Morehead City July 21, 2005
Joe, at Joe’s Pro Bait and Tackle, reports that inshore the king mackerel bite has slowed somewhat, but it could improve at any time as the bait schools move in. A few customers reported excellent spanish fishing trolling down the beach (with a lot of blues mixed in). There has also been a fair number of dolphins caught in close.
Many nice flounder are being caught, weighing up to the 7 lb. class. The key is fishing deeper water because the temperatures are so high in the shallower water. Fish around any manmade structure and tie up or anchor. Do not drift if you want to catch larger flounder. The artificial and natural reefs have good numbers of flounder on them as well.
More and more large sheepshead are being caught. Sand fleas and crabs are the bait to use. The red drum fishing is awesome in the Haystack area, with one angler reporting over 30 fish caught in just a few hours.
The dolphin are offshore, but they are mostly small. Bailing dolphin on spinning tackle is the way to go. There are a relatively large number of sailfish and white marlin being caught, and a few wahoo.
The grouper bite has been excellent. A good number of vermillion snapper are being caught, along with some triggerfish and black bass.
Mike, at Carolina Bait and Tackle, reports that not much has changed from last week, other than the fishing has been a little slower. One positive difference has been an improved sheepshead bite. Many in the 7-8 lb. class were weighed in, with most being caught by the bridge. The sea buoy has had plenty of dolphin, and they have been small. Lots of kings in the 20 to 30 lb. range came in earlier in the week from around the sea buoy, but the king bite slowed a bit over the weekend.
Big sea mullet came from the surf, with the majority of them weighing ¾ to 1 lb. There has also been some spots and pompano. For trout and red drum, go to the Haystacks.
Jaz, at Sportsman’s Pier, reports that there were a couple of spot runs over the weekend. Most of the spots were small, but there were lots caught. The pier also saw a few flounder. Earlier in the week there was a speckled trout bite, with some fish weighing up to 2 lbs. The water is clear, but the heat has slowed down the fishing. They’ve spotted schools of spanish swimming by the pier, but there hasn’t been many caught.
Jimmy, at Triple “S” Pier, reports that the pier has seen a few spanish and blues, with the early mornings and late afternoons as the only time they’ll bite. Bottom fishermen have picked up some spots and croakers, and both species are running medium-sized.
Paul, at Freeman’s Bait and Tackle, reports that dolphin and snake kings are close to the beach, but the sizes of both are running very small. Further off the fishing has been slow this week. Boats are finding some peanut dolphin, but no gaffers and very little of other offshore species to talk about. It may be due to the recent combination of warm waters and low pressure.
Surf fishermen are picking up a few spots and sea mullets, and there continues to be a few blues and spanish caught on the beach.
