| Jake Jordan's Fishing Adventures |
| 2007 North Carolina Fishing Reports |
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| Half of Double |
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| Austi Hepburn, Albie on Fly |
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North Carolina Fishing Report
November 30, & December 1, 2007
Greetings from Albie World:
November 29, 2007,
My friend and fellow fly fisher Austin Hepburn along with his 7 year old daughter, Annie (Bear) Hepburn, from Radnor, PA came to North Carolina in search of the elusive Albies. The weather started out with 15 knot north wind, lots of clouds, cold air temperatures, and rough seas. Annie showed up dressed for the weather with the warm layers of clothes and full rain gear.
We left Beaufort inlet at 7:00 Am and headed east along Shackleford bank, while looking for fish or birds. We finally found some Albies just outside of the #2 buoy, just outside of the cape lookout hook. Austin caught the first Albie, then Annie got a nice fish of about 8 pounds, she did a great job fighting this red hot Tunny, and landed the fish in less than ten minutes. Below is a picture of Annie, with her dad as back up, fighting her first Albie, then the second shot is of Annie getting ready to release the same fish.
Later in the after her and dad caught a couple of Bluefish, Annie caught a really nice Albie, (over 15 pounds) which almost pulled me over the side when I grabbed its tail to get a picture of it. In the end we caught several Albies and half a dozen Bluefish before heading in at 2 PM for some hot chocolate and a good hot meal. We plan to fish tomorrow if the weather lets us.
December 1, 2007,
Today the weather is colder with north wind between 15 and 25 knots, some sunshine, and choppy to rough seas. We started fishing at #4 but could not get a bite, then we headed out toward the shoals, but it was to rough. I decided to look inside of the hook where we found a few fish yesterday afternoon, "Bingo" the went off big time.
Annie was tired and decided to take a nap, so Austin broke out the Fly Rod to try his luck on these schoolies. After a few practice casts in the 20 knot north wind Austin was ready, he hooked the first fish that he cast to and the battle was on. After Austin and I had released 6 fish each on fly, Annie woke up and was a little cold so we called it a day and headed back to the marina so the Hepburn's could clean up and begin their long drive back to Pennsylvania.
I had a lot of fun fishing with Austin and "The Bear," I look forward to our next fishing adventure. There are still lots of Albies around, I may go out in the morning with Chuck to try my luck before heading to Guatemala on Thursday of this week to begin this season of my Sailfish Schools. More Reports to Follow.
Regards:
Jake
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| Annie "The Bear" Hepburn First Albie at 7 Years of age |
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| Buddy Rogers Double |
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North Carolina Fishing Report
November 20, 2007
Greetings from Albie Season:
November 20, 2007,
"Off The Charts", "Awesome", The Reel Deal", are just a few phrases which might be an under statement of the Albie fishing which Buddy Rogers and I experienced today aboard my Jones Brothers Cape Fisherman "Fly Reel" today. We left Beaufort Inlet at 7 AM in dense fog and then followed the chart plotter to a buoy off of the hook at Cape Lookout. We went another 400 yards before we ran into a bait ball with a few pelicans guarding it, I turned off the motor and we drifted up to the bait ball. Buddy made a cast and hooked up, then I made a cast which produced our first double header on Albies.
We fished that same bait ball without starting the boat engine for the next 2 hours, by 10:30 we had caught more than 15 fish each including 12 double headers on the biggest Albies of the year. I watched Brian Horsley catch lots of doubles and triples, while Chuck Laughridge shot a TV show aboard his skiff. At Noon with 40 fish caught we headed into the marina with big smiles on our face. Buddy caught a fish of 20 pounds, while we both caught several 18 pounders. These were the biggest Albies of my season, and maybe the best Albie fishing day ever. Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow? Wish you were here, Thanks to Brian and Sarah for turning me onto this great fishery. More reports to follow.
Regards:
Jake
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| Tom Bennett Albie |
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North Carolina Fishing Report
November 18, 2007
Greetings from Albie Season:
November 18, 2007,
Today I met CLFF member, Tom Bennett this morning at Radio Island and we headed out Beaufort Inlet at about 7:30 AM looking for Albies. There were lots of Bluefish in the inlet and along Shackleford bank as we headed out toward Cape Lookout in very choppy seas.
We found Albies, lots of fly fishermen including many club members, between the rock jetty and the shoal.
Tommy hooked and then lost his first 3 Albies before 9:30 AM, after that we caught a double header to get the skunk out of the boat. During the next several hours Tommy caught 7 more Albies, on big gray and white Clouser flies, along with several small Bluefish. Shortly after noon I realized that the fuel gage showed almost empty, so Tom and I had to leave the fish to run in to Harkers Island to refuel the boat.
We got back out to the shoal just as the fishing shut down, I was still really tired from traveling last week, so Tom and I headed back to the dock about 2;00 PM after a great day on the water. Today the Albie fishing was very good, it looks to me like it is getting ready to be red hot if this wind goes to the North. Guess I will go fishing tomorrow?
Regards:
Jake
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| Albie Blitz at Cape Lookout NC |
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| Danny's Big Albert |
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North Carolina Fishing Report
November 7, 8, 9, 2007
Greetings from Albie Season:
November 7, 2007,
Today Danny Cline and I fished aboard Flat Out with Captain Brian Horsley along the beaches to the west of Beaufort inlet in relatively calm seas. We had good Albie fishing today, sippers, bait balls, and small groups of big fish close to the beach eating spearing and spearing flies. We released 16 Albies today and as usual Brian did a great job at putting us on those fish and figuring out what they wanted to eat. We look forward to fishing with Brian again next season.
Today I am captain and Danny Cline is my angler, we came out of the Beaufort Inlet and headed to the West along the beach. Danny's first couple of fish were caught in shallow water up close to the beach where they were chasing bait right up onto the sand. We went as far as the Sheridan then saw some birds way out off shore. When we got there the Blitz was on, Danny catch 7 more fish during the next 2 hours, several in the 12 to 14 pound range. Later we found a bunch of sippers which kept coming to the surface until we got there then they would go down and come up 200 yards away from the boat. Great Day, Danny wound up with 9 fish.
Danny and I traveled almost 20 miles to the West along the beach looking for Albies this morning. We found some good Albies near the second fishing pier however they were hard to get to eat. At 10:00 AM Danny had caught one Bluefish and one Albie and it seemed to dry up, we could not find many fish. We hooked up and headed to Cape Lookout, when we arrived the good bite had ended and there were very few Albies around. We did find a few fish up near the beach between the rock pile and the cape but could not get them to eat. After looking around for over 2 hours we headed back to the western beaches in search of the elusive fat Albert! We never landed another fish today and at 6 PM I dropped Danny off at the New Burn airport for his flight home to West Virginia. I have a feeling that the fishing here in Albie World is about to get real good, wish you were here. More reports to follow!
Regards:
Jake
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| Nice Albert |
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North Carolina Fishing Report
October 20, through November 5, 2007
Greetings from Albie Season:
Sorry for the lack of fishing reports for the last several weeks, I have been pretty busy with my 97 year old mother here with me, a hurricane passing just offshore, along with the Albie season getting into full swing. The last 10 days in October I fished as many days as possible, with some decent results. I caught a couple of Striped Bass up in the New Bern area, almost as many bluefish and Spanish mackerel as I wanted to catch, and a couple of dozen Albies on the days that were fishable.
The Cape Lookout Fly Fishers club had my friends Captain Sarah Gardner and Captain Brian Horsley as our featured speakers at our club meeting on October 19th. They gave a great presentation regarding the use of chumming for fly fishing in the Outer Banks area. This was a very well presented and informative program.
On the 20th it blew hard and we had a wonderful brunch at Chuck and Michelle Laughridge's home, where there was lots of discussion about fly fishing, and lots of good cheer. From the 21 through 31 of October I think that I fished 9 of those days, one day with Chuck, up inside of the hook I caught 3 that day but we left early, another day along the beach we picked off 9 outside the #2 buoy, the fishing just kept looking like it was going to get real good.
The weather was bad from the hurricane from November first to third, so I did not fish however we had a wonderful Meal and some good fly fishing discussions with some friends over at Michelle and Chucks place on Harkers Island on Friday night. Then on Saturday evening November 3rd we went to Tom Earnharts "Pig Pickin" hosted by the wonderful people at Jones Brothers Marine. What a great get together of fly fishers and fellowship all with the anticipation of the world famous Cape Lookout Albacore Blitz!
November 4, 2007
Don Butler and I fished the beaches west of Beaufort inlet, we found plenty of Albies but they were hard to feed, We caught a few and had a beautiful day.
November 5, 2007,
Today Danny Cline and I fished with Captain Brian Horsley way west of the inlet, there were lots of Albies however we had to work hard fro every one of the 12 which we released. Brian travailed a long way to put us onto some real good Albies, we had a great time today.
It looks like the weather will not allow us to fish on November 6th as a cold front will pass through with 25 knot SW winds turning to the North with dropping temperatures. This looks like the beginning for some great Albie Fishing for the rest of the week. Wish you were here, more reports to follow!
Regards:
Jake
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| Brian and Danny |
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North Carolina Fishing Report
October 21, 2007
Greetings from Eastern, NC:
Today I fished with local angler Buddy Rogers from the "Cape Lookout Fly Fishers" fly fishing club which I joined last year when I moved to this area. Not only is Buddy an excellent fly fisherman and fly tier, he also is a pleasure to spend the day with while chasing Albacore in my boat.
We traveled 88 miles today looking for the elusive Albies, and they were hard to find this morning. We found some bait balls with Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel in the morning, then about noon time we found the Albies just to the east of the shipping channel. They were eating small translucent bait which made it hard to crack the code. Finally Buddy tied on an olive over pearl white Clouser tied on a #6 hook and he got a bite on the first cast. Buddy hooked and fought 5 or 6 Albies on these small flies however all but one pulled the hook and swam away. We each released one Albie of 6 to 8 pounds, then they disappeared! Later we found some bait balls over closer to Shackleford Bank, We caught more than half a dozen Spanish Mackerel from these bait balls then left to find more Albies.
We quit at four PM without finding any more Albies, it was a pleasure spending the day fishing with Buddy Rogers, Guess I will go fishing tomorrow. More reports to follow.
Regards:
Jake
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| Buddy Rogers Albie on fly Oct 21, 2007 |
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| Albie Food |
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| Don and Jason Albie Double April 15 2007 |
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North Carolina Fishing Report
October 15, 2007
Greetings from Albie Season:
Today Don Butler from Connecticut and Beaufort, NC and his son in law Jason MacKenna from Wilton, CT joined me for a day of Albie fishing out neat Cape Lookout. Jason is a spin fisherman so we took spinning tackle with lures along with fly tackle for Don. The weather was sunny and warm however the wind turned to the East north east and blew a good 10 knots, which made the East side of the shoals pretty sloppy.
We played around the East side for a few hours where we found a few sipper Albies but couldn't get a bite. We crossed back to the West side, where it was calm, and ran to some birds where we found some nice Albies. We ran into some friends who saw the same birds however the fish went down and the birds left as did my friends. We turned off the motor and had a sandwich while we planned our next move. Right beside our boat a bait ball popped up to the surface with a few Albies chasing them. Jason hooked up first then Don hooked a second fish, the picture below is Jason's first Albie and Don's first fish of the day.
We then went up to the shoal where birds were working on Bluefish, we caught quite a few along with some small Spanish Mackerel. Quite a few boats were working on those fish and the Dolphin were putting on a show just off shore. I spotted some birds on splashing fish about a mile and a half to the South west so we took a ride out where we found a bait ball which as full of Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish, with a few Albies and hundreds of Porpoise. These baits were thick and formed up into a ball under our boat. Don and Jason each caught at least 20 Spanish and some Bluefish but we never got another Albie today.
We then headed into the hook inside of Cape Lookout and ran up to Shackleford Bank where the wild horsed were out on the beach sunning themselves.
Just another day at the office, I love my job. Guess I will go fishing again tomorrow, wish you were here. More reports to follow.
Regards:
Jake
World Class North Carolina Fly Fishing Report
October 14, 2007
Greetings from Albie Season:
Today Don Butler and I left the dock in my Jones brothers Cape Fisherman at dawn for the short ride to cape lookout. We crossed the shoals at 7:30 and ran north east up the beach in search of the elusive Albie on fly. Didn't take very long before we found Albies sipping on very small bait. Don and I began casting but these fish were not going to be tricked into eating the wrong fly.
I caught my first Albie at about 8 AM then Don caught one about half an hour later. We moved from school to school but they were real tough, I caught 2 more before noon and we both caught a few Spanish mackerel. We then decided to run in toward the shoal, to look for something else however we never got there. About 1/2 mile from the beach we ran into a bait ball on the surface, which was alive with Spanish, Albies, Sharks, and Kingfish, they were all eating these small rain bait ferociously. During the next hour we each caught half a dozen good sized Spanish and another Albie, plus we lost several flies to toothy critters.
The weather was sunny, warm, and calm, with water temperature of 76.6 degrees. I have to say that moving to this area from the Florida Keys was a very good decision on my part, this fishery is awesome. Guess I will go again tomorrow. More reports to follow!
Regards:
Jake
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| Albie on fly |
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| We caught some bigger on fly but I could not lift them for a picture. |
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| Don Butler first big Redfish on fly |
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| First Redfish on Mako #9500 fly reel |
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World Class North Carolina Fly Fishing Report
October 13, 2007
My friend Don Butler and I left the Beaufort inlet at 6:45 AM and headed down the Shackleford bank towards Cape Lookout in search of Albies. By the time we reached the cape we had already seen Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel, and Kingfish on fly. We crossed the shoal at 7:45 and headed east along the beach looking for Albies. We saw a few birds with fish busting under them so Don made a cast and hooked an Albie. As soon as he was hooked up I made a cast which resulted in us catching our first double of the day.
Several hours later we saw a lot of commotion on the surface a mile or so away, I ran the Jones Brothers toward the splashing which turned out to be acres of big Red Drum on the surface eating like crazy. Don and I caught 5 before some of our friends arrived to share in the party. We finished by releasing 9 total (4 double headers) after breaking 2 off on very lite of tippet, and pulling the hooks on another one. Several of these spectacular Redfish were over 40 pounds with some being close to 50. The weather was sunny, no clouds, the temperature started at 60 degrees and got up to 77 degrees, it was like a giant aquarium out there today, we saw thousands of Porpoise, lots of bait, and tons of Albies eating micro baits. This was my best day ever fly fishing in North Carolina, I caught my biggest Redfish ever on fly today as did Don! Guess I may go again tomorrow.
Jake
North Carolina Albie Report
October 7, 2007
Greetings from The Crystal Coast of NC:
Oct. 7, 2007:
Russell Strange and I pulled out of Beaufort inlet this morning at 6:50 am aboard my Jones Brothers Cape Fisherman 2000, on our way out to the Cape Lookout area looking for Albies. The wind was NE at 5 knots with pure sunshine, hot temperatures, and calm seas. We ran along Shackleford Bank up to the hook then out to the shoals without seeing any birds. From the point we headed southwest for about 3 miles where we found some Bluefish busting bait on the surface. We cast lots of different flies but could not get a bite, we then ran parallel to the shore line until we were 3 miles directly off of the hook.
After several hours with no fish we ran into a school of fat alberts (Albies) eating very small bait on the surface, we through 8 or 9 different flies but could not get a bite. Later on the third or forth school that we found Russell got one to eat a chartreuse and white Clouser about 3 inches long. Ten minutes later Russell Strange, USMC Pilot, Released his first "Albie" on fly.
During the next 4 hours we found school after school of Albies, they were eating small bait and it took a while until I figured out that they wanted small brown back Gummy Minnows. After that we had lots of success landing quite a few Albies and hooking a big Hound Fish. The weather was awesome, and we had a great day of fishing, I will be back out there tomorrow. More reports to follow, Wish you were here.
Albies in October and November, Guatemalan Sailfish During December, January, February and March, Australian Marlin Grand Slam during March, Galapagos Striped Marlin in April, Keys Tarpon during April, May, and June! You should give me a call if you feel like catching some of these big fish on fly while enjoying my company!
Regards:
Jake
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| Russell Strange first Albie on fly |
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| Shackelford Bank Spanish Mackerel |
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| Bryan Goodwin releasing Middle Marsh Puppu Drum |
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North Carolina Fishing Report
September 30, & October 3, 2007
Greetings from The Crystal Coast of North Carolina:
September 30, 2007:
This morning I headed out of Beaufort inlet in search of the Albies and bait balls. The wind was blowing from the north at 10 to 20 knots however the water was calm in close to Shackelford Banks, and there was lots of bait balls and birds diving on the bait. I Stopped in the inlet to look for fish however the birds there were diving on small bait being chased by small bluefish. About 2 miles down the bank and 1/4 mile off the beach I found a pretty active bait ball with lots of fish busting.
My first cast proved to be a Spanish mackerel about 17 inches long, then after 3 or 4 Spanish I got a strike that seemed like a bigger fish, which turned out to be a juvenile Kingfish about 22 inches long. I fished this bait ball for several hours and caught several more Kings and several more Spanish, then I ran on down the beach toward Cape Lookout looking for Albies. I did find several more bait balls however they mostly had Spanish and small bluefish feeding on them. I did see quite a few Albies smashing small schools of bait however by the time I got to them and tried to cast they went down, only to pop up 200 yards away in a minute or two. I wound up with a few small bluefish, 9 Spanish mackerel, and 3 kingfish by the time I quit at 3 PM to head to the dock. Hopefully the Albies will be more plentiful tomorrow.
October 3, 2007:
Today I fished 4 hours in the middle marsh in my skiff with my friend Captain Bryan Goodwin. We were looking for Redfish or what ever we could catch in the protected waters (Back Country) while trying to stay out of the strong east winds.
Brian took me to some real fishy spots where we saw lots of bait and some waking fish.
While I poled the boat Bryan prospected for school Redfish along the marsh banks in 2 to 3 foot of water. Bryan got several bites and landed one Redfish (Puppy Drum), and a 16 inch Flounder. The area had a lot of boats running around doing research for the up coming Redfish tournament this weekend. Tomorrow the wind will drop down and I will go looking for the Albies. More reports to follow.
I just receive a call from one of my good clients who had to cancel his trip to Guatemala to my Sailfish School. This opens up one spot to join me and 2 other clients to fish out of Casa Vieja Lodge on December 14, 15, 16, 2007. I am sure that this prime spot will sell quickly so if you have an interest in catching lots of sailfish on fly you should contact me right away!
I still have room for two fly anglers to fish with me in Port Stevens Australia for Marlin on fly. The fishing dates will be March 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, of 2008, the package includes ground transportation in Australia, lodging, instruction and tackle, and 6 days of fly fishing for Blue, Black, and Striped Marlin. This is a once in a lifetime trip, don't miss out, contact me for more information.
The Albies will be here for the next 2 months, along with Kings, Redfish, Spanish, and many other species. I have a few dates still available for Albie season! Again contact me for more information.
Regards:
Jake
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| My first Albie of 2007 |
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North Carolina Fishing Report
Sept 26, 2007
Launched in More Head City at dawn then headed to Beaufort inlet, where I found lots of birds on small Spanish and Bluefish. Cast a 6 weight with floating line and blue/silver #2 Clouser, caught Spanish up to 15 inches and small Bluefish on every cast for several hours.
At 9:30 the croud was there and the fish went down,I headed out along Shack Bank looking for fish or birds. about a mile and a half from the inlet and 1/2 mile off the beach I ran up on a bait ball. Blues and Mackerel until 11 AM then I saw a bunch of birds out towards the entrance to the hook, I ran to the birds and guess what, the busting fish turned out to be Albies.
There were bait balls all over the place, each boat had their own bait ball, I would cast to the Albies, hook one, and the school would go down. After lading the fish I would look around and there was fish in all directions, they would come up just long enough to hook one then go back down. I quit at 3 PM after releasing 9 Albies, 21 small Spanish and 20 small blues. The weather was mostly sunny with light wind and calm seas, the water temp was between 79 and 81 degrees.
I was surprised to find the Albies this early? This was a great day of coastal North Carolina fly fishing, more reports to follow!
Regards:
Jake
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| Don Butler's 45 inch Drum |
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North Carolina Fishing Report
August 20 to September 5, 2007
Greetings from the Crystal Coast of North Carolina:
September, 5, 2007:
Today Don Butler and I joined Captain Bryan Goodwin, Native Guide Charters, to fish for "Old Drum" (Giant Redfish) in the lower Nuese River. Don and I met up with Captain Bryan at the launch ramp where he had just launched his 22 foot Pathfinder skiff at 3:30 PM, we then headed out for the 1/2 hour boat ride to the "Honey Hole" in the lower Nuese. When we arrived Captain Bryan proceeded to make 2 casts with his cast net which filled the livebait well, then we moved to the hot spot and dropped the anchor.
We put out five baits on Owen Lupton rigs using circle hooks, on stiff 7 foot 15 to 20 pound class spinning rods. We waited about 20 minutes before the first rod bent deep and drag screamed off of the reel. Don picked up the rod and began to fight this first fish of the evening. Ten minutes later a big male Drum was subdued next to the boat, then Captain Bryan took the hook out, I took a picture of Don, Bryan, and this 35 pound Redfish, then Bryan released this wonderful fish.
Fifteen minutes later I hooked my first Red and the battle was on, my battle was quick and I had this 30-35 pounder ready for release in less than ten minutes. During the next 3 hours we caught and released four more Drum, we each caught 2 males and a female. Don's Female measured 45 inches, while my last fish (Female) was 47 1/2 inches with a 27 1/2 inch girth. We estimated these fish to be near 45 pounds. We were back at the dock and on our way home at 8:30 PM. This fishery is awesome, I feel that these plentiful "Old Drum" (Giant Redfish) make this the best, most productive fishery fro Big Reds that I have ever seen.
We had a great time fishing with Bryan, remember we were fishing on the Neuse River within 15 miles of my house, and will be back out with him soon. These big Reds are here for at least another month then we have shots at them along the coast (On Fly) while we are Albie fishing During October and November. Check out Captain Bryan Goodwin's website for contact information: http://www.nativeguide.net or give me a call for more information on this awesome fishery.
September 1, & 2, 2007:
Don Butler and I went out in my skiff both days to fish for tailing Redfish, We fished in the Beaufort area and up towards the Newport River and Core Creek. We found lots of tailing Redfish up in the grass flats during the last 3 hours of the incoming tide and one hour into the fall. Once we figured out the right fly which would not get hung up in the grass, and that the fish would eat, we slammed them. Don caught his first tailing Redfish on fly in NC, and we proceeded to find them every where that we looked. Lots of fish, great two days of fly fishing.
Aug 15 through 31:
I fished with friends for 7 days during this 15 day period and learned a lot about the flats fishery in this area. I landed more than a dozen Flounder on fly, quite a few Spotted Sea Trout, and plenty of puppy drum. My next door neighbor, Adrian, is a hard core angler (Bait) however he showed me lots of good spots for fly fishing. This exploring is lots of fun and I feel that I can find catch fish on fly when I have decent weather and fish the correct time of day. I also fished the inlet several days with mixed results, I am sure that early morning on calm days with falling tide seems to produce well for Spanish, Bluefish, and what ever else is chasing those early morning baits.
I will be at the Fly Fishing Retailer Show in Denver on the 16th and 17th of September then up to Alaska for a week of Trout Fishing and then Back Home for Albie season. Lets go fishing, call me for information.
Regards:
Jake
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| Big North Carolina Redfish (Drum) with Captain Bryan Goodwin |
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