Northern Beaches July 11, 2013
The Spangler family, of Columbus, OH, with a catch of speckled trout they hooked near Manteo while fishing with Capt. Richard Andrews of Tar-Pam Guide Service.
Betty, of TW’s Tackle, reports that surf casters are connecting with some sea mullet, spot, croaker, and other bottomfish from the shores of the northern beaches. Shrimp and bloodworms are producing most of the action.
Inshore, there’s still some solid speckled trout action for anglers casting Gulps and other soft baits around the little bridge on the Nags Head/Manteo causeway. Some flounder are mixed in.
Bottom fishing with shrimp and other baits in the same area is producing spot, croaker, and black drum.
Boaters throughout the sounds are also reporting a good speckled trout bite.
Spanish mackerel and bluefish are feeding around Oregon Inlet and along the beachfront, and boats are catching solid numbers while trolling Clarkspoons and other small, flashy lures.
Amberjack are schooling up around offshore structure like the towers, and they will pounce on live baits.
Bottom fishing around nearshore and offshore structure is producing good catches of triggerfish.
The offshore fleet is still connecting with plenty of yellowfin tuna and gaffer dolphin, with some bigeye tuna and wahoo in the mix to keep things interesting. Some blue marlin and sailfish are feeding in the same areas and taking an interest in naked and skirted ballyhoo.
Ashley, of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, reports that anglers are still connecting with big (some to 80+ lbs.) cobia while fishing nearshore out of the inlet. Casting bucktail jigs to fish that anglers spot on the surface is producing most of the bites from the cobes.
Spanish mackerel and bluefish are feeding in the same areas, and they will pounce on Clarkspoons trolled behind planers and torpedo weights.
Bottom fishing at nearshore and offshore structure is producing plenty of action with tasty triggerfish.
Ron Montgomery and Jade, Siri, Casey, and Bruce Heinrichs with yellowfin tuna and dolphin they hooked while trolling ballyhoo offshore of Oregon Inlet. They were fishing with Capt. Lee Collins and mate Bo Davenport on the “Strike’Em” out of the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center.
The offshore boats continue to catch big numbers of yellowfin tuna and gaffer dolphin while trolling ballyhoo at spots like the Point and Tuna Hole. Some bigeye tuna and wahoo have also been brought in over the past week.
Blue marlin and other billfish are also feeding offshore and taking an interest in the boats’ spreads.
Rob, of Strike’Em Sportfishing, reports that the offshore action out of Oregon Inlet continues to be red hot. Limit catches of yellowfin tuna are still commonplace, and boats are also encountering some bigeye and blackfin tuna while trolling skirted and naked ballyhoo.
Gaffer and bailer dolphin are joining the tunas in the fleet’s fish boxes, and boats are also releasing decent numbers of blue and white marlin and sailfish. Ballyhoo are fooling all the pelagic predators.
Closer to the beaches, there’s been good amberjack action around structure like the towers. Live baits are tempting bites from the jacks.
Cobia are still patrolling the area around the inlet and just off the beaches, and boats are hooking some while casting bucktail jigs to fish they spot on the surface.
Trolling in the same areas is producing plenty of bluefish and spanish mackerel, with small spoons doing most of the damage.
Richard, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, reports that the speckled trout action remains excellent in the sounds around Roanoke Island (with both big numbers and plenty of solid fish).
Casting Z-Man soft plastics under popping corks has been the best method when the fish are feeding in shallow areas or near the banks, and working the same baits on jigheads is getting the job done in deeper water.
Mike, of Jennette’s Pier, reports that bottom fishermen are hooking sea mullet, bluefish, spot, croaker, pigfish, triggerfish, and more on shrimp, squid, and bloodworms.
Some flounder are also around and taking an interest in the bottom rigs and small live baits.
The water is 64 degrees.
