou Mac Park. Town officials have received a ton of feedback on the proposed fishing pier and the vast majority of it is positive. A sampling of Oriental residents showed as many as 70% support building the pier, but the opposition is vocal and has strong opinions. As the debate has picked up steam, town officials have expressed concern that racial fears are driving some of the opposition. Many of the opposition have complained about "undesirable elements" being attracted to the pier, or "noisy people" being there, both of which a resident describes as thinly-veiled euphemisms for African-Americans and Hispanics. The creation of additional water access for anglers is rare and the Town of Oriental should be commended. Take a few seconds and contact a town commissioner to let them know a lot of good people think they are on the right track. More on the debate is available from the Pamlico News, pier details are available from TownDock.net.
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Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Fighting Coastal Over-Development in NC
 A few months ago North Carolina Sea Grant proposed the creation of a Waterfront Access Task Force to collaborate with the NC Coastal Resources Law, Planning and Policy Center to help our state keep its coastal heritage in the face of ever-increasing real estate development pressure. Monday NC Sea Grant hosted a forum on North Carolina's changing waterfronts in New Bern to share ideas and look at ways other states are responding to similar challenges. Monroe County, Florida even resorted to a moratorium on waterfront redevelopment until a permanent solution could be found. NC Sea Grant is hopeful that North Carolina will implement a strategy similar to Maine's. Maine passed bonds to purchase waterfront land for public use and instituted a land-use based tax valuation system to combat skyrocketing coastal property values. A similar bill was introduced in the NC House to create tax breaks for working waterfronts, water facing land that is primarily used to provide access to or support the conduct of commercial fishing activities. More on Monday's meeting is available from the Jacksonville Daily News.
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Saturday, June 03, 2006
Bonner Bridge Work Now at Night
 The NC DOT has been feverishly working to shore up the 43-year-old Herbert C. Bonner Bridge one last time as a temporary fix until a more permanent solution can be implemented. During the repairs travelers have found slow moving traffic over the Oregon Inlet with one lane closed during the day. In an effort to be more accommodating to tourists, both lanes will now be open during the day and on weekends as all crews will now only work at night through Labor Day. Work should be completed late in the year. Long-term options for replacement are still being debated and include a parallel bridge and a 17 mile bridge that connects Oregon Inlet directly to Rodanthe. More than $50 million dollars have been spent in the last few decades to keep the 40 year old bridge operational, but recent surveys have given the Bonner Bridge a stability rating of 4 out of 100. Oregon Inlet has moved more than two miles farther south since it first opened in 1846; an aerial photographic history of Oregon Inlet is available from the Army Corps of Engineers.
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