Southport July 12, 2007
Butch, of Yeah Right Charters, reports that kings and dolphin are still feeding above offshore structure, although the dolphin bite is slowing down somewhat. Live pogies and frozen cigar minnows will draw strikes from both fish.
Grouper fishing is red hot, and the bite has been best in 100’ of water and deeper. The catch has been made up of mostly red grouper east of the Tower, with gag and scamp groupers feeding to the Tower’s west and southwest. Live baits, frozen baits, and cut baits are all producing grouper bites.
African pompano are starting to make a showing. The Tower should be a hotspot for these fish as the summer wears on. Fish live pogies for the best chance of hooking up.
Amberjacks are on the feed at the wrecks and reefs, and these hard battlers will pounce on a live pogy dropped near the structure.
Look for spadefish on the nearshore structure, and entice them to bite with pieces of jelly ball on small hooks.
Dave, of Ocean Crest Pier, reports that anglers bottom fishing with shrimp are hooking up with pompano (with most running 1-2 lbs.) and some nice black drum (in the 3-5 lb. range).
Speckled trout are still feeding well in the early morning and evening hours. Live shrimp are fooling the trout, and bottom rigs have produced more trout than float rigs over the past week.
Live mud minnows and finger mullet are drawing flounder strikes. Anglers are catching a few less flounder than over the past couple weeks, but most of the fish are larger ones (3-4+ lbs.).
Plenty of sheepshead (up to 5 lbs.) are milling around the pier’s pilings, and anglers have landed a good number. Barnacles and fiddler crabs are fooling the sheepshead into biting. There are some larger sheepshead (up to 10 lbs.) hanging around the pier, but landing the bigger fish requires very heavy tackle.
Live bait anglers are hooking up with some big spanish mackerel (4-6 lbs.), but plug casters haven’t caught many of the smaller fish.
The king bite remains hot, with most of fish striking near the tide changes. Anglers have seen some tarpon rolling and feeding around a half mile off the Tee, so it won’t be long until some are hooked on the king rigs.
Jon, of Haag and Sons Seafood, reports that boats are catching good numbers of red grouper far offshore. The best catches have come from the areas around the break, especially offshore of Frying Pan Tower.
Beeliner action seems to have pushed far offshore as well, probably due to the high water temperatures.
The gag and scamp grouper bite has been slow, but the fish should begin biting harder as the moon wanes.
Some kings are feeding throughout area waters, but the bite isn’t spectacular.
Amberjacks are holding on the offshore wrecks and reefs.
Jimmy, of Wreck Hunter Guide Service, reports that trout fishing remains good in the bays and the river. The trout are falling mostly for soft plastic lures such as curlytail grubs and Trout Killers, and a few are hitting topwater plugs. Anglers are also catching trout on mud minnows and live shrimp fished beneath floats.
Flounder are feeding heavily throughout Southport area waters, and anglers weighed in many from 5-10 lbs. last week. Fort Caswell, the Southport waterfront, and the marshes are all holding good numbers of flounder. Most anglers are hooking up with the flatfish on Carolina-rigged mud minnows and finger mullet, but they will also bite bucktails tipped with strip baits or soft plastics.
Red drum are cruising around Striker’s Island, Dutchman’s Creek, and the Oak Island bridge looking for meals, and they’ll fall for the same baits and lures that anglers are using for trout and flounder.
Black drum and sheepshead are on the feed at the ADM dock, and they will eat sand fleas and fiddler crabs. The big black drum still aren’t here, but anglers are hooking up with good numbers of fish in the 5-15 lb. range. The sheepshead are mostly 3-10 lb. fish and are also feeding beneath the Oak Island and Holden Beach Bridges.
Off the beach, the flounder bite is heating up on the Yaupon and McGlammery reefs. Anglers light lining on the reefs are hooking up with a lot of kings and some big spanish mackerel (up to 7 lbs.).
Smaller spanish are feeding within a mile of the beach, and they will fall for trolled Clarkspoons.
Billie, of Dutchman’s Creek Bait Tackle, reports that king mackerel are running the beaches.
Surf and pier anglers are hooking up with whiting, spot, and pompano.
In the backwaters, some nice catches of red drum have come from the Davis Canal area.
Some anglers are finding flounder in the river and backwaters, but overall the flounder bite is a little slow.
