Capt.. Mitchell Blake report

"Last Sunday I had a party, water temp was 36.  Decided to try the Raccoon Perch thinking they would be forced to push some eggs. Some fish were running ripe some spent.  They all chewed!  Great day on the water just off the Pamlico.....Ended up with 2 citation catches, big fish 1.4lbs.  I did make 5 cast to see if a Rock might be home...caught one on the third cast got hung on the fifth.  Decided not to retie and went home to eat some Roe."

-----Mitchell

This week:
"Well lets see.  Ice, Ice and Rain, Snow, Snow and Sun, Ice, Sleet and Snow and a rain colder than ice and snow.  I think that about sums it up.  My boys had a little fun playing, couldn't come up with a sled so we used the fish box....My sons teacher was asking did he have fun playing in the snow, he said "my dad put me in the catfish cooler."  I'm certain teachers hear a lot of things that might sound odd.

It's going to bust wide open after this.......:    -----Mitchell

Good news, bad news

Good news is that we had an excellent hook up ratio, catching our first 8 in a row, then stumbling a bit, but ended up with 10 of 13 bites......

Bad news is that we only had 13 bites.

Sitting in the middle of the pack, fishing one daily at a time now.....

Slow fishing, but nice weather, tourney starts tomorrow

Sailfish went on a slump this week.  All the ingredients are there, but they are waiting for the tournament that starts tomorrow to fire off.   No snook from the beach for me, but I do have a rod in one hand and some "watered" down fresh squeezed orange juice in the other .  

Good morning bro, thanks for the report, I'm glad that I don't have to start packing bags, weather sucks here too, it was dang hot yesterday, lots of sun, got to be careful with those crocs also, went to the scene of your hook up and one of the locals was connected with your croc on a hand line. This time in the ocean, took him outside the breakers and  down the beach about a half a mile before visual confirmation and he broke him off.   Big 'un. 

-----Original Message-----
From: James Massengill
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2015 6:49 AM
To: info@pamlicoguide.com
Subject: Re: Fish school

Yea Chris and Mitch were there with us at the Fisherman's Post Fishing School. Everybody done a great job.  Weather sucks here all week.Rain, sleet and snow. Heck with this!!!!!  Take care bro.  Ray

Sorry, had to do it.

I got sun burned and caught a snook today.  How has your day been?

Cold on tha riva

 

"Man it's f cold here, wind will not stay down.  We can catch some fish when it's not too cold to tie on a lure.  Stay warm brother, I'm going somewhere soon to thaw out for a few days...."

----Mitchell

sailfish porn

 
 

 

striper seminar from Capt. Mitch

Nothing beats hiring a guide.   Fro $500 and a 3/4 day, guides like Capt. Mitch Blake can teach you a lot........

Tar River is holding plenty of fish   all the way to Washington.  If you have electronics you will see the pockets of fish. 

If you don't know how to use them, fish from the first drop off out to the middle of the river and you will catch fish.  Jig, crank bait, spoon, hair worm- your call, Don't be afraid to go big, there are some nice fish in the system. Do mind the rules, 2 fish 18-22 one of which can be over 27.

Roanoke- Plymouth has a lot of fish they will concentrate on hard bottom mostly in the middle of the river.  Get something 1/2 to 5/8 oz fish the lower 3 ft of the water column.  Again electrons will point the fish if you don't see fish don't stop.  When you find them you're on the mass.  Aim toward the Cashie and Middle rivers first, Winter winds create a flow thats a touch warmer than the Roanoke which attracts a lot of bait and Rockfish.

Do keep in mind Shad are in the system and the Stripers don't mind the meal so when your fishing mimic a herring pattern.  In other words constant swimming will wear out the guy thats ripping a jig around like a crayfish on crack.

Do not keep any fish you will find yourself in a jam.  Coastal inland water markers (orange signs) are not on the correct line and your dealing with 2 agencies writing tickets on an overlapping boundary.

In the sound you can have 3 fish over 18", no slot.  If you don't know the sound don't run it, hire us or wait for the water to warm to avoid anything going south quick.  There are huge stumps in 7-8 ft of water.

By the way pick up some procure add to your bait and you will catch some nice blue cats in addition to the Stripers.

Want to learn the sweet spots call Capt George and ask for Mitchell.  Hope they bite for you,

Don't forget to stop in Jamesville, Cypress Grill and get you some Rock stew and a slice of pie.  Tell Mrs Sally I said hello.   If you need some custom jigs call me, I make a few that your not going to find at the shop and the fish don't mind chewing.

Capt. Mitchell Blake

Costa Rica Green Season in February

Where did the clouds come from?  And the nightly rains?   Kind of like the Green Season.  Kind of nice to walk on the beach barefoot and not burn the soles of your feet.  The bite slowed a little, but fired off again yesterday.  Everyone is still getting a couple turns on the rod each day and we're still hitting double digits.   Good fishing and pics to follow.

Tipping question

Rick,

Good question and no problem with quoting me on this.

Tipping protocol is different in different places. 

In short, tipping is kind of like a restaurant, but should reflect the quality of the overall experience, the efforts of the crew and to some folks, the weight of the cooler. 

For inshore guides, usually 15-20%  up to $100 for a great day.  

For NC offshore trips, the mate(s) are more often tipped than the captain who is paid a higher salary or who is assumed an owner/operator, who usually gets tipped less and less often.  Tips are extremely significant to full time professional mates.

For Costa Rica offshore trips, the two mates and captain compile their tips and divide equally, usually about $100/man which is about 15% of the costs of the charter.

Tipping should be done at the end of the trip.   Tips should be appreciated and not expected from the crew.   For a lot of customers, these trips are once in a lifetime events and it is all they can do to put together their savings.   For these customers, the crews should be remembering why they got into the fishing industry, to share with people what we love, and they should give their absolutely best efforts, knowing that there is no grease at the end of the day.    

All the best from the tropics,

Many thanks, Rick.

George

  

From: Rick Goines
Sent: Sunday, February 8, 2015 9:16 AM
To: info@pamlicoguide.com
Subject: Guide Tipping

 George,

Got a question from a reader about guide tipping.  Is their a rule of thumb?  I figure 15% of total trip cost for an okay day, and 20% for a good day.  Your take please.  I will NOT quote you on this one.  Please advise.

Sancochero

Sancochero:

"One who starts off  as lost as an arrow in a wheat field, and after many years of practice and toil he finds himself only as lost as a ball in high weeds."   ----Authorship unclaimed

Is sancocho a noun or a verb

Both.

"Berto made three sancochoes, but I only made two"  noun

"George sancochoed that marlin during the tournament."  verb

"Joey is a sancochero."   Also a noun meaning one who makes sancochos.

From: joey massey [mailto:      lacerationlures.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 4, 2015 10:42 AM
To: info@pamlicoguide.com
Subject: RE: Checking in...

Is sancocho a noun or verb?

Inshore/Offshore

 Roger with some inshore action 

 Ken with Dinner

Plus double digit days with the sails........

I've got to take those crocs a little more seriously

Snook fishing with Capt. Ray for the sunset bite.  He got it alright.

On Ray's trip here he has opened Pandora's Box and introduced popping corks to roosterfish, jacks and cubera snapper.  Not just for big drum and speckled trout anymore.

From the beach this afternoon he got a bite from a 9 foot croc.   He never saw it, but the croc woke up to check out the popping cork, eating the mullet underneath the cork, then continuing after the corks as fast as Ray could reel.   When cork and croc made it to the bank Ray stopped reeling for fear of it all coming together at his feet.

The croc caught the cork and spit it out, but was still attached to the hook that was in the mullet.   After a quick stand off, the croc made a couple steps up the bank towards Ray and Ray took a couple steps back towards the beach, then croc turned tail and the fight was on.

The croc won and ended up straightening out the hook, but impressed Ray with how fast he chased that popping cork.  

Here's a pic of Ray stretched out with the croc

I've got to take those things a little more seriously.

Jaco Rooster

Good morning from Hermosa beach

Pacific tarpon and snook

 You might recognize Johny, holding this tarpon.   He is now fishing with Roy's brother Jeffrey.  They were catching some snook and got this surprise bite from a tarpon.   One was caught a couple of years ago by a Jaco panga, but they're not supposed to be in the Pacific ocean.   They have been more regular visitors on the Pacific coast of Panama after coming through the canal and seem to have set up a breeding population.   Damn things are following me around to torment me.