Ocean Isle December 5, 2005
Brant McMullan, at Ocean Isle Fishing Center, reports the weather is allowing a few windows of opportunity to go offshore, and when it does the grouper are waiting in 80 to 100 feet of water.
Those venturing to the gulf stream are finding some hungry wahoo, while those still chasing kings need to look in about 80 to 90 foot of water at least 30 miles out.
Inshore, the speckled trout are biting well in the Little River area, especially on live shrimp. Hitting shell banks should produce trout averaging 2-3 lbs., with the bigger ones going up to 6 lbs.
During OIFC’s recent tournament, the hot spots were the Sunset Beach Bridge, the Tillman wall, and the area jetties.
Redfish are biting fairly well at Little River and around Shallotte Inlet, and flounder are still being caught in the canals behind Ocean Isle.
Will, at Ocean Isle Beach Pier, reports plenty of fish moving through the area, but they are getting caught up in the nets before they reach the pier to eat any baits. Speckled trout, spots, whiting, and black drum are moving down the surf, so fishing is still good.
Hunter, at The Rod and Reel Shop, reports fishing has been slowing down, but speckled trout fishing has still been decent. The specks have been caught up in the creeks and in the waterway, usually along shell banks. Red drum are still hanging around in the surf as well as the marsh flats.
The flounder fishing is almost done, with only an occasional catch.
The gray trout are still hanging around the nearshore reefs, along with black sea bass. The bigger sea bass will be further offshore with the grouper and snapper. No one has been able to make it to the gulf stream lately, but there should be some wahoo, tuna, and sailfish to catch when conditions calm down.
