Northern Beaches April 14, 2011
Justin Stewart, Gregg Erwin, Terry Stewart (owner of TW's Tackle), and John Newbold with 72" and 75" bluefin tuna they hooked while trolling offshore of Oregon Inlet aboard the "Point Runner."
Nick, of TW’s Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers are starting to see a bit of action locally, with a few sea mullet and croakers biting from the piers and surf. The water’s still a bit on the cool side, but as warmer water pushes up from the south, anglers can expect the sea mullet and puffer bite to turn on locally.
The southern beaches are still where the best surf bite’s taking place. Anglers are connecting with pufferfish, more and larger sea mullet, plenty of bluefish, and a few red drum while casting in the breakers. Shrimp are fooling the smaller bottom feeders, with cut baits more effective for the drum. Anglers may also be able to fool the reds and blues while working metal lures through the surf.
Inshore, anglers are picking up a few striped bass around the sound bridges like Currituck and Mann’s Harbor, but the action isn’t terribly consistent. Small bucktails, soft plastics, and Rat-L-Traps are all effective weapons for the inshore stripers.
Offshore, the bluefin tuna are moving to the north, and since most have been too large to keep, few boats are targeting them right now. The good news is that blackfin tuna and some yellowfins are feeding to the south and providing plenty of action and meat for the offshore fleet. Trolling skirted ballyhoo and vertically jigging over bait and fish marks are the most effective tactics for the tunas.
Keith, of Corolla Bait and Tackle, reports that the surf bite hasn’t really picked up yet, but anglers are connecting with some bluefish down around Avon. Dogfish and skates are still providing the majority of the action further north.
Offshore, there are still some bluefin tuna in the area. Good numbers of blackfins are feeding alongside the bluefins, and boats are hooking up with both while trolling ballyhoo and working vertical jigs over fish they mark on the depthfinder.
Joe and Bill Carson, Paul Conley, and Richard Peterson with a catch of yellow and blackfin tuna they hooked while trolling ballyhoo in the Gulf Stream off Hatteras. They were fishing with Capt. Jay Kavanagh and mate Jeremy Hicks on the "Bite Me" out of Hatteras Harbor Marina.
Korin, of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, reports that offshore boats are still finding some action with bluefin tuna; however, virtually all are oversized, so it’s mainly a catch-and-release fishery at this point.
Plenty of blackfin tuna are moving into the area from the south, and some yellowfins have been mixed in, so anglers are able to take some tunas home. Both trolling skirted ballyhoo and vertically jigging are effective on all the tunas.
The first dolphin and blue marlin of the year have made an appearance in the past few weeks, so the offshore fishing is transitioning from winter to a spring/summer pattern right now. Trolled ballyhoo will also attract plenty of attention from the dolphin and marlin.
Closer to the beaches, bluefish are feeding just south of the area and should be showing up off Oregon Inlet soon to provide some action for nearshore anglers.
