Swansboro September 27, 2007
Jeff, of FishN4Life Charters, reports that as the water cools, speckled trout should begin feeding well in the creeks and deeper channels behind Emerald Isle and Bear Island.
Red drum will be feeding from the brackish waters all the way to the ocean as October rolls around, and they’ll fall for a wide variety of baits and lures, including topwaters, spinnerbaits tipped with Gulp Alive, weedless-rigged soft plastics, and live shrimp or mullet fished under popping corks (or on Carolina rigs or jigheads).
October also typically presents Swansboro-area anglers with plenty of opportunities to sight cast weedless lures and shrimp imitations on fly rods to tailing reds in the shallow marshes.
Inshore, flounder will be feeding around deep structure in the ICW and inlets as well as in shallow creeks and bays. The flatfish should also be holding on the nearshore reefs and live bottoms around Bogue Inlet throughout the fall. Carolina-rigged live baits and bucktails tipped with Gulp baits are the top flounder producers.
Black drum and sheepshead should be feeding around dock and bridge pilings and shallow oyster beds throughout the month. Live shrimp and fiddler crabs are the top baits for both species.
Nearshore fishing for king and spanish mackerel should pick up during October as well. Slow trolling live menhaden, cigar minnows, or threadfins along the beaches and nearshore live bottoms should attract attention from both mackerels.
Gag grouper and other bottom fish should be holding on structure within 20 miles of the beach. Many of the gags will be between 5-15 lbs., and live hogfish or spot are some of the best baits for the larger grouper, although dead and cut baits will work, too.
Rob, of Sandbar Safari Charters, reports that speckled trout are feeding heavily in the marshes behind Hammock’s Beach, Bear Island, and Emerald Isle. The best way to target the trout is to drift a live shrimp beneath a slip float along grass edges and drop-offs in the marshes. Most of the trout will be in the 13-18” range.
Anglers can expect to hook up with a few flounder while speck fishing in the marshes, as the cooler water tends to push the flatfish further up into the marsh.
Some larger flounder are holding around deep water docks and the deeper inlet channels. A Carolina-rigged finger mullet will tempt strikes from the deeper flounder.
Docks along the Cedar Point waterfront will also be holding good numbers of larger trout and red drum.
Large schools of reds are holding on the inlet shoals and shallows, waiting for the falling tide to flush out schools of finger mullet and other baitfish. Boats can locate the schools by watching for showering mullet, then approaching within sight-casting distance of the reds. Most of the fish are in the 27-32” bracket, and the schools often number in the hundreds of individual fish. A wide variety of mullet-imitating lures will draw bites from the drum, and they offer ideal targets for sight-casting with a fly rod.
Inside and outside the inlet, schools of bluefish and spanish mackerel are also feeding on the mullet. Birds working over the surface will guide anglers on the locations of the schools.
The spanish are often large fish (up to 4 lbs.) and even larger ones (up to 7 lbs.) are feeding out at the nearshore AR’s.
Gray trout are also schooled up around the AR’s and in the inlet. Vertically-jigging Stingsilvers or spec rigs tipped with shrimp should get attention from the grays.
Spot and pigfish are feeding along the bottom of the inlet and main ICW channel. A simple bottom rig baited with shrimp or bloodworms will quickly let anglers know whether either species is around.
The recent cool weather and rain should push some large sheepshead out of the marsh to the high rise bridges. Beneath the bridges, a fiddler crab dangled next to the pilings should draw some interest from any nearby sheepshead. Once the water cools and the pinfish are less abundant, a large live shrimp is an even better bait for the biggest sheepshead.
Richard, of The Reel Outdoors, reports that huge numbers of mullet running in the surf zone have attracted a variety of gamefish.
Pier and surf fishermen are enjoying fast action with 2 lb. class bluefish. Kastmasters, diamond jigs, and Gotcha plugs retrieved quickly will attract plenty of attention from the blues.
Red drum are also feeding in the surf, and cut baits or live finger mullet fished on the bottom will tempt them to bite.
Speckled and gray trout are also enjoying the mullet bonanza in the surf zone. Live mullet or soft plastic baits are the best trout producers.
Shorebound anglers are landing good numbers of flounder around Fort Macon on live finger mullet.
Spot and pompano are feeding in the breakers as well. Bottom rigs baited with sand fleas (for the pompano) and bloodworms (for the spot) will help anglers fill up their coolers.
Rhonda, of Bogue Inlet Pier, reports that bottom fishermen are bringing home pompano, spot, and whiting. Shrimp are the top producing baits on the bottom rigs.
Bluefish and spanish mackerel are falling for Gotcha plugs.
Anglers fishing live baits on the bottom are hooking up with a few flounder.
The water is around 80 degrees.
