Morehead City March 28, 2013
Al Dudley, of North River, with a 5 lb. speckled trout that bit a D.O.A. shrimp in the North River. Weighed in at Chasin’ Tails Outdoors.
Matt, of Chasin’ Tails Outdoors, reports that there’s a decent and improving speckled trout bite going on in the area. Many anglers are trout fishing in the Neuse River with success. The fish are feeding in the Morehead-area creeks as well, and any spot where anglers found some specks in the fall is worth a shot right now. The trout action should only get better as the weather and water warm up over the coming weeks.
Red drum are feeding in the local marshes, and anglers have connected with them in the Haystacks, Newport River, and Core Creek recently. A few schools are working through the marshy bays, but most of the fish are in smaller groups right now. Cut shrimp and live mud minnows have been producing most of the action with the reds lately. Warming water and, hopefully, moderating winds should also improve the redfish action.
Anglers caught the first few sea mullet of the year last week, and the action should only get better over the coming weeks as fish move into the inlet from the ocean. The shipping channel and Coast Guard station are some of the best spots to catch the mullet in the early season. Alongside the mullet, anglers are likely to run into some gray trout, pufferfish, pigfish, and other tasty bottom feeders. Spec rigs tipped with shrimp and Fish Bites will fool all the panfish.
Out in the ocean, anglers are seeing some false albacore around AR-330, and it shouldn’t be long until they make a move toward the beach. Casting small metal lures or trolling spoons and diving plugs is the way to tempt bites from the albacore.
Some bluefish should be showing up along the beachfront and at nearshore structure soon as well.
When the weather lets boats make it offshore, the wahoo and blackfin tuna bite has been decent. Trolled ballyhoo are accounting for most of the action with both blue water gamefish, and the Big Rock, Rise, and Swansboro Hole are all good places to begin the hunt.
Kevin Radford, of Garner, NC, with a 33 lb. king mackerel that bit a dead cigar minnow off Cape Hatteras in Mid-January. He was fishing with Ed Radford and Chad Shingleton on the “Tide One On.”
Cody, of Freeman’s Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers are connecting with some red drum and speckled trout in the local marshes and creeks, and they’re fooling them with both natural baits and soft and hard plastic artificials. Both fish should begin feeding more steadily as the water temperatures climb a bit.
More reds, black drum, and sheepshead are looking for meals around the Cape Lookout rock jetty, and all three will take an interest in cut shrimp on bottom rigs.
Surf casters have connected with some pufferfish and dogfish lately. Anglers are hooking sea mullet at Bogue Inlet Pier, so it shouldn’t be long until they join the surf action. Soon after they appear in the surf, anglers can target the puffers and mullet in Beaufort Inlet and the turning basin with bottom or spec rigs tipped with shrimp.
Offshore boats who’ve been to the Gulf Stream recently are hooking some wahoo and blackfin tuna, and the bite should only get better over the coming weeks. Ballyhoo paired with skirted lures will appeal to both fish.
Chris, of Mount Maker Charters, reports that anglers are finding some red drum in the Newport River, but it takes some searching to connect with the fish. Live and cut baits or artificials like Gulps will tempt the reds to bite when anglers can find them.
A few speckled trout are showing up in the marshes and creeks in the area, and they’ll become more active over the coming weeks. Soft plastics, suspending hard lures, and live mud minnows will all attract attention from the trout.
There was a decent flounder bite around bottom structure off Beaufort Inlet in the 70’ range this time last year, and the fish are likely in the same areas this spring. Gulp baits pinned to 2 oz. bucktail jigs are the best bet for the oceanic flounder, although anglers will likely have to weed through big numbers of sea bass to get to the flatfish. The flounder will move closer to shore as the water temperatures rise over the next few weeks.
Pete, of Energizer Sportfishing, reports that when the weather has allowed boats to make it to the Gulf Stream, there’s been a decent wahoo and blackfin tuna bite lately. Most of both are falling for skirted ballyhoo on the troll. One boat also landed a yellowfin tuna last week, and the fleet found a few last fall, so it’s possible the yellowfins may make an appearance within range of the Morehead fleet this spring.
