Ocean Isle – June 23, 2016
Brant, of Ocean Isle Fishing Center, reports that anglers are connecting with sheepshead, black drum, and speckled trout inshore. The black drum have ranged in size from small to 3-6 lbs., and one was reported weighing in at 8 lbs. The speckled trout are falling for live finger mullet on a Carolina rig fished on bottom. Bluefish, sharks, and good-sized croakers have been reported in the ICW, and flounder are falling for Vudu shrimp.
Nearshore, smaller cobia have been reported, as well as anglers connecting with slot to upper-slot reds that are hanging around structure and near small schools of pogies.
Offshore, sailfish have been caught and released near the Blackjack. The same area has yielded wahoo and several gaffer mahis.
King bites have been few and far between, but several anglers connected with the fish in roughly 60’ of water.
Timothy Lewis (age 8), of Shallotte, with his first speckled trout. He caught the trout while surf fishing on Holden Beach.
Cecil, of Rod and Reel Shop, reports that the bite has picked up in the backwaters around Ocean Isle, and anglers are hooking flounder, speckled trout, and red drum. Most flounder are borderline slot, and anglers are using live mullet and mud minnows to connect with the fish. Trout are also borderline slot-sized, and they can be tempted with live shrimp under a floating cork. Most of the red drum caught have fallen for Gulp shrimp on a jighead.
Surf anglers have been connecting with black drum, bluefish, and a few pompano. Bottom rigs with cut bait or Fishbites should prove successful. Spanish mackerel have been off the beach, and they will fall for Clarkspoons. The cobia bite has slowed, as there haven’t been any recent reports of the migratory fish.
Kings and mahi have been found between the 7-20 mile range. Anglers targeting the kings should use cigar minnows, while small ballyhoo have worked well for the mahi.
Casey and Taylor Miller with a 62.15 lb. cobia they caught on a live pogie on a downrigger. They were fishing out of Ocean Isle Beach on the Man O War.
Kyle, of Speckulater Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that the speckled trout bite has picked up for anglers fishing around the Shallotte River. Fish have also been hanging around shell banks in Little River, and they are hitting live shrimp under a floating cork. The average fish is ranging in size from undersized to about 2 lbs., but there have been a few keepers mixed in around the 4 lb. mark.
Red and black drum are hanging around the same areas as the trout, and they can be pulled off the shell banks using similar methods. Black drum are also schooling around docks and pilings in the waterway, and dropping a live shrimp down on a Carolina rig can prove successful. Anglers are hooking up with various sizes of the drum depending on the school size, but fish between 8-10 lbs. have been reported.
The flounder bite is staying steady overall, and anglers should target fish in the Tubbs Inlet area as well as in Shallotte River. The keeper to throwback ratio is good, and 5-6 lb. fish are being reported. Live pogies and mud minnows are the bait of choice currently, but look to transition to mullet in the next few weeks.
The spanish bite is still strong off the beach for boats trolling planers and Clarkspoons, and heading into 30’ of water is proving successful. A few bigger spanish can also be found in the mouth of the inlets. The cobia bite has slowed, and anglers looking for this fish should head out into about 30’ of water and look for pods of pogies.
Hannah Britt, of Fayetteville, caught (and released) this 31″ red drum on a live menhaden while fishing the Ocean Isle Beach backwaters with her husband Daniel Britt.
Kevin, of Rigged and Ready Charters, reports that speckled trout action has been hot in the past few weeks, and the fish are sized from just above the minimum 14” length to the 5-6 lb. range. Anglers looking to target trout should float a live shrimp under a floating cork. Over-slot drum have been active in the Ocean Isle area as well, and they are hitting finger mullet and peanut pogies. Black drum have been active around docks and structure, and although most are small, there are a few legal-sized fish mixed in. They can be hooked using cut shrimp on a Carolina rig. A few flounder have been caught in the area while targeting other species, but the flatfish are favoring artificials and Gulp soft plastics.
Nearshore, the spanish bite has slowed, but the fish can still be caught by investing a little bit of time trolling a Clarkspoon behind a #1 planer.
Cobia are still in the area, although now they’re a bit farther out. Look for the migratory fish to be hanging around bait balls in 35’ of water.
Tyson, of Ocean Isle Beach Fishing Pier, reports that the trout bite has picked up, with anglers reporting a few larger fish. The spanish and bluefish bite has slowed, with very few coming over the rails. Croakers and Virginia mullet have been scarce, and anglers have also connected with a dogfish here and there.
The water temperature is 80.
