OutdOOrs

rickgoines

TightLines

Chasing rockfish on the Roanoke River

Recently enjoyed an outing on the Roanoke River with Bobby Ma-son and John Partlow.

We put in at Scotland Neck boat ramp at first light on a cool clear morning just right for chasing those bass with stripes. Bobby and John are veterans of travers-ing the Roanoke River at Scotland Neck. They have several tried and true spots they like to fish. I have been out with them before, and these dudes know what they are doing. I respect their expertise.

They are a team, and work well together. I was just their no-hearing novice but enthusiastic passenger. They treated me like a king, gave me the catbird seat, and made the experience fun and exciting. I need a little extra help out there in a boat, they gladly provided it, and accommodated my spe-cial needs very kindly.

We were soaking fresh chunks of white shad on bot-tom rigs, compliments of Mr. Mason’s prowess as a white shad catcher at Battle Park. Didn’t take long to boat a fish. It had whiskers, not stripes. That seemed to be our luck out there that day because we caught more catfish than rockfish. We did manage to catch 5-6 rock-fish, and probably a dozen or so catfish. One rock was a 24-inch slot fish that had a nasty gash on its stomach. We eased him back in the water to survive and thrive. Bobby theorized it had done battle with an angry gar. It was a slow day by Bobby and John’s standards, as they always get their limit and more to release; but regardless, I thor-oughly enjoyed the experience, and appreciate being included in the crew.

Even more important to me than the fishing was being able to see Bobby back on top of his game. He had a rough patch this winter dealing with some serious medical issues, so I was very grateful to see the old Bobby back in true form and ac-tion. Of course, he was top fish

catcher out there on the boat, as usual. As the saying goes, “You can’t keep a good man down.”

One of my most memorable experiences fishing the Roa-noke River at Scotland Neck was with Bobby the day he

caught a 40-pound rockfish. Wow! What a fish! The biggest river rockfish I have ever seen. When Bobby was struggling to get that big fish onboard, I asked what I could do to help. He politely told me, loudly, to STAY OUT OF THE WAY. I did as I was told, so I am taking credit for helping land that 40-pounder since

I did my part. Tongue firmly in cheek.

We fished in Bobby’s new G-3 boat that was roomy and comfortable. John recently purchased a G-3 also. So, these guys think alike, fish alike, and now boat alike. That G-3 is quite a machine! What a treat! So, thanks Bobby and John for a pleasant, enjoyable morning on the beautiful Roanoke River.

Shad Contest Winner goes a fish’n – Remember back in February when Henry Brown from Pinetops won the Tight Lines Tar River First Hickory Shad Contest with a “hick” from the Old Sparta area? Part of his contest prize package was a half-day outing with FishIBX, Inner Banks Charters.

Henry and grandson Caleb Boseman joined yours truly and Wifey for an outing at Sweet Water Lake near Williamston. FishIBX Captain Jeff Koen was at the helm and guided us to a 75-fish day of hard-fighting hybrids (rockfish).

A good time was had by all. Wifey caught the first fish of the day, and reminds me of that TOO OFTEN. Honestly, she caught 14 fish and I was proud of her since this was a first-time Sweet Water Lake experience, and she does not get out to fish very often.

Caleb and Henry seemed to enjoy themselves, and both caught their fair share of fish. So, that extra hickory shad ef-

fort in February at the Mouth of Town Creek paid dividends big time out there on Sweet Water Lake.

Rick’s Soapbox – Can’t say enough good things about the recent John Cherry Rockfish Rodeo on the Tar. Tournament chairman, Jimmy Dupree Jr. out-did himself again this year and staged a well managed, flawless tournament. Like most good leaders, he is quick to deflect praise and adulation for tournament success to the many volunteers that worked tirelessly to make things oper-ate smoothly and efficiently. It was a profitable venture and

some good funds were allocated for the Edgecombe Community College John Cherry scholar-ship fund and the ongoing endowment.

So, 40 boats holding 80-some anglers had a large time. Partici-pants, sponsors, and the public willingly contributed to a very worthwhile cause. It’s a win-win situation for everyone. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

How Jimmy D organizes this tournament, and manages to fish it too is beyond me. Look up multi-tasker in the diction-ary, and you will likely see a picture of Jimmy Dupree, Jr. staring back at you. I get tired

and need a nap just “Think-ing” about all the hard work it takes to pull this event together. Tournament day is just the tip of the iceberg in the effort department. Jimmy D works on this tournament year ‘round. He is already making plans for the 2017 event, and looking for ways to make it bigger and bet-ter. Whew!

He and son, Jim, won a hard earned 2nd place with a very respectable total poundage of 13.20 rockfish. Some years that weight would have won the brass ring. Good job, guys!

The Dupree family enjoys fishing success at every level whenever they pick up a rod & reel. They ended up with a right fair representation on that final leader board in the JC. No doubt they are all great anglers, but I think I have figured out their secret. Shoes. It must be the shoes.

Yummy for the tummy– Southern hospitality and gracious living is alive and well in Tarboro, North Carolina. Elwood and Ginger Harris own and operate Country Sunrise Grill and BBQ in Tarboro. They specialize in country style down home cooking. Good eats!

Elwood is also an avid angler. I have fished with him several times, and the man knows his stuff. He is working too hard these days running a successful restaurant to do much fishing, but such is life. Now the good part.

I took several recently caught rockfish to him at his restau-rant. He cleaned them, cooked them, and served them to wifey and me along with some delicious sides, and a couple of Mrs. Harris’s (Elwood’s Mom) tasty brownies that were so big they needed their own zip code. What a meal! Try THAT in the big city! Not going to hap-pen, folks. This was one of the beautiful advantages of living in a small North Carolina town.

Hooking Fish? Good for you. Share the details and your big file, high resolution fishy pix at carolinaangler@gmail.com.

See you on the water, my friend!

Photo by Jeff Koen

Tight Lines’ Linda Tharrington Goines with the first fish of the day on a recent Sweet Water Lake outing with shad contest winner Henry Brown enjoying the “fruits” of his contest prize package with a trip compliments of FishIBX, Inner Banks Charters.

Photo by Linda Goines

Henry Brown proudly displaying a hybrid (rockfish) caught on a recent Sweet Water Lake trip with Captain Jeff Koen, of FishIBX, Inner Banks Charters. This outing was part of Brown’s prize package for winning the 6th Annual Tar River First Hickory Shad Contest. In the background is Caleb Boseman, admiring his granddaddy’ s fish.

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�B  the tarboro weekly n  wednesday, May 4, 2016                  send news to tarboroweekly@ncweeklies.com