My Kind of Schooling

Sometimes it is so obvious that the Crystal Coast is one of the best places in the United States to live, that I am very surprised that we are not overrun with newcomers. Yesterday was one of those days. First the weather for the last few days has been as close to perfect as you can get. The temperatures are in the upper seventies and low eighties during the day. At night the temperatures are dropping into the fifties. On top of the great weather, I got to do something that has eluded me for a long time. I went to a seminar about fishing. Just how wonderful can it get when you are living on a great river in an area famed for its fishing and then you get to go learn how to catch more fish?

October is arguably the best fishing month on the Crystal Coast. This year October is rolling around after a summer of less than stellar fishing. That means all fishermen have high expectations for the fall fishing season.

In my case, I have decided to really focus on Speckled Trout and Red Drum. When I heard that our most famous local surf fisherman, Dr. Bogus, was giving a free seminar on Speckled Trout to coincide with the annual Speckled Trout Tournament, I had to attend.

I had missed the registration deadline, but I called Dr. Bogus, and he told me to show up anyway. My arm did not have to be twisted, and I was at the Emerald Isle Parks and Recreation building ten minutes before the seminar started.

I was not surprised to see that others at the seminar had come with note pads. This was obviously a group of serious fishermen.

Dr. Bogus did a great job. We learned how to pick the right water to fish and the right tackle and gear to use. I was especially impressed with the information about how each fish takes the bait differently. I saw many artificial baits which were new to me. I was especially impressed with Dr. Bogus' float rig for fishing a fly and another lure on a dropper leader.

In fact I went to bed thinking that I might get up early and go Speckled Trout fishing in my kayak. Unfortunately I had far too much morning and afternoon work to do so it was about 5:30 pm by the time I got my kayak on the river after creating one of Dr. Bogus' special rigs.

By the time I had paddled out to my chosen oyster rock, it was clear that finding the exact spot that I wanted was going to be challenging since the tide was staying pretty high.

I really did not have much time left for serious fishing, but I stayed as long as I dared. I did get somewhat distracted by the amazing sunset we had.

Still I knew that if I was not back by dark, my wife would have the neighbors organize a search party so I headed back, fishing a little along the way, but mostly paddling pretty steadily since I had managed to get over half way across the river.

While I did not catch anything today, I am convinced that the tips that I learned from Dr. Bogus will be instrumental in helping me have a very successful fall fishing season. I am very impressed with the new rig that I created based on Dr. Bogus' instructions. I am convinced it will really help me fish some of the shallow waters that often have fish but are a challenge to work properly.

If you get a chance to go to a Dr. Bogus seminar, do not pass up the opportunity.

Life does not get much better than fishing seminars in the midst of our coastal paradise during what we all hope will be a great fishing season.