Ocean Isle March 12, 2009
Capt. Brant McMullan and Mike Kennedy show off an 88" bluefin tuna they caught while fishing aboard the 32' Yellowfin "OIFC.com." The giant tuna fell for a horse balllyhoo 80' deep at the Raritan Wreck off the Frying Pan Shoals.
Brant, of Ocean Isle Fishing Center reports that bottom fishermen are finding good action with sea bass around bottom structure in 50-120′ of water, with the best bite lately in 80-90′. Double hook bottom rigs baited with squid will attract plenty of attention from the bass.
Deep jiggers are finding hard fighting action in 150-200′. The vertical jigs they’re using are drawing strikes from hefty red grouper along with a few gags and plenty of bruiser amberjacks.
The trolling bite hasn’t gotten hot yet, but March is typically an excellent month for wahoo in the area, and it’s also about time for yellowfin tuna to show up. There hasn’t been much good warm water over local bluewater hotspots like the Blackjack Hole, but when the water shows up, the wahoo bite should be on strong.
The cold water has also meant there hasn’t been much of a king mackerel bite, but as the warmer water makes its way closer to land, the kings should too.
When the water reaches 60 degrees, anglers can start looking for speedy and tasty Atlantic bonito chasing bait at wrecks and other structure in 40-60′. They’ll fall for a variety of small metal casting lures or trolled plugs and spoons.
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Christian Wolfe, of Wilmington, with a nice red he caught on a Redfish Magic glass minnow soft plastic. He was fishing the flats of the lower Cape Fear River with his dad, Capt. Jeff Wolfe of Seahawk Charters.
Kyle, of Ocean Isle Fishing Center, reports that the red drum bite has been going on all winter long, and it should stay solid over the coming weeks. Most of the fish are in the creeks and skinny water flats in the area, but there are still some reds holding around ICW structure like bridges and docks. Gulp baits have been producing the most action with the reds, but a live mud minnow or piece of cut bait is difficult for them to resist as well.
Black drum are biting very well around the Ocean Isle and Sunset Beach bridges and similar structure on the ICW. Cut shrimp on a bottom rig is usually plenty to fool the striped drum.
The last few weeks of cold weather slowed down the trout bite, but as the temperatures warm up through the end of March, anglers should see the bite improve dramatically. St. James Marina, the canals behind Holden Beach and Ocean Isle, and the Little River jetties are all good places to begin looking for the early season specks. Mirrolures or soft plastic shrimp imitations will draw bites from the trout, but the action will be wide open once anglers can get their hands on live shrimp for bait.
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David, of Capt. Hook Outdoors, reports that black drum (averaging 2-2.5 lbs.) are feeding around the bridges off the ICW, and they’re falling for fresh shrimp. Inshore anglers are also finding action with a few reds and trout, but the bite hasn’t been on fire.
Offshore, the winter body of king mackerel is holding well to the east of Frying Pan Shoals, a long run for anyone in the area, but they will begin moving back towards the area as the water temperature climbs.
Not many boats have been fishing the Gulf Stream either, as everyone’s waiting on a favorable satellite sea surface temperature shot to begin fishing the bluewater. Once the right water moves into the area, anglers can expect the wahoo bite to be on.
Bottom fishing’s been a little slow, too, but anglers should be able to find some action with sea bass at live bottom spots like the Horseshoe in the upcoming weeks.
