Fishing Report 10/15/2015

“Good Luck” to Captain Matt and dad, Ray in fishing the 'IFA Redfish Tour Championship in the Louisana Bayou this weekend!  Put them in the boat guys, we're pulling for you!!  Check out our facebook page for pictures…

Improving clarity in the water this week has the fish biting.  We’ve been weighing  Speckled Trout – Hooray!

Now that’s what many of you anglers want to hear. Several have been caught in the Surf, off the Pier, Atlantic Beach High Rise Bridge (at night), in the Creeks and at Radio Island Rock Jetty.  What a good sign of what the next few weeks will bring.  Plus, Spanish, Bluefish, Spot, Gray Trout, Croakers, Puffers, Sea Mullet, Black Sea Bass, Hogfish, Black Drum, Red Drum, Pompano, Kings and Albacore all have been caught this week, not to mention Wahoo, Black Fin Tuna and Dolphin, so I’d say “FISH ON” Fall Fishing has arrived.

Inshore/Nearshore

The bite has been on all week with Spots over at the Pier, at the Beaufort High Rise Bridge, plus the Beaufort Drawbridge, Duke Marine Lab and Gallant’s Channel all the way around through the Turning Basin. Live Bloodworms and Fish bites will be the bait of choice for putting plenty in the cooler.  In the same areas you’ll catch Croakers, Puffers, Sea Mullet, Hogfish and Gray Trout.  Spec-Rigs or Sam’s Gitter’s Spec Rigs tipped with fresh Bait Shrimp will get you a bite; plus you can jig a Sting-Silver for Gray Trout.  

Spanish are still on the beach but make sure you fish a little deeper for them, trolling a Clarkspoon with a #1 Planer or Trolling Weight, Mackerel Tree or Bird may bring Spanish in the boat. Bluefish are going to be in the same area.  Casting Jigs like a Jig Fish Lures, Hopkins, Epoxy Jigs, New Heavy Minnow or P-Line Jigs will hook you up when you find fish feeding on top.  Still the early or late afternoon bite is best.

Flounder is still hanging on the Port Wall, Railroad Bridge and the High Rise Bridges AB or Beaufort before moving to the ocean.  Fish Live Finger Mullet or Live Mud Minnows on a Flounder Rig; which we have both in stock.

Speckled Trout are showing up around the Jetties – anglers have caught Specks at Radio Island Rock Jetty this week and in the creeks up the ICW.  Live Shrimp fished on a Float Rig or Popping Cork is definitely a good possibility to hang one, but artificial like Billy Bay Halo Shrimp, New Billy Bay Halo Shrimp Perfect Sinker, Vudu Shrimp or plastics like Zoom, SaltWater Assassin, Blue Water Candy, DOA Grubs, Z-Man or Gotcha Grubs work too. If you like to fish a Mirrolure the 17MR or 18MR is the most productive in the creeks but off the Surf the 52MR and TT will serve you right.  We have a large selection of  Mirrolures with many customs and will be happy to help you choose the right one for the location you’ll be fishing. We’re getting real good reports every day that Specks are here. The next few weeks will only improve the bite and the jetties should be on FIRE real soon!

Gray Trout and Specks are being caught at night on both sides of the Atlantic Beach Bridge under the lights.  Jigging a Sting-silver for the Grays plus Live Shrimp for both will help you hang into them.  One customer just the other night caught over 60 fish – what a night of fishing.

Unfortunately, the Red Drum bite is still a little slow but you may find a good school in the Haystacks, Middle Marsh, Docks on the ICW, North River or in the creeks up Core Creek.  Live Bait; use either Mud Minnows or Shrimp on a Popping Cork.  Artificial: Gulp Bait fished on a jig head or popping cork is hard to beat but Redfish Magic Spinnerbaits, Johnson Spoons,  Rapala Top Water and Heddon Super Spook Jr work well too.

You’ll find schools of Albacore busting glass minnows in the Inlet, up around Cape Lookout, up and down the beaches and AR 315.  Casting small lures like Jig Fish, P-Line Jigs, Kastmasters, Epoxy Jigs or Hopkins Spoons into the schools will give you a strong pull plus a lot of fun!

There are plenty of King Mackerel showing up. Last week, at the Cape Lookout Shootout many came to the scales.  The East Side produced the larger Kings: AR285, 1700 Rock, Atlas Tanker, Chicken Rock and the 30 Minute Rock all of these places are holding Kings.  Straight out the Inlet, fish the Shipping Channel, Big Ten/Little Ten, Northwest Places, AR315, AR320 and AR330.   This week we’ve weighed several Kings in the upper 20lb range caught at AR315 plus a 31lb caught a Shackleford Banks.  If you want to Live Bait use Live Bait Rigs with Menhaden or Bluefish.  The schools of Menhaden have been a little hard to locate this week but there’s plenty of Bluefish for bait.  Dead Cigar Minnows fished on Pirate Plugs or Dead Bait Rigs is the way to bring a King to the scales if you don’t use live bait.

Piers and Surf                                                                                                                                                         

The Surf is still strong with some” BIG” Red Drum being caught.  Fresh Mullet will entice these big boys to bite.  We just got in some Fresh Mullet for the weekend surf anglers.  Anglers fishing up at Fort Macon Park have been catching a variety of species Black Drum, Red Drum, Flounder and Bluefish.  Baits being used are fresh bait shrimp, bloodworms, live mud minnows and fresh mullet.  Also, a casting jig will bring a Bluefish to the shore.  Also, a few Speckled Trout were caught this week plus Pompano, Spot, Sea Mullet and Blues.

 

Oceanana Pier reports some Spanish, Bluefish, Flounder, Spots, Croakers, Pompano and Sea Mullet with anglers using fresh finger mullet, fresh shrimp, bloodworms, sand fleas and cut mullet.  This weekend with the North winds will help flatten the ocean and should bring some fish to the Pier.

 

Offshore

This week boats have made it out with good success bringing plenty of Wahoo to the scales.  It’s definitely” WAHOO TIME” in the FALL. We have Medium and Medium/Large Ballyhoo with all the lures you’ll need such as Blue Water Candy  Jag-a-Hoo’s in Purple/Black and Red/Black two of the best colors. Islanders in Purple/Black, Red/Black, Orange/Black and Blue/Black are real good colors, Blue Water Candy Rigged Jags in the same colors and Blue Water Wire Skirted Rigs are in stock.  Come by to check out our Offshore Wall.  The Big Rock, The Rise, The Swansboro Hole, and AR302 all have been the best places to fish. In the mix with Wahoo you’ll catch Black Fin Tuna, Dolphin and Kings.

Bottom Fishing anglers are catching Grouper, Red Snapper, Amberjack, Ringtail Pogy and Big Black Sea Bass. East side of the Cape 285, Atlas Tanker, 1700 Rock, D Wreck and Chicken Rock are good areas to fish.  Also, fish Northwest Places, Big Ten/Little Ten, AR240, 210 and 305 fishing Squid, Squid Wing, Menhaden or Cigar Minnows are the best baits to use.

We extend “Good Luck” to all the anglers fishing the 5th Annual NC Troopers Inshore/Offshore Challenge this weekend.  We have all your tackle needs in stock for either the Inshore Division or Offshore Division here at the shop with plenty of Cigar Minnows, Ribbonfish and Chum for the King Mackerel Anglers. 

 

 

 

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