[gentle orchestral fanfare] - Fishin' weather but this is just, this is fantastic.

- Y'know, Chuck, a lot of folks don't think don't give Speckled Trout a lot of credit on a flat pole but you look at this bend in this pole this mornin' and the way this fish is tusslin' with me.

- [Chuck] Lil' six, seven, eight weight and it's tough to beat.

And we're back in here outta the wind.

- [Gary] Exactly.

- [Chuck] He is shakin' his head, boy, that is a gorgeous purple fish.

Let's see.

[splashing] - [Announcer] The production of Carolina Outdoor Journal is made possible in part by: - [Female Announcer] Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine.

ncwildlife.org/winc.

- [Male Announcer] And by EZ Bait and Tackle, family owned and operated.

We've been fishing since 2003.

Come see the crew in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and we can hook you up for all your fishing needs.

[light instrumental music] ♪ - Hello and welcome to the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

Well today's program is one of my favorites.

It's fly rods and it's Speckled Trout.

- Oh, yeah, this is first time we've ever done a show with Speckled Trout using fly rods and I was excited about it.

We're fishing with a new captain that's worked with us.

Captain Gary Dubiel out of Oriental.

Well known in that area, one of the top guides in that area and loves to catch Speckled Trout on fly rod.

So we decided to do it, we actually did it in November.

And just had a great morning, right around Oriental.

And he was fishing with our friend Chuck Laughridge, from Harkers Island, Chuck just recently moved to Harkers Island.

Who loves to fly fish also, but we caught a lot of fish and a couple nice ones.

- Joe in Gear Time we'll talk about the equipment, it's really not high-tech, it's just art.

That fly rod.

- That's right.

You need to know how to work a fly rod, that's the most important aspect of fly fishing and know where the fish are.

Gary spends a lot of time in the water around there so he knew where Speckled Trout were hanging out.

And he provided them that morning.

- And the fun continues because Donna's got a recipe for grouper today.

- Real special grouper recipe, if you like the off shore fish we have off our coast grouper prepared anyway it's a good fish.

But she's got a really good recipe for us today.

- Well we got a lot goin' on, so let's go fishin' here on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

- [Chuck] We're gonna give 'em a try this morning on the fly rod, you say you got 'em stacked up in here pretty good?

- Yeah, they've been in here great, Chuck, I mean there's lot of fish this time of the year the fish are movin' up in the creeks, gettin' up in these shallow spots, takin' advantage of that dark bottom.

They get all ganged up and they get awful hungry and perfect for the fly rod.

- Good, good, well I've, we've got several on the boats, so we're ready to go, man.

So we'll start catchin' some, see what we can do.

Ought to be some nice ones in here this time 'a year.

- Oh, absolutely, let's do it.

- All right, Gary there's number one I think, buddy.

- Excellent, pretty work, Chuck.

- See what we can do, feels like he's pretty decent fish.

I don't think it's a Drum.

- That's a nice, that's a very nice.

- Nice trout right there, buddy.

I'm gonna step down, let you put your hands on that one.

- [Gary] You got it.

- [Chuck] Little head shaker, aw buddy.

- [Gary] Nice little run there.

- [Chuck] Hold on.

Hold on, pardner, hold on, there we go.

- [Gary] That's a nice way to start out the mornin', Chuck.

- [Chuck] I can't fuss about that at all, man.

I can't fuss about it at all.

That's a nice one this morning.

Yes, sir.

- [Gary] He's not ready to come to the boat.

- [Chuck] I got him here too fast.

Oh, me.

- [Gary] He is awful sparked up here.

- [Chuck] He is ready, he just didn't know he was whipped.

- [Gary] Tryin' not to get him, come unglued here at the boat.

- [Chuck] Well tryin' to release these fish is so nice not to put 'em in net, we can just.

We can grab 'em and if it gets off right there we're fine, but that's a nice Speckled Trout, buddy.

Gary, the spots on that one, we have about a pound and a half.

- [Gary] We do.

- [Chuck] I told you a while ago that I had that little tip on that fly and I cast back in and he's just, he swallowed it, little white and gold flies, so.

- Yes he did, that's perfect fish there.

That's a beautiful size fish and outstanding on the fly rod.

- [Chuck] That's what you been catchin' over here off the Neuse for a couple of weeks now.

- Sure has, I mean the bites been on, the fishing's been great and certainly this is fantastic on the fly rod.

- Like I say barb was hooked, that ought to come right out, we'll get him back in the water and no tellin' what he'll be like next year if the winter doesn't get 'im.

- That's the truth there.

- [Chuck] They will hit that fly rod, though.

- Yeah, he looked like he stopped that pretty good.

Put him back.

- [Chuck] Let him go, hold that out, that's one of your flies I think, that's white and kinda tan with a gold flash.

- Sure enough, sure enough.

Go ahead and put him back in the, lookit there.

Took right off.

- [Chuck] Good enough.

- Outstanding work, Chuck.

- Thank you, sir, let's get another one.

Gar, we're workin' clows or minnows and you've got like almost little deceiver variation this mornin', not quite this much wake, but we're fishin' this, I've got a clear intermediate sink tip line, I think you're fishin' a pure straight intermediate, are you not?

- That's correct, Chuck, yep, sure enough.

- So we're not really sinkin' down deep, but the intermediate sinks about an inch and a half, or inch or so per second, so what it does is allow the fly to get down close to the bottom which is where most of those trout are gonna be feedin'.

And we can get the fly in front of 'em on this 53, 54, 55 degree water, I think they'll bite, like they had this morning.

- Yeah, that's, the real key is to get the fly down and intermediate lines work out great, if you are fishin' the floatin' line you wanna put a little extra leader on there, a little bit heavier fly and just slow that down a little bit, but certainly these intermediates give you the opportunity keep that fly right in their nose.

- Yep, don't doubt that.

All right, Gary.

- Here we go, Chuck.

Feels like another good one.

- [Chuck] Okay, buddy.

I'm gonna drop that down and keep us right here.

Work this spot over pretty good.

- That's exactly what we're lookin' for there, buddy.

- That's a nice chunk, aw buddy.

Aw, buddy.

He'd be like mine now, I'm not sure he's quite ready for me, but we'll see.

- [Gary] He's still a little sparky, still a little green here.

- [Chuck] He is definitely, that's a nice fish, Gary.

That's three plus for sure.

- [Gary] Oh, absolutely, she's.

- [Chuck] That may be four.

- [Gary] Gettin' awful close to that four mark there.

- [Chuck] All right buddy, you take your time.

That is a gorgeous Speckled Trout on the fly, on any tackle, but I mean the fly rod is just outstanding.

Water temperature about 53, 54 this morning, cloudy and overcast, feels almost like duck huntin' instead of fishin' weather, but this is just, this is fantastic.

- [Gary] Y'know Chuck, a lot of folks don't think don't give Speckled Trout a lot of credit on a fly pole, but you look at this bend in this pole this morning and the way that this fish is tustlin' with me.

- [Chuck] Little six, seven, eight weight and it's tough to beat and we're back in here, outta the wind.

- [Gary] Exactly.

- [Chuck] He is shakin' his head, buddy.

That is a gorgeous purple fish.

Let's see.

- [Gary] Give you a little slack there, Chuck.

I don't think that fly's comin' out anytime soon.

Look like she took that down pretty well.

- [Chuck] She ate, she ate, I can get her right in there.

All right, Captain Gary.

Is that somethin' or what buddy?

She just inhaled that fly, so it is it's absolutely amazing what a fish that size can do on a fly rod.

- [Gary] Yeah, it sure is.

- Beautiful, beautiful.

- [Gary] That is a wonderful fish there.

- [Chuck] But if the sun comes up that water temperature might warm up what maybe another couple degrees, you think?

- [Gary] Yeah, back here in these creeks this real dark bottom you can get three, four degrees on some days and it really can spark up the bite quite a bit, I mean sunshine is not your enemy this time of the year.

He wants to stay up on top.

One of them head shakers.

- [Chuck] I am on the way, Captain.

- [Gary] Takin' off.

Gettin' me underneath the boat now.

Looks like another quality fish, Chuck.

- [Chuck] All right, Captain Gary, you gonna have me changin' flies, buddy.

Pretty, pretty, pretty fish.

- [Gary] Amazing in this clear water, you can see every little.

- [Chuck] I can see purple all the way from up here.

That's just outstanding.

Nice little fish.

- [Gary] Bring him in there.

Like you said not a giant, but awful nice quality fish there.

- [Chuck] Definitely hit that fly, you say you hit it really subtle, huh?

- [Gary] Yeah, it was a subtle bite, it's a little overcast and cool this morning, sometimes they're a little bit more subtle in that kind of weather, but certainly was willing enough.

- [Chuck] That one is gone and none the worse for wear.

- [Gary] Outstanding.

- [Chuck] We'll do another one, buddy.

- [Gary] Yes sir.

- [Chuck] Nicely done.

- [Gary] Thank you, sir.

[upbeat music] - [Gary] There we go, Chuck.

- [Chuck] All right, Gary.

- Got one wants to take some line out the reel.

- [Chuck] That's another pig, buddy.

Stay on him.

Stay on him and take your time.

Aw gosh, nice, nice trout, Gary.

- [Gary] Sure tuggin' like a good one.

- [Chuck] That is a nice, nice speck pardner, pretty, pretty, pretty.

Still pretty subtle on the take there, just suckin' that little fly in?

- [Gary] Yep, just suckin' it in, not much there, just felt a little bit of resistance and set the hook and there he was.

- [Chuck] Fantastic, I'm gonna slide that pole down, we'll sit right here and see if he's got a brother somewhere.

- [Gary] There ya go.

- [Chuck] Aw yeah.

Okay, okay, pretty, pretty, pretty.

I can see the purple from here, my man.

He is not thinking much of this boat.

- [Gary] He does not.

- [Chuck] All right, man, we are close.

We are close.

- Get the rod up here.

- We are close.

- [Gary] Outstanding.

- Not a bad trout, my friend.

- Not at all.

- Little fly pops right out.

Barbers, just set this up here just a sec.

- [Gary] Got a little tangled up, but that's all right.

- [Chuck] He sucked that little fly in, just kinda sucked it right up, it just it didn't take much to get 'im in there, but that is it's a nice little Speckled Trout, buddy.

- Yes it is.

Settle for them any day, Chuck.

- We'll take those on spinning gear or the fly rod, but especially nice on the fly rod.

- That they are.

- Go home, big boy.

Tell your mama I miss her.

Gary, we've pretty much lost our cloud cover and the wind certainly has picked up that front, but with the sun comin' out it should be warmin' these backs of these creeks up, maybe one or two degrees, so that should help us pretty much.

- Yeah, I think I really think that that sunshine'll definitely help us out here this afternoon, Chuck.

There's a lot of times a few degrees can make an awful big difference on these fish.

The wind certainly is a little bit more brisk than it was this morning.

- Well it's definitely out of the north west, that front's definitely come through, so we've got to get back in the creeks and get out of the wind as much as we can to fly fish, but we'll pick up some fish on these little almost no wait on these flies, so these fish are really just suckin' that fly in, so if we get back in here, the water temperature warms up, maybe three degrees, we ought to see a pretty marked improvement on what we can catch.

- Oh, I think so.

I think the bite'll spark up a little bit too, you won't have to wonder if that's anything on the end of there.

- Oh, fish on, Gary.

- [Gary] Excellent, Chuck, excellent.

- We were just talkin' about the sun comin' out and there's a little fish just suckin' that fly in.

- All right.

- Oh, he seems to be ignoring some now.

- [Gary] I'd say for a little fish he opened up an awful big hole out there.

- Yeah, yes, sir, he was comin' toward me for a little while, but I think we're gonna, think we'll be happy with this guy.

Oh, nice lookin' little splash.

Like I say, any fish that will eat a fly is a very, very nice fish.

- [Gary] That's a mighty respectable fish there.

Mighty respectable.

- [Chuck] Oh, buddy.

That fly in his mouth, he is still not real happy with the program yet.

It's all yours, Captain.

I'll consider him caught.

All right.

- [Gary] That's a mighty respectable trout there, Chuck.

- [Chuck] I'll take this kinda fish on the fly rod any day of the week, buddy, he just sucked that little fly in.

I mean you just felt the fly just stop, basically get kind of mushy, and they're just suckin' it in.

They're not really hammering it 'cause the water still chilly, 53 degrees or so, but the sun's come out, so it's no doubt I think the fish are kinda perkin' up a little bit, but it's barbarous hook will come right outta there, that fish will go right back.

And my God, make somebody real happy.

- Makin' me real happy.

[laughing] All right, wonderful.

- [Chuck] Thank you, Cap.

Let's catch another one.

Oh Gary, there's some nice fish, Gary.

- It looks like it.

- Oh, my.

- Okay, pretty work.

- Got a pig on the fly.

Sit right here with that power pole down.

- [Gary] Oh my, yes sir.

- Stay still, stay on there buddy.

Nice trout, oh.

He's not happy about this cold morning.

- He is not.

- Look at the purple on that fish.

C'mon now.

C'mon now.

All I wanna do is touch you and let you get back in that cold water.

Don't get back in that pole, don't get back in the motor.

Oh, my, Captain, Captain, Captain, lookie here, lookie here.

Idn't it pretty?

- Just absolutely incredible, that's the prettiest sight you'll see on the end of a fly pole, I'll tell you that, that is just.

- [Chuck] Beautiful speck.

- [Gary] Chuck you couldn't ask for a prettier hook set.

Look you got him right in here in the corner of the mouth.

- [Chuck] I'm not sure he probably didn't do that all on his own, all I did was hold onto this end of the fly rod, but another gorgeous fly rod Speckled Trout, buddy.

That's nice on any kind of rod.

- Yes it is, beautiful fish, lot of shoulders to her.

Get 'er back in the water.

Let her grow up another year.

- [Chuck] Fantastic, this is about a four pound fish.

This is a nice, nice fish.

- Oh my.

I tell you I caught a lot of fish on the fly, Chuck, but somethin' about a big Speckled Trout on a fly pole that's just awful special.

- [Chuck] Well this is, this one's not quite caught yet, but he's gettin' close, gosh look how pretty he is.

So chunky, Gary.

He's big as your forearm almost.

Maybe one more pass, I just swear he wanted to get off.

That's what you're lookin' for right there.

- That's just fabulous.

- Right there.

See if I can get the pliers and get this hook out, Cap.

There we go, she popped right out.

Is that a gorgeous fish, or what?

- [Gary] Fabulous.

Nice set of shoulders on that fish.

- They're thick, they are thick, big old yellow mouth on 'im.

Take off.

- Joe, we didn't catch a lot of fish, but we caught some good fish.

- Good class of fish and that time of year this is a continuation of the spectacular, that's all you can call it, Speckled Trout fishing we've been experiencing our coast for the last two or three years and this could continue to get better.

We haven't had any harsh winters, this past winter was five years.

And lot of big fish in the fishery and Gary knows that area real well.

He got not only Speckled Trout, which is probably his favorite, but Red Drum, Flounder, anything that you can catch in the mouth of the Neuse River, that's pretty much his home base, but we had a lot of fun and there was one particular shoreline that we were working and we'd go back to, back and forth, and the fish would just workin' that shoreline and had a good morning.

- Well let's find out more about the equipment we used, let's go to Gear Time.

- We came up today, I think you've got some eight weights, seven weights, even a six weight woulda' worked back in here but you're using intermediate lines, what do you use back here most likely?

I mean most of the time for your fishing back in here?

- Well, intermediate line will work really well.

Intermediate like you're using tip on the line, floating line works real well.

You can get away with a floating line.

But sometimes like today we experienced some fishing conditions that would've been a little bit tougher to feel that bite.

- [Chuck] But anything really, a guy with a Bass outfit could come down here, basically and maybe use the same line and certainly the same outfit, with just changing his line he'd be in pretty good shape.

- [Gary] Oh, absolutely.

- [Chuck] Good, good.

Well the flies we used today were a mixture of some closers and some flies that you tie that don't sink quite as fast, but show us what we used today.

- [Gary] Well we had a selection of closer minnows and the closer minnow of course one of the most popular salt water flies that there are, but we used some lighter flies this tan and white today and little bit more natural lookin' fly, 'cause the water has been fairly clear.

'Course old standby for me Speckled Trout fishin' is green and white, green's awful popular trout color.

But fly that really produced well for us today a fly pattern of my own which is a, it's called a little Hayden.

Bait fish imitation.

It's got just a little bit of weight in it, fishes more suspended, it's got a lot of soft hair to it, synthetic fibers, undulates well in the water and the fish seem to go for it on the days when they bite may not be quite as hard.

- [Chuck] Well great man, this has already made my Christmas.

Coming down and catching these Speckled Trout on the fly rod so look forward to getting back down here with you, but had a great trip man.

- Great, thank you.

- We hope you can use those tips if you plan on fly fishing for Speckled Trout.

Now let's catch up with Donna.

She's got a recipe using grouper, here on the Carolina Outdoor Journal.

[upbeat music] - Hi, today in the kitchen we're making grouper with a roasted pepper salad.

Goes together quick and easy and your friends will be so impressed.

We're gonna go ahead and start out, I have my grouper, that is already been cleaned and cut in to serving sizes.

We're gonna take our bag and our breader and we're gonna place our breader into our bag.

We're just gonna pour that in, goes in really quick, and in your box you're gonna get two bags and two bags of breader.

So we're gonna take our grouper, we're gonna place that in and then we're just gonna give this a toss just to coat it well.

We're gonna place this on a piece of foil that is non-stick foil, place that in our oven at about 425 degrees for about five to six minutes.

It won't take long at all.

Depending on the thickness of your fish.

It may take just a little bit longer.

But remember it will continue to cook, just slightly after you bring it out.

So we're just going to place it onto our foil and you see that gives it a nice coating, it's going to be really nice and crunchy on the outside, but nice and tender on the inside, which is what we're looking for.

So we're gonna pop that in the oven at 325 for about six to seven minutes.

Meanwhile we're gonna make our salad and I have some onions that I have cut up really thin and we're gonna pop those into our skillet, then we're gonna toss in some mushrooms and if you don't like mushrooms, you can leave those out.

We like 'em and they add a little bit of body to it.

We're just gonna saute that until your onions start to caramelize and your mushrooms will begin to kinda sweat.

A little bit.

But we're kinda pushed on time, so we're gonna go ahead and continue on with our recipe.

We're gonna also add in some garlic and you can use fresh garlic that you cut yourself or I like to do mine easily so I always keep some in the jar on hand.

Just startin' to smell really nice in here, the combination of the onions and the mushrooms and the garlic is really nice.

Then we're gonna add in some roasted red pepper, so you can buy these in a jar and just kind of drain them, or if you want you can roast your own at home, where you put it over the fire then put it in a paper bag, peel off the skins and slice them.

But I find it easier just to buy 'em in a jar.

Or what I like to do.

So we're just gonna toss those all together.

Then we're gonna add in a little bit of red pepper flakes, a little bit of ground cumin, just a pinch of some coriander and some capers.

And just gonna put those in there.

And a little bit of some sherry vinegar.

And then we're just gonna let that cook.

Until everything is soft and tender and kind of thickened a little bit.

See how pretty that is?

And it has a great flavor and a great set to it, as well.

Makes your house smell really good.

And by the time your salad is done, your fish is come out of the oven, and you're ready to serve your dinner.

As you can see this is what it looks like, I just kinda decorated my plate.

I put my grouper down, then I put my salad on the top and just kind of sprinkled it with some red pepper flakes just to give it a little bit of a flare, maybe like you're serving it from a restaurant.

So I hope you enjoyed the grouper with the red pepper salad and I look forward to seeing you here next time.

On Simple Cooking.

- Thanks, Donna for that recipe.

Joe, let's go back, those fellas really know how to use a fly rod.

- They do, both of them are very accomplished fly fishermen Chuck loves it, Gary does it every day.

And we didn't catch a lot of fish that morning, but the quality of the fish was indicative of what we're seeing throughout the whole fishery now with Speckled Trout.

We haven't had any severe winters like we said earlier.

In five years.

And so the size of the fish are up, but if you've never caught a Speckled Trout on the fly rod give Gary a call, he's I consider him one of the top fly fishing guides we've got in the entire state.

And particularly in that Oriental area.

That's his specialty and he fishes all the creeks around there, he knows, he stays up with the fish, and so if you've never done it give him a call, you'll have a great day.

- Another good day of fishing in North Carolina.

- Absolutely.

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

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

- [Announcer] The production of Carolina Outdoor Journal is made possible in part by: - [Female Announcer] Wildlife in North Carolina Magazine.

ncwildlife.org/winc.

- [Male Announcer] And by EZ Bait and Tackle, family owned and operated.

We've been fishing since 2003.

Come see the crew in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and we can hook you up for all your fishing needs.

[light instrumental music] ♪