[piano intro] - Are these fish on the bottom?

Oh, there's one right there.

(Richard laughs) - First catch of the day, are you kidding me?

- That's not always a good sign.

- You got to give your guide a little credit.

(Richard laughs) Is it a good one, it's probably is a big one too.

- Probably nicer fish right there.

- Yup, yup, yup.

Do I need to net them up?

- [Kent] Naw.

Hope that's not a bad sign.

- [Richard] Oh, it came off.

That's alright, easy to release, that's okay.

- Typically when I catch a fish on the first cast, that might be the only one of the day.

- Naw, we'll get another one.

[light instrumental music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ - [Male Announcer] The "Carolina Outdoor Journal" is brought to you by: - [Female Announcer] "Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine."

- [Male Announcer]: And by EZ Bait & Tackle.

Family owned and operated.

We fish from fresh to saltwater.

We provide fishing supplies and advice to every type of angler.

For all your fishing needs, EZ Bait & Tackle.

And by contributions from PBS North Carolina viewers like you.

- Hello, welcome to the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

Well, today's program is gonna take us down to the Pamlico river.

Joe, we're gonna be fishing for perch today.

- That's right, we're gonna be fishing for white perch which in the last couple of years have really made a showing on the Pamlico river and it's tributaries.

All the creeks just about every creek on the Pamlico for the last couple of years has held really solid numbers and size of white perch and nobody really can tell me why.

Over the last 40 years, nobody can recollect this happening but a just a really good fishery here the last couple of years, we're gonna be using light tackle four pound test on the reels.

The smallest rattle trap, that's a real popular crank bait that's been around for years but the smallest one they make is what we're using today and the guys at Geartime will tell you about it.

- Now Geartime's gonna be good, especially talking about light tackle.

- Right, you want to match your tackle, we always say to the size fish your catching, these are good pound, pound and a quarter pound and a half white perch and they give you a good tug.

- And our recipe today, tomatoes and seafood?

- Yeah, I'm still trying to figure this one out.

It sounds different, which I know will be, but Don always come to the table with a good recipe for us.

- [John] Alright, let's go fishing today on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- [Richard] So here we are.

Kent, our appreciation, joining me this morning.

We're gonna be targeting white perch on a creek off the Pamlico river.

It's mid October, really looking forward to getting on some of these bigger white Perch and these eight pound rattle traps.

It's been a really hot pattern for us lately.

- It's gonna be fun.

- On Ultra light tackle, I mean, it doesn't get any better than that in my opinion.

- It's gonna be fun, it's gonna be fun.

It's a pretty creek up in here and I've never done it on these artificial.

I've caught these white perch on little bottom rigs and up in the Albemarle Sound but I've never done it on artificial so it's gonna be a little bit different.

- Well the bites we gonna get, we get a beautiful day, I'm really looking forward to getting on it.

- It's gonna be good.

- You ready to go and do it?

- Let's go.

- Alright.

- [Kent] So this is what you've been catching them on?

- [Richard] Yeah, I've been using these eight pound rattle traps so they can't stand 'em.

And it's basically just a slow stay retrieve, you can twitch a little bit if you want to but most of the time just a slow stay retrieve will get the job done.

- Right, well, that's the smallest one I've ever seen as a rattle trap.

- Yeah, it's a pan fish bait.

It's really designed for pan fishing for exactly what we're doing today so all we got to do now is catch 'em.

- Alright, let's go get 'em.

- Alright.

- Are these fish on the bottom?

- Oh, there's one right there.

(Richard laughs) - First cast of the day, are you kidding me?

- That's not always a good sign.

- You gotta give your guide a little credit.

(Richard laughs) Is it a good one, it's probably is a big one too.

- Probably nicer fish right there.

- Yup, yup, yup.

Do I need to net them up?

- [Kent] Naw.

Hope that's not a bad sign.

- [Richard] Oh, it came off.

That's alright, easy to release, that's okay.

- Typically when I catch a fish on the first cast, that might be the only one of the day.

- Naw, we'll get another one.

- Now these fish, in here suspended or are they keying on the bottom in here or just in the grass along this area?

- They like, there he is.

I got him on second cap, my second cap.

Oh it came off, dang darn it.

We got to keep 'em on the hook there.

They like grass beds a lot, they also like structure.

They like stump beds, points, they like points, I mean, they like a lot of things.

You just really have to come in here and search for them and the whole idea is to find a school where you sit there and catch 'em with your cast.

- Right.

- There he is.

Look at that.

- Let's see if we can get one to the boat this time.

There he is.

Kinda handled him pretty good.

- [Kent] Yeah, that one, probably we wouldn't keep to eat but it gives a good tug anyway.

- [Richard] Yeah, they're such a wide fish, they pull pretty good.

Got a nicer fish there you think?

- I think so, feels a little heavier.

I don't know, we'll see.

Hard to say.

- [Kent] Right off that dot, wasn't he?

- [Richard] Yeah, right off that peer.

Over there in that corner.

Oh yeah, there he goes.

Caught him down there.

- [Kent] A little bit better.

- [Richard] Yeah, a little bit nicer fish.

Yeah, that's kinda more about what we're after there.

Let's sling him up, whoa, there he is.

Yeah, look at him.

- [Kent] That's a good chunking size there.

- He's a chunky one.

That'll be a good eater right there.

That's the kind you want to keep to eat.

- [Richard] Yes sir.

- He's hooked mighty good that time.

Got the hook off of him, he's a beautiful fish, isn't he?

- [Kent] Looks pretty in that sunlight.

- That's a good fish on light tackle there.

He's a formidable opponent.

We'll let him go, we're not gonna keep any of it today but he'd be a good eater.

See you next time buddy.

- Now I see a lot of bait in this creek, Richard.

Are you fishing around the bait at all?

Out in the middle, these schools of minnow?

- I have thrown around the schools of bait before and caught some fish around, they'll hang around it sometime.

Just like speckle trout will do.

- Mmm hmm.

- Yeah, there is a lot of minnow in here today.

Looks like one of those good ones.

- [Kent] Got to move back up here.

- Whoa, pulling some drag on this ultra light.

- That's the kind of perch we're after right there.

Let's see if I can sling them up without breaking them off.

There we go.

Okay, there we go.

That's the one we're after right there, that class of white perch, Kent.

- [Kent] Guessing a lot, nice and pretty.

- [Richard] Yeah, ain't that pretty?

- [Kent] Pretty.

Pretty fish.

- [Richard] Formidable opponent on this light tackle for sure.

You know, we've been catching perch but we also catch a lot of other species as well.

We catch these pumpkin seed sunfish, we catch some puppy drum, some flounder, some speckle trail, large mouth bass, chain pickerel, crappie, we even catch a ton of fish using this technique.

So it's just a lot of fun.

You never know what your next bite is gonna be.

- Right back at that same spot you come shore in, Richard.

- [Richard] Yup, it might be a school there.

Let's see if we can get 'em going.

Kinda what we're looking for today.

- [Kent] Oh that's gonna be where you have the species you were talking about right there.

- [Richard] What is it?

- [Kent] Little pumpkin seed.

- [Richard] Oh yeah, pumpkin seed.

Yeah, good job.

- [Kent] Yeah.

- Aren't they pretty, the coloration?

Kinda that green and that light green and orange modeling on the side.

- Mmm hmm.

- And they call 'em pumpkin seed because of that black dot on their gill plate.

(fishing rod swooshing) Well here we are at a brackish Creek, catching fresh water species.

The variety's amazing here.

- Yeah, good job.

- Oh.

- Think they gonna pull dragging on you?

- [Richard] I don't know.

- [Kent] Oh that's a nice fish.

- [Richard] That's the one we're after there.

- [Kent] That's a really nice one.

- [Richard] He's a nice one.

Going nice and easy on 'em with this four pound.

Four pound minnow.

Oh yeah, look how fat that one is.

Yes, sir.

(water splashing) Kent, we might have found the school we were looking for.

These are a little bit better fish too.

- [Kent] There's one right there.

- Yup, you got him.

Bring 'em in here.

We'll look at how, we'll compare their size.

- See whose is bigger?

- Yeah.

- I think you might have him.

- That's a good one there, that's a good one.

Yup.

- Yup.

- Yeah, they're about the same size.

- About the same size.

- We'll call it even, how's that sound?

- [Kent] Yeah, those are both pretty fish right there.

They'd be pretty in the cooler.

- [Richard] Oh yeah.

Yeah, we'll call it even.

They're about the same size.

We'll let 'em go.

Here goes another one.

(water splashing) Well we found the school we've been looking for all day?

- I think so.

Both of those were right there back to back.

(soothing music) - [Richard] It's starting to get kinda shallow as we get up in here but the fish are front part of this creek.

- [Kent] Is there a certain depth you've have to stay in for these fish.?

- [Richard] I don't think so.

You can catch 'em up in really shallow water.

- [Kent] So Richard, I know we just got finished drilling fish and that season's kind of over and this is early October.

Is this the kind of the start of this white perch fish your thinking up in there?

- Not necessarily.

It is a good time of year to part fish.

It follows an excellent time, so is the spring.

You can catch 'em year round.

You can catch 'em all winter long.

You might have to change your tags a little bit.

They're less likely to hit an artificial bait in the winter time.

Their metabolisms a little slower, usually guys are using bottom razor grass tramp or some sort of rig like that in the winter.

- That's traditionally what I've heard is just using grass trap on the bottom.

- Yeah, but this bite, this how bite been going on for a while.

We had a big rain storm that kinda shifted things around but it really had an affect to the bio that much.

I mean, it just changed things a little bit, there's still plenty of fish to be caught.

I would say, September, October, early to mid November it would be one of the better times of the year to fish for 'em.

- Do you think these fish stay year round here or do you think they move out?

- Yeah, I think they're resident fish.

They just stay in here all year, they get plenty of food, they don't ever leave, they grow up here, spawn and keep reproducing.

So it's really a nice resident fisher we have year around which is always a good option to fall back on when the speckle trout bite's not quite as good as we want it to be or we're not catching as many stripers as we need or something like that, we can always get perch fish.

- Yeah.

Lot nicer fish.

- [Richard] Got another one around here.

Yup, that's a good one.

Look at that one.

- [Kent] Oh yeah.

- [Richard] That's a hog.

That is a different class of white perch there.

- There's one.

- There you go.

Good job.

- Doubled up here, that's a nice fish.

I don't think mines gonna be near that big.

- Look at how fat that thing is right there.

- [Kent] He's fooling me now.

- [Richard] That is a healthy one there.

Yeah, you got another good one.

Wow, double header.

Well, guess these bigger fish sometime run together in little packs with that little school of 'em.

- [Kent] Nice fish there.

- [Richard] Yeah, maybe it'll turn into more.

We'll let that one go.

(water splashes) (water splashes) - [Kent] It's a little tighter to that bank this time.

Back in that same spot.

- I want there right behind it see if I can get another one.

- Yeah.

Little bit nicer class fish here too.

I tell you what, I don't know.

It's fun for us, but I can imagine little kids would just have a ball doing this.

- [Richard] They do, I bring my four year old son out here all the time, he loves it.

(fishing rod reeling) If they can cast a spinner out or push button rod, they can catch these fish very easily.

- [Kent] Yeah.

- [Richard] Doesn't take any kind of special presentation, just a slow steady pull.

- There's no special technique to reel in these little rattle traps.

- Look at that thing.

That's a wide body there.

(laughs) - It's thick.

- Nice one.

- [Kent] There he goes.

- [Richard] Pretty fish.

- [Kent] Nice quality fish there.

- Did you think you were gonna catch white perch that big?

- Not at all.

(Richard laughs) That's a nice fish.

And they're fun on this light tackle.

- Oh yeah.

They're snatching the rod out of your hands.

- They do.

- Oh goodness.

- You want to take 'em around the boat?

- Yup, he's going around the boat over here.

- [Kent] Get him.

- [Richard] Oh it's a perch, good gracious.

Perchzilla.

(Richard laughs) - [Kent] You need a net?

- [Richard] We might, yeah.

I think I'm a net him.

He hit it like a puppy drum, I thought it was a puppy drum.

- [Kent] It's a nice one.

Good gracious.

- [Richard] Good gracious, look at that thing.

Wow.

- [Kent] That is just as nice as they come right there.

- [Richard] Wow, look at that thing right here.

That is a quality fish on a ultralight for sure.

Lot of fun, lot of fun.

- [Kent] I mean, it just took you around on the boat.

- [Richard] And he hit it like a redfish.

I mean he snatched that out of my hand.

- [Kent] Just jumped on it.

- Yup.

I'm a let him go, maybe we'll catch him tomorrow.

- [Kent] Definitely aggressive fish.

- Alright, that was fun.

Fish of the day for me.

- Yes sir.

Nice fish.

You know Rich, you were talking about these white perch hanging around a structure and we've been using these crank base treble hooks but I noticed we really hadn't got hung up that much.

- Yeah, I mean, these rattle traps do a great job.

The nose stays down like a lot of good crank based, they don't get hung up a whole lot, they bounce off structure pretty well.

Yeah, this a been a whole stand by bait for a long time but I think sometimes it gets overlooked for its effectiveness with a bunch of different types of fish.

- Right.

You got one?

- Got another one here, Kent.

It's not a perchzilla but it's a good one.

- It's a nice a fish, still.

- Yeah.

Kinda medium size.

- Yeah, that's a good quality size right there.

- Whoop, there he goes.

- I got one too.

- There you go, good job.

- Right on that same spot.

- If I can get my lure undone, I'm a catch one too behind you.

- It might be a little, this one might beat yours.

- [Richard] That's a good one there man.

Wow.

Those are good class of perch in here.

- [Kent] Came out from under the boat.

- [Richard] Don't let him pull you overboard now.

- [Kent] Yeah.

- [Richard] That's a good one.

- [Kent] Nice fish.

Yes sir, that's a nice one.

Look at his face too.

It's trapped the hook.

- You know, the perch in this creek, they're a little greener in tint to match the color of the water versus up in Albemarle Sound were their backs are black a lot.

- Right, and they're a lot more whiter looking.

- Yup, or if you catch 'em up in the head of the creek here in the black water, their blacker looking.

Black and white versus green and white.

Doesn't take 'em long to change colors and adjust to the water color.

- Pretty fish.

(water splashing) - Joe, white perch fun fishing and we had a good day.

- We really did.

It was a morning of fishing in Bath creek, which is one of the tributaries of Pamlico and again, they've just been in every creek.

I mean, it really doesn't matter which one you go in, they've been around for the last couple of years and again, when you match your tackle, like we always say, and four pound test is perfect.

You can really get a little fight of 'em and their good to eat.

Very tasty on the table and had a lot of fun.

- Wide tackle, that's the best to go.

- Yup.

- Alright, let's go to Geartime and find out more.

(relaxing soothing music) - Richard, I've had a really fun time this morning here in this creek off Pamlico and catching this white perch on this rattle trap has been a new experience for me and I've really enjoyed that.

- [Richard] Well I'm glad you've enjoyed it.

I had a great time too, I mean you can't beat what we're doing today on a beautiful October day like this.

- [Kent] Nice, of course.

- [Richard] We really had a lot of fun.

Caught a variety of size of perch, some really nice one, some smaller ones, and also a few other species too.

These rattle traps are really are often overlooked bait for a lot of fish but they're very effective.

They are relatively weaveless, they bounce off a structure really well because they keep their noses down.

Today we primarily fished the blue back and the chrome side and the gold side with the black back.

But the chrome side with the black back works well too.

All three fish pretty much equally.

We're using the TFO ultralight rods.

They're very sensitive to make catching these smaller fish a lot of fun.

Pin conflict and pin battle reel swell with strain four pound test.

- [Kent] And that was just a perfect match for these fish.

It was fun catching the bigger fish on 'em.

They even pulled drag.

- [Richard] Yeah, on some of the bigger fish, I think we might have been a little overmatched.

- Yeah.

- But I had a ball.

The great thing about this fishing is, sometimes you can hook other species and you know, when I hooked the perchzilla there, I thought I had a redfish on at first so it's not a bad idea to bring your landing net along just in case you did hook a nice flounder or a nice trout, a nice striper, or maybe even a slot drum.

- Yeah, you were moving into that season where you have all those fish mixed together in the same area chasing the same bait, so that is definitely a good idea.

- But having good gear and proper gear really makes a difference and I think that's what made a difference for us today.

- Good, good.

- I did too but what do you say we grab some lunch?

- Let's go do it.

- Alright, let's do it.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Special thanks to Captain Richard Andrews for all that great information.

There's his number on the screen.

Why don't you give him a call?

Now Donna is standing by in the kitchen.

She has got a unique recipe today here on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

(relaxing soothing music) - Hi, today in the kitchen we're making a quick seafood tomato soup.

This is one of those recipes that you can kinda just toss everything in and you're ready to go.

So what we're gonna do is you can use frozen or you can use fresh ingredients depending on what you have around or what is in season.

So we're gonna start with some olive oil in our sauce pan.

We're gonna add in chopped onion.

We're also going to add in two poblano peppers that we've chopped so it's gonna have a little bit a heat to it.

I took out the vein or the rib and the seeds which is what gives it that heat, so if you want it a little bit warmer, don't remove the seeds or the rib in it and you'll have a little more heat.

We're gonna add in some chop zucchini so this is a great recipe when zucchini is ample and you don't know what to do with it, and we're always looking for things to do with our zucchini, make a soup with it.

Then you can use some fresh corn or frozen corn and we're just gonna give that a big stir.

We're just gonna let that cook for a few minutes.

Kinda sauté those vegetables.

We're gonna add in some sliced, about three cloves of sliced garlic too.

This is gonna have some great flavors.

So give that a good stir.

(metal clanging) Then we're gonna add in some vegetable broth to this and what I've done is I've taken Anne's vegetable base and just added water and, warm water in your vegetable base, and just give it a stir until it dissolves.

It is great, it's quick and it's easy and it's always on hand.

You can just keep it in your fridge.

So we're gonna add in our three cups of vegetable base.

If you want, you can use chicken if that's what you prefer when you have.

But they make a chicken and a vegetable.

I give that a good stir.

(metal clanging) Zucchini wants to stay there.

There we go.

And then we're gonna add 28 ounces of diced tomatoes.

(metal tapping) You can add salt and pepper to this, you can add some hot sauce to this if you want to give it a little more zing.

(metal clanging) We're gonna let that start to boil and once it starts to boil, then we're gonna add in our shrimp.

Now you can add in shrimp to this, you can do raw fish pieces if you like, you can add some crab, whatever you happen to have you can add scallops, muscles, you can add a combination if you like.

We're gonna give that a stir as well.

We're gonna put our lid on and let it come to a boil and then once it comes to a boil and your shrimp starts to turn pink or clear, you're ready to go.

So this is what it looks like when it's done.

Just served it in some nice little crops with some corn bread.

You can do hush puppies would be great with this as well.

Just, you can serve it right after you've made it or you can put it in the freezer and bring it out at another time.

So I hope you enjoy this quick seafood tomato soup and I look forward to seeing you next time here on Simple Cooking.

- Thank you Donna for another great recipe and that recipe, as all of our recipe's, are right there in Carolina Outdoor Journal cookbook.

Joe, as they say, it is time for show and tell.

- Well, I just want show you that the type of tackle we use this day because we always emphasize no matter what you're after, match your tackle and then you can have lots of fun.

Don't go overboard, and in the case of the white perch you don't need a real heavy rod, a real heavy line, in the case of the white perch, you go with what we did this day was four pound test on the spool.

This is a thousand size reel, spinning reel, and as for the six foot light action or ultra light action rod, then you have lots of fun.

This is a rattle trap they used today and very effective.

The fish as I mentioned, you not only catch white perch but in these creeks, most of these creeks have a varied population of red drum, speckled trout, bass, and blue gill so you can catch any number of those on this particular bait but just a good day I feel.

- And Joe, another thing too, that white perch good on the table.

- Very good, one of the best we got.

- Alright, for Joe Albea, I'm John Moore, thanks for joining us today on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- [Male Announcer]: Make sure to visit our website for more information.

The Carolina Outdoor Journal is brought to you by: - [Female Announcer]: "Wildlife in North Carolina" magazine.

- [Male Announcer]: And by EZ Bait & Tackle.

Family owned and operated.

We fish from fresh to saltwater.

We provide fishing supplies and advice to every type of angler.

For all your fishing needs, EZ Bait & Tackle.

And by contributions from PBS North Carolina viewers like you.

[light instrumental music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪