Ocean Isle June 23, 2005
Barrett McMullan, of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center, reports that the inshore fishing action is primarily flounder. The fish are mostly small with very few big ones reported. The bite has been better on the nearshore reefs, such as the Jim Caudle reef, than on the inside. Other than flounder, there have been a few red drum and a few trout.
The spanish continue to be around in large numbers. Hit the areas around the inlets, and expect the smaller kings to be mixed in with the spanish.
They’re continuing to catch lots and lots of kings. The fish remain primarily small (5 to 8 lbs.), but there are some bigger ones starting to mix in (up to the 30 lb. range). The 390/390 has been one of the hottest areas for kings. The king bite is progressing nicely for the Jolly Mon coming up on July 4 weekend.
Dolphin continue to move closer to shore. They’ve been caught as close as 8 miles off the beach. Dead cigar minnows have been the main bait, but that’s mostly because live bait isn’t prominent in the area yet. The bait is around the Oak Island areas, so it should be moving in the Ocean Isle area soon.
Will, at Ocean Isle Beach Pier, reports that trout fishing has been good on shrimp. There’s also been some nice whiting caught as well. Flounder are around, but most fish are small. Pluggers are getting some bluefish, but very few spanish this week.
