Topsail Island Variety

My name is Captain Ozzy and I am a full-time Fishing guide and owner of Marker23 Guide Service. Today I would like to take a moment and share with you guys part 1 of 4 in a blog series I have titled “Topsail Island Variety”. I feel very lucky to run fishing charters in such a unique area such as Topsail Island, we have an abundance of species to target year round inshore. Starting in January through March, which is one, of my favorite times to fish, we have clean water due to the lower water temps, which makes for great sight fishing. Typically when sight fishing in these winter months we are targeting schools of redfish. These schools can be as small as 20 fish and as big as 300 fish, This is a great opportunity for fly anglers and sight fisherman to put up record numbers on the flats. at the same time this is going on our area is also known for great speckled trout fishing. trout fishing is done in deep creeks and is among some of the most exciting ways to catch these beautiful fish. The winter months are a great time to search for your PB speckled trout, speckled trout in the Topsail Island area grow up to 30 inches long and can weigh as much as 10 pounds. Through out the winter these 2 fish are what make up our amazing fishery inshore, and is arguably one of the best places to fish on the east coast during the winter. But there is one under rated fish that I enjoy targeting during this time of year, and that is a black drum. This fish provides an exhilarating fight and very tasty meal. To catch this fish we target deep water structure typically found in the backs of creeks. Generally using fresh shrimp on some type of bottom rig, black drum hit very hard and there is no questions when you are hooked up. This under rated black drum is one of many reasons I love running fishing charters in the Topsail Island area.