Charlotte.com: Outdoors
News, sports and entertainment from Charlotte.com

• Dean of pier anglers
  Angelo DePaola began catching fish from the Jolly Roger Fishing Pier when Eisenhower was president, gas was 21 cents a gallon and Alaska and Hawaii were still U.S. territories.Today, DePaola could claim to be the dean of North Carolina's ocean pier anglers, striding along his wind-swept domain nearly every day from April through December, a fixture among king mackerel anglers who camp out at the end of the pier.Now a sprightly 87, DePaola continues to land kings, tarpon and sharks from the 850-foot-long, salt-weathered pier 35 miles north of Wilmington.Six weeks ago, he reached one of many fishing milestones when, just after dawn on Halloween, he landed king mackerel No. 500. Or so he thought."I had caught No. 499 the day before," DePaola said. "The next morning I got up early anticipating this. A half hour after daylight, I had the king on. Later that morning I caught another one. (But) I had 500 the day before and I didn't know about it."Here's why. DePaola went home and began sifting through the scraps of paper that hold his fishing records. He counted each fish, starting with his first king in 1958, then did a recount. To his surprise, king mackerels Nos. 500 and 501 turned out to be Nos. 501 and 502. That's his current tally of kings, now that the fish have gone south or to the Gulf Stream for the year.Over the past 53 years, and perhaps 10,000 days of walking the planks of Jolly Roger, DePaola estimates he's caught 800 big game fish, including cobia, red drum and even a sailfish. Plus "35 or 40 sharks that were over 100 pounds," he said. That doesn't include countless spotted seatrout and Spanish mackerel.Robin Orr, whose family has owned the Jolly Roger since it was erected in 1954, said DePaola draws respect from pier anglers for his prowess, knowledge and willingness to help others."He's a unique individual," Orr said. "We have a tremendous repeat clientele, third generation. "(They ask) Is Deep still out there? Is he still around? Still fishing?"Deep is DePaola's nickname. He picked it up serving in the Marine Corps from 1940-1946. He later became a civilian firefighter at nearby Camp Lejeune and, in 1953, started surf fishing on his 24-hour-long off days. DePaola left the beach to fish on the Jolly Roger in 1954. It was then called the New Topsail Ocean Pier. Hurricane Hazel destroyed New Topsail in October of that year and DePaola returned to the surf until the pier was rebuilt.Fish were abundant then, he said. "You could catch so many spots (a panfish) it was ridiculous." He and his buddies caught and kept 30-, 40-, 50-pound red drum, a long-lived fish that is making a slow recovery from overfishing. "We should have been releasing them. We didn't know any better. They were so plentiful."DePaola retired from Camp Lejeune in 1975 at the age of 55. He recalled a conversation with a colleague that went like this:"What are you going to do?""Go fishing.""You can't fish every day.""You watch me."DePaola and his wife, Janie, moved from Jacksonville, N.C., to Topsail Beach in 1979. Over the years, DePaola has devoted most of his time to king mackerel fishing. He caught 11 this year; his largest ever was 39 pounds.Using two rods, king mackerel anglers tie 6- or 8-ounce bottom anchors to lines on their 9-foot-long "anchor rods" and heave the anchors 300-400 feet.Then they put a live bluefish or mullet on their "landing rod." They attach the 30-pound test line to a clip or clothespin on the anchor rod and lower the baitfish into the water. The rig allows the baitfish to swim freely along the clipped line. The clip pops off as soon as a fish hits."I think it's a challenge off the end of the pier to catch a big game fish," DePaola said of his passion for kings. "When one of those things takes off, (the reel) sounds like a buzz saw."Often, it's not a king mackerel. In 1978, he caught a 7-foot-long, 40-pound sailfish, a Gulf Stream fish rare to inshore waters. The sailfish hangs from a wall in his house along with the jaws of a thieving lemon shark he caught in 1976."This shark had been cruising the pier for a week, maybe longer. One of those days I had a tarpon on. Got it 50-60 yards from the pier. (Then) the water just turned red in a circle. I felt another tug and everything went slack."The shark not only devoured the tarpon but also cut the wire leader. DePaola soon would again encounter the lemon shark."A couple of days later, I hooked that fish. It was a hot day in July. I had him on for maybe an hour or so," he said. The shark made a wide turn and DePaola walked his line down the pier to the beach and fought the fish for another 1 1/2-2 hours.A friend ran ahead and yelled to swimmers to get out of the water because of the shark. "Nobody paid attention," DePaola said. Suddenly the swimmers spotted the 10-foot-long shark thrashing in the surf. "That ocean," he said, "cleared out."
• Collisions with deer on the rise
  Worried about hitting a deer while driving? Perhaps you should be.New N.C. Department of Transportation statistics show 2,373 vehicle-deer accidents took place in Charlotte and surrounding counties in 2006 alone. As the area has grown, the number of accidents has steadily increased since 1999, when the region had 1,773.Union County -- where open farmland and woods have recently given way to explosive suburban growth, disrupting the deer habitat -- topped the region with 388 vehicle-deer accidents in 2006, ranking it 10th in the state.Wake County ranked first, with 922 vehicle-deer crashes in 2006; Mecklenburg ranked 11th with 364.Union County's high ranking doesn't surprise the N.C. Highway Patrol troop based in Monroe.Sgt. Kelly Sturgill of the Monroe troop said she often sees deer when driving around. She recommends drivers decrease speed and use high-beam lights to spot deer. Vehicle-deer accidents are most likely to happen in wooded or rural areas lined with residential development.How to avoid hitting a deer:• Watch for deer in the early morning and evening hours. Deer are most active during these times.• Use your high-beam headlights• Upon seeing a deer, slow down, but do not swerve. Swerving can confuse the deer, and cause the vehicle to hit another car.• If you've seen one, expect more. Deer are often in herding packs.• Wear your seatbelt. The majority of people killed or injured during a vehicle-deer collision were not wearing their seat belt.Accidents by CountyArea counties with the most deer-vehicle accidents, 2006 (Rank in state, county name, number of accidents) 10) Union, 38811) Mecklenburg, 36432) Cleveland, 21034) Stanly, 20535) Cabarrus, 20438) Iredell, 19544) Rowan, 16945) Catawba, 16055) Lincoln, 13356) Gaston, 13066) Caldwell, 90Note: Wake County was No. 1 with 922 deer-vehicle accidents in 2006.SOURCE: N.C. Department of Transportation
• Small leak found in Lake Lure dam
  A construction seam in the Lake Lure dam is leaking more than usual after an earthquake shook the area Friday morning. That is according to the mayor of Lake Lure.Mayor Jim Proctor says a dam operator noticed the leak Friday afternoon. Town and state engineers evaluated the leak Saturday morning and determined that it was not "an immediate threat,"Proctor said the engineers called it "a natural occurrence" and asked that the town monitor it. He says the leak is more than a trickle, but not much more than that, He says the seams normally leak small amounts of water.
• N.C. license revenue falls short
  North Carolina's 11-month-old saltwater fishing license has produced gross revenues of $6.9 million, less than the $8 million-$18 million in annual revenue projected two years ago.A Nov. 23 report compiled by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries in Morehead City showed the state has sold 452,109 individual licenses since Jan. 1."It is falling a little short," said Patricia Smith, division spokeswoman. "We think that part of the reason is that a lot of people didn't know about it."Another possible reason, she said, was the poor season for striped bass last winter along the Outer Banks, a fishery that typically draws large numbers of anglers.The division's Marine Patrol has been giving scofflaws a grace period, issuing 2,663 warnings and 22 citations for failing to have the coastal license. Smith said the grace period will end Jan. 1 and the patrol will start handing out tickets. Violators face a fine of $35 plus $120 in court costs.In addition to individual licenses, the state has sold 703 blanket licenses to cover customers on charter and deep-sea fishing boats and 21 blanket licenses to cover people who fish from ocean piers. The revenue from these licenses went to the Marine Resources Fund to be used for projects to benefit saltwater fishing.The fund is jointly administered by members from the Marine Fisheries Commission and the Wildlife Resources Commission. Projects approved so far include a $200,000 engineering study for a public fishing pier on the Chowan River in northeastern North Carol