Northern Beaches – March 2023
Travis, of TW’s Bait and Tackle, reports that surf anglers on the northern beaches have been mostly finding action with the two wintertime staples: dogfish sharks and skates.
However, there has been some recent success finding schools of puppy drum in the surf down around Oregon Inlet.
A couple of blowtoads and some sea mullet have started to show up, and hopefully a future run of stable weather patterns will allow for more predictable and steady surf action to move into the region in early spring.
Anglers on the northern beaches should start seeing scattered catches of shad and striped bass, mostly from around the area’s pier structures.
Speckled trout will move in behind the sea mullet, usually showing up later in March and into early April.
Aaron, of Carolina Sunrise Charters, reports that the main inshore target is early speckled trout, especially with hard lures. Over the coming weeks, these specks are moving out of the backs of creeks as they transition from their winter holding patterns into the larger mouths of rivers and sound shorelines. The hard twitch baits and subsurface lures with slow presentation will remain the top tactic until water temperatures really start to ramp up. After that, anglers will be able to scout these areas with topwater plugs as the trout become active enough to blow up on the surface baits.
Puppy drum have most recently been out on the oceanfront beaches, and anglers also look forward to the big drum hitting the outer sandbars as soon as the end of March and on into April. A good run of SW winds is usually that final trigger to kick off the big drum action as the time gets closer.
Ben, of Salty Waters OBX, reports that the creeks off the western Pamlico and eastern North Carolina sounds are holding specked trout, and the action only picks up as warmer spring weather moves into the area. Anglers will have success targeting drop-offs, points, and lumpy bottom areas throughout these creeks. On warmer, sunny days, these trout will push up onto shallow flats where the water temperatures will be slightly warmer, and then they drop back down into the deeper holes during cooler nights or through a passing cold front.
As the water temperatures warm, start your fishing efforts where you find the bait. These fish will be following bait as it moves closer to the mouths of creeks. Lure choices require slower movements achieved with both suspending lures and lightly weighed soft plastics. The top color patterns have mimicked natural baits, with a combination of either white, green, or purple.
John, of Drumbeat Charters, reports that red drum and speckled trout are being caught by anglers looking to take advantage of these warmer winter days. Both species are still holed up back in the creeks, and it takes patient fishing tactics to entice strikes from these lethargic fish. Very slow moving or even dead-sticked soft plastics have worked to create a bite.
Anglers fishing the surf zone are finding plenty of action on dogfish sharks.
Offshore, the tuna have controlled the action, with giant bluefin hanging off Oregon Inlet for many of the past weeks. The season has closed on these fish, but anglers out there fishing for the citation-class blackfin tuna will still hook into an occasional bluefin.
Yellowfin tuna action is picking up, and it only gets better moving into the next month as more fish filter in the area and the bluefin work their way out.
If weather patterns can stay on the warmer side, anglers could start seeing the arrival of citation-class drum by the end of March and into April. Look for the action to start down in Hatteras, and then creep north as these fish migrate through. Sight-casting big bucktails jigs at large schools on the surface is the favorite tactic for these nearshore reds.
Jack, of Afishionado Charters, reports that the school-sized bluefin tuna are thick offshore in the Hatteras area.
Out off Oregon Inlet, anglers are seeing more of the giant bluefin that at times are upwards of 700 lbs. The season has closed fully for both recreation and commercial, but anglers targeting other species are still bound to occasionally hook into one of these fish.
There has been a nice class of 20-25 lb. blackfin tuna mixed in the offshore bite, along with the occasional wahoo.
Chloe, of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, reports that anglers continue to find bluefin tuna to be hanging around offshore.
There are some large, citation-class blackfin tuna also being caught on the offshore trips.
Wahoo seem to pop into the catches every once in a while, with good numbers caught last week followed by none this most recent week.
King mackerel are also a hit-or-miss offshore catch over these cooler months.
The offshore action will mostly include these four species until later in the spring when the mahi start to move into the region.
Meredith, of Pirate’s Cove Marina, reports that bluefin tuna have controlled the fishing action over these colder winter months. Despite what’s happening with keeper regulations, anglers will continue to find bluefin mixed in with the more targeted yellowfins and blackfins through most of March.
Anglers out of Oregon Inlet could possibly see the early influx of mahi around the beginning of April, depending on weather patterns.
Dan, of Avalon Pier, reports that anglers have been pleased to see some shad finally showing up around the pier. These cooler winter months provide difficult catching action, but the arrival of shad show that things are turning a corner. The shad should continue to become more plentiful for anglers looking to take advantage of pleasurable weather windows throughout March.
There could also be some shark action mixed in over the coming weeks.
