Fishing Report 05/26/2016

 

6th Annual Cobia Challenge

 

Current Leader Board: 

 

1st Place – Chris Phelps 73lbs

 

2nd Place – Skip Conklin 53lbs 

 

3rd Place – Scott Edwards 53lbs 

 

4th Place – Mike Leseara 53lbs 

 

5th Place – Barry McClure 53lbs 

 

6th Place – Sandy Conklin 52lbs

 

7th Place – Jeff Radford 50lbs 

 

8th Place – Drake Marquart 48lbs 

 

9th Place – Chris Chadwick 47lbs 

 

10th Place – Zach Davenport 47lbs 

 

 

 

 

Inshore / Nearshore:

Cobia's are still coming to the scales this week, we haven't seen the huge numbers we saw week before last but there's still some fish to be caught.  I did get word that there was a good number of fish seen this week off Wrightsville Beach just south of us so, we might just see another wave of fish come through.  I remember last year, we saw the same thing before the fish moved out of the area. Of what, we've been weighing at the shop this week most of the fish have been caught around Beaufort Inlet and some even in the sounds.  Both bottom fishing and sight fishing are producing results.  I'm expecting to see Cobia caught for the next two weeks, before they really start to thin out.  We are still putting up Fresh Caught Menhaden daily so, we always have the freshest available plus we still have some Live Eels left.

Flounder fishing has been very good this week, one of our charter boats went out the other day to the reefs and came back to the docks with 13 nice fish. Also, other anglers are reporting good catches from the AR’s: 315, 320, 330 & 285 reefs are all holding fish. Spro 2oz Bucktails in White or Glow along with the Sea Striker Bucktails 2oz in White tipped with Berkley Gulp are hard to beat when fishing the reefs. Live Minnows fished on a Carolina Rig is the second choice of bait to put some Flounder in the cooler.  There's been a few caught around the Port area this week along with some in the inlet. Drifting with Live Minnows and Berkley Gulp will be a good choice to fish with in the inside waters. I know some giggers have been having good luck at night on the flats so that tells me there's fish holding in the deeper areas during the day for anglers to target.

Spanish fishing has been great this week, good numbers of fish hanging around Cape Lookout and over on the East side of the Shoals.  One of our Charter boats caught good numbers just this week casting Diamond Jigs and Glass Minnow Jigs. Also, trolling Clarkspoons along the beaches from Beaufort Inlet down the beach to the Double Tree Resort has been producing good numbers too.  Clarkspoons trolled on #1 Planers have been getting the job done.  Over the next few weeks, we'll see some of the best Spanish fishing we'll see all season, except late fall when they bunch back up.  Good thing about the fishing now is the water hasn't got real hot so the fish are feeding most of the day; not just early mornings and late evenings like we'll see later on into the summer.  There's plenty of Bluefish in the mix also, good thing to keep in mind if you're just catching Bluefish you might want to try speeding up your troll. But Bluefish is a very reliable fish to catch on most days if the action is slow on other types of fish.

I've been getting some calls about Sheepshead fishing, not seeing all that much action yet. I feel like it’s due to the cooler water temps we've had so far but that could change very quickly. I remember back last year June was the best month we saw as far as big fish in numbers and that's just right around the corner. We do have Live Fiddler Crabs In-Stock ready for anyone that wants to try his or her luck.

Gray Trout, Sea Mullets, Hog Fish, Croakers, Bluefish will all be on the menu for bottom fishing around the Turning Basin area. Fishing with Bottom Rigs or Spec Rigs tipped with Bait Shrimp or Fish-bites usually will find you plenty of action.

I can report some Speckled Trout and Red Drum being caught in Core Creek up to the Neuse River area.  It's been kind of slow but seems in just the last week anglers are seeing some better action.  Anglers are already reporting good numbers of keeper trout in the rivers so, that could mean big things this fall. I had a customer show me a picture of a 28″ Speckled Trout caught just the other day in Bogue Sound while bottom fishing with bait shrimp, go figure. For the Red Drum best places to look will be up on the flats in the shallow water areas, the bait is around and they will be in feeding mode if you can locate them.

 

Piers / Surf:

Bluefish are going crazy!! The last few days off the pier, anglers plugging Got-Cha Plugs have been having some great action.  Also, Spanish are in the mix for anglers to have fun with. Most of the plugging action has been coming from the end of the pier. 

In the Surf all along the beaches, anglers are catching a mix of Black Drum, really nice Pompano, Bluefish, Sea Mullets, Puffers, Croakers, a few Flounder and Sharks.  Bait Shrimp, Bloodworms and Squid on bottom rigs or Bluefish Rigs with Finger Mullet or Mullet will get you some action.

As for the bottom fishing, we had the kids of the CTO Crystal Coast at the shop this past Sunday for some “Surf Fishing” lessons. Once, we made it to Fort Macon it’s wasn’t long before the kids were pulling in Sea Mullets, Pin Fish, Sharks, Puffer Fish and Croakers.  Bait Shrimp fished on bottom rigs gave us plenty of action in a short amount of time fishing.  They had a blast and a great afternoon of FUN!

 

Offshore:

The Bluewater action is still on fire!  What we've seen this week, the Dolphin bite has picked back up. Last week, it was slower but it seems another wave of fish moved in and anglers have been taking full advantage of the good fish.  Last Sunday, I know some boats brought 400lbs of fish back to the docks. Fishing has been good out around the Big Rock but some boats has had good luck between the 14 Buoy out to the 90ft Drop. Also, we're seeing some Wahoo in the mix, not as good as it was but still boats are bringing them back to the docks along with a few Tuna.

Boats will be switching their focus off the meat fish in the coming weeks as the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament is right around the corner to be held at the Morehead City Waterfront June 10th – 18th. It's always an exciting time in town when this event is going on. Lots of money on the line for the anglers, most years the purse is over a million. 

    

 

 

Braggin Board: