Morehead City June 23, 2005
George, at Carolina Bait and Tackle, reports that the flounder bite has improved. Look for them in the inlet and around structure and piers. You can also target flounder just outside the inlet and at the artificial reefs. Another inside bite has been the gray trout. They’ve been caught in the inlet, under bridges, and in the Haystacks.
The small bluefish are still prevalent up and down the beach, but the spanish bite has slowed down. They’re scattered and coming only in the mornings and evenings.
The dolphin have moved in even closer, now in the 12 mile range. There are also small kings (10 to 15 lbs.) in the 12 mile range. The kings are closer and more plentiful, but there haven’t been many big ones yet.
Joe, at Joe’s Pro Bait and Tackle, reports that the flounder bite is the biggest news. They’re picking up lots of them around manmade structure, such as bridges and docks. Areas with water depth of 10′ or deeper will work better. The flounder bite is also strong a little offshore at the artificial and natural reefs.
Also inside have been trout and drum biting in the marshes.
The blues are still around, but trolling for spanish has been slow. There aren’t many spanish around, and when you catch one lately it has been either very small or a citation size. King fishing has been hit or miss from the beach on out to 50′ of water. You’ll either catch 50 or just a couple. The size is small (20 to 30 inches) for the kings all the way out through the mid-range areas.
The dolphin bite continues to be strong, with gaffer-sized fish moving in close. And as evident in the Big Rock Tournament, the marlin bite has been doing extremely well lately.
Matt, at Freeman’s Bait and Tackle, reports that the spanish are scattered, and the bite has slowed down. The cobia fishing has also slowed down. They weighed in only two over the weekend, and both of them were caught while trolling for dolphin. They only heard of one report of a cobia catch coming from behind the Hook.
The flounder bite is doing better, with catches coming from the inlet, the turning basin, and AR 315 and 320.
The red drum bite has also improved this week, with fish coming from the Haystacks and middle marshes.
Larry, at Sportsman’s Pier, reports that the bluefish bite is still good on the high tide in both the mornings and evenings. On Saturday they had a good spanish run, with several caught in the 3 lb. class and the largest of the season so far at 4 lb. 5 oz. Some cobia were caught, but none were big (the biggest went 20 lbs.).
They are also picking up a few small spots, some hogfish, and some sheepshead. Fishing at night has been producing some sea mullet and a few gray trout.
Jimmy, at Triple “S” Pier, reports that plugging is still bringing in blues in the 1 to 2 lb. class. The spanish bite has slowed. Jake Pasterik (age 13) won the daily tournament on Saturday with a 2 lb. spanish. There were a couple of kings hooked but lost on Sunday. They are also seeing cobia, but none have been landed. Every time a big ray swims by, they spot a couple of cobia following behind.
The only action with bottom fishing lately has been a few spots landed.
