Fishing is the stuff dreams are made of for those of us that live the salt life. It encompasses everything we are - from supper table delicacies to childhood memories and political heat - fishing pumps the blood through our veins. With our homes amid some of the best fishing grounds, we sail to salt water destinations, embark on fresh water angling excursions and take pride in a commercial fishing commodity. The salt life is serious stuff.
I take an intense stance on fishing. I think it’s a God-given right and no matter how you use it, as long as you practice a little respect, you are golden. There is a “fisher of men” that would agree. From recreational angling, to commercial culling, to just talking about fishing - I hold the industry in the highest regard.
Commercial fishing
Most folks don’t know our country’s dependence on foreign seafood. More than 80 percent of seafood consumed in this country is imported from other countries. It’s more than 92 percent for shrimp consumption. What’s more, there is no method of ensuring this commodity is kept to the standards of American quality. Yuck! Eating seafood that is shipped in from foreign countries is very unpatriotic, especially considering all the folks that don’t have work right now. We need all the jobs we can get.
Big trawl boats have headed north for day scallop fishing, flounder fishing and sea bass trips. Too bad they can‘t take a chance on getting through Oregon Inlet to bring their catch home. Docks in Engelhard and Wanchese are nearly empty because big boats are staying docked in northern ports and selling their catch there. On a recent trip to Newport News to drop my fella off aboard a commercial trawler, I felt kind of at home because they were docked next to boats from Swan Quarter and Wanchese. I was proud. Locally, Ernie Stotesberry set a net and caught two speckled trout and one gray trout. There hasn’t been much going on in the Pamlico Sound.
Inland
Although there hasn’t been much going on in the Pamlico Sound, fishing has been off the hook in nearly every aspect of what y’all like to call the inner banks.
There have been a few reports of white perch in some tributaries of the Pamlico River and Pamlico Sound. Recently, I saw a crowd of fishermen along U.S. 264, west of Northside High School. Word has it they were catching white perch in good numbers. According to information from the Wildlife Resources Commission, white perch can overpopulate small reservoirs prevent other species from thriving. To me, that sounds like a good reason to get out there and fish. What’s better, there’s no size limit or bag limit.
Young fisherman Daniel Aldridge caught 35 stripers while fishing in the lower Roanoke River with Capt. Richard Andrews with Tar-Pam Guide services. All together, the party boated 50 fish during fishing trip. Sounds like a good day.
Capt. Andrews had another good day and got into some trout last weekend. He stayed close to home and fished on his day off with his buddy Matt. They were rewarded with some very pretty specks, catching their limit and releasing many more.
I got some tips on how to fish for gar from Corey Davis, a third-grader at Mattamuskeet Elementary. He said menhaden is his bait of choice and it‘s important to make sure the hook is set all the way through the fish’s mouth. Cast out and when you see the bobber get still, start reeling real slow. When you feel the hard tug at the end of the line, get ready for a fight. Gar isn’t something that you want to eat, but they put on a heck of a show. Some of my Hatteras buddies call them “sound marlin. “Corey’s sister Harlee didn’t much want to talk fishing. She likes hunting better. Still, their family spends considerable time on the Mattamuskeet Refuge enjoying the natural resources. Take a kid fishing. Not only will it put a smile on their face, they’ll have some of the best memories. That’s something no one can take away.
Salt water fishing
Some of the first dolphin (mahi) of the season have shown up around Ocracoke. I heard of a private boat that went out and landed some of these beautiful, tasty, fun-to-catch fish. Anglers aboard charter vessel Drumstick with Capt. Farris O’Neal caught wahoo and triggerfish during a trip earlier this month. In the Ocracoke surf, the folks at Tradewinds Tackle said things are pretty slow.
Heading north on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the folks at Frisco Rod and Gun reported some blow toads showing up in the surf at Cape Point in Buxton. Biter sharks and dogfish have definitely been a good bet for surf fishers. The Hatteras offshore fleet has been getting into some nice-sized blackfin tuna. Dolphin and wahoo have reportedly been scattered.
Fisheries issues
The reason I’m not lamenting on fisheries issues is because I am very disheartened. Things don’t look so good.
Over the past few years, I’ve made some great friends while staying active in the fight to preserve beach access to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. However, last week the unthinkable happened. Strict beach driving rules went into effect and folks in Hatteras and Ocracoke are facing their summer season with skeptisism. After a devastating hurricane, these rules only put another nail in the economic coffin of small busineeses in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. I am still pretty hurt that the past five years of efforts did little to help these folks. A lawsuit is in the works and I will explain more about that next week.
If that isn’t bad enough, there are folks that want to make speckled trout, rock fish and drum “game fish.” This would make it illegal to buy or sell these fish in North Carolina. Not only would it squash commercial fishermen, it would deny access to consumers who love fresh local seafood. Only about three percent of the state’s population would be able to eat rockfish stew, boiled drum or fried speckled trout. Please tell your legislative representatives that House Bill 353, “the game fish bill” is uncalled for.
Tell me a fishing story!
If you caught the big one - or missed it - I want to hear about it. Send an email to
*Published in the Feb. 22, 2012 issue of the Beaufort-Hyde News.megpieinthesky@gmail.com and I’ll be glad to talk fishing with you. Until next time, keep your line (or net) in the water and fish on and on!!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
This is Megan Shaw
My name is Megan Spencer Shaw.
I grew up in the inland part of Hyde County N.C., without stoplights or taxis, much less a big-box grocery store. Being reared in such a Mayberry setting, I initially, bucked the trends of country music, good suppers at night and the overall feel of living off the land. Now that I’m all grown up, I guess the reason I did so was to broaden my horizons. The farthest away I got was Greenville, where I got along decently with Pirates. Otherwise I never would have known about the Misfits or Max Cavalera or a how to pronounce spanakopita. I came home to Hyde at the turn of the millennium and lived on the island side for a little while before moving up the beach to get into communications. The search for knowledge is always rewarding, but now I know in order to get where you’re going, you gotta know where you came from.
I was in Dare county for ten years living the beach life (and continuint to cavort with pirates). I dabbled some in radio and was a weekend personality “Trixie”for 94.5 WCMS for about five years. Eventually, I signed on as a staff writer for The Coastland Times in 2007. It wasn’t long before I found myself very involved in the fishing scene and became a columnist with “Fish On! (the title was inspired by a Primus song). The column lasted four years and I found my true zest. I love fishing and everything about it.
Summer 2011 brought lots of changes, namely Hurricane Irene. I moved back to Swan Quarter after the storm to take a job in public information with the county. In retrospect, I can see that my life was preparing me to come back home. Country music and fishing…
I’m missing my beach fishing times, but I’m glad to have gotten back to my roots. These days, I love my mama and daddy, Sunday dinners and George Strait. I get all nostalgic and teary when I think about the time I caught a big old flounder with my Mama Edith off Bell Island Pier and how my Pop used to laugh at for not being able to stick my hand in the peeler tanks without a glove. I absolutely love the fact that a commercial fisherman taught me how to cast my rod and to respect the resource. I’m proud to say Sunday dinners are still the product of the fishermen (like Pop) in my community and there’s nothing better than oysters on a Friday night.
Like all the thick-headed fishermen I know, I don’t want any hand-outs or subsidies. I want to talk fishing like I know it and I want to be myself while I do it. I love to fish.
So, this is me. The former Miss Engelhard Seafood Queen - turned writer, country music personality and fishing activist. Love me or hate me. Either way, if you have an interest in fishing I want you to know who I am. I’d love to hear from you, too. We’ll get along fine as long as you keep your facts strait and don’t offer me any imported shrimp or a frozen fillet of some shit-sucking tilapia.
Fish On & On!
I grew up in the inland part of Hyde County N.C., without stoplights or taxis, much less a big-box grocery store. Being reared in such a Mayberry setting, I initially, bucked the trends of country music, good suppers at night and the overall feel of living off the land. Now that I’m all grown up, I guess the reason I did so was to broaden my horizons. The farthest away I got was Greenville, where I got along decently with Pirates. Otherwise I never would have known about the Misfits or Max Cavalera or a how to pronounce spanakopita. I came home to Hyde at the turn of the millennium and lived on the island side for a little while before moving up the beach to get into communications. The search for knowledge is always rewarding, but now I know in order to get where you’re going, you gotta know where you came from.
I was in Dare county for ten years living the beach life (and continuint to cavort with pirates). I dabbled some in radio and was a weekend personality “Trixie”for 94.5 WCMS for about five years. Eventually, I signed on as a staff writer for The Coastland Times in 2007. It wasn’t long before I found myself very involved in the fishing scene and became a columnist with “Fish On! (the title was inspired by a Primus song). The column lasted four years and I found my true zest. I love fishing and everything about it.
Summer 2011 brought lots of changes, namely Hurricane Irene. I moved back to Swan Quarter after the storm to take a job in public information with the county. In retrospect, I can see that my life was preparing me to come back home. Country music and fishing…
I’m missing my beach fishing times, but I’m glad to have gotten back to my roots. These days, I love my mama and daddy, Sunday dinners and George Strait. I get all nostalgic and teary when I think about the time I caught a big old flounder with my Mama Edith off Bell Island Pier and how my Pop used to laugh at for not being able to stick my hand in the peeler tanks without a glove. I absolutely love the fact that a commercial fisherman taught me how to cast my rod and to respect the resource. I’m proud to say Sunday dinners are still the product of the fishermen (like Pop) in my community and there’s nothing better than oysters on a Friday night.
Like all the thick-headed fishermen I know, I don’t want any hand-outs or subsidies. I want to talk fishing like I know it and I want to be myself while I do it. I love to fish.
So, this is me. The former Miss Engelhard Seafood Queen - turned writer, country music personality and fishing activist. Love me or hate me. Either way, if you have an interest in fishing I want you to know who I am. I’d love to hear from you, too. We’ll get along fine as long as you keep your facts strait and don’t offer me any imported shrimp or a frozen fillet of some shit-sucking tilapia.
Fish On & On!
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