Morehead City August 18, 2005
George, at Carolina Bait and Tackle, reports that flounder are doing well, with some of the best action coming from the inlet around the sea wall. Using mullet minnows has been the ticket, and for the larger fish go on the tide change.
A couple of gray trout were reported this week from the Haystacks. They also picked up an occasional under-sized red drum.
Pompano, as well as big sea mullet (measuring up to 18 inches), are biting in the surf.
Kings are close on the beach, with fish up to 40 lbs. being caught inside in no wake zones. You don’t need to go farther than a couple of miles to find big ones. For spanish, you want to go early in the morning.
Joe, at Joe’s Pro Bait and Tackle, reports that the big news is smoker king mackerel, with most running 15 to 25 pounds. Kings were caught from the beach out to the nearshore AR’s and in the shipping channel. AR340 was red hot for kings on Saturday. Sailfish are still in close, with one being caught just outside the inlet. Some small dolphin have also been caught in close.
Spanish mackerel fishing is hot for bigger fish from 3 to 6 pounds. Live bait is what works best, but they have been hitting cigar minnows well. Use chum to bring the fish in around the AR’s and natural bottom.
AR315 and the other artificial reefs are producing well with flounder, as are the areas around the high rise bridges and port. Fair numbers of keeper flounder have been caught at Barden’s Inlet drifting the deeper channels. Sheepshead continue to bite well on sand fleas, crabs, and sea urchins. Red Drum are biting well up in the marshes since the rains have ended.
Good sized wahoo (30+ pounds) are being caught in better numbers. Gaffer and peanut dolphin did well from the Knuckle Buoy out past the 14 Buoy. Gaffer dolphin were also caught at the Big Rock in fair numbers. The white marlin continues to be excellent, with good numbers of sailfish. A few blue marlin have also been caught. The swell from the hurricane passing our coast should really improve the offshore fishing (especially the bottom fishing for grouper).
Paul, at Freeman’s Bait and Tackle, reports that the flounder bite is the same as last week, with a lot of the action coming from the AR’s. There’s been a good spanish bite early in the morning, with guys trolling both the beach and the inlet. Some nice kings are being caught in the 3-7 mile range. They’ve been running 10-30 pounds. Bunches of sails and whites are being found, and they’re close (within 10 miles). The dolphin are really small and scattered. Most that you’ll find are only 1-3 pounds.
Ken, at Triple “S” Pier, reports that the fishing has been sporadic. There’s lots of sheepshead on the pilings, but few are being caught. One came in weighing 5 lbs. 14 oz. There’s been a ton of small blues recently, with their length at only 6-9 inches. The flounder bite continues to do pretty well. A few fish were picked up in the 2-3 pound range, and time or tide doesn’t seem to matter. The spanish have definitely gotten more picky over what they’ll eat. Live shad is working much better than gotchas. Lately the spanish have been biting off only the back half of a shad.
Larry, at Sportsman’s Pier, reports that they’re picking up the occasional spanish. The spanish are coming on live bait, specifically grass shad. A few pompano have come off of the bottom. There’s been a few small spots. The flounder are there, if you can get your bait to them. The little blues and crabs have been hitting baits hard this week.
