Southport September 29, 2005
Dave, at Ocean Crest Pier, reports the weather has offered anglers prime fall fishing. Among the mix have been decent sized spots, croaker, and whiting. Flounder up to 4 lbs. have been caught on Carolina rigs with live mullet.
The bite has been much improved for species like bluefish and mackerel. The mullet minnows and menhaden traverse the beach line daily. Light lining live mullet has been good for bluefish and spanish up into the 3 to 4 lb. range.
The menhaden have been the best for the kings. The final tally on the “Tee” action left those fishing in awe. Over 40 kings were caught in a week, with fish averaging 15 to 25 lbs.
Billie, at Dutchman Creek Bait and Tackle, reports good king fishing is taking place right off Oak Island. Plenty of teenage size fish are being caught, as well as some nice 5 lb. spanish mackerel.
Further offshore, there was a cobia report, and bottom fishing out towards the tower area was good for sea bass and grouper.
Inshore, the waterway and creeks have plenty of mullet running, so the drum, trout, and flounder bite has been good on live baits.
Bobby, at Long Beach Pier, reports good king mackerel fishing going on with plenty of fish in the teens and a few in the 20’s. The biggest went 26.5 lbs. There are plenty of blues to be caught, as well as some spanish, by light lining minnows. The mullet minnows will also catch a few flounder, and all fish have been keepers lately.
Live shrimp has been the best bait for red drum, but most fish are just over the 27-inch limit. A couple of speckled trout, spots, and pompano (as big as 3 lb. 3 oz.) have been landed to mix up the catch.
Jimmy Price, of Wildlife Bait and Tackle, reports that a few flounder are still coming in from the Southport waterfront. The Lockwood Folly area has also done well with flounder since the hurricane.
Red drum have been on fire recently, with the action coming from the back bays and creeks on live bait.
Speckled trout continue to do well, with the best report coming from Dutchman’s Creek. They’ve continued to bite in the dirty water since the storm.
Redd, at Yaupon Pier, reports that the pier had 32 kings caught over the period of one week. They’ve also been catching blues, pogies, and mullet, and a few trout have been caught on live shrimp.
Live bait fishing with mullet minnows for spanish is producing fish in the 2-5 lb range.
Some spots are coming off bloodworms. And as for bait, there are tons of mullet and pogies swimming by the pier. The water clarity is stained but clean.
