A Little About The Numbers in 2015.......75 Days on the Albemarle..........

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

As most are aware I keep very detailed fishing logs mainly used to look back on for planning purposes.......It has been another rewarding season on the Albemarle which included another successful family vacation covering from May to late June this year.  Not as hot as recent years but has come with an abundance of rain and I won't complain when many folks would like to see just a little rain at this point.......not a lot of tropical activity to date but we did receive over 4" last Saturday when the system that turned into Tropical Storm Claudette went through.........that took us over a foot of rain for the month of July but not enough to turn over the marsh and subsequently kill a bunch of fish.......So from the first of May through yesterday the 14th of July I have boated 2,626 sunfish with 1,012 at or above the 10" milestone that I seek most often.  This was a mix of Fliers, Warmouth, Redbreasts, Redears to 12", Coppernose and Seeds.  Pop, Dan and I caught 1,607 during our family fishing adventure which is competitive with recent years.  They departed on 6/19 and I have landed 994 since then mainly on trips by myself......not as fun but I consider July peak on the Albemarle and I already have caught 692 this month with half of July in front of me.......Compared to 2014 which I had tallied 3,619 sunfish for the year on the 1st of August, I sit at 3,096 today and need 523 to match that by the end of this month....That will be tough with more work than fun left in July but it has still been great for sure........Here's a few highlights from the last 75 days.........A toad from the 9th of June......

Another shot of a really nice gill.....

June the 11th was a special day and here was a classic Daily Double from that trip.......

Never get tired and the white jigs have been great this season......much better than recent years.....

Glad that Pop and i could share the Bluegill hole together yet another year!

His and Her Daily Double from the 16th of June........crazy day.......

A Big gill in my right hand and a Beast in my left........

Grand Daughter Myla gets into the action this year....she's a hoot and ready to fish!

This beast hit 1.3 pounds back on the 19th of June........

Heavier than the 1.3 pounder but all beat up and blind in one eye.......I froze this one for future endeavors..........

A big round one from the Father's Day outing...........

A crazy looking hybrid as well........

Good Dynamics on the Pasquotank River

Never get tired of these Coppers.......my quest!

A toad from late June.....

This bloat was one of 262 gills caught and released on the 3rd of July.......incredible day!

This has been a bonus season on quality Shellcrackers too.........

 Been cracker crazy this month.......

Good dynamics last weekend.........

I will update throughout 2015 but it has been a good time and I look forward to the rest of the year to see what's in store.........Hopefully we avoid a major storm this year which will allow our fish to prosper..........

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

So the tenth month of  2015 is in the books and I boated 435 gills during a rather pleasant October overall.........high water earlier in the month caused some churn on the tidal crappie bite but things have rebounded nicely and even today when I covered roughly thirty miles of water it was 62 to 63 throughout so that consistency can pay big dividends...............Time changed Saturday night so fishing during the week becomes rare with a demanding work schedule but we'll keep the batteries charged and go when the opportunity presents itself..........I need 150 more sunfish to reach 5000 for the year and that would be cool to reach that milestone........The Fall crappie bite has been erratic to date but stands to take off as the fish begin to transition to the deep holes making them vulnerable to the anglers that know and understand their water..........might get to fish for spotted sunfish later this month in Louisiana so that would be cool as well..........so I begin to chip away at the 150 I need over the next 60 days.........we'll see what happens...

[carl hendrix]

Jeff;; with those numbers of fish caught by you;; no wonder your the king of  the blue gills!!  

[carl hendrix]

Jeffery;; looks like you have had another incrediable year of fanstic fishing !!   congrats  on a job well done !!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Thanks Carl........I don't take it for granted......I'm thankful that I'm able to reach the waters I fish which are not accessible from the shore or a small boat in most cases............I've learned alot the last 16 years about this Estuary and I apply that with the desire to fish and it usually pays off.........

[carl hendrix]

with about a week left in Oct.  no doubt you can catch just a few more gills to add to your tally !!

[carl hendrix]

Jeffery; saying you only need 150 to get 5000 fish this year; is like saying its in the bag !  my complete confidence is in your ability buddy !  the only way I see you  not reaching your goal;; is for you to quit fishing !!  and THAT aint gonna happen !!  many congrats Jeff!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Well three trips in November so far and 75 gills to show for that effort taking my 2015 total to 4,925.......Water temps range from 8 to 12  degrees warmer than this time last year and we stand to benefit the remainder of this month from these milder conditions.......gills have been spooked a couple times when air temps bumped the freezing mark in October but have rebounded swiftly..........most fish are suspended in deeper pockets or attached closely to structure in intermediate depths.......when fishing gills on the Albemarle in the Fall high water is better than the lower and I find the gills don't respond as readily as other species to moving water............For best results size down your baits as the water temps continue to drop.........

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Added 14 gills on a Veteran's Day trip dominated by slab crappie but definitely a great time on the water.........This pushes my 2015 total to 4,939 leaving me to hunt down 61 gills to reach the 5,000 gill milestone.........

[carl hendrix]

Jeffery; those numbers are amazing; a well deserved congrats to ya !!  looking forward to your all time high catch !!

[carl hendrix]

thats like saying;; its in the bag !!   excellent job Jeff !!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

With the milder core temperatures we continue to enjoy above average bluegill fishing here in coastal North Carolina.........looking out two weeks we have several days in the 70s and zero nights below freezing.....I hope it holds through the Christmas break.......all I want for Christmas is a few days on the water.......LOL

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

A good day on the Estuary yesterday with air temps reaching into the middle 70s and surface water temps rebounding to 60 degrees plus in some spots..........Fish have moved into the deeper zones but they are much more aggressive in my opinion.........often I will employ a quill float this time of year and you can watch it submerge very slowly........right now the quill darts off like an arrow........here's a nice male and female double from a total creel of 64 gills yesterday.