Grouper Fishing in a Bay Boat 50 Miles Offshore Wrightsville Beach NC

[@jaymacn87]

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!

[@Dara-Fishing]

Wow. What a great catch and beautiful fish.

[@DustinPFishing]

Thanks! Which fish did you like the most?

[@pathua7692]

I fish mostly out of Florida’s gulf, but I really love fishing out of North Carolina waters whenever I get the chance! The gulf stream brings both tropical and cold water species all into one area which is incredible! Caught my PB hogfish there. Seeing you catch yellowtail snapper and other exotics in your other videos just makes me drive up there and fish! Keep up the great videos❤

[@DustinPFishing]

Man that’s awesome stuff… I went to Islamorada Florida last year and caught my first Nassau grouper in 8’ of water I love Florida the water is always so clear and amazing to dive in Yeah it seems like we get some of the fish from florida and also the colder northern species too, I’ve seen huge Sea Bass that probably swam down here and also Goliath Groupers that probably swam up here ha Yeah I’ve heard our Hogfish can get bigger here around NC, I’ve actually caught 1 around frying pan tower They just recently decided to shut down Gag Grouper season here October 23rd and I can believe it cause it seems like the Gag population has been declining fast the past 40 years That yellowtail was a HUGE surprise!! I went to Florida hoping to catch one and didn’t but got one here 50 miles out in the deeper waters I’m glad you can watch these videos and get motivated to come to NC that’s so awesome What inlet did you go out of and do remember how far out or any structures or reefs you were near by chance when you caught the hogfish out of NC?

[@pathua7692]

@@DustinPFishing went out of calabash, about 40 -50miles from shore. Likely hard bottom. Grouper season was closed, so I figured to have a go at hogs knowing that Carolina waters have giant hogfish (typically 18in plus fork length). Brought some shrimp, and managed to land my PB. On the gulf around Tampa, we typically target them with loads of shrimp and occasionally crabs when we have them. 2/o, 3/o circle hooks. Tons of by-catch when fishing for them though, have to weed out a lot of grunts and jolthead porgies. Some of the crew and captains I’ve fished out of the gulf mentioned hogfish and joltheads are commonly found together, especially near ledges. This may be true for Carolina waters as well, as joltheads were also being landed when I caught the hog. Hopefully, that could help you narrow down a bit on what bottom to look for! As for gag grouper, it sucks. The gulf had a really short season this year and was shut down roughly 3 weeks earlier than the original. 2 limit per person for so many years certainly didn’t help, but I would much rather them cut it down to 1 gag per person, but keep the season at half a year😢 Now, your side is also being shortened…. It could be spawning patterns that’s affecting the rule change. I remember one captain at Wilmington mentioned about how gags gather at certain spots to spawn around November - December, and they can easily limit out in a very short amount of time. If those spots are well known and get hit hard during spawning, Gag population can definitely suffer. That’s at least how researchers described Nassau Grouper’s drastic decline. By the way, how big was the Nassau you landed? I came across one on the gulf, but it was no more than 9in. Took a picture and threw it back. Didn’t even know it was Nassau until checking it later that evening.

[@DustinPFishing]

Yeah our gag season is closing October 23rd and not sure if it’ll open back up in may or still be 1 per person or 1 per boat or what not I posted the Nassau grouper video and it was probably 22” if I had to really guess I always said 24” but it was probably 20” lol I wonder since you have so much bycatch going for hogfish with shrimp, if those little fish get tired of biting the hook and get fed well and eventually the hogfish has a chance to bite or if it’s just luck of the draw since theirs tons and tons of bait fish down there and only a few hogfish… I was thinking about using maybe a 4-6 size circle hook with blue crab and shrimp and see what happens They seem to catch and see more hogs closer to calabash and near frying pan tower than up north towards Sneads ferry so you were in the strike zone for a hogfish Did you go on a charter when you went out of calabash?

[@pathua7692]

@@DustinPFishing yes I went on a charter out of calabash, but had no clue it was the sweet spot for hog. Guess I just lucked out! As far as behaviour goes, hogs are in groups. Usually one male is accompanied by a few females. If one is caught, multiples should be around. The underwater footage of Hogfish in the gulf around Tampa, and even Tautog (also a wrasse) up north show they’re slower feeders than the baitfish and other more aggressive species. But, when they approach the bait, other smaller fish tend to move out of the way. So, I think finding the right bottom (hard bottoms and ledges) that has hogs, especially dropping near them absolutely depends on luck. The rest is just persistence since dropping baits (shrimp/crustaceans) nonstop will rouse up all the baitfish which would eventually attract bigger bottom fish such as hogs and groupers. Least that’s what these underwater videos are suggesting. As far as rig goes, the hogs caught out of the gulf are typically 14in to 16in. With low current, we usually pair 2/o - 4/o circle hooks with 1oz - 3oz weight. Since you’re dealing with much bigger hogs, I think 4/o and whatever weight that can keep it near the bottom should be a good setup! I have caught mine on knocker rig, Carolina rig, chicken rig. They all seem to work as long as the bait is crustacean and stays near the bottom. I really hope you and your buddies will figure out how to tackle hogs like the folks around Tampa! I think just a few adjustments need to made due to the current. The spearfishing footage looks very similar to the one around Tampa, so they’re definitely out there and not lacking in numbers!

[@DustinPFishing]

That’s awesome You are spot on with your ideas about attracting and catching hogfish, I need to try shrimp and be patient and bounce around and I bet I’ll end up catching one The one I caught was on a knocker rig with a big circle hook, the hogfish was 14-15lbs and was harder fighting than any 30” grouper I’ve ever caught I need to check out some underwater footage of the hogfish and study them a little bit more

[@BoringFisherman]

Very cool. Looks like fun

[@DustinPFishing]

Thanks I thought this day was going to start slow but ended up being a blast!

[@BoringFisherman]

@@DustinPFishing I had a slow day today between rains. Fishing from shore.

[@DustinPFishing]

I did too today I caught a few small sharks and a Barracuda but nothing I wanted to really keep

[@BoringFisherman]

@@DustinPFishing we got a handful of pinfish. Donated a bunch of bait and a couple riggings to the bottom.

[@DustinPFishing]

We’re you fishing on the beach near some rocks or structure maybe?

[@ArmyUSA-zx6hh]

Nice bro😂

[@janofb]

50 miles and 1 motor.

[@VOXYSOB]

how many gallons that thing hold?

[@DustinPFishing]

It’s my buddy’s 23’ Pathfinder Bay Boat It holds 60 gallons of fuel

[@VOXYSOB]

@@DustinPFishing dang 50 miles with 60 gallon tank is unheard of but hey someone’s gotta do it

[@DustinPFishing]

Yeah it does so crazy but It’s a bay boat so he gets really good gas mileage He actually gets over 5 mpg at 30mph cruising

[@offgridmangogrower]

What size is your bay boat…? Seems stable.".

[@DustinPFishing]

It’s actually my buddy’s boat It’s a 23’ Pathfinder and really cuts through waves easily