Fishing Report 11/12/2015

 

Again, we had another rainy start to the week, that’s the 3rd Monday and Tuesday in a row we've had rain. But now, it's all gone and we are going to see sunny skies for the weekend and even into the first of next week, which will be nice for a change.

Inshore / Nearshore:

The talk around town has been King Mackerel for sure, last week and through the weekend was some of the best King Mackerel fishing you'd find anywhere. When you have 50 plus boats fishing in one area and most of them hooked up means one thing; there was tons of fish in the area being caught.

I don’t know how many Kings we weighed last week that were over the 30lb mark but it was a lot. As you can see from the pictures below. The hot spot has been the North West Places, since Sunday the ocean has been somewhat rough to get out. A few boats went yesterday but reported still pretty bumpy fishing. We did weigh a few fish yesterday afternoon, what I was hearing the bite was nothing like it was last week but there's still some fish around.

Usually, when the Kings move from the North West Places they'll stack up at Big 10 / Little Ten before they move on south in the Gulf Stream. I didn't talk to anyone that made it out that far, so it's hard to say if the bite is still going to be on like it was. I did hear, the East Side of the Cape was pretty slow yesterday with not many fish caught, so it seems that most of the fish are over on the West Side. But the King of The Cape Championship is this weekend so anglers will be pretty tight lipped about what's going on since there's a pretty big purse up for grabs.

Albacore fishing has been up and down, I know yesterday there was some caught just off the beach. It’s just a matter of looking for the birds. Last weekend, there were good numbers of fish out toward the North West Places with the King anglers reporting and catching them. So, if you're looking for them you might want to move off the beach. There's still plenty of Bluefish around to catch, been tons at the AB Bridge and around the Inlet area.

Speckled Trout fishing is still doing well, anglers have been catching them all week. There's lots of small fish to be caught, but over the last few days we've seen a better class of fish move in, I know of some good limits of fish that were caught yesterday and the Haystack's area there's been quite a few keeper fish caught. Reports of anglers starting to see some fish showing up in the Core Creek area, which is a great sign since we haven't seen that much action in that area over the last few weeks.

Also, we have weighed a few 4lb and 5lb fish in the last week. So, with another cold front coming our way it should help the bite even more. What the cold air will do is bunch the fish back up on the jetties. I look for Radio Island, Shackleford and the Cape Lookout Jetty turn on in the next few days. It's just now starting to feel like Speckled Trout weather and we've already seen more fish around than I thought we would already this season. So, I have a real good feeling that the trout fishing is going to fire off.

Flounder fishing has been pretty good this week, Nick from the shop has been doing very well in the Turning Basin area. I know for a fact he has pulled 10 from that area in the last few days from 3 to 6lbs fish. Live Minnows and Spro 2oz Bucktails tipped with 4” Gulp Shrimp has been working the best. Also, there's been a few caught around the Railroad Tracks and the Beaufort High Rise Bridge. It seems like every time we have a cold front, they stack up and start to move. I'd think with the cool down coming for the weekend even more will start to move up and stack around the Port Wall. Keep in mind you have to work at it, what I've been hearing you might fish a few hours and not catch any, then hit a hot spot and catch 4 or 5.

Plenty of Gray Trout still around to be caught, the Atlantic Beach High Rise Bridge has the most numbers of fish we've  seen. Tim and Tyler from the shop has been tagging fish for the state and last weekend they caught well over a 100 fish in one night with a few 3 lb'ers mixed in. Also, there's a good number of Grays in the Turning Basin and back to the Inlet. If you have any questions about Gray Trout fishing feel free to come by the shop and see Tim, he's a master when it comes to Gray Trout fishing, he's been doing it for 30 years so he can catch them for sure.

With the warm water temperatures we've had this fall, we are still seeing some Spots in the area. They should have been gone a few weeks ago but last weekend anglers were catching them pretty good in the Turning Basin having no problem filling the cooler. So, Live Bloodworms fished in that area this weekend should produce some fish. Also, there's been some nice Hog Fish mixed in with them and Puffers are starting to move in.

Sea Mullets still haven't moved in thick yet, but we've seen some fish in the last week. I did hear this morning from customers that they caught Sea Mullets very well yesterday, so this just might be the start of the run. I've been talking to Sam the maker of the Sam’s Gitter Spec Rig and is one of the best when it comes to catching the mullets. So, when they show up in numbers he'll let me know for sure, I have a feeling within the next week or so with the cooler weather they'll move in; if it’s going to happen.

 

Piers / Surf:

Anglers have been seeing some Sea Mullets making their way down the beaches. I've heard of a few good catches from the piers and surf anglers. Also, we're starting to see the Puffer Fish move in along with Hog Fish and a few Croakers. There's still some Bluefish being caught using Gotcha-plugs along with a few Albacore that's been caught over last few days.

Some nice Red Drum is being caught along the beach, not hot and heavy action but each week we see some over the slot plus a few in the slot has been caught. Fresh Mullet fished on the bottom is the best choice for bait and we're keeping that in-stock for all the Surf Anglers.

Speckled Trout fishing has slowed a bit but with the water cooling down this week and more cold air on the way for the weekend this is a good sign. It’s just been too hot during the last few weeks to see much action along the beaches for trout. We were seeing good numbers being caught but the warm-up killed the bite, but that should all change over the next few days. So, this weekend will be a good time to try the Surf, also Radio Island Beach should fire back up with the cold front.

 

Offshore:

Still good numbers of Wahoo to be caught, last weekend we didn't weigh that many fish but a whopper came to the scales an 89lb'er that was caught out around the North West Places. Most of the action has been from the Rise down toward the Swansboro Hole. Also, we've been weighing good numbers of Black Fin Tuna caught around the North West Places. We just need some good weather windows for the boats to get out and catch some fish.

Bottom fishing continues to be good when anglers can get out with Grouper, Sea Bass and Snappers.

 

Braggin Board: