Morehead City /Atlantic Beach – October 2023
Hank, of Chasin’ Tails, reports that anglers have been taking advantage of the flounder season and had a ton of success. The quality of fish has been great, with multiple fish in the 10+ lb. range being weighed in. Carolina-rigged live finger mullet is about as best a setup you will find when targeting the flatfish in the area. Deeper grass banks, marsh bays, creek mouths, and deeper structure around the Port have all been producing strikes. Flounder are also out at the nearshore reefs, but wind and a couple of passing storms have kept the conditions not ideal to be off the beach.
Anglers fishing fiddler crabs around some of the deeper, hard structures are finding hit or miss action on sheepshead and black drum. Slot-sized red drum are scattered just about everywhere inside the inlets. The finger mullet are starting to run throughout the area, and this has smaller groups of reds feeding well from back in the marshes to the inlet. Speckled trout are sparsely mixed in, but they should start picking up. With cooler waters becoming more common, anglers will be seeing trout move into their structured fall haunts. Anglers running up the river are still catching some citation-class red drum. Bottom fishing with bait has been the best tactic. Nearshore anglers have started seeing schools of false albacore mixing in with Spanish mackerel around Cape Lookout. The king mackerel action has been a bit spotty. Anglers hope that as conditions settle offshore, the water will clean back up and the bite will turn on with the changes.
Joe, of Carolina Traditions Guide Co., reports that the keeper season had a lot of anglers out hunting flounder. The flatfish can be found scattered just about everywhere in the area’s inshore waters, as well as on the local reefs when conditions allow the run out of the inlet. Fishing structure for black drum and sheepshead has been a bit unreliable. All these winds have dirtied up the water, and hopefully the action will pick back up once conditions settle. Some speckled trout are showing up in the inshore mixed bags.
Anglers are still having some success making the run up toward the sound and coastal rivers to target old drum. The fishery has mostly been a case of “hero or zero” all year. A nice class of 4-6 lb. bluefish are up in the rivers as well. Nearshore anglers able to catch a weather window are starting to see some false albacore showing alongside the bigger fall Spanish mackerel. With the water temperatures just starting to cool, the bite only gets better from here. The deeper wrecks (60-80’+) are holding grouper and various bottom fish.
Daniel, of On Deck Fishing Charters, reports that inshore anglers are finding slot-sized red drum and speckled trout. Topwater plugs are having a bunch of success for anglers on the water early in the morning. Popping corks rigged with Gulp soft plastics, live shrimp, or cut shad will also entice strikes if topwaters aren’t working. Flounder will be mixed in just about everywhere with the mullet running throughout the area. Live mullet rigged through the nose and tossed around some sort of structure will entice a strike from the flatfish. Nearshore runs are seeing bluefish and Spanish mackerel continue to be very active, with false albacore also showing in the mix. Anglers targeting these three species will have success looking for birds and casting metal jigs towards the feeding frenzies, and then retrieving lures as fast as possible.
Chris, of Mount Maker Charters, reports that inshore anglers have been running up into the sound to target red drum. Plenty of both slot and over-slot redfish are stacked up in the shallows along the banks. These fish are responding best to bottom-rigged cut or live baits.
The old drum fishery is in full swing in the sound and back into the major coastal rivers. Anglers on the water early are having success targeting these trophy fish with popping corks rigged with larger soft plastics. Both Z-Man and the larger D.O.A. baits work well, with some success also being found with the larger Rat-L-Traps fished around nervous bait balls. In the evenings, switching over and bait fishing with cut mullet or dead menhaden can help entice strikes.
Justin, of Breakday Charters, reports that flounder action has been good for anglers looking to take home their keeper fish. Red drum are scattered in many of the same areas for flounder, and the reds are feeding on the same jigs and soft plastics. Speckled trout are occasionally mixed in, but moving into October, the bite fires up with the cooler conditions. Nearshore anglers have found Spanish mackerel with false albacore mixing in. Anglers running up the river and into the mouth of the sound are finding some trophy reds, despite the churned-up conditions.
Cody, of Reel Time Charters, reports that the billfish bite offshore continues to be one of the best the area’s had in memory. The water is still warm, and anglers will continue to catch large numbers of sailfish, with a handful of big blue marlin mixed in. Blackfin tuna are around, with most anglers needing to run out to 150’+ before even starting to see the clean water they need to target. The good news is the blackfins getting bigger. Arnold, of Oceanana Pier, reports that water conditions have been stirred up at times after these storms, but casting plugs are still producing spanish mackerel and bluefish. Bottom fishing efforts are generating sea mullet, spots, and some sheepshead (to 5 lbs.). Anglers bottom fishing have also been able to land the occasional flounder.
