Fishing Report 06/13/2019

 

Inshore / Nearshore:

Spanish bite has been great the last few days, AR 315 is holding very good numbers of fish. Also, anglers are finding plenty of Spanish along the beaches trolling Clarkspoons, Bird Rigs and Mackerel Trees with planers are having no problem filling their limits of fish.  If you like to cast light tackle to them you can have good   luck with that at the Cape Lockout Shoals and just outside the Beaufort Inlet in front of Fort Macon Park. Casting Spanish Candies and Jig Fish lures have been working the best for us over the last few days. Again, along with the Spanish you'll catch plenty of Bluefish in the mix.  Same lures – same areas will find you plenty of action on the Blues.

King Mackerel have been all over the reefs also, most are having great luck on Dead Bait Rigs and Mac a Hoos slowed trolled with Cigar Minnows. You can also catch them Drone Spoons right now good; we’ve been having the best luck on White color combos. The King bite will only get better as we get into the summer as the larger fish will start to move in, but from 10lb -15lb we are seeing a lot right now.
 

Flounder still remains the same with the majority being caught at the AR Reefs just off the beach like 315, 320, 330 and 285 are all holding fish. It’s just a matter of coming across the right hump or structure that they're stacked on. Right now, if you find the right spot it doesn't take long to catch your limit. Fishing Spro 2oz Bucktails off the bottom tipped with a 4” Gulp White Shrimp is hard to beat. Also, it's a good idea to put out a Live Mud Minnow to drag while you're jigging, it's a good way to pick up more fish. A few of our trips last week had limits of fish when they came back and we’re seeing some big fish on the reefs. One customer stopped back in last weekend with one pushing 8lbs he caught off the reef on a Spro Bucktail. We have seen a few on the inside waters being caught but not that many fishing for them. Some of the jiggers this week have had some great catches, so there are plenty of Flounder on the inside waters just have to fish for them. Port Wall, Bridges and Docks just look for structure and bait for good areas to fish.

Speckled Trout fishing has been really good over the last few weeks. It’s been kind of a surprise to us because our Charter Fleet has been bringing some nice fish back to the dock which we usually don’t see this time of the year on our trips. Also, had a customer stop by yesterday with a nice trout that went over the 6lb mark he caught on a Topwater in Bogue Sound. We’ve been having the best luck drifting Live Shrimp from the shop along the grass banks around the Haystacks, Bouge Sound and Core Creek areas. Also, been catching them on Topwater and the new “High Water Get Tem Shads” we have in the shop. Along with the trout anglers are seeing a few Redfish in the mix, but I’m not going to lie it’s been hit or miss on the Reds for us. They are either there or nothing. Not quite sure what’s going on with them this year, now that we are having more Shrimp getting into the marsh, we have seen the numbers pick up over the last few weeks so, hopefully; we are at the start to a good bite going more into the summer.

The Sheepshead fishing starting to pick up in the area, we have seen some good catches from the AB Bridge this week. In the last week, we’ve weighed fish over the 10lb mark. Beaufort High Rise Bridge and the Port Wall area is good places to fish. We’re just at the start of the season for the Sheepshead, we'll see more and more show up as we move into summer. Now, that a few fish are starting to be caught, we do have Live Sea Urchins and Live Fiddler Crabs In-Stock. The new Jail Bait and Fiddler Crab Jigs we have in the shop have been working great.  I've been getting some calls about the “Sheepshead Jackpot Challenge” and YES, we will be having it again this year. It will start on July 1st for anyone that wants to enter and will go until September 30^th.

Sharks have shown up in full force behind the shrimp boats when they are working. Probably the easiest fishing you can do because there's lots to catch plus great action. They will just about eat anything you put in the water; well, I’ll say anything you put in the water they will hit. There hasn’t been a lot of boats out shrimping yet but the few we’ve seen this week have had more sharks behind them than we have ever seen. We have plenty of Shark Rigs and Poppers in the shop ready for action, if you are wanting a pull these fish will for sure test your tackle.

 

Piers / Surf:

Spanish and Bluefish bite has been great over the last few days from the Surf Zone. Anglers have been getting their limit of fish fishing right along the beach on high tide. The fish have been so close at times you can catch them with your hands. We have been having the best luck casting Spanish Candies, Jig Fish Jigs, Kastmasters and the Thingama Jig. Pier anglers also are catching a few plugging Gotcha-Plugs off the end of the piers, but also check closer to the beach as the Surf Anglers have been doing well too.

Bottom fishing is seeing a mix Sea Mullets, Hog Fish, Croakers, Sharks, Rays, Bluefish, Drum and a few small Flounder moving in.  Not a lot of any, just getting into that summertime pattern when who knows what you might catch. Fishing with Bait Shrimp, Bloodworms, Squid and Mullet on the bottom also, maybe some Live Mud Minnows will get you some action.

There’s been a few Flounder caught also right along the beach plus a few Drum also being caught in the suds. Most have been caught on Cut Mullet and Live Minnows working the deeper holes along the beaches.

 

Offshore:

Finally, it’s looking like we’re going to have that perfect weekend window to get Offshore. As of now, we are seeing Saturday at lights winds and seas 2 to 3ft which we don’t see very often. Dolphin bite has been good from the 14 Buoys out to the Big Rock area, with some fish still being caught down south. It’s getting that time of the year to keep your eye out for a good solid weed line and the fish should be stacked along it. In the mix you’re also going to see a few Black Fin Tuna, Wahoo and Sailfish.

Trolling Small and Medium Ballyhoo behind Sea Witches in the Blue/White and Pinks have been working well. It’s that time of the year don’t leave the dock without some MonkaLures. When the Dolphin start to spread out, this lure is just easy to pull and flat out catches fish. We have them in the shop unrigged and rigged ready to go, we are one of the only shops that has this lure so come pick up some. We have customers all the time report back to us on how good this lure catches and how they help put some meat in the cooler.  

 

All the talk around town this week has been all about Blue Marlin as the Big Rock Tournament is going on and the Billfish bite has been just about as good as it gets along the North Carolina Coast. Monday, there was 7 fish which came to the scales that may be a record in one day’s catch not exactly sure, top 3 fish right now are all over 500lbs which is pretty impressive. Most boats took lay days the last two days so most will be being fishing going into the last days of the event. I’m pretty sure the bite’s going to be back on tomorrow so we could be setting up for one of those epic Big Rock Tournament finishing. Pretty exciting stuff when the weather and fishing is hot going into last days as it’s still anyone’s game at the top prize somewhere around $1,000,000.00.

Bottom fishing still good, our Charter fleet’s been doing well on the Grouper over on the East Side of the Cape. We ran a few Amber Jack trips this week and there’s been plenty starting to get on all of our reefs, plenty of Snappers and Bass on the bottom too. The Trigger Fish bite has been good but it seems to be more on out in that 35-40-mile range. Squid Wings, Sardines, Menhaden and Cigar Minnows is all you need if you’re heading to the bottom grounds.