Fishing Report 07/23/2015

 

 Another good weather weekend is in the forecast, with light winds coming out of the north which we rarely see this time of the year. It’s still going to be hot but that north wind will make it feel a lot cooler than the hot Southwest winds we’ve had this week.

 

Inshore / Nearshore:

King Mackerel – bite has been pretty good this past week, no big fish have been caught over the last week but we did see 20lb – 30lb fish caught over last weekend.  I heard of a good bite over at the Atlas Tanker, also there’s been a few Kings hanging in the Shipping Channel out to the Sea Buoy.  It’s a bit early but already we’re seeing some of the King anglers picking up Wahoo while fishing.  Live Bait on King Rigs has been working well, then Dead Cigar Minnows fished on Dead Bait Rigs, Wedgies and Pirate Plugs also has been seeing good action.

Spanish fishing – has been decent this week but not those large numbers we were seeing a few weeks ago. It seems they’re now in the summer time pattern where they get all spread out along the beaches.  But we’ve still been catching a few on every charter trip we’ve run this week so they’re there to catch. Most anglers have been trolling Clarkspoons on #1 Planers and Trolling Weights. Also, while trolling for the Spanish anglers have been catching small Bluefish mixed in. We’ve seen some bigger fish beginning to show up at the AR reefs this week, we weighed one that was just less than 7lbs and heard of a 9lb Spanish that was caught last weekend. When trying to catch the bigger Spanish you really need Live Bait which we usually have in-stock by now. But the Finger Mullet our guy is coming across is still on the small side. It seems they’re running behind this year. Slow trolling Cigar Minnows on Dead Bait Rigs have been working too; it just takes a really nice sized Spanish to take that rig.

Amberjacks – still plenty hanging at the AR 285 and AR330 to catch, Menhaden, Sardines and Cigar Minnows dropped down around the reefs will usually let you know if they are in the feeding mode. Also, when you get them going they will crush Top-water plugs making for some exciting fishing.  Pretty impressive fish to catch so close to the beach; they will definitely test your tackle for sure.

Sheepshead – fishing was great last weekend but has been a bit slower over the last few days. We have still been weighing some nice fish this week. Just yesterday, we weighed one that was just under the 10lb mark. In talking with the anglers that fish all the time are saying the fish haven’t left they are still here in large numbers they just haven’t been biting. Like any other fish some days they feed and some days they don’t.  The Port Wall and all the bridges in the area all are holding fish, Live Sea Urchins and Live Fiddler Crabs are the best for bait choices. We do have both in-stock ready to go, so you don’t have to waste your time looking for bait.

Flounder – we weighed a few Flounder in this week from the Port area, seems to be some good fish starting to stack up around that area.  It’s a hard place to fish with all the hang ups but for sure the Flounder like that deep water.  Tim, from the shop caught over 30 last week fishing all that area with most being keeper fish.  Live Minnows or Dead Finger Mullet is the way to go when fishing the Port area or around any of the bridges. Also, using Live Minnows fishing around the docks along the ICW can also produce some Flatties.  Plus, drifting the ICW Channel has been producing a few fish with Live Minnows and Berkley Gulp baits. The AR reefs are still holding good numbers of fish, it’s all about finding that right rock pile that’s holding more than one fish.  Jigging Spro 2oz Bucktails tipped with 4” White Berkley Gulp still’s the way to go when looking for the reef Flounder action. 

Old Drum – fishing is getting ready to bust loose, there’s already been a few caught over the last week. We’ve had very little rain so the Neuse River is very salty right now.  So, if it stays that way they should really be in the river in good numbers. Bait is already in place and the fish are not far behind.  I talked with a customer last week that was trout fishing off Cedar Island with Top- water plugs and the Old Drum were coming through taking everything he had.  Last year, artificial fishing for them was a bit off as we didn’t have much bait in the river from all the rain, so hopefully; this year is going to be great for the artificial action.

Speckled Trout – fishing’s still pretty slow but again this week we have weighed some fish over 5lbs, kind of crazy as we haven ‘t really seen many fish all year since the freeze this past winter. So, just maybe a new stock of fish is moving into our area. Most everything we have seen come through the shop has been caught on a Top-water Plug and Mirrolure 17MR.

 

Piers / Surf:

Anglers plugging with Got-Cha Plugs have seen better action this week, with some pretty nice fish being caught off the Piers. Early morning and late in the day right at dark has been producing the best bite, also anglers are catching some Blue Fish in the mix when plugging for the Spanish.

As far as, the bottom fish few Flounder, Sea Mullets, Drum, Sharks, Hog Fish, Pin Fish, Blue Fish and Spots  just that summertime mix.  Bait Shrimp, Squid, Mullet, Blood Worms, Live Minnows have been the bait of choice.

 

Offshore:

Well, boats were able to get offshore last weekend and it looks like this weekend we’re going to have another good window.  The Dolphin bite was off a bit since the grass was all scattered out making it hard to fish.  So hopefully; this weekend we will be able to find some better weed lines making the Dolphin fishing a bit easier. North West Places out to the Big Ten Little Ten then on out toward the 90ft Drop seems to be the best areas to fish.

We weighed in some nice Wahoo this past weekend with a few of them caught over on the East Side by the King Mackerel guys and the rest were caught north of the Big Rock. With the hotter waters moving closer in, there’s been a few Sailfish coming along with it, one customer caught a nice one at the Sea Buoy last week so they’re pretty close to the beach. 

 

 

 

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