Northern Beaches – April 25, 2019
Betty, of TW’s Bait and Tackle, reports that medium-sized sea mullet (up to 14”) have been feeding on shrimp around ramps 43 and 48.
Over-slot red drum have been caught in good numbers at the Point, with upwards of 30 citations in one day. The bite has been either in the early mornings or in the evenings. Large cut baits on Carolina rigs are the go-to setup.
Yearling-sized drum are being reported between ramps 48 and 55, and they are also feeding on cut mullet.
Smaller bluefish (1-3 lbs.) have been all over the surf on Hatteras Island.
Anglers are starting to catch some decent-sized flounder (up to 3 lbs.) as they push inshore.
Northern Nags Head area beach anglers are seeing good numbers of puffers and sea mullet.
A couple of stray stripers have been caught in the surf. One Kill Devil Hills area fish weighed in at 31 lbs., and then a 40” striped bass was caught on a bottom rig baited with a Fishbites strip bait.
Offshore boats have been catching good numbers of blackfin and yellowfin tuna on skirted ballyhoo. A few mahi are mixed in, and anglers anticipate the mahi action getting better as the warmer water pushes closer to the beach.
The wahoo bite has been great some days, with close to double-digit numbers of fish hitting the dock.
Nearshore anglers are finding false albacore and bluefish while trolling Clarkspoons and casting glass minnow jigs to feeding schools.
Anglers fishing in the sound around the inlet are catching red drum and trout on the flats.
The little bridge in Manteo has been producing smaller striped bass and black drum.
Sam Glenn with a slot red drum that he landed in the surf at Nags Head.
Bridgette, of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, reports that tuna fishing has been strong on days that boats can get out to the Stream.
Blackfin tuna have been dominating the counts, and some of the fish are close to citation-sized.
Yellowfin tuna aren’t as consistent, but the fish being caught are a good-sized (50 lb.) class of fish.
Gaffer dolphin are hitting skirted baits, and anglers look forward to the spring mahi bite picking up.
A sailfish was caught and released before the last storm.
Closer nearshore, boats are finding king mackerel and false albacore while trolling baits over structure and live bottom areas holding bait.
Red drum have been moving into the inlets, and anglers are landing some slot to over-slot fish while using cut mullet on Carolina rigs.
Inshore boats have been catching speckled trout and a few flounder while casting soft plastics around ledges.
Some smaller rockfish are being found around the bridges with soft plastics.
Aaron, of Carolina Sunrise Charters, reports that anglers bottom fishing in the inlet are catching red drum as these fish move inshore. Schools of over-slot drum are pushing north, and some nice weather will allow more anglers to sight-cast to the large schools.
A few flounder are moving in. They’re mostly being caught around inshore structure and ledges with smaller soft plastics.
Speckled trout have been biting well just inshore of the inlet.
Laurie, of Pirate’s Cove Marina, reports that the nicer weather pattern has allowed more trips to run, and trolling skirted baits is consistently producing both blackfin and yellowfin tuna.
Some mahi are showing up offshore, and anglers anticipate seeing better numbers as the water warms up.
Nearshore boats are finding large false albacore (up to 15 lbs.) and smaller bluefish (up to 6 lbs.) while casting jigs to schools feeding on baits on top.
Speckled trout are being caught in the sound from the inlet up towards Manteo. Both spikes and legal-sized fish are hitting soft plastics under a popping cork.
Nags Head Pier is closed for maintenance and will re-open towards the end of the month.
Mike, of Jennette’s Pier, reports that bottom fishing has been good, with anglers catching puffers, sea mullet, and a bunch of smaller croakers on shrimp and Fishbites bloodworm strips.
Gray trout have come over the rails for anglers fishing with shrimp.
In the last week, anglers have seen a jump in speckled trout numbers, with a majority of the fish being just short of the legal 14” size limit.
Justin, of Avalon Pier, reports that anglers have been hooking speckled trout while fishing soft plastics around the holes closer to the beach. Shrimp on bottom rigs has caught a few fish as well, though they tend to be the smaller “spikes.”
Bottom fishing has been good, with both sea mullet and pufferfish feeding on shrimp and bloodworms.
A few schoolie stripers are being caught around the pilings.
John, of Bob’s Bait and Tackle, reports that surf fishing has really picked up on the northern beaches now that the water temperatures are climbing.
Speckled trout are biting in the deeper sloughs in Kill Devil Hills, including around the pilings at Avalon Pier.
A few large “chopper” bluefish (up to 14 lbs.) have been caught in Duck by anglers bottom fishing cut baits.
Smaller (1-3 lb.) bluefish are being landed in Corolla and on the 4×4 beaches.
A couple of large striped bass have been caught off the beach around Kill Devil Hills, but they aren’t a common catch this time of year.
Anglers in the sound are finding speckled trout and puppy drum in the flats around the Bodie Island Lighthouse.
Keith, of Corolla Bait and Tackle, reports that yellowfin and blackfin tuna have been biting well on skirted baits in the Gulf Stream.
A few mahi are mixed in with the tuna, but this first wave of mahi hasn’t shown in good numbers yet.
Nearshore anglers are catching false albacore, bonito, and sharks.
Sea mullet and puffers are hitting shrimp on bottom rigs.
On the northern Corolla beaches, anglers are seeing bluefish beginning to show up.
