Camping out on Cape Lookout, NC has been a tradition in my husband’s family for years. My mother-in law has been going fishing there since college when her parents were still making the annual trip. Ever since Ryan and I started dating, I had heard about the famous toad fishing trips he used to go on when he was younger and how much he wanted to go again. Well this year we finally joined! Ryan’s parents and aunt and uncle went down for a whole week, and we met them for the last 3 days of the trip. To get over to the island you have to take a ferry since there are no roads. So we packed up our suitcases, backpacks and the dogs (only Denver and Finn since Ecko is not a big fan of the beach) and rode out to the island. The other thing about the island is that there are no roads. There are only trails where ATV’s and trucks with 4-wheel drive can travel. So needless to say, it was a little bumpy getting around.
This was my first time ever fishing. I had never even held a fishing rod so I had to learn everything from how to put bait on the hook, to how to remove the hook from their mouth once the fish was caught. We were fishing for toad fish (also known as Northern puffer fish), which are actually NOT poisonous; and, bonus, they’re super tasty when fried up! During the end of March and beginning of April they come to this area, making it the best time to fish for them. Over the course of the week, our group caught 271 toad fish and I caught 26 of those in my 3 days (super proud of that as a first-timer haha). I even caught two fish on one line since we were using double hooks! A few things I learned while fishing for these puffers: they are very slimy when you grab them to remove the hook, they legitimately sound like toads when they puff up, and they are smarter than they look! They’re actually pretty ugly with their weird buck teeth haha
Camping out in the dunes was definitely interesting when you have two people and two dogs in one tent. Sand was the biggest issue since it seemed almost impossible to keep out, but it’s the last thing you want in your blankets. It was also surprisingly cold so we ended up having to sleep in layers using the dogs as sources of body heat lol. Our other biggest enemy on this trip was the wind. It was SO windy the first night and then slightly less windy as the days went on. The wind only made fishing more difficult because each movement of the line could have been a fish or it could have been a wave. Thankfully the water calmed down enough for me to actually kind of get the hang of feeling for when the fish were nibbling on the bait. The problem was actually catching them and not losing the bait every time haha. But overall it was a really good time and we made some wonderful memories!
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