Tidelines – May 24, 2012
Distribution of Fisherman’s Post Newspaper to the Outer Banks continues to be quite a chore for us, as our office is based in Wilmington and there’s just no quick way to get to the area from here. So last issue when it was my turn to do the run, I did what I often do as Publisher—I tried to be advantageous.
It just didn’t seem right to make that long drive, hand out thousands of copies of newspapers, service our racks, and update the locations list without the end reward of a Hatteras fishing trip. And that’s where a new relationship with Capt. Aaron Aaron (Yes, that’s his real name. His mom remarried when he was four years old), of Tightline Charters out of Hatteras Harbor Marina, proved valuable. He provided the fishing action that made it easy to forget the hard work and long hours involved in doing the Outer Banks distribution run (note: I also brought Joshua Alexander, our salesman, with me so that I could make him share most of my distribution workload—like I said, I try to be advantageous).
Aaron has a Kencraft skiff with a tower, and he first took Joshua and me out Hatteras Inlet to cruise the Ocracoke shoreline. In addition to sight casting opportunities for cobia along the beach, he had also recently found some schools of big red drum in the area.
We put in some time looking for cobia cruising along on the surface but only spotted two, and they were both swimming fast and away and didn’t have much interest in a bucktail with a squid strip.
Then the action changed when we moved closer to the hard edge of the falling tideline. Aaron had Joshua and I throw our bucktails near a turtle. My bucktail came back unmolested, but Joshua’s found resistance after letting it drop deeper through the water column. A few moments later he was posing for the camera with a cobia just under the 33” length requirement.
Why did his bucktail get struck and not mine? It’s simple. Pure beginner’s luck.
A little later, and now on the east side of the Hatteras Inlet tideline, Aaron had us cast at a bait ball. This time Joshua’s bucktail came back to the boat without incident, while my bucktail got bumped once before something big took it for a run.
There was head shaking coupled with short runs and long runs, both heading to and from the boat. Several minutes later we spied through the water column a fish of much lighter color than a cobia, and then in short time we were taking a quick couple of photos with a 46” red drum before getting it back in the water for a healthy release.
Why did my bucktail get struck this time and not Joshua’s? It’s simple. Pure skill. At least that’s how I tried to sell it to Joshua as we headed back through the inlet and turned in the direction of the Hatteras Harbor docks.
Capt. Aaron gave me what I needed after a long day of distribution: a Hatteras fishing memory. And while we enjoyed a few drinks while sitting at the new picnic table with Aaron’s fellow captains, we made plans to do it again this summer when Aaron could take us sight casting to big red drum in the shallows of the sound.
I suggest you make your own Hatteras memory with Aaron. He targets cobia through mid-June, and then spends the summer and fall sight casting to citation red drum (fish he can basically find most of the year). He can also put you on big speckled trout or some slot red drum. You can call him at (252) 305-3175, or visit him online at www.fishtightline.com.
Or if offshore fishing out of Hatteras is more your style, then you’ll want to check out this issue’s Guide Time article with Jay and Jeremy on the charter boat “Bite Me,” also out of Hatteras Harbor Marina. The Fish Post crew went on a successful sailfish trip last season, but Hurricane Irene took out access to the island before we could run the feature.
The complete story can be found on page 36.
Enjoy the Memorial Day holiday.
