Morehead City July 13, 2006
Matt, at Chasin Tails Charters, reports that the red drum bite is good up in the marshes, Newport River, North River, and the middle marshes. There is also a good bite going on in the Neuse River.
Live bait shad, mud minnows, and live shrimp are working the best. Fish on the bottom and use floats. Gulp baits are still the go to bait if you are using artificials.
Flounder fishing has been up and down. There are a lot of small ones around Atlantic Beach. There seems to be a bigger bite going on in Swansboro area. Go with live bait–the bigger the bait the bigger the fish.
The sheepshead are doing real well. Find some live fiddlers and hit the Atlantic Beach Bridge and the high rise bridge going into Beaufort.
The spanish are still along the beaches.
The trout are still biting back in the marshes. Look for deep holes, and try a lot of spots.
Kings are getting bigger, with a 25 pounder caught in the inlet last week live baiting. It shouldn’t be long before a big boy comes from the port wall.
George, at Carolina Bait and Tackle, reports good fishing all around. The surf has been steady for most species, such as red drum, flounder, sea mullet, pompano, and bluefish.
The channels have been productive for those fishing for flounder, spots, and croakers.
Bluefish and spanish mackerel are biting early in the inlets.
Some 4 to 5 pound sheepshead are being caught at the Fort Macon rock jetty.
The Northwest Places, Big 10/Little 10, and the sea buoy have been good spots for king mackerel and dolphin, with better numbers of dolphin the further offshore.
Paul, at Freeman’s Bait and Tackle, reports excellent flounder fishing, with quality fish coming from the turning basin and AR315. Mud minnows and peanut pogies are the most productive live baits.
Sheepshead are biting crabs well around bridge pilings.
In the surf, black drum, spot, and whiting are biting shrimp and bloodworms.
Spanish mackerel are biting trolled clark spoons just off the beach and near the inlet. Larger spanish are more likely to eat a small live bait, however.
Dolphin and small king mackerel are around the Northwest Places out to the 14, but the fish are on the move. Small ballyhoo or cigar minnows fished with a sea witch or Hank Brown rig are the prime baits for dolphin/king action.
Shane, at Second To None Charters, reports excellent billfishing, with boats still getting double digit shots at various billfish on some days. Trolling ballyhoo in the high 300’s and low 400’s is how to find the bills.
Weed lines in the area are holding plenty of bailer dolphin, with some gaffers mixed in. Ballyhoo are an excellent choice for the dolphin as well.
King mackerel are on fire around the Northwest Places, and trolling drone and clark spoons are the ways to catch a limit.
Spanish are right in the inlets, and trolling clark spoons through clean water is the way to put them in the boat.
Martha, at Sportsman’s Pier, reports spots, gray trout, whiting, and pompano biting bottom rigs baited with shrimp and bloodworms.
Plug casters are catching bluefish.
Flounder are biting live baits fairly consistently. Shrimp and mud minnows are both effective.
The water temperature is 84 degrees.
Joe, at Joe’s Pro Bait and Tackle, reports that the port wall has a lot of very large flounder. They are especially holding on the rocks on the outside corners.
The North River thoroughfare and other little creeks through the marshes are also producing good numbers of flounder. The channels down the sound in 10+ feet of water are producing some keeper flounder, with a lot of shorties in the mix.
Good numbers of spanish were caught at AR315 over the weekend. They are trolling Yo-zuri plugs. Many anglers also caught limits of spanish in front of the Sheraton Pier, and some large spanish were caught on the Cape Lookout shoal.
Sheepshead fishing is still excellent around both high rise bridges and the port wall.
Speckled trout are being caught in the haystacks on the northwest side and in the North River.
Red drum are still being caught in most of the marshes. Fish on the mid rising tide to the mid outgoing tide.
Good numbers of small to teenage king mackerel are at NW Places and the Big 10/Little 10 areas. Similar results have been had at the 195 Rock and the various rocks around West Rock. Fair to good numbers of dolphin are being caught in the same areas. The dolphin bite is still excellent from the 14 buoy out to the 90 foot drop when weather permits. The Big Rock is also producing good catches on some days.
There are more and more billfish showing up at the Big Rock.
