As we transition into the cooler fall weather and colder water temperatures, much of the marlin and blackfin tuna action has subsided and we are beginning to see more yellowfin, dolphin and an occasional wahoo. However, there are still marlin out there for the taking!
(Photo: Courtesy of TW’s Bait & Tackle. Pictured is Zack Crum with his Citation Red Drum.)
Tournaments:
September 1 – December 31, 2012
CHASIN’ TAILS OUTDOORS SPECKLED TROUT CHALLENGE
Chasin’ Tails Outdoors, Atlantic Beach, NC
Contact: Matt Lamb (252) 240-3474
www.chasintailsoutdoors.com
September 22 – October 6, 2012
FLOUNDER SURF FISHING TOURNAMENT
The Reel Outdoors, Emerald Isle, NC
Contact: Laurie Morris (252) 354-6350
www.emeraldisle-nc.org/eiprd
TW’s Bait and Tackle Reports the following:
Surf Fishing Report:
Bottom fish, a few keeper Flounder and Bluefish. The wind has switched to NW and the water temp is 73 degrees. Surf Fishing should improve today.
Flounder fishing has been fair recently. Ocean keeper Flounder minimum length is 15 in TL. Six Flounder a day per person. Flounder can be caught in deep sloughs between the sand bars. Inlets are productive when the tide is outgoing as the food is washing to the fish. The bait of choice are squid strips, minnows, shrimp and strips of mullet on bucktail lures work really well.
Sound Fishing Report:
The Little Bridge on the Nags Head/Manteo causeway reported Trout, Croakers, Drum and Rockfish on live bait.
Pier Fishing Report:
Avalon: A really good Bluefish bite early, baby Cobia, and nice Spanish.
Nags Head: Spot, Drum and Sea Mullet.
Jennette’s: Blues, Spot and Spanish.
Outer Banks: Spot, small Flounder, Drum and Pompano.
Inshore Boats Report:
Nearshore had great fishing yesterday catching False Albacore, lots of Amberjacks, Bluefish, Spanish and a 20# King Mackerel. Inshore boaters also had a good day catching Red Drum, Cobia, Flounder, Bluefish, Gray Trout and Specks.
Offshore Boats Report:
Nice size Gaffer Dolphin, a few Billfish citations, and good Blackfin and Yellowfin Tuna.
Northern North Carolina Tidal Waters Fishing Reports (Ocracoke Inlet to Surf City)
Summary for the region from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries:
Ocean: Offshore anglers landed a variety of species, including wahoo, dolphin and a few yellowfin, blackfin, and skipjack tuna. There continued to be numerous catches of white marlin and a few blue marlin and sailfish. Anglers bottom fishing in deepwater out of Hatteras and Ocracoke returned with nice catches of blueline tilefish, blackbelly rosefish, vermilion snapper, and snowy grouper. Midrange anglers experienced an increase in catches of striped bass; however most were caught beyond three miles where they are unlawful to possess. King mackerel and large bluefish were caught eight to10 miles offshore. Near-shore fishing was uneventful with the exception of a few catches of Spanish mackerel.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: A few flounder were caught throughout these waters, and more than 50 percent were keepers. Spotted seatrout were biting in the Roanoke Sound and Rose Bay/Swanquarter areas, but nearly all the catches came in the early morning and evening. Oregon Inlet Bridge offered nice black drum, spadefish, and sheepshead to anglers fishing around the bridge pilings.
Piers/ Beaches: Anglers caught numerous small red drum on a regular basis. The surf zone has yielded a nice mix of species including spot, kingfish, croaker, pinfish, bluefish, puffers, pompano, blue runner, and lizardfish.
Central North Carolina Tidal Waters Fishing Reports (Ocracoke Inlet to Surf City)
Summary for the region from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries:
Ocean: Blue water anglers returned with large catches of wahoo, skipjack tuna, king mackerel, dolphin and amberjack. Fishermen reported multiple sailfish catch-and-releases. Bottom anglers caught vermilion snapper, spottail pinfish, triggerfish, tomtates, red porgy, bank sea bass, amberjack, flounder, and whitebone porgy. Near shore, the Spanish mackerel catches were fantastic, with multiple anglers catching their limits quickly with spoons and live baits. The larger fish have been hitting live mullet, but Clarkspoons did the trick as well. Some king mackerel, blues and little tunny were also in the mix.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Flounder were numerous in the sounds, with some eight-pounders caught around the N.C. State Port wall. Live mullet fished near a structure worked best. Gray trout, speckled trout, red drum, spot, croaker, sea mullet, and black drum were landed in fair numbers around the port turning basis as well. The trout and drum were biting on live shrimp or mullet fished either under a popping cork or on the bottom, whereas the spot and croaker were caught on bottom rigs with bloodworms or shrimp.
Piers/Shore: Pompano, sea mullet, spot, speckled trout, bluefish, Spanish and drum were landed from the ocean side piers. Bloodworms and cut shrimp worked best for the spot, sea mullet, and pompano, with live mullet or Clarkspoons for the bluefish, Spanish and trout.
Southern North Carolina Tidal Waters Fishing Reports (Surf City to North Carolina line)
Summary for the region from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries:
Ocean: Anglers reported very good wahoo fishing, with most boats catching limits. Boats also brought back large numbers of blackfin tunas in the 10- to 20-pound range. Bottom fishermen caught red, scamp, and gag groupers along with a wide assortment of reef fish in water depths of 100 to 120 feet. Closer to shore, king mackerel fishing heated up with good numbers being caught at Yaupon Reef, Light House Rock and the Shark Hole. Near-shore reefs produced some very good catches of flounder, the best coming from New Hanover and Pender counties. Boats targeting Spanish mackerel caught limits while trolling along area beaches. A lot of the fish were in the two to three pound range.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Anglers targeting flounder and red drum were successful. The best catches came from the southern part of the Cape Fear River and down into Brunswick County. Most anglers were using live bait such as mullet or shrimp, and artificial baits such as Gulp!. Spotted seatrout were mostly around or near inlets with Carolina Beach Inlet and Little River Inlet producing good numbers of fish.
Piers/Shore: Anglers caught large numbers of blue fish and Spanish mackerel on plugs. Bottom fishermen caught mostly pompano and sea mullets along with some spot and black drum. Fishermen targeting flounder with live bait caught good numbers of fish, about half being of legal size. There were also many undersized red drum. Those fishing from shore caught much of the same. Pompano and sea mullets were the predominant catch, as were good numbers of small red and black drum.
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