Fishing Report 07/17/2014

 

It's been another hit or miss week here at the beach; with a few good days – then rain and wind for a few days – now we are back to some decient weather just in time for the weekend. As of now, it looks like we're going to have some north winds with some cooler weather. 

 

Inshore: 

Flounder fishing has been good at the reefs plus some nice ones were caught up along the Port Wall last weekend continuing into this week. It seems to me the artificial reefs like 315, 320 and 330 are holding more Flounder this year than usual. I've heard from some divers that there are good numbers of Flounder deep in the reefs where fisherman really can't get to. So, we should see good fishing continuing, now don’t get me wrong you just can't go out there, drop down and catch Flounder. The guys catching the most are working at it finding small rock piles and fishing them. Fishing the Spro 2oz Bucktails tipped with Berkley Gulp 4” White Shrimp is the ticket.  Also, Live Mud Minnows and Live Finger Mullet work well at the reefs. We now have Live Finger Mullet in-stock and we always have Live Mud Minnows. 

 The inside fishing has been very hit or miss but this week I've heard and seen more coming from around the Port Wall. Also, we weighed in a nice Flounder that was caught under a dock which is a great place to fish now plus don’t pass up the high-rise bridges. 

The Sheepshead bite is still strong with good numbers of fish being caught. Just yesterday, I saw a cooler full of fish in the 3lb to 6lb range. Also, we've weighed in a few over 8lbs this week. The bite is pretty constant around the bridges and port area. I get asked all the time what to look for when Sheepshead fishing; there is no real set thing to look for just start hitting pilings and working the area. If you aren't getting bites within a short period of time move to another area to locate fish. Usually, if you start getting bites there's more than one fish in the area and you can catch a few out of the same spot. Live Sea Urchins and Live Fiddler Crabs is the bait of choice and we keep both in stock. 

Spanish fishing has been very up and down since the hurricane. On some days it's decent fishing then on other days I know of boats trolling all over the place and not even getting a hit. It seems the Shipping Channel is the best area that has been holding fish. It looks like we have north winds over the next few days so maybe that will bunch the Spanish back up and turn the bite on. There's been a lot of small bluefish in the inlet to catch out on the shoals at the Fort Macon Rock Jetty area. Trolling Clarkspoons, Mackerel Trees, Squid Rigs and Bird Rigs is going to be the best bet for action. Just always keep your eyes open for birds working the water surface that is usually a good sign of feeding Spanish and Blue Fish. 

The Redfish bite has been good over in the Neuse River this week and I've heard of some great topwater striper action on up toward the New Bern area of the river. Also, the Redfish are being caught on Topwater, Gold Spoons, Berkley Gulp, Live Mud Minnows and Live Shrimp all have been working well. 

 
There's still some Speckled Trout being caught in the Core Creek area out to the Neuse River with a few around the Haystacks area.  They've been hitting topwater baits also along with Live Shrimp; which we now have in-stock. 

Sharks are in the area to be caught around the inlet and just outside the inlet area. I heard from some of the King Mackerel anglers fishing over last weekend that on the east side at some of the reefs there's some huge tiger sharks. When I say huge I had more than one person tell me 8 to 12' sharks. Now, if you want to test your tackle a fish like that will. Just be careful because a Tiger Shark can be very dangerous that big in size. Smaller Black Tip sharks are starting to move into the inlet now and they're always fun to catch. There's even been a few Spinner Sharks caught in the last week, which will really put on a show. To fish for sharks you have to have some pretty heavy tackle because they have razor sharp teeth and can cut through a leader like butter. We have pre-made heavy duty shark rigs in the shop that will hold up to some big sharks. 

 

Piers / Surf: 

Well, it seems like we've gotten into our summer time pattern for the Piers and Surf Zone. When it gets hot like this things can be off somewhat from the surf. The best action I can report this week is good numbers of Bluefish being caught up on the point at Fort Macon, not any huge Bluefish but plenty of small ones. There's a few Pompano being caught along with a stray Mullet. There's a few Spanish being caught early in the mornings off the Pier and I even heard of a few keeper Speckled Trout that were caught this week. There's been some Flounder caught right along the beach and it should be pretty good over the next few days. After the rough surf we've had and now that a little cold front is coming in we hope it turns on some fish to bite. Bait Shrimp, Mullet, Squid, Live Minnows and Bloodworms would all be good choices of bait. 

 

 

Offshore: 

So, far we've been seeing a great season on the Blue Water. If we could just get the winds not to blow every 3 or 4 days there would be lots of fish coming to the docks. Last weekend and the first of this week the Dolphin fishing is still pretty good. By this time it usually has slowed down a bit but last weekend we weighed in quite a few fish over the 20lb mark along with some nice Wahoo. I've talked with some anglers that didn't' have that much luck last weekend then talked to some that caught over 30 fish. What I'm hearing the 90ft Drop out has been the best area but I did hear of a good bite down south of the Big Rock, also. It looks like this Saturday is going to be another good day to get out to the Blue Water and get in on the action. Blue Water Candy Sea Witch Rigs, Daisy Squid Chains, Superstar Rigs, C&H Rattle Jets, Colored Head Islander Sailures, Colored Head Islander Jr’s and Fathom Soft Heads all have been working very well on the Dolphin. Also, this time of year is when the Dolphin get smaller so Dead Cigar Minnows pulled on Dead Bait Rigs and Pirate Plugs can be very good on the near shore spots. 

The bottom fishing also has been pretty good over the last week. Good numbers of Grouper is being caught along with Triggerfish, Sea Bass, Amber Jacks, Jacks and Snappers. Over on the east side has been a good area, North West Places and the Big Ten Little Ten area all has been producing fish. Squid Wings, Cigar Minnows, Sardines, Mackerel and Menhaden all have been good baits to use. The Barefoot Decoy Jigs and Squid Jigs also have been working well rigged with Squid or Cigar Minnows. 

 

 

 

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