There have been good numbers of yellow and blackfin tuna and wahoo. The numbers of yellowfins are steadily increasing but the blackfins definitely outnumber the yellowfins. Anglers are also seeing some nice shark action and are having success catching false albacore, taylor blues and speckled trout.
(Photo: Courtesy of TW’s Bait & Tackle. Pictured is Tress McCune with her citation red drum.)http://www.twstackle.com/report.php?...&reportid=1110
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
TW’s Bait and Tackle Reports the following:
Surf Fishing Report:
There were scattered Spot, Blues, Flounder, Sea Mullet and Drum.
Sound Fishing Report:
The Little Bridge on the Nags Head/Manteo causeway reported plenty of keeper Trout. One angler caught 20 keepers yesterday. There are also Drum and Black Drum.
Pier Fishing Report:
Avalon: Little Drum, Black Drum, 2 keeper Trout and Spot.
Nags Head: Spot and Croaker. 1 keeper Trout.
Jennette’s: No report.
Outer Banks: Croaker and Mullet.
Inshore Boats Report:
Inshore boats caught Drum and Flounder. The nearshore boats caught False Albacore and tore up the Bluefish. The Oregon Inlet Headboat caught Sea Bass. Pirates Cove reported good Speckle Trout fishing and plenty of Rockfish. Wreck fishing produced Tilefish.
Offshore Boats Report:
Some Yellowfin were caught, lots of Blackfin and a few Wahoo.
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 fishing was a bit slow due to rough seas. Favorable days offered plenty of dolphin, along with wahoo, amberjack and good catches of yellowfin and blackfin tuna. Billfish catches were fair with equal amounts of sailfish and white and blue marlin. Hatteras and Ocracoke anglers fishing on bottom in deep water caught nice numbers of blueline tilefish, along with blackbelly rosefish, vermilion snapper, snowy and yellowedge grouper and a few tripletail. Midrange catches were limited to striped bass caught inside of the three mile mark. Large bluefish, 8 pounds and larger, were caught around five miles offshore from Oregon Inlet northward to the Virginia line. Near-shore anglers caught plenty of large kingfish with a mixed bag of other species out to two miles from shore.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Fishing was limited due to unfavorable conditions, although calm days yielded a few flounder. Well over 50 percent of the landings were keepers. Spotted seatrout catches in the early morning hours were good, as were striped bass. Roanoke and Croatan sounds yielded most of the striped bass catches. Anglers caught black drum, sheepshead, spadefish, and needlefish around the bridge pilings in Oregon Inlet.
Piers/Shore: Very high numbers of small red drum (puppy drum) were caught along with some very large fish as well. Anglers targeting bluefish and Spanish mackerel landed nice fish during short-term blitzes. Large sea mullet were caught on a regular basis, as were spot, silver perch, pompano, blue runner, black drum, sheepshead, pinfish, pigfish, weakfish, Atlantic cutlassfish, rays, skates, and assorted sharks.
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: Blackfin tuna were abundant, with many boats landing 20 fish or more. Dolphin, sailfish, and wahoo were also in the mix, and a 20- to 40-pound wahoo was common. Closer to shore, Spanish mackerel and king mackerel were caught left and right. Anglers reported catching large fish using live bait. Catches were from Cape Lookout southward along the beach and around reefs. Spear fishermen reported excellent flounder catches around Artificial Reef 315 and other artificial reefs in the area. Bottom fishing produced large vermilion snapper, red porgies, bank sea bass, triggerfish, spottail pinfish, amberjack, gag, and scamp grouper.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Anglers fishing in the Newport River reported huge catches of weakfish while jigging sting silvers around the N. C State Port turning basin and bridge. Speckled trout were caught in the Haystacks and middle marsh using live shrimp or lead head grubs. Bottom fishing anglers returned with enormous catches of pigfish, bluefish, pinfish, croaker, pufferfish, sea mullet, and spot. Flounder and lizardfish were caught in the sounds using live mullet on a Carolina rig.
Piers/Shore: Anglers caught pompano, sea mullet, black drum, red drum, flounder, spot, and jack crevalle while fishing with cut bait on a two-hook bottom rig. King mackerel, Spanish mackerel and bluefish were also caught on live bait from local piers.
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 targeting wahoo in the Gulf Stream reported outstanding catches in the 30- to 40- pound range, with some fish weighing up to 80 pounds. Bottom fishing in water depths of 110 to120 feet produced good catches of grouper, hogfish, vermilion snapper and a host of other reef fish. Near-shore reefs produced outstanding king mackerel fishing along with some good flounder and Spanish mackerel catches.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Flounder and red drum fishing was very productive. Anglers targeting flounder produced some very large fish – many citation sized. Most of the big fish came out of the Cape Fear River, many in the 5- to 8-pound range. Anglers had success in grass points, creek mouths and rock outcroppings. Live finger mullet fished on a Carolina rig was the preferred method for catching the flounder. Red drum fishing was outstanding with the best fishing at the Little River Rock Jetty. Some were in the 35- to 40-inch size range. Smaller slot size fish were caught in area creeks, bays, and inlets. There were a few spotted sea trout starting to show up around area inlets. Carolina Beach Inlet produced the best results.
Piers/Shore: Area piers reported that most anglers were targeting spot. The best catches of spot were in Surf City and Topsail Island with a few good runs occurring mostly at night. Along with spot, there were reports of pompano, sea mullet, black and red drum and numerous bluefish. Anglers targeting king mackerel on the end of the piers had very good fishing. Some of the catches weighed more than 40 pounds. Large Spanish mackerel were caught, as well. Anglers fishing from the surf reported slower fishing. They caught low numbers of sea mullet, pompano, and red drum, but bluefish catches were plentiful.
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