little old ladies, fish kills and bright spots

We managed to put some smiles on the faces of a few little old ladies today, big thanks to Allen who came all the way from Asheboro and Jeffrey from Kinston.  Capt. Bobby Brewer and Capt. Gary Dubiel brought all they had and we got a lot done.  

During lunch at Brantly's Restaurant in Oriental I got a video from up at New Bern, dead and dying mullet, striped bass, flounder, catfish and yellow perch.   If you fill a 5 gallon bucket up with leaves and storm debris, add water, let it soak a few days then throw in a goldfish, that joker is going to be sucking air shortly.   The natural decay of all the leaves and storm debris will suck the oxygen out of the water.   Expect to see more on this fish kill in the coming days but there are some bright spots. 

The only thing we can compare this to is Hurricanes  Floyd a decade ago and Fran a few years before; the same thing happened.   We had bad fish kills in the main river, low oxygen everywhere but the creeks of the lower Neuse had better oxygen levels and became a refuge for fish, resulting in excellent fishing through the winter.  By spring, things were back to normal.

In addition to many of the creeks, the lower river should be in good shape, still with good catches of big drum, stripers and specks.    All is not lost and just like after Hurricanes Bertha and Fran followed by Dennis 1, Dennis 2 and Floyd, Irene and all the others, the fishing will recover and so will we. 

Oriental is cleaning up and opening up, The River Neuse Suites and River Dunes have places for you to stay.  The lights are coming on and the grills are heating up in several restaurants so you have a place to eat.   Capt. Gary and Capt. Bobby, along with Capt. Joe Ward have cleaned the pinestraw out of their boats and charged their batteries and ready to go fishing. 

At the beach, the motels are full with adjusters and contractors, but the Harker's Island Fishing Center was spared and the lights just came back on.   Capt. Rob Pasfield has dry, clean rooms that are ready for guests.   Capt. Chris Kimrey is starting his fall season tomorrow and hopefully will have a good report to follow.

Now more than ever, we appreciate your business and look forward to a great October/November.   Please give us a ring if we can help get you out there.