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By Richard Seale
A fresh start in a fresh New Year
With 2020 having been such
a bummer most of us would
like to forget, perhaps a benefit
will be that we will not suffer
writing the wrong year on our
checks and letters. Although this
is written in early December,
I am happy to report my “real
life” is seemingly coming back
into focus. I am off antibiotics
after 65 days. I have caught
some limits of very nice 20-
inch speckled trout and a few
false albacore and have had
success deer hunting on a
couple of outings. I managed to
go on a hunt with my son and
granddaughter when she bagged
two deer. My son then spent a
good 45 minutes showing her
how to field dress a deer, detail
by detail. Lauren took over on
the second deer, and she did a
great job getting the deer converted into a cleaned bag of venison. She is a junior
at UNC—Chapel Hill and is doing well at targeting a career as a pediatrician. She
certainly demonstrated her ability to
handle a lot of situations.
As for the speckled trout, I am
learning the subtle tricks needed to
catch nice fish with MirrOlures. The
17 series suspending twitchbait and
18 series sinking twitchbait lures are
currently putting meat on our table.
In case you have not ventured into
this artificial bait class, there are two
things you will have to quickly learn.
The first thing is that these lures are
not inexpensive. You have to learn
to hang on to your wallet as you
buy them and then not throw them
into “dangerous” snag-filled water. You will not want to lose these sharp-hooked
treasures. The second thing is not only are the lures dear, but the rod, reel and line
to properly cast and fish these lures can set you up for some true sticker shock.
However, I must admit these rigs really do produce very impressive results. The
Roger Seale and daughter Lauren with two deer
she bagged on a single outing.—Photo fcy RogerSea/e
li
—Photos by Richard Seale
accompanying photo shows two such lures, the Blue and White, 2 5/8" 3/8oz
17MR-EB and the White Stripped 17MR-MULLET. There are so many MirrOlure
versions of similar lures that I recommend taking a photo that shows the lure and
its particulars that are on the package it came in. Otherwise, when you take the
lure out of its package, manage to throw the package away, start catching lots of
fish on the lure, and lose the lure to a big fish, you will painfully realize you have
no idea what the particulars were and be frustratingly baffled realizing you have
no idea what to specify as you seek a replacement.
As far as the actual
in-the-water fishing
goes, a twitchbait is
just that; it needs to
be pulled through
the water at different
retrieval speeds, with
colder water requiring
slower speeds. But
along the way it needs
to be twitched once
or twice in a series of
wrist snaps of the rod.
Then the hard part
comes. You have got
to let the lure sink or
suspend while at the
same time keeping
reel/line pressure
enough to feel a speck tap the lure. Yes, specs love to tap the lure as it slides down.
They are expert at mouthing the lure and letting go when they feel the hardness
and hooks. If you do not have positive tension on the lure, the fish will be gone
as you re-establish that pressure. Unfortunately, you really have got to be able to
set the hook just before you feel the bite. But with a light casting rod rated for the
light lures, a reel like a Penn Battle II 1000 or 2000 loaded up with 8- to 10-pound
J or Power Pro braided line and 10-pound leader about 16 inches long, you can
experience some true world class fishing. By that I mean hook-ups that strip line
because the fish are 18 to 24 inches long. You can also experience “catch-and-
release body counts” in the 20- to 40-inch range in a few hours of fishing. We are
incredibly blessed that this can happen right here in our Eastern NC waters. The
photo shows six fish my son and I kept on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend.
Enjoy the New Year but remain safe and healthy. Get outside in the fresh air
where social distancing _
is easy, and let the
“locals” welcome you
back like these gobblers
did me. As you can see,
they came right into
the shadow of my deer
blind to show off their
many iridescent colors
in the bright sunlight.
Yes, life is good.
X
January 2021 I The Shoreline