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Random Quote: The solution to most problems is to first go fishing
Can someone give me the scoop on these critters. It seems like a great way to have some fun on a hot summer day without burning a lot of fuel. I have heard the procedure with jelly balls and tried it once or twice with no luck. Any wisdom?
Pick up a bucket full of jelly balls leaving the inlet or get some fiddler crabs. Chum with cut up jelly balls until you raise a good school and let the fun begin! Use gold hooks if possible and change up the bait from time to time to keep the fish feeding. You can fight these manhole covers 'till your arms give out if you raise a good school. Keep a few for the table as well. They bake up really nice with some lime juice, salt and butter. We've always had our best luck on the North West area of 4KI. Good luck!
BTW, you might want to drift some balloons with live bait while you're fighting spades.
__________________ Never back anything into a corner that is meaner than you are.
Pick up a bucket full of jelly balls leaving the inlet or get some fiddler crabs. Chum with cut up jelly balls until you raise a good school and let the fun begin! Use gold hooks if possible and change up the bait from time to time to keep the fish feeding. You can fight these manhole covers 'till your arms give out if you raise a good school. Keep a few for the table as well. They bake up really nice with some lime juice, salt and butter. We've always had our best luck on the North West area of 4KI. Good luck!
BTW, you might want to drift some balloons with live bait while you're fighting spades.
gman,
The Chesapeake is the only place I have ever targeted these fish, there we used a red hook with clam as the bait. There you have a general idea where the fish should be and then drive around until you see a school feeding. As for the fishing here I'm not sure, I have seen them while diving around NC ARs. Good luck, they are so much fun on light tackle.
THey are usually all over the nearshore reefs off Brunswick this time of year. AR445, 455, 460 and the like.
Scoop you up some jelly balls from the canals, put them in a bucket, and follow racencase's advice.
We have, besides chumming, had luck W. stringing 3-4 Jelly Balls an a coat hanger and dropping them back in the chum line on a polypropylene rope. The spades will tear into them. The coathanger is easier thankeeping up a constant churn line. And like all other fishing, Sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it doesn't.
If you book one, hang on - it will head straight to the bottom likea bulldozer.
I dive all the AR's from Beaufort to Swansboro and they are thick right now. I don't shoot them, I once had a bad experience in Ocracoke with the fish of the day at a very nice restaurant. I hope it was the cook and not the fish, but it tasted like tennis shoe soles that had been walking around in the Calico Creek muck.
Polecat27330, where are you? This is one of your specialties!
Paul is back working for the school now and I don't think he's on here quite as much. I know this is a little late as gman has already taken his trip but I remember him saying one technique he used was to string 4-5 jelly balls and put them down in the water column. When you feel something pecking at it, pull up about ten feet very slowly. Wait until the same pecking happens, then raise another ten feet. Eventually you'll have them follow it up to the back of the boat and you can put out pieces of jelly on flouro leader and smaller j-hooks and work them like that. I want to try this as my kids would freak out to see them swarm at the boat, but they would prob spook them and they would sound.
I want to hear more about the acrobatic Cudas, sounds cool, but would'nt want a green one to leap in the boat!
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From what I have seen lately, the water has been really murky from about 20-30 feet from the bottom, and as we are descending/ascending the spadefish are just above the dirty water at a depth of 25' feet or so. There seem to be 2 types, big ones with no vertical markings and big schools of smaller ones with distinct vertical markings.
The AR's off AB have had really dirty water from 30-35' all the way to the bottom all summer. making flounder hunting almost impossible. The angelfish always seem to hang just above the line between clean water and the dirty water.
The cudas have been big and thick from 20' down all the way up to the surface. If we are lucky enough to shoot something, they get really interested.
Gman, they were thick this past weekend at the Gen. Sherman. Lots being caught, also bucho bunch of boats. But you could seem quite often in schools of 5 or 6 busting the surface. I've also heard you can catch them at Yaupon Reef. They will also bite squid.
A type of jellyfish, the ones that are a little larger than a softball and kinda clear with the reddish / burgandy around the outside flappy part. String several together and you have a jelly ball.
They'll also stain gelcoat if you don't wash it off quickly.....learned that the hard way. Weekender says they will kill any bait in your livewell so definetely use a 5 gal bucket.
__________________ Cobia 244 ~ Twin F115's
Volunteer Boat Committee Chairman for:
Throughout history there are few that have offered to die for you, almighty Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul and the other for YOUR freedoms.
Support both!
Spadefish? 
