Ocean Isle April 9, 2009
Tony McCall, Jody McCall, Ronnie Rogers, and James Coffie, all from Charlotte, NC, with king mackerel and black sea bass hooked southwest of Frying Pan Tower. They were fishing with Capt. Keith Logan of Stand N' Down Charters out of Holden Beach.
Brant, of Ocean Isle Fishing Center, reports that the wahoo bite has been excellent in the Gulf Stream when the winds allow boats to get offshore. Some big fish are in the mix (an 88 lb. ‘hoo was weighed in last week), and trolling ballyhoo under skirted lures in dark color combinations is the best way to draw bites from the wahoo. The Blackjack Hole and Winyah Scarp were both productive areas last week.
A few dolphin are mixed in with the wahoo, and boats fishing a hard temperature break a bit further offshore had good dolphin action.
King mackerel are schooled up thick around the Frying Pan Tower and the areas to the southwest. They’ll fall for live or dead cigar minnows on the troll or drift, and boats are also hooking plenty while trolling Drone spoons.
Closer to shore, the sea bass bite has been excellent at bottom structure in 50-100′, and the good news is that the dog sharks seem to have cleared out of the area, allowing anglers to get baits to the bass.
The grouper bite has been a little slow inshore of the break, but April is typically an excellent month to target American red snapper on the 70-100’ ledges where anglers find gags in the fall. The Atlantic Ledge area is an excellent place to begin looking for them. Longer fluorocarbon leaders than anglers usually fish on their grouper rigs will produce more action with the snapper, and, when available, live cigar minnows are the best baits.
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Bill Laurie, of Southport, with a 36" scamp grouper that fell for a Gulp-tipped bucktail in 90' of water around 40 miles offshore. He was fishing with Tom Loftus aboard the "Iascaire."
Kyle, of Ocean Isle Fishing Center, reports that the inshore water temperature is into the 60’s and the fishing’s heating up as well. Red drum are feeding around docks and other structure in the ICW and at the Little River jetties when the water is clean.
The fish are averaging 16-18″ inside and 25″+ at the jetties, but anglers are catching a few of the larger, mid-20’s fish in the waterway, too. Live mud minnows on Carolina rigs seem to be producing the best action with the reds.
Some black drum are mixed in with the reds around areas like the Sunset Beach Bridge, and fresh shrimp are the ticket to hookups with them.
Speckled trout fishing is getting better, and the big spring sow trout should be just around the corner. Most of the fish are coming from the bridges and other structure in the ICW, and Billy Bay and Storm shrimp imitations are producing most of the action.
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Shane Hollar, from Holden Beach, with a wahoo that fell for a dead cigar minnow under a Cape Lookout Duster at a 90' ledge near Frying Pan Tower. He was fishing with Capt. David Hooks of Capt. Hook Outdoors out of Ocean Isle.
David, of Capt. Hook Outdoors, reports that king mackerel are schooled up thick near the Frying Pan Tower, and trolling dead cigar minnows has been producing fast action with them. Most are school-sized fish from 5-15 lbs.
Some big wahoo are feeding in the bluewater out near the break, with a few moving further inshore. Trolling ballyhoo underneath skirted lures is the best way to hook up with the wahoo, and dark colors seem to outproduce lighter ones.
Some big sea bass are feeding out on deeper structure, and they’ve been falling for cut baits on bottom rigs.
Inshore, some trout and reds are beginning to show up around the Little River jetties.
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Becky, of Ocean Isle Pier, reports that anglers are catching a few whiting from the very end of the pier on fresh shrimp.
