Southport May 13, 2004
Tanya Register, of Ocean Crest Pier, reports that Spanish are consistently being caught, with many in the 3 lb. range. The pompano continue to bite, with several citation-size fish brought it. Whiting are also still in the area and biting well. The blues have been in numbers, and there sizes range from the choppers to the snappers. Speckled trout started showing up on Sunday, and they liked white grubs better than anything else casted to them. A few spots are being caught, but they have been nice sized (8 oz.) King fishing has been very busy with a 2004 total so far of 11 kings. The pier also produced a 52 lb. cobia on Saturday.
Tommy Thomes Jr., at Long Beach Pier, reports that there has been lots of small stuff, including spots, whiting, and blues. There have also been catches of gray trout, mostly caught on shrimp. Some speckled trout in the 1.5 to 2 lb. range have also been hooked. No keeper flounders to really talk about, as most have been in the 12-13″ range. At the end of the pier, there has been lots of action. The bigger blues are running 7 to 8 lbs. The Spanish are in the 16 to 18″ range. The Spanish bite started in late April, and now they are catching them about every three days, with the afternoon and the morning hours the better times. And Saturday saw 9 kings brought to the pier. The pier’s first king of the season was caught by Ray Hartlaub, of Oak Island, on April 29.
Billie, of Dutchman Creek Bait and Tackle, reports that red drum are showing up in the creeks. The flounder bite has also been improving, with some being reported in the 19 to 25″ range. The Blue Water Point Marina area has been one area of note. In the waterway, there continues to be blues, whiting, spots, and croakers. The speckled trout bite has also been producing. The spanish bite has been really good. They are just off the beach and out to about 2 miles. Many anglers are picking up a couple weighing up to 5 lbs. Kings have moved in to the piers and are also just off the beach. Sunday also brought in a report of blue marlin caught and released.
Capt. Richard Flick, of Blue Water Point Marina and Charters, reports that the bottom fishing has been steady. He is going out about 35 to 40 miles and finding big black sea bass, with 3 lbs. being the regular and some going over 4 lbs. It has been no problem to limit out in a couple of hours. The Black Jack Hole area has been a good producer of yellowfin, wahoo, and dolphin. The yellowfin have been in the 30-50 lb. range, the wahoo are running 30-40 lbs., and dolphin have been on the small side. This past Saturday he noted 80 degree water temperature, and subsequently the tuna bite had slowed.
