Southport July 14, 2005
Dave, at Ocean Crest Pier, reports an excellent speckled trout bite early in the morning on live shrimp. The mullet are around, so they are getting the attention of some nice 3 to 4 lb. flounder on the bottom around midday on rising tide. A live mullet on top also has hooked some nice spanish mackerel in the 5 to 7 lb. range, with several citations awarded this week. A 47 lb. cobia was landed, as well as a few king mackerel in the 17 lb. class. When the water is cloudy, the spots have made a nice run biting bloodworms.
Jimmy Price, of Wildlife Bait and Tackle, reports that several nice flounder were weighed in over the weekend, including a 7 lb. class flounder caught in their July tournament. Guys were also finding several flounder in the 2 to 3 lb. range. The Southport waterfront continues to do well, and guys also did well targeting oyster rocks. Yaupon Reef has founder, and they should stay there through September.
Speckled trout are also continuing to bite, and the weekend saw 4, 5, and 6 lb. class trout weighed in. Cedar Creek produced a number of the bigger trout, but Battery Island and Striker Island also had numerous fish.
Sheepshead are on the Phizer dock. Some spanish were on the beach, but on certain days they were nowhere to be found. And bottom fishing in the area seems to be doing well with grouper and amberjacks.
Billie, at Dutchman Creek Bait and Tackle, reports good fishing for spots, trout, and whiting along the area piers, especially with live shrimp. The flounder are still biting, but a lot of them are 13 to 14 inch fish. Kings are being caught along the beach and the nearshore reefs.
Bobby, at Long Beach Pier, reports speckled trout still biting the live shrimp mainly early in the mornings. Black drum have made an appearance, with a nice 6 lb. fish caught. Whiting, spots, blues, and flounder are rounding out the catches, but no real big fish this week. The spanish are here and there, but they should come back when the murky water clears out.
