Fishing Report 11/05/2015

Weather today couldn't be any better for fishing with light winds and Friday looks great too.  Saturday's forecast has a chance of showers late in the day and Sunday, showers possible. Weekend's not a complete washout so, come enjoy some great fall fishing.

 

Inshore / Nearshore:

King Mackerel fishing is just about as good as it’s going to get RIGHT NOW. The last two weekends at the North West area has been on fire. Last Sunday, quite a few boats were out fishing and pretty much everyone out there was catching fish. There's still been a few being caught close to the beach off the Cape Lookout Shoals and over on the East Side but the majority of big numbers of Kings are just Offshore.

The Kings did the exact same thing last year just a few weeks earlier, that area must be a meeting spot before the fish head south for the winter. Dead Cigar Minnows fished on Dead Bait Rigs, Wedgies and Pirate Plugs are getting the job done if you don’t want to mess with the Live Bait. This hot bite will only last for a limited time so, if you want to get in on it don’t wait too long.

Speckled Trout fishing has been good over the last week, we're seeing more small fish than I think I've ever heard of or seen. Just about anywhere you go in the Haystacks you'll catch fish. Customers are having no problem catching 100 or more fish a trip. Yes, a lot will be on the small side but if you work through them you should have no problem bringing home a limit.

Also, the Beaufort area is holding good numbers of fish around Radio Island. I've not heard much from the Cape Lookout Rock Jetty this week, I know of a few that has tried but without much success on the Specks. We need some cold weather before the Cape rocks will really pick up.

The Neuse River area still has been slow but I'm starting to hear reports of some fish being caught in that area. I know of two fish over the 5lb mark that were pulled out of the river this past week. So, that’s a very good sign things might be starting to change in the river as the water starts to cool down more. So far, Live Shrimp and Live Mud Minnows are producing the larger trout. As far as, artificial lures: Z-Man Tails, Trout Tricks, DOA Tails, 4” Grubs, Gulp Shrimp, Gulp Jerkshad, Billy Bay Shrimp, DOA Shrimp, Strom Shrimp, Betts Halo Shad, Vudu Shrimp, Backwater Candy and Mirrolures all are working on getting bites.

 

 

Good Gray Trout action, reports are from the Inlet back toward the Turning Basin all the Grays you want to catch. It does seem the bigger fish are hanging around the Railroad Tracks and some really nice fish are being caught at the Rock Jetty at Cape Lookout. Plus don't forget the AB Bridge at night for Grays and Specks. Jigging Stingsilvers, Spec-Rigs and Live Shrimp will get the job done.

Bluefish are still in the area to be caught along the beaches and inlet areas, but the Spanish are mostly gone. We're still seeing a few hanging around since the water is still near 70 but the larger schools of fish have moved on, until next May. But don’t be surprised if you come across a school or two as they're still moving south.

Albacore fishing has been up and down, one day they show up, the next nothing. Most of the action has been up around the Cape Lookout area. We're going to get a good north wind come in on Sunday so, that should group them back up and get them feeding again.

The Spot fishing is still doing pretty good, it's November and they're usually gone by now but with the warm water and weather they seem to be hanging tight. I know last Sunday, we had a great bite with anglers getting good numbers off the boats and from shore. Most of the action has been in the Channel in front of Radio Island Beach and back in the Turning Basin area. Live Bloodworms, Fish Bite Bloodworms and Gulp Bloodworms all have been working very well for them. It looks like we're going to have mild weather for the next few days so, I don’t see why the bite won't be there.

Now, the Sea Mullet fishing has been slow, we are seeing a few in the area but no real big numbers yet. Like I said before, they don’t get into the area good until most of the Spots have moved south. Some are being caught in the Turning Basin and long the beaches.

The hot Flounder bite we were seeing seems to have slowed down a bit. But, we're still seeing some being caught. Tim from the shop was killing them a few weeks ago around the Port Wall. This week, he did catch a few keepers but was telling me it has slowed down. They're not gone, when the water starts to drop again with the next cold front they'll bunch up again and start to move. I think what’s happen is 2 weeks ago, we had that hard cold front and it had them on the move toward the ocean. Now it’s warmed back up and slowed them down. Live Minnows fished along the Port Wall will be the best choice of bait along with Berkley Gulp Baits in the 4” size.

We have actually seen some Red Drum action this week, one of the best places has been a very off the wall spot for Red Drum. The Railroad Tracks has been holding some nice fish. Tim was over fishing for Gray Trout on Monday and just killed the Drum. Plus, there's been a few hanging along the Port Wall. Capt. Chris has run a few backwater trips this week and also has been seeing some action in the Marsh areas around the Haystacks. Live Mud Minnows and Fresh Jumping Mullets seem to be the best bait for action.
 

 

Piers / Surf:

With the rain this week, it has the Surf Zone dirty which has made the fishing a bit slow. Yesterday, we did see some action on some Red Drum along the beach with a few being slot fish and few that were over slot. Last weekend, anglers were catching good numbers of Black Drum in the mix. Some Sea Mullets are starting to move down the beach this week, both Pier and Surf Anglers have been catching a few.

The good Speckled Trout action in the Surf and on the Piers we were seeing has slowed down a bit, but I did hear of some good action up around Fort Macon in the last two days. Looks like next week we're going to see some temperatures in the 50’s at night and 60’s during the day. So, that should group the fish back up and get the action back. I've a feeling once the wind starts blowing North again and with the cool down the stop nets will be put back out.

There's been some good action from the Radio Island beach this week, Tim fished it a few days and caught plenty of fish. A lot of them were on the small side but he did have one that went 3lbs. Most of the action has been on 18MR Mirrolures along with Z-man Baits and Berkley Gulp Shrimp. Anglers are still catching plenty of Blue Fish off the piers with Gotcha Plugs but Spanish are getting very thin. I think I heard of only 2 being caught this past week.

You can still catch Black Drum, Spot, Croakers, Blues and Pompano using Fresh Bait Shrimp, Bloodworms and Squid.

 

Offshore:

Not much has change from last week, still good numbers of Wahoo coming to the scales when the weather allows boats to get out. The Swansboro Hole back up to the Big Rock still the area that most of the fish are being caught in. One boat on Sunday even brought back some nice sized late season Dolphin that were caught in the mix. Also, anglers are catching some Black Fin Tuna in the area with the Wahoo.

There's good bottom action with the Groupers, Sea Bass, Trigger Fish and Snappers. Most of the action is starting around the North West Places out toward the 14 Buoy.

Already, there's some talk around town about the Blue Fin Tuna Season. Will they show or not is the??  Well, all the bait is here so that's a great sign, it just needs to cool off a bit. Last year, the last of November and first week in December was the hottest bite we had seen in years. So, I guess time will tell in a few weeks if they'll make an appearance or not. 

 

 

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