Swansboro – July 20, 2017
James, of Reel Outdoors, reports that anglers fishing the surf are connecting with sea mullet and pompano. Rigging fresh shrimp and Fishbites on bottom rigs has worked best.
Those tossing Gotcha plugs and Stingsilvers from the piers have landed good numbers of spanish and bluefish.
On the sound side, red drum have been hitting topwater plugs in the morning, and then throughout the day they have been feeding on mud minnows on Carolina rigs.
Sheepshead have been holding around area bridge and dock structure. Dropping live fiddler crabs to the bottom has been the ticket.
Ty Johnson with a 25”, 7 lb. sheepshead caught on a live fiddler crab at the Swansboro Bridge.
Matt, of Pogie’s Fishing Center, reports that redfish have been mostly holding in singles and pairs. Targeting docks with deeper pockets and oyster beds near deep water has worked best for the reds.
The White Oak River has produced good catches of speckled trout. Casting live shrimp under popping corks has done the trick, and targeting rock and dock structure has been the key to success.
Nearshore, spanish fishing has been consistent. Anglers covering lots of water have landed more fish, though, as the spanish have been scattered. Trolling Clarkspoons has provided the most action.
Smaller kings (in the 8-15 lb. class) have been holding in the 10-18 mile range. Pulling dead cigar minnows has been the best way to land high numbers of kings. A few amberjacks have been in the mix as well.
Paige Krahling, of Exton, PA, with two slot redfish that took finger mullets rigged on circle hooks. She was fishing with Kory Dittbrenner, Mike Krahling, and Capt. Johnathan Garrett of On Point Charters.
Rob, of Sandbar Safari Charters, reports that redfish have started to school up tighter and have fed well on topwaters thrown early in the morning. When the reds refuse the topwater plugs, live shrimp or finger mullet have persuaded them to eat.
Black drum have been holding around docks and bridge structure along the waterway. Live shrimp on Carolina rigs has worked the best.
Those targeting flounder have done best using live finger mullet on Carolina rigs around area inlets and creek mouths. Most fish have been under-sized, but good numbers of fish have been landed.
Nearshore, jigging with bucktails around the reefs has produced flounder in the 1-4 lb. range. Pulling Clarkspoons for spanish has worked well along the beaches, and most fish landed have been 2-5 lbs.
In the 8-15 mile range, kings in the 5-15 lb. class have been feeding well. A few amberjacks have also been in that same range, and they’ve been hitting live baits and jigs.
Johnathan, of On Point Charters, reports that flounder fishing has provided anglers with plenty of inshore action. Most fish have fallen for live finger mullet on Carolina rigs or Zoom jerk shads worked off the bottom. The flatfish have been between 14-19”.
Redfish have been schooled up more lately and have been most willing to take a live finger mullet on a Carolina rig. Most fish have been in the lower to mid-slot range, and they are feeding best in the early morning and late afternoon hours.
Sheepshead continue to feed well around area bridges and dock structure. Dropping live fiddler crabs to the bottom have produced the best numbers.
Kings have been feeding off the beach while trolling cigar minnows. Most fish have been in the 7-12 lb. class.
Brandon Mills, of Apex, NC, with a black drum caught under the Swansboro Bridge. The fish bit on a fiddler crab.
Bobby, of Teezher Charters, reports that the nearshore spanish bite has continued to provide plenty of fast-paced action. Scaled down king rigs with live baits have been the best way to draw a strike. Anglers going after kings have had success boating double digit numbers of teenager fish, but a few kings have pushed the 24-28 lb. mark.
Anglers dropping cut and live baits to the bottom nearshore have landed black sea bass, keeper grouper, and flounder.
Out at the Gulf Stream, anglers looking for dolphin have found good numbers of fish. Most fish have been slingers, but a few gaffers are still holding in the area. Those looking for sailfish have had success trolling ballyhoo. A few blue marlin are also being spotted.
Bottom fishing between 110-125′ has produced solid numbers of tilefish.
Herman, of Bogue Inlet Pier, reports that fishing the bottom with fresh shrimp has hooked anglers into sea mullet, red drum, black drum, and small bluefish.
Those tossing Gotcha plugs from the end of the pier have landed good numbers of spanish, with some fish pushing the 5-6 lb. mark.
