Fort Macon was where we set up base, so to speak. It was relatively close, had a nice jetty from which to fish, and unlike the piers to the south of us, it was free.
The bonito had left, never to show up again on the beach that fall. But it did not matter. The inlet to the Newport River was teeming with migrating fish. It was just a matter of being there and getting the right bait in the water. And we just happened to have the right bait!
We always made the stop on the bay side of the island to throw our cast net for mullet. A bait bucket of finger mullet was just the ticket in the early morning on the jetty. We would lip hook a 4 or 5 inch live mullet on a flounder bottom-dragging rig, and cast somewhat parallel to the jetty. A slow drag back to the jetty generally produced a subtle bite, and setting the hook at that first bite always produced a lost bait!
The bottom around the jetty was, and still is, very sandy. These flounder were migrating and heading south. Coming out of the inlet on an outgoing tide, they would hug the edge of the jetty and move to the end and then make the turn to the south. As the outgoing current made its way around the tip of the jetty, it formed an eddy on the south tip. This eddy always seemed to hold fish. They would make the turn, and then settle on the bottom. I suppose they were waiting for food to flow by on the current. Whatever the reason, this eddy is where we did the best. We also did pretty well all along the north side of the jetty. Interestingly, we would find out later that the pattern simply reversed in the early spring as they made their way back into the inlet.
I said that the first bite was subtle. Actually it is the only bite a flounder will let you feel. He grabs the bait in his sharp teeth and holds on for a few seconds before actually getting the whole fish in his mouth. A hook set during that first few seconds resulted in a half mullet on your hook.
We had to let the flounder begin moving away with the bait before we set the hook. Once he began moving, we generally had good hookups. And these were not, for the most part, small fish. We carried away quite a number of doormats in the 10-pound range, much to the chagrin of other fishermen on the rocks.
It was these other fishermen that ended our fall fishing success that year. You see, we got out to the jetty before the gates to the park ever opened by walking down the beach. After quite a few mornings, some of the “regulars” complained to the park rangers. The next morning the rangers out on the beach greeted us. From that point on we were in competition, literally running from the parking lot, with all the other fishermen in an attempt to stake a claim on the prime fishing hole, right on the end of the jetty. But it really did not matter that much. There were plenty of fish for everyone that fall, and the next spring, too.I haven’t been back to Fort Macon in some time. I believe the jetty is still there, and I would think the fishing would be just as good as it used to be.
Perhaps you have fished off this jetty, or visited the park recently. Write and let me know – are the fish still there?
