Southport May 25, 2006
Dave, at Ocean Crest Pier, reports the recent southwest winds dirtied the water and slowed the fishing this week. The cobia, kings, and spanish had come in on the clear water, but they were absent this week.
Big flounder made an appearance, with most fish weighing 2 to 3 lbs. The biggest of the week was a 5 lb. 10 oz flattie.
Speckled trout have shown up in decent numbers. They’re hitting cut shrimp and live baits. The chopper bluefish are hitting live baits and Gotchas, and the pompano are biting cut shrimp on the bottom.
Butch, at Yeah Right Charters, reports that the gulf stream action has been strong when you can get out there. The dolphin are running 10-20 lbs., with some bigger ones (in the 40 lb. class) mixed in.
The flying fish have shown up, so go with ballyhoo and blue & white or pink & white skirts. Or you may want to put a blue & chartreuse right behind the prop wash.
You can also expect to pick up a few yellowfins and some wahoo.
The grouper are 30-40 miles out on the ledges. Some days it’s east of the tower, and other days the better bite has been southwest of the tower.
Black bass and trigger fish are biting well, and there have even been a couple of American reds already.
Not much to report on king fishing.
Jimmy, of Wreck Hunter Guide Service, reports that the speckled trout bite has been strong in the area. Multiple fish days are common from areas such as Battery Island, Elizabeth River, and under the Oak Island Bridge.
There are some flounder being caught, but most are barely keeper size. Try the Southport waterfront, Lockwood Folly River, or the Jay Bird shoals in the Cape Fear River.
Sheepshead are just starting to bite. Go with sand fleas or fiddler crabs beside the pylons of the Oak Island Bridge or the Phizer dock.
And guys are starting to see some black drum at the big black bumpers of the Phizer dock. They’re using clam strips and cut mullet.
Valerie, at Yaupon Pier, reports that the first king mackerel of the year was landed. It weighed in at 11 lbs. 6 oz. And they have also had their first cobia, with a 31 lb. 2 oz. fish tipping the scales.
Big bluefish (5-9 lb. range) are biting Gotchas and live baits, while the spanish in the 1 to 2 lb. range have arrived hitting plugs off the end.
A few nice speckled trout (up to 2 lbs.) have been caught, and the first citation flounder of the year was a monster weighing in at 10 lb. 5 oz.; however, most of the keeper flounder are averaging 2 to 4 lbs.
