Tips, Tackle & Techniques

Joe's Hot Tip 

Bend Down the Barbs

Often, when bluefish are feeding actively, the best way to catch them is with an artificial lure. Trying to unhook a wildly flapping bluefish that’s caught on a treble hook can be harmful to the fish and dangerous for the angler. Minimize the threat to both by bending down all of the barbs with a pair of pliers.

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Fishing Articles by Joe Malat

"An Introduction to Surf Fishing"

With a minimum of effort and expense, anyone can catch a fish from the beach. Start with a few rigs, some bait and a rod and reel. If you do not have the necessary items, start with a visit to your favorite tackle shop.
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"Catching Sea Mullet"

One of the most popular bottom feeders that roam the Outer Banks surf is a fish Tarheel anglers call a sea mullet, but in other coastal states they are also known as roundheads, whiting, or kingfish.
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"Summer Spanish Mackerel"

Spanish mackerel are a warm water fish. They migrate up the Atlantic coast from Florida as the water temperatures increase, and usually arrive along the Outer Banks in late May or early June,...
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"Speckled Trout in the Surf"

The best time to catch speckled trout in the Outer Banks surf is the fall. They are good sized fish, averaging around two pounds, with many topping the four pound mark. Typically, the best action north of Oregon Inlet is between the first week of October and the middle of November, and on Hatteras Island November and December are the two prime months...
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"Summer Surf Fishing Strategies"

Traditionally, summer surf fishing has taken a back seat to the cooler months of spring and fall. Those are better seasons to fish from the beach, both in quantity and quality of fish. But there are fish to be caught during the dog days, but success in the summer surf requires a different strategy...
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"How To Drive the Beach"

My first four wheel drive vehicle, a 1972 International Scout, was more like an army tank than a passenger vehicle. Actually, I'm not sure it wasn't military issue. It had a six cylinder engine, three-speed manual transmission, no power steering, floor mats or radio, and was an olive drab shade of green...
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"Flounders in the Surf"

Being able to consistently catch flounder from the surf is not complicated, but anglers who pay attention to details and work with a plan will succeed. Let's have a quick look at the tackle and some of the techniques that will fool flounders in the surf...
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"Blues and Spanish Mackerel from the Piers"

Blues and Spanish mackerel frequently follow the same movements and feeding patterns along the North Carolina coast and are available from spring through fall. But the blues are able to tolerate lower water temperatures and usually arrive a few weeks before the macks make their first appearance of the season...
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"Choosing and Using a Cast Net"

I'll bet it’s not easy being a finger mullet. These little fish are chased by everything from bluefish to tarpon, along most of the Atlantic coast, around the tip of Florida, and into the Gulf of Mexico. About this time every year, huge schools of small finger mullet begin an annual southward, inshore migration...
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"Pompano, a Summer Favorite"

Pompano usually arrive on the Outer Banks in June, as soon as the surf temperature consistently climbs to the high sixties, but the best of the action for them is August through September. The first cool northeast blow of the late summer or early fall sends a signal to the pompano that it is time to head south, and most of them are gone by the middle of October...
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Copyright © 2004 Joe Malat, All Rights Reserved