[piano intro] Look at that!

Can you believe that that one change... Made a difference.

Made that much difference?

Get a look at that thing.

Whoo, look at that fish in that sunlight, man.

Pretty, isn't he?

Yes, sir.

Really, really pretty.

Two different fish stuck that thing as soon as it hit the water.

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

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We fish from fresh to saltwater.

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

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Hello, welcome to the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

Well, today's program will take us down to Man's Harbor.

And we're gonna be fishing for some Stripers.

And Joe, Man's Harbor is famous for their Stripers.

Oh, it goes back years.

And it still is a good destination for Stripers really any time of the year.

Just about year round now, you can catch Stripe Bass at that bridge.

And we chose to do a summertime trip.

I haven't been there in a number of years during that time of year.

I just wanted to see...

Working with Captain Bryan Dehart who's based in Manteo.

And he said the fish have been good all summer.

And when you go there in the summertime, the fish are not gonna be as large as you might see in the fall and maybe coming out of the spring.

But in dead summer, they're a little more lean.

But they don't hold back on the fight.

And lots of fish.

And we just had a good day.

What about our tackle we used that day?

Pretty much medium spinning casting tackle.

You don't need anything real heavy, but you don't need anything real light either.

Because as you'll see, we're fishing around the bridge pilings.

And so, you know, Striper knows what he can do with that piling.

He can run around it and break you off.

And we lost some fish like that.

So you need to have a pretty stout rod for that.

And then your pound test that you're using too.

And they'll talk about it in Gear Time.

When we get through Gear Time, we're gonna visit with Donna.

She's in the kitchen.

Lemon scallops today.

Yeah, she's got a real tasty scallop recipe.

If you like scallops, tune in.

It's real special.

All right, we got a lot going on.

Let's get to it.

We're going fishing.

We'll catch up with Gear Time and lemon scallops today with Donna here today on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

Bryan, I probably ought to knock on wood before I say it, but I believe we might have made it through the dog days of summer.

You know, July was terrible.

August has not been so bad.

It's a pretty morning.

Light northeast wind this morning.

And should be good conditions.

We'll have to see which way the current's moving when we get to one of the bridges, but...

I think we're gonna catch some rock fish this morning.

Normally not the time of year I think about catching rock fish.

But good structure here.

Yeah, that's right.

Of course, the new bridge, it holds a tremendous amount of fish.

But it's a different kind of structure than what the old bridge is.

It doesn't have the same amount of... oyster rock and old clam shells and stuff on the bottom.

And the different breaks all up and down the bridge like the old one does.

But traditionally, that old Man's Harbor Bridge has always been a rock fish destination.

Years and years.

Yep.

People don't fish it that hard in the summertime.

But it holds a ton of fish.

And if you get the conditions right early in the morning, you can catch a load of fish and go home.

Nothing better than catching a rock on a plug.

They do not finesse it, do they?

No, they smoke it.

Especially this time of year.

Looking forward to it.

It'll be good fishing.

I'm looking forward to it too.

Curt, what I'm trying to do now is just figure out exactly what the angle's gonna be.

Where we're gonna get the most bites.

Whether it's gonna be up current side or down current.

It should be on the up current side of these pylons.

But you need to try to bump the poles every cast if you can.

Get close to it.

Yep, that's where your bites are gonna come from.

Even, if you can get the right angle.

Got a little grass in there.

Go ahead and throw it through the pylons.

Many cut you off when you get hooked up that close?

They can, they will.

Man, there's some decent fish out here this time of year.

I'll tell you what I did.

I'm fishing a ten-pound line but I put a piece of 20-pound shot leader on there.

Just, you know, for those fish around the poles.

'Cause the first thing they're gonna do, instinctively is run back through there.

Turn the trawler motor off... Rock fish?

Yeah, it's a rock.

He's not a bruiser, but look, man, he stuck it, boy.

I had a bite right there at those pylons too.

We need to pay attention to where we are, 'cause there's gonna be a load of them right there, probably.

Come on, baby!

Oh, yeah.

He wants to get back toward that trawler motor.

It's like he's been trained.

You see where that knot is, he just came in my guide.

You can tell how long that shock tippet is to keep me from getting broken off.

Yeah, I often do that.

Hadn't done it today.

Man, he's pulling pretty good, big daddy.

Okay.

Yeah, man.

You see the hook fell right out of his mouth.

And into that rubberized net.

Put up a good little fight, didn't he?

Summertime fish, Kurt.

That's not a bad fish at all.

Kinda lean.

Yeah, you'll catch some that are a whole lot leaner, but you'll catch a lot.

Which surprised me.

I think maybe 'cause the water cooled off for about the last week.

Fish have been feeding pretty good.

But I'm gonna go ahead and get him back.

Put up a good fight, didn't he?

Yes, sir.

I'm gonna get by you here.

And we'll put him back in the water.

That 80 degree water.

Don't want to keep him out very long.

He's ready to go, though.

Did you see that?

He took right off, buddy.

Good deal.

Good deal.

Bryan, if you had any time of year to fish here... for a good caliber fish and quantity of fish, what month would that be?

I always liked December.

I think December's a great month to fish out here.

You know, when the water starts cooling off in October and November, the fish really get out.

I mean, there's a ton of fish on the bridge right now.

There's fish here all year.

Little fatter fish then?

Yeah, quality wise, the wintertime fish are a whole lot better.

And tell me, there's actually a rock season here too, isn't there?

Yeah.

Yep, sure is.

What's the story on that?

You gotta pay attention to the regulations, 'cause they change a little bit from year to year.

And, uh, we'll be able to start keeping fish in October and keep 'em until the first of January or so.

And then start keeping them again mid-January.

And be able to keep 'em maybe till, you know, April or early May.

But there's a ton of--there's a bite right there, Kurt.

Just bumping that pole.

Ton of fish on this bridge year round.

That's a good fish?

He come off?

No, he just came to me, I reckon.

He's pulling pretty good, isn't he?

Yeah, I'm set pretty light here.

Are you?

Caught three or four trout.

You know I'm not setting this too tight.

That's right.

Heya.

We're gonna land him over here.

Yeah, I'll get him for you.

Ooh, I'm lucky he didn't get in that pile as light as I was set.

I need to check that light line for... Yeah, look at that pretty fish, man.

I hear that drag pulling out there.

Yee-ha.

Probably this time.

There we go.

Hey, that's a nice fish.

That fish is barely skin hooked.

I got a harder time getting it out of the net than I did out of the fish.

That's fightin' little Joe.

Yeah, man.

Want me to turn him loose for you?

Yeah, please.

Please.

I tell you what I'm gonna do.

Since he kinda had control there for a little, I'm gonna check the last bit of my line.

Make sure I haven't got a cut in it.

Yeah, I don't blame you.

I don't blame you at all.

All right, big boy, we appreciate your business.

He put up a good fight.

He's lively too, man.

These fish are in great shape this summer.

See you later.

There he goes.

Boy, he banged it.

Did he?

Right where he was supposed to be?

Right on the pole?

Mm, pretty close.

Yeah, that's good.

I let it flutter down for about six feet and bumped it one time-- That may be the depth, you know?

That may be the depth that we're looking for.

Good deal.

Let me jump back on the trawler motor and get you back in position.

I appreciate that.

Kurt, I'm gonna go ahead and change baits again.

Go ahead and mash these barbs down.

Till we can find out what they're gonna eat the best.

Um, I know that we've had a few bites, but you might need to change yours to get into a trout.

I mean, a rock bait instead of a speckled trout bait.

I'm gonna go to a longer stick bait with a big lip on it.

I gotcha.

And, uh, see what in the heck happens.

What do you reckon these fish are feeding on right here?

There's a ton of glass minnows.

If you look down the shadow line.

When it gets more pronounced, you'll see all the bait in the shadow.

There is some menhaden and stuff around, but mainly glass minnows and them little croakers and spot and stuff hanging around the bridges.

There he is--there, look.

First cast, Kurt.

Ooh, look out!

He let go of it?

Yes, sir.

First cast on that new bait.

[car motor whirs past] Lemme look at that thing.

No!

[laughing] You can certainly look at it, but I need it to go ahead and throw it back in there one more time--there he is!

Right there, Kurt!

Oh!

Look at that.

Can you believe that that one change... Made a difference.

Made that much difference?

Let me get a look at that thing.

Whoo, look at that fish in that sunlight, man.

Pretty, isn't he?

Yes, sir.

Really, really pretty.

That's two different fish stuck that thing as soon as it hit the water.

See if we can get him back that way.

It's a better fish.

That's a good Man's Harbor Rockfish right there.

Yeah, the barbs are mashed down on that bait.

All right, ought to come right out then, hadn't he?

Should pop right out, yeah.

There's always a tough spot or two.

Let me hold him real quick.

Got him?

Yeah, man.

That's a 24-inch fish right there.

Amazing all the bait we see in the water how poor that fish is, isn't it?

It's metabolism.

I mean, they just burn it so fast this time of year, you know?

That uh--yeah, of course, for that reason we need to go ahead and get him back in the water.

You have water temperature, sir?

He certainly stuck it, didn't he?

That was two fish right in a row on that same bait.

You know what the problem is, Kurt?

What's that?

The only one I got.

Well, doesn't sound like it's a problem for you right to start with.

No, look how clear that water is, man.

Water's pretty.

Real pretty sound water.

You catch another one, I'm gonna be looking for something the closest I got to it, I can tell you that.

Well, you're my buddy.

I might let you use it for a second.

That's all right.

Yeah, they definitely like that bait a little better, don't they?

They're eating that bait a whole lot better!

It's the same exact bait.

Just different color.

No, it's a different color.

That's all it is.

He stuck it--he was in the shadow, but he was away from the piling.

Let's go ahead and net these fish if we can.

Again, that's barbless, so... Well, I was mainly wasn't concerned about the fish.

I'm trying to get the color here.

[laughing] I wasn't looking at them.

You know, those things are expensive on the water boat.

Mm!

Look out, now.

We gonna get a hold of him.

Look out, now.

Barbless or not, I don't want a hole in my finger.

Well, it's hooked in the top and bottom lip.

Not much you can do with him.

There we go.

I tell you what, a hook without a barb... even bent down?

Yeah.

Still.

Yep.

Bingo.

Still has that little lump where you mash it down.

Sure does.

Yeah, and if it hooks him in the right spot, it's still tough to get out.

Let me slide back out there.

We seem to have run into a few fish right here.

You know, Bryan, most times we catch fish we like a little bit of current.

Just enough we can handle.

Is the tide here... Is the current tide driven?

Or driven by the wind?

And is any one better than another for catching the fish we're after?

Historically.

You know, I'm just speaking historically, what we call a down tide was the current moving from north to south... is the better fishing condition.

Now, we're fishing today-- We're fishing a light current moving back to the north.

Opposite of that.

Of course, a southeast wind is my least favorite wind to fish this bridge for the stripers.

But we also have a situation, Kurt, where the wind is slightly against the current.

I don't like that for anything that I do.

But, you know, we're still scrapping out a few fish, just the day we got.

But yeah, the more current, the more active the fish are.

A north to south current has always been better.

You know, as long as I've been fishing it.

And even the old timers have always told me that.

You can basically look at your conditions and tell about how the fishing's gonna be when you get here.

It hasn't been bad.

No, it's been fine.

I'd rather have a fishable day than the current going the right way and wind blowing you out of there where you're fighting it the whole time.

You know, it'd really surprise you, the difference.

And it's all wind driven.

This isn't Oregon Inlet tide driven at all.

This is a wind driven current.

It blows it one way... And when the wind falls out, the water's gotta come back.

That's just the way it works.

Yes, sir!

Don't feel like a real big fish, but they hit good.

I first looked down there, I thought it was a... Trout.

Another trout, yeah.

Same profile.

You caught some trout that big this morning on that rattle trap, didn't you?

I tell you what, every time I can get this bait laid right down those pylons within six inches of 'em and bring it straight there... You get a bite, yeah.

If I was a little more patient and only made that cast, I'd do a lot better.

They are right on the poles, man.

I mean, if you're off of it six inches, you won't get bit, will you?

Haven't seemed to.

And that makes a lot of crankin' that you know you're not gonna do anything.

I know, 'cause you might as well-- If you land too far off there-- No need to back off from 'em, is there?

You land off of 'em too far, wind it up and cast again.

Pretty work.

Kurt, I don't know if that was the same... Look at the fish with him.

Can you bring your bait right underneath mine?

He had another fish about the same size.

I don't see him no more.

I don't either--they come up real quick in that sunlight and take off.

Uh-huh.

Nice fish.

He's not bad.

That one behaved, he didn't make but uh... That was the third cast, I think, on that little bend.

That's what I was gonna say, he got a new bait on him.

That little bandit crank bait.

And it hit the pole, fish hit it.

And it missed him.

And he came right back and hit it again.

Came right back and ate it again.

Easy enough.

Get off of you.

Yes, sir.

He's got, you know, thin.

But he's not broken lined.

Or don't have any bad eyes.

When the fish are really stressed, you can tell it in the, you know... some of their physical characteristics.

I tell you what, they fight good.

They're strong.

Yes, sir.

Let me jump by you, and I'll turn him loose.

Nothing wrong with these fish, bubba.

He's gone.

I believe I'll do that again.

Could have been the same fish, but there was multiple fish there that came up, you know, with that fish, so... Straight down the edge of them pylons.

Yes, sir.

Joe, that was a good day of fishing.

Good summertime fishing.

Yeah, it was a really pretty day.

A real comfortable day for summertime here in North Carolina.

And the fish were all-- and Bryan fishes that bridge all year round.

But particularly in the summertime it takes a lot of people that come through on vacation through the Nags Head/Manteo area.

Roanoke Island, takes 'em fishing.

And so he stays on those fish all the time.

But just had a great day.

Let's find out more.

Let's go to Gear Time.

Bryan, that was a fun morning.

Yeah, that was a decent morning.

Didn't burn 'em up, but we caught some fish.

(Kurt) We caught what we targeted.

I primarily used a rattle trap the whole time.

Quarter ounce, noisy bait.

Good all-around rock bait.

This particular one, I've just put a, uh... bucktail on it.

I do that with them sometimes.

And I was fortunate enough to keep it all day as much as we were throwing it around the pylon.

Line is a little scuffed up.

It's a good bait.

Mostly it caught some of the smaller fish.

So you beat me on the size fish for sure.

And you were using a little bigger bait.

(Bryan) Yeah, different profile-type baits.

'Course I knew you were gonna show up with a rattletrap this morning.

Every time we've ever fished with you, you had one of those tied on something.

I fished a variety of baits.

You know, a couple of stick baits.

This dives about four to six feet.

Something like that.

Something I can jerk down the edge of the pylons.

And just the spin.

So when I pause it, I was getting a few bites on a suspended bait.

It seemed like as the current fell off, that the fish wanted to... Like, you could flutter it down and get bit.

I needed a deeper bait.

So I went to, you know, a stretch-type bait.

Bigger lip, bigger profile.

Something I could get down there.

You know, ten foot.

Something like that.

And really slow crank it down the edge of those poles.

I'd say that bait there produced the largest fish we had.

Yeah, it did.

And it may be a profile thing for this morning or whatever.

You know, but we actually had a good time there at the very end, switching over.

Catching some smaller fish, you know.

But switching over to this little bandit crank bait dives four to six feet.

And you can tell that thing is really beat up, man.

Scuffed up--it was brand new when we put it on.

Yeah, that thing really caught some fish.

Tell you one thing that was a good idea, fishing around the pylons.

I noticed you had some leader tied on.

Yeah, well, I'm fishing eight-pound test on this lighter spinning rod.

And so I'll come up here and tie a small knot that goes through the guides real easy.

Probably a sergeant's knot.

Well, this is 20 pounds.

It's a no name knot, actually.

What I call a white marlin knot.

Something we use for tying small line to larger line.

And gives me some abrasion resistance.

And, you know, on the bait caster when I was throwing that before this bigger bait most of the time.

That's got straight 15-pound line on it.

It's just a real abrasion resistant P-line that I don't mind throwing around the poles without having to put a leader on it.

So it worked out pretty well.

We caught fish on a variety of baits.

And conditions kind of whipped us a little bit based on we lost the current.

But hey man, we caught some fish.

Yes, sir.

Well, I enjoyed it.

Hope we get to go again soon.

We will.

You know we will.

It's good seeing you.

Yep, good seeing you, Kurt.

I appreciate you coming down.

Thanks, fellas.

We appreciate that valuable information.

Now, let's catch up with Donna.

She's in the kitchen.

She's got a recipe today for lemon herb scallops.

Hi, and welcome to Simple Cooking.

Today we're going to make a lemon herb scallops.

You can also use oysters if you like those.

And it goes great with this watermelon and cucumber salad.

I think you're really gonna like it.

So let's go ahead and get started.

We're gonna make our marinade first.

We're just gonna take a basic jar.

We're gonna add a little bit of olive oil to this.

You can tell I'm measuring really well.

And then we're going to add some fresh lemon juice to this.

And a trick is if you have lemons that you--I think fresh squeezed is the best.

So all you need to do is just take your lemon and rub it along the counter top to kind of mush up the pulp inside and get it juicy and then cut it off and just squeeze it right in.

We're going to use some oregano in this.

And some cumin.

And then we're gonna use some fresh parsley.

And what I like to do is just take my parsley and an easy way to chop it is just to use your scissors instead of put it on a cutting board.

And just chop it all in there.

It'll give it some great flavor.

Then we're just gonna put our lid on.

Give it a quick shake.

And you're ready to go.

We're gonna pour that in a zip bag.

Which I already have.

Mine in a zip bag.

And then we're gonna place our scallops in here.

And like I said, you can use oysters if you like.

And there are several different sizes of scallops.

There's the large ones, there's the medium sized.

And some small ones.

Or if you like the large ones, you can cut them into fourths.

Which I've done as well.

And that kind of makes them cook a little bit faster and a little bit more bite-sized.

Depending on what you wanna do with... How you wanna serve 'em.

Then we're just gonna toss those.

And what you do is you put this into the refrigerator and let it sit for about 30 minutes, an hour max.

And then you're ready to go.

So once they've marinated and they'll soak up those great flavors, we're going to place some lemon pepper breader on our wax paper.

And then we're just gonna dredge these in there and coat them really well.

Put that aside and toss that.

And we're just gonna coat those.

And then we're gonna bake these in a pre-heated 425 degree oven.

We wanna make sure it's nice and hot.

And if you like, you can go ahead and put your baking sheet...

I've lined mine with some non-stick foil.

You can go ahead and put that in your oven.

Or sometimes I just throw my cast iron skillet in there, heat it up, and then they'll sear really nicely when you put your scallops on there.

There we go.

So we're just gonna place those on there.

And bake those for about ten minutes until they're cooked thoroughly.

Depending on the size of your scallops.

They may take a little bit longer or not quite as long.

And this great salad that goes along with the scallops.

It is a watermelon and cucumber salad.

And it has watermelon, cucumbers, kalamata olives.

Some red onions chopped in there.

And it also has a little bit of the marinade in it.

'Cause you'll wanna save some out.

And then it also has some diced tomatoes.

And if you wanna go ahead and dice 'em.

If you have some, that's great.

If you don't, just grab some out of your pantry like I do.

I always keep diced tomatoes in my pantry.

Toss that all together and let it marinate.

You can also make it ahead of time and let it sit if you like as well.

So let's take a look and see what they look like when they come out.

As you can see, the scallops are nice and crunchy and golden brown.

And I've just kind of made a little antipasto with this.

I have additional sliced cucumbers, some olives.

And then I have my watermelon and cucumber salad as well.

It's a great combination.

It's nice and cool, and I hope you enjoy it.

So I look forward to seeing you next time here on Carolina Outdoor Journal.

Thank you, Donna.

Each recipe just seems to be getting better and better.

Joe, let's go back down to Man's Harbor.

Good day of fishing.

Absolutely.

Summertime fishing for stripers.

And as we said earlier, that bridge has been famous for years.

You know, 50 years for stripers.

And it gets better as it gets into the cooler months.

The fish put on more weight.

And they're a little bit more aggressive.

But summertime fishing is, as you saw we had plenty of fish.

Bryan knows that area well.

Fishes it a lot.

So he called us and said hey, it's time.

And let's do it.

So we did it and caught some fish.

And Bryan can put you on the fish.

He really knows that area well.

He lives in Manteo.

He fishes that northern coastal area around Manteo, Nag's Head.

Swan Quarter, he knows that well too.

But a very accomplished guide.

And we fished with him a long time.

Great.

Good day of fishing.

For Joe Albee, 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.

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