Morehead City November 14, 2013
Emily Spink with a 5.63 lb. citation flounder she hooked near the Morehead port wall while fishing with her father. A live shrimp fooled the flatfish.
Matt, of Chasin’ Tails Outdoors, reports that anglers are finally seeing a big push of spot inshore in the area, with the turning basin, Beaufort Inlet channel, and Emerald Isle Bridge all producing solid catches right now. Natural and artificial bloodworms are the best bets for the spot.
Gray trout are feeding in many of the same areas, as well as the Cape Lookout jetty. Spec rigs tipped with shrimp and small metal jigs are fooling the trout. Sea mullet are also falling for the spec rigs in the turning basin and the inlet.
Surf anglers are hooking plenty of bottomfish like sea mullet, spot, pufferfish, and more while baiting bottom rigs with shrimp and bloodworms.
Speckled trout action has improved, with good catches from the creeks and the Haystacks recently. They’re also beginning to show up in the surf from Atlantic Beach to Cape Lookout. Live shrimp and mud minnows (or a variety of soft and hard artificial lures) are the way to go for the specks.
Red drum are feeding in the marshes and the surf zone as well (most slot fish but some over-slot). The same baits and lures that anglers are tossing at the specks will also fool the reds.
Some nice flounder are still feeding around inshore structure like the port wall and at the nearshore AR’s and ledges, and anglers are hooking big numbers of smaller fish in the inlet and the surf zone. Live baits or Gulp-tipped bucktails will fool the flounder inshore and offshore.
Sheepshead are still around the port wall and bridge pilings, and anglers are hooking some stout sheeps on live shrimp.
Gordan Dunn and Mike Williams, of Greenville, NC, with a 60 lb. king mackerel that bit a live bait east of Cape Lookout shoals. Weighed in at Chasin’ Tails Outdoors.
False albacore should still be feeding around Cape Lookout when the weather conditions are right. Anglers can look for working birds to locate the albacore schools and cast small metal jigs or flashy flies into the activity to hook up.
Not many boats have been offshore lately with the high winds and seas, but the wahoo bite is likely to still be strong when anglers get the weather to go. Local hotspots like the Big Rock and the Rise are the places to start looking for the ‘hoos and other pelagics like blackfin tuna. Skirted ballyhoo will fool both.
Bottom fishermen have been reporting some solid action at structure east of Lookout Shoals, with triggerfish, black sea bass, and gag grouper the main catches. The gags are moving closer to shore as fall wears on, and anglers have landed legal fish within sight of the Lookout lighthouse lately. Squid, cigar minnows, and mackerel are all solid baits for the bottom feeders
Paul, of Freeman’s Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers are still connecting with some wahoo while trolling live baits and rigged ballyhoo at spots east of Lookout Shoals. A few blackfin tuna are mixed in and biting the same baits. The action isn’t as hot as it was a few weeks ago, but there are still some fish around. Not many boats have been to the blue water lately, but some wahoo and blackfin tuna have been reported from the Big Rock area.
Back on the beach, a few speckled trout have begun to show up in the surf zone, but the action likely won’t heat up until the water cools off further. MirrOlures and soft plastic baits will fool the specks in the surf. The trout bite in the marshes and creeks has been good recently, but many of the fish are on the small side.
Red drum are feeding in the surf and in the marshes. Surf casters are hooking them on cut baits and shrimp, while live baits and a variety of artificials are getting the job done inshore.
Sea mullet, spot, croaker, and other panfish are feeding in the surf and inshore in the turning basin. Shrimp and bloodworms pinned to double-drop bottom rigs are tough for all the bottom feeders to turn down.
Grace, of Oceanana Pier, reports that bluefish, sea mullet, black drum, and some pufferfish are falling for bottom rigs that anglers are fishing from the pier. A few smaller spot are mixed in. Shrimp and bloodworms have been the best baits.
