Hatteras – May 25, 2017
Ryan, of Hatteras Jack, reports that there has been a solid red drum bite in the sound. Cut mullet has been the bait of choice while targeting these inshore reds.
Speckled trout are starting to show up in the sound and have been landed on a variety of baits under popping corks.
Smaller bluefish are feeding throughout the area, and they can be caught on cut baits as well as fresh shrimp.
Terry, of Rodanthe Pier, reports that anglers using fresh shrimp have hooked and landed good numbers of sea mullet and blowtoads.
Big bluefish are still in the area, and pier anglers have recently caught fish up to 36”.
While fishing fresh shrimp, anglers are also connecting with a few flounder. Some keeper-sized fish have been mixed in with the more predominate smaller fish.
Mike McCabe, of Berlin, MD, with a 40” red drum caught on the south end of Ocracoke. The big red fell for cut bait.
Small stripers as well as a few sharks are also being hooked while fishing the pier.
Randy, of Frank and Fran’s, reports that there has been a solid sea mullet bite on the Rodanthe Pier. Anglers are finding success while using fresh shrimp, bloodworms, sand fleas, and Fish Bites for bait. Anglers tossing Stingsilvers from the beach and pier are connecting with small bluefish.
Nearshore, the cobia have shown up and are willing to take a live bait or bucktail.
Toby, of Avon Pier, reports that the sea mullet bite has been strong, including many citation fish weighed in recently (15+”). The best bait has been cut shrimp.
Anglers are also picking up a couple of flounder on assorted cut bait on the bottom.
The blues are still biting, but the sizer of the blues is decreasing. Most catches now are coming while bottom fishing with cut shrimp of Fish Bites.
Cameron, of Frisco Tackle, reports that anglers fishing the sound are landing redfish on cut bait rigged on Carolina Rigs. The bite has been slow recently, but there has been plenty of rays around to keep things interesting.
Jam, of Teach’s Lair, reports that there have been great trips sight casting to big redfish in the sound this week. Most of the reds have been landed on spoons.
Surf anglers are landing good numbers of sea mullet on sand fleas and Fish Bites.
Nearshore fishing in general has been excellent. The cobia have shown up in good numbers, and sight fishing opportunities have been plentiful. Most fish are being landed while throwing bucktails around bait balls and turtles.
Spanish fishing has been strong, as schools of spanish have been staging just off the beach. Trolling Clarkspoons should get anglers plenty of action, and most fish are well into the keeper range (up to 18”).
Out to the 15-25 mile range, the dolphin bite has been on fire. Boats have been filling ice boxes with plenty of gaffer dolphin, with a few blackfin tuna still in the mix.
Aaron, of Tightline Charters, reports that red drum are feeding in the grass flats in the sound. Sight casting gold spoons in 1-2’ of water is producing plenty of action. There are a few speckled trout and bluefish in the area as well. When targeting the trout, the Z-Man PaddlerZ in root beer glitter has been the lure of choice.
Nearshore, spanish and bonita have been crushing trolled Clarkspoons. The cobia have also made their arrival, and sight fishing for these tasty fish has been the best game in town. Tossing bucktails near turtles, bait balls, and on free swimming fish have been the best tactics.
The big reds have been feeding near area inlets. Jigging bucktails should give anglers a great chance to hook up with one of these citation-sized fish.
Jay, of Bite Me Sportfishing, reports that the dolphin bite is hot. Anglers are hooking as many dolphin as they can handle.
Riley Inman with a Bonita caught on casted metal while fishing out of Hatteras.
Blue marlin have made their appearance in the area, and anglers have had quite a few shots at them. One blue marlin landed and released this week was predicted in the 500 lb. range. These fish are active, and the bite should only get better with the weather warming up.
Bill, of Predator Sport Fishing, reports that the mahi have moved in closer in to about the 20 mile range. Many gaffer-sized fish are being caught, with naked and skirted ballyhoo the key to a successful mahi bite.
Anglers are finding blackfin tuna in the 25 mile range, and the same tactics for the mahi are working for the blackfins. Wahoo are also feeding in the area, but they are still scattered.
The blue marlin, white marlin, and sails have been very active this past week. Reports are coming in of 5-8 of these species a day being caught and released.
Bottom fishing in the 15-25 mile range has produced good numbers of tilefish, grouper, and amberjacks while fishing cut bait on the bottom.
Alan, of Tradewinds Bait and Tackle, reports that surf anglers are still hooking bluefish, but most of the larger ones have moved on. Puppy drum and flounder are also being caught in the surf, and cut and live baits have worked best on these fish.
Sea mullet and pompano are feeding in the surf, too, and anglers are finding the most success on fresh shrimp.
The big drum have been in the sound recently and are willing to eat fresh cut bait (when you can find it). Cobia have also made their way in to the local waters, and the best bet to land one of these tasty fish is to use a live pogie or a bucktail tipped with a curly tail soft plastic.
