Fishing Report 04/20/2017

 
Inshore / Nearshore
 

Big Bluefish have been all over the place this past week, from the Surf along the beaches, up at the Cape Lookout Shoals even inside of the Hook at the Lighthouse on the Flats.  We haven't seen fish like this in a few years! Some years, they come in good, some years we only see a few like last year for example when there was only a few caught the entire Spring. 

We get asked a lot how do you catch these fish; well that’s the good thing they aren't hard to catch once you run across them. They will hit metal jigs very well like Jig Fish Lures, Kastmasters and Sting-silvers. Also, anglers have been catching them on plastics like the Z-Man 5” Jerk Shad or Mag-Z plus Top-water lures also have been working well on the flats. The larger lures like Mirrolure Top Dogs and Heddon Spooks have been working good too. The sure bet is a frozen finger mullet or cut mullet which they rarely turn down. It's always a good idea to use a wire leader when fishing for these Choppers, you can make your own or buy them in the pre-made packs ready to go. 

Trolling Clarkspoons and Bowed Up Spoons along the beach and inlet area is producing all the smaller fish you want, a 2lb Bluefish has been pretty easy to come by. It’s very early but I've even heard a couple of Spanish was caught this past weekend by anglers trolling spoons.

Albacore fishing also has been good this week, we had a charter a few days ago who got into them pretty good up along Shackleford Banks. One thing to remember about these fish they can be anywhere from AB Beach up to the East Side of Cape Lookout.  These schools are always moving but not that hard to find, just clear the inlet and start looking for birds working from the Surf Zone out to a mile or so. We just got in stock some new jigs for this fishery and it’s going to be a sure bet lure. The key to catching these fish is using something small that you can cast well.  These new Jigs are sized like a very small glass minnow that weigh 1/2 to 3/4 ounces. It's crazy how small these jigs are and the weight they have on them. Make sure you ask about them when you come into the shop, for Albacore and Spanish fishing – it’s going to be a killer.

I've been getting a lot of calls about Bonito, yes there has been a few caught around the reefs. One of our guides caught some last weekend and I had a customer catch a few also and they have been catching them pretty good south of us. So, really any day we could start to see some really good action. The ones so far have been caught trolling Yo-Zuri DD in the small size around the AR Reefs like 315, 320 and 285 any of these can be really good when the fish show up in numbers.

Gray Trout fishing has been good around the AB Bridge and the Beaufort High Rise, Tim, from the shop says he's having no issues in catching plenty of fish jigging Chrome 1-1/8oz Sting-slivers and Glass Minnow Jigs that we just got in.  The bridges can be tricky to fish with the deep water and current but these areas hold lots of fish and tagged fish at that. Tim tags for the state and one of these can earn you some cash so pay attention when you catch one. Feel free to stop by the shop and ask the “Trout Man” on what to do, he loves helping anglers catch more fish.  There for sure are some tips on catching as many fish at the bridges as he does.

Still seeing good numbers of nice Speckled Trout, most of the action has been in the back creeks and marsh areas. Core Creek area up toward the Neuse River has been holding fish along with the finger creeks in the Neuse River area. Anglers are working the Haystacks area catching limits of fish; deeper pockets and creek mouths seem to be holding the fish.

Early morning as the sun is coming up we've been seeing the fish move onto the flats feeding throwing a Top-water like a Rapala Skitter Walk can get a strike, nothing like a 4lb trout crushing a Top-water lure. What we're seeing Mirrolure 17MR and Yo-Zuri Twitchtbaits have been working well, along with artificial shrimp lures like the Z-Man and Bett's Halo Shrimp. Live Mud Minnows have been producing some good fish over the last week too, so make sure you take a dozen or two. 

We've been finding Redfish in the same backwater areas as the Trout, Live Mud Minnows are working well on them along with Popping Corks and Gulp Baits. The Topwater bite has also picked up over the last week. The numbers of fish still seem to be out at around the Shark Island area, the smaller slot fish have been at the island but the Bull Reds have been more off the Shoals. Which are still schooling and feeding as one of our captains found them again last week.

The Amberjacks have shown up at AR330, had a few customers say they caught quiet a few this past week off the bottom. You can catch these fish jigging spoons or the best way we've seen is Menhaden dropped down on the reef.  We have some dead in stock at the shop plus they will hit Cigar Minnows too.

Let's not forget the Sea Mullets; the bite has slowed down some as it was a few weeks ago when anglers were filling coolers of them. Still seeing them in the No Wake Zone in front of the Port back toward the Beaufort Inlet to the 18 Buoy this past week. So, Sam thinks there's still some schools of fish to be caught that are now moving along the beaches not coming inside the inlet. When this happens the Shipping Channel and the Dead Tree Hole area can be a good spot to try. Just keep a look out on Facebook because if Sam runs into them we will let you know. Sam’s Gitters Spec Rigs tipped with Bait Shrimp and Fishbites is still working the best.

There's even been a few Cobia spotted over the last week, been a few sightings off some of the piers south of us. With fish coming through and all the rays coming up the beach it won't be long. Keep in mind the season is open, so if you run across one and are with-in 3 miles of the beach you should be safe how the current rules sheet reads we have been giving out at the shop.  Pass the 3-mile range from the inlet the season is closed, so if you catch a fish out while bottom fishing by the law it needs to go back into the water. With everything else showing up early this year we could see fish any day, water temps need to come up just a few more degrees before we hit that magic number for the fish to start showing up. Also, we need a bit more bait to show up which we have seen a few pods over the last week, I heard it was thick south of us moving our way.  Don’t forget our Cobia Challenge starts May 1st so come by the shop and sign up or give us a call to get in.  There's a 3 day grace period after May 1st to wait before you can weigh a fish so don’t wait for the fish to show up, be ready to weigh come May 1st.

 

Piers / Surf

Anglers have been taking full advantage of the Chopper Bluefish coming through the area. If you want to catch some nice fish that pull real good now’s the time to be fishing from the Pier or the Surf Zone. Most of these fish have been running from 6lbs up to 15lbs.  These fish won't stay around too much longer so get out and take advantage of these drag screamers. Finger Mullet fished on a Mullet Rig or Cut Mullet on a Bluefish Rig has been working very well. 

Also, guys plugging for them have been having good luck too. Got-Cha Plugs, Kastmasters, Jig Fish Lures, Hopkins, Sting-silvers and Glass Minnow Jigs all have been working well. Pier anglers aren't the only ones catching these fish, just as many have been caught from the Surf Zone up and down the beach. We've weighed a few very nice fish that came from the Fort Macon State Park.  Also, this week anglers have been picking up the smaller fish at the end of the piers on Got-Cha Plugs, as the Chopper Bluefish seem to be moving toward the Surf Zone.

Bottom fishing has been good for the Sea Mullets, Hogfish and Puffer Fish along the beaches. Fishing mid way down the piers back toward the Surf Zone seems to be the best area to catch these fish.  Bait Shrimp, Squid, Bloodworms and Fish Bites fished on bottom rigs have been working the best.

 

Offshore

Wahoo fishing remains good, not many boats have made it out since the weekend. Today, we are seeing light winds so I know of a few boats that were heading out to try their luck. The bite still seems to be all over the place, the Big Rock down toward the Swansboro Hole and Rise is where the most fish we have weighed has come from.  Should see good action on the Wahoo for the next few weeks before we switch gears to our Dolphin Season. Also, we're seeing good numbers of Black Fin Tuna when anglers run across the schools. They haven't been very hard to catch. We have seen a few Dolphin but still a few weeks early for the mass of fish to show up, usually mid-May is when the Dolphin bite will go crazy.

 

 

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