With beautiful waves like this, it has been a challenge to pick how to enjoy the area the most, a day at the beach or at the pool. It is a problem we often face here along the Crystal Coast.
We have been blessed with plenty of great summer water since mid-August. With many of the tourists heading home, it has been easy to head back to the beach except the sounds and rivers have also been spectacular.
These online images of late afternoon at the beach can capture almost anyone’s attention.
With the weather being in our favor, I have managed to paddle the river, walk the beaches, and take our skiff down into the marshes around the sound across the Intracoastal Waterway from Swansboro.
While I have been slowed by a leaky kayak, fishing has been very good. In the last month, I have brought home four keeper flounders including this doormat which weighed in at 3 pounds 4.6 ounces.
However, it was long enough to give me a short case of summer cottage fever. Luckily time cures the problem. You just wait for fall, and like many years this year’s fall was well worth the wait.
We have had such a series of wonderful falls that I wrote a post, Fall Belongs To The Southern Coast. With the great weather, beautiful waves and wonderful fishing, it is not hard to defend my position from all those folks with short-lived but beautiful fall foliage.
I have gone up the White Oak River during the heat of summer and quickly figured up that being over by the Point in what I like to call the big water is a lot cooler.
Fall is not one of those times. Unless there is a storm coming up the coast or a front dipping through the area, you can pretty well flip a coin and decide what to do. The beach, sound, river, or the ocean are all nice places to be in the fall.
I am particularly found of hanging out in the marshes during the fall. Sometimes I find some drum and I am never too far from my cherished oyster rocks which usually have drum, trout and sometimes flounder.
I have yet to find that water this high makes for great fishing, but that does not stop me from trying.
Part of the challenge in high water is find the good fishing spots that are out in the river where there is nothing but water. That is perhaps why I done most of my high water fishing close to shore.
It is a beautiful spot to be, especially during the fall of the year when the weather is so nice that we talk about bottling it.
Fall is the best time to visit so if you can work it into your schedule, you will not regret it.
You will find more articles about the Crystal Coast at my Life Along The Crystal Coast Page.
Our last area newsletter went out at the end of August. It can be read at this link, Still Great Wading Water. Stunning Weather and Summer Is Here were the newsletters from the two previous months. October’s newsletter should go October 1.
The newsletter covers many topics. Besides weather, fishing, beach reports and local news, you will even find reviews of local restaurants as new ones pop up. If you would like to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, just click on this link and register by providing your email address. Your email address is only used for the newsletter.
For quick information about the area head for our free online guide to Emerald Isle. For the best information about the area purchase our 142 page travel guide for as little at $3.99 for the Kindle version.
Why we love it here?
While no place is perfect, the Crystal Coast presents us with many options besides beaches that make life here very appealing.
Living by the water is not for everyone, but we really enjoy everything from waves on the beach to the warmth of an evening on the beach or even the power of the ocean you feel standing in the surf.
The magic of the river or our other waters is never far away. Sometimes the big water calls and other times I get seduced by the river and the fog. There are few places where you can have such wonderful November days on the beach.
In the summer there are times when the heat will not seem to go away but there are ways to deal with the heat or humidity and even escape our paltry crowds.
We typically have plenty of summer weather, but we do have four seasons here including some cold weather every few years. That just makes the other three seasons besides winter seem even nicer.
My Crystal Coast, Salt Water on Your Feet site also has a number of articles for people considering a move to the Crystal Coast.
To make life even better here on the coast, I would recommend a visit to our wonderful church home at Cape Carteret Presbyterian Church. We love to have visitors especially during our monthly fellowship luncheons.
Our quiet spot sheltered by Bogue Banks, the Croatan National Forest, and the Cape Lookout National Seashore is a very friendly and scenic area with a great future. Right now it is the spot for us and sometimes I think I am living in a time and place that cannot survive the pressures of the modern world forever. I am just happy to be here now and able to share it with my children and grandchild.
This is a link to a simple map of the area. There are more detailed ones in our Emerald Isle Travel Guide.
