Morehead City – May 8, 2014
Sarah Skinner, of Morehead City, with a citation 2 lb., 4 oz. pompano that bit a Gulp bait on a jighead at Fort Macon.
Matt, of Chasin’ Tails Outdoors, reports that anglers are still seeing some good catch-and-release speckled trout action in Core Creek and the creeks off the lower Neuse River. They’re biting topwater plugs early and late in the day and float-rigged mud minnows or MR17 MirrOlures when the sun’s up.
Red drum are feeding in the marshes, and there have been some schools hanging around Cape Lookout and Shark Island as well. Anglers are hooking the reds on Gulp baits, live mud minnows or cut mullet.
Sea mullet and gray trout are feeding from the inlet to the turning basin. Both are falling for spec rigs tipped with shrimp, and anglers are also hooking the grays on jigging lures like Stingsilvers.
Bluefish have shown up inshore and in the ocean around the Lookout jetty and AR-315. Anglers can fool the blues on a variety of baits and lures, with metal casting jigs some of the most effective.
Flounder are beginning to feed inshore, but there’s been a better bite in the ocean at AR-315, 320, 330, and 285. Bouncing Gulp-tipped bucktail jigs off the bottom is the way to fool the flatfish in the ocean.
Some Atlantic bonito are feeding around nearshore structure like AR-315 as well, and anglers are fooling them while working casting jigs and trolling Yo-Zuri deep divers around daybreak.
Surf and pier anglers are connecting with a variety of bottom feeders like red and black drum, pigfish, puffers, sea mullet, spot, sheepshead, and more. Shrimp, bloodworms, and cut baits are fooling the bottomfish.
Offshore, the wahoo bite remains excellent along the break, with solid reports coming from the Big Rock, Rise, and Swansboro Hole lately. Blackfin and yellowfin tuna and gaffer dolphin are also in the mix, and anglers are hooking all the blue water predators on skirted ballyhoo.
Bottom fishermen are connecting with black sea bass, grouper, triggerfish, and other tasty species around offshore structure like the NW Places, Big 10/Little 10, D-Wreck, and Atlas Tanker. Squid and cigar minnows are producing most of the bottom action.
Nolan Mattress with a 4.5 lb. flounder that struck a bucktail jig at some bottom structure off Beaufort Inlet while he was fishing with Capt. Chris Kimrey of Mount Maker Charters.
Paul, of Freeman’s Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers are connecting with some Atlantic bonito around nearshore structure like AR-315. Trolling diving plugs and Clarkspoons or casting flashy metal jigs is the way to fool the bonito, and the action is generally best in the early morning hours.
Some spanish mackerel have shown up around Cape Lookout and are falling for Clarkspoons trolled behind planers and trolling weights.
Bottom fishermen are still reporting big hauls of black sea bass, grunts, porgies, grouper, amberjacks, and more at structure 20+ miles off the beaches.
Good numbers of cobia are still feeding where anglers have been bottom fishing, and they should be moving in toward the beach over the coming weeks.
Blue water trollers are finding good numbers of gaffer dolphin while dragging ballyhoo around the Big Rock and other spots along the break. The ‘phins should also be moving into a bit shallower water in the near future.
Inshore, anglers are finding large schools of black drum and some over-slot reds around Cape Lookout.
Surf casters are also hooking decent numbers of reds at Atlantic Beach, but finding the fish day-to-day can be a bit challenging. Cut baits and shrimp will fool the reds in the surf.
Sea mullet seem to be moving out of Beaufort Inlet, and the best fishing has been in the shipping channel and nearby.
Gray trout are still feeding around the railroad tracks and turning basin, but they seem to be a bit smaller than they were running a few weeks ago.
Chris, of Mount Maker Charters, reports that anglers are hooking some Atlantic bonito around nearshore structure off Beaufort Inlet. They are feeding primarily in the early morning hours, and anglers can hook them on metal casting jigs and weighted flies like Clouser Minnows.
Plenty of bluefish are mixed in with the bonito and falling for the same lures.
Dropping jigs to the bottom in the same areas is producing action with gray trout, black sea bass, tautog, and more.
Flounder are also beginning to show up at nearshore structure and falling for bucktail jigs tipped with Gulp baits.
Thomas, of Dancin’ Outlaw Charters, reports that anglers are seeing a solid gaffer dolphin bite develop off the Crystal Coast, and it should only improve as spring turns to summer. Some wahoo and blackfin tuna are in the mix as well, and all are falling for skirted ballyhoo.
