FISHING REPORT 07/28/2016

 

It’s been just about “HOT” as it gets here in eastern North Carolina, usually this time of year as we go into the dog days of summer the fishing slows down a bit. But you can’t say that so far this summer, over the last two weeks fishing has been great inshore and offshore for the anglers dealing with the heat.

 

Inshore / Nearshore:

We're finally starting to see big Sheepshead coming into the shop, just over the last week we've weighed some that's been right at the 10lb mark. Most fishermen bringing fish by to weigh have had a few more nice ones in the cooler. Docks along the ICW, High Rise Bridges plus the Port Wall all have been holding fish. Live Sea Urchins and Live Fiddler Crabs are the best bait for action, we have weighed big fish that have been caught on both.

Spanish fishing has been steady over the last week, anglers are seeing good action at the reefs on the larger fish using Live Bait and slow trolling Dead Cigar Minnows on Dead Bait Rigs. Also, seeing good numbers of smaller fish trolling Clarkspoons, Bird Rigs and Squid Rigs just along the beaches and around the Beaufort Inlet area. The best action seems to be in the early morning and late afternoon as the sun starts to go back down.  Plus, there's been some Bluefish in the mix when fishing for the Spanish using the small lures.

Usually, this time of the year King Mackerel anglers are searching for a decent King bite but for some reason this year so far we have a pretty nice class of fish that have shown up. We've weighed quite a few fish over the last week that were over the 30lb range and last weekend's tournament it took a 40lber to win and 30 plus to just get into the Top 5. Anglers are reporting the best action has been over on the East Side of Cape Lookout area. Also, we've been seeing smaller fish around the reefs just of the beaches but there's been a few 20 plus pound fish caught also by anglers trolling for the larger Spanish.  So, if the fish keep moving in like we've seen over the last two weeks we could see a really good fall bite.  The Shipping Channel, Atlas Tanker, 1700 Rock, Barge Wreck, North West Places and AR285 are all good places to look.

Redfish in the Marsh areas still remains pretty good; we had the 2^nd leg of the Carolina Redfish Series at the shop this past Saturday. A good number of the anglers reported back catching more than 20 or more fish that day. Also, it took over 14lbs to win the event which we haven't seen in our area in a few years. Probably the best news for the Marsh fishing has been anglers are seeing lots of small fish so that could mean good fishing going into next summer with a nice class of fish in the area. The Haystacks, Newport River, Core Creek right on up to the Neuse all seems to be holding some fish. Plus, down Bogue Sound toward Swansboro anglers are reporting having some good luck. In the mix with the Redfish, we've seen some nice Speckled Trout in the same areas, not tons of fish but we're seeing some nice fish which last year at this time a trout was hard to come by. So, that also means we could see a good fall with the trout which is right around the corner, anything will be better than last year season.

Anglers are still catching some good Flounder in the area, drift fishing behind Shackleford Banks and along the ICW has been producing fish on Live Mud Minnows.  Some anglers that have been targeting Flounder in the marsh areas have been having good luck, the deeper holes seems to be the place they're having the best luck at. You can also count on the ICW Docks to be holding flat fish this time of the year. For the Ocean side the usual spots are still holding fish AR315 and AR285 have been the best for action. Jigging Spro 2oz Bucktails tipped with Berkley Gulp 4” White Shrimp along with Live Minnows have been working the best.

Sharks have started to move inside now; our charter fleet has been having the best luck behind Shackleford Banks and around the Inlet area.  Anglers have been putting chum out and usually not long after having some Sharks show up ready to feed.  Also, there's been some good numbers of Sharks up around Shark Island at Cape Lookout. Same deal put out some chum and wait, the water is super clear up that way so you can see them coming to the chum which makes it pretty exciting.

Still plenty of Amberjacks to be caught at the Nearshore Reefs like AR330 on this side and just about any of the reefs on the East Side are holding plenty of Amberjacks to play with. Dead Menhaden or live on the bottom will let you know pretty fast if there's any fish home that wants to play. Amberjack is one fish you can count on giving you a pull just about anytime this time of the year.

 

Piers / Surf: 

Well, it’s that time of the year where we see the Surf Fishing slow down, not saying you can’t catch a few fish it’s just not hot and heavy action. Early morning fishing and late in the day for Spanish will be the best along with Bluefish action. As for our bottom fishing anglers are catching small Croakers and Sea Mullets. The Piers have seen a few nice Flounder too, so just keep in mind it’s hot and it might not be wide open fishing but still enough to catch to have a good time out on the beach. It won't be long just another month or so when the water starts to cool down going into fall and the action will pick right back up.

 

Offshore:

Wahoo fishing has been great over the last week; usually we don’t see this kind of action until we get into September.  Last weekend, we weighed quite a few fish in over the 50lb mark and even put one on the scales that went over 80lbs which's very unheard of for this time of the year.  Most of the anglers that have come by the shop with fish to be weighed have had a few more in the box.  The Big Rock area down toward the Rise has been the best areas for action using Medium and Large Ballyhoo.  Also, in the mix we're seeing a few Dolphin and quite a few Sailfish from the trolling boats.

The bottom fishing has been great, the Grouper bite has been good over on the East Side of the Cape. One of our charter boats has been catching his limit every trip out over the last two weeks. Plus, anglers are catching a few Trigger fish, Snappers and Black Sea Bass. 

 

 

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