Fishing Report 07/07/2011

Inshore: The Sheepshead bite was good over the weekend and last week, Port Area, AB Bridge, Beaufort Bridge, Beaufort Draw Bridge and ICW Docks all are holding fish. Really, any piling you find has a chance of holding a sheepshead to catch. You can even catch them on the Rock Jetties, live Fiddler Crabs and live Sea Urchins are still working the best on them.
 
Flounder are around the ICW Channels, Port Area, Bridges, Rock Jetties, AR315, 320, 330 and any other kind of structure you can find. Most are being caught on Live Mud Minnows, Gulp Baits, Uncle Josh Flounder Strips, Gulp Flounder Belly Strips,Squid Strips and Spro Bucktails tipped with Gulp Shrimp.
 
The Spanish Fishing has been good in the Inlet on high tides early in the morning. They are schooled up where you can get catch them with casting lures like Jig Fish, Hopkins, Kastmasters, Crippled Herrings, Gotcha-Plugs, Pole-Kat Plugs and Spec-Rigs. There are plenty of Spanish up and down the beaches trolling Clarkspoons, Squid Rigs and Mackerel Trees if you prefer to troll. There has been some larger Spanish caught at the Reefs and the Dead Tree Hole area this past week. Most of them are being caught on Live Bait or Cigar Minnows fished on a Dead Bait Rig.
 
The Redfish bite has been very up and down. It seems that more fish that have shown up over this past weekend but over the past week they seem to be gone again. I don’t really know what's happening to the Redfish this year. It has been one of the slowest bites that I have ever seen. Berkley Gulp Baits, Redfish Magic’s, Marsh Works Spinner Baits, Topwaters, Gold Spoons and Z-Man Baits all have been good lures of choice. A great way to catch the Redfish this time of year is to use Live Mud Minnows or Cut Mullet fished on the bottom. This works well when the water gets hot like this in the summer time.
 
Bluefish are still plentiful for you to catch in the Inlet plus up and down the beaches. As for bottom fishing it’s a mix bag Sea Mullets, Spots, Croakers, Hogfish and  Gray Trout, most of the bottom fishing is good from the Inlet back to the Turning Basin using Fresh Shrimp, Squid, Bloodworms or Mullet fished on Spec-Rigs or Bottom-rigs.

Piers / Surf: Lots of Spanish and Blues are being caught of the end of the piers on plugs. Pole-Kat Plugs, Gotcha-Plugs, Jig fish Lures and Katsmasters all are working well. There is lots of Flounder right in the surf zone but lots of small ones but there are good numbers of keeper fish mixed in too. Most are having the best luck fishing Live Mud Minnows fished on Flounder Rigs.
 
The Sheepshead are hanging around the pilings of the piers and around the Fort Macon Rocks. Live Fiddler Crabs and Live Sea Urchins are the best bait to be using for them.
 
Black Drum and Red Drum are being caught up at the Fort Macon Rocks using either Fresh Shrimp, Live Mud Minnows or Cut Mullet. As for the bottom feeders there are Spots, Sea Mullets, Crockers, Hog Fish,Pompano and Sharks fishing with Fresh Shrimp, Squid, Mullet, Bloodworms or Sand Fleas on the bottom with bottom rigs.

Offshore: We are still fighting the wind. Its seems like we are getting a few days out of the week to make it out. The end of last week was light which let some boats get out. There was good numbers of Dolphin caught mostly around the 14 buoy and out. But I did here of fish being caught around the North West Places and as close as the Sea Buoy. Sea Witch Rigs rigged with Small or Medium Ballyhoo are working the best on the Dolphin. There have been good numbers of Sailfish mixed in also.
 
The bottom fishing has been great over the last few weeks in the 30 to 35 mile range. Most are catching Trigger Fish, Black Sea Bass, Grouper, Ring Tails and Amber Jacks using Cigar Minnows, Squid, Sardines, Mackerel or Menhaden for the bottom fish. The Blue Water Candy Roscoe Jigs and the Barefoot Jigs have been working well also for the bottom boats. 

 Customers Catches Over The 4th Of July. Nice Fish!!! 

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