Swansboro/Emerald Isle – October 10, 2019
Hannah, of The Reel Outdoors, reports that surf anglers are having great success bottom fishing. Sea mullet, spot, and pompano are being caught with double-drop rigs tipped with shrimp, Fishbites, or bloodworms.
A few short flounder have been caught on live baits and soft plastics.
Bluefish are schooled up around the bait balls, with a few being landed on casting jigs and cut bait.
Inshore anglers are finding red drum in holes along the ICW. Carolina-rigged live baits have been producing a majority of the bites.
Speckled trout are mixed in around the marsh, and they’re hitting soft plastics in the deeper channels.
Aaron Cooke, from Winston-Salem, NC, with a king mackerel caught out of Atlantic Beach using live bait.
Dale, of Dudley’s Marina, reports that spot are being caught by anglers fishing bloodworms and shrimp in deeper holes around the inlet.
Bluefish are schooled up in the inlet and feeding on the large numbers of bait in the area. Casting jigs around these bait balls has been producing good numbers of 2-4 lb. fish.
The marshes are holding red drum in channels and flats during high tide cycles. A variety of topwater plugs, soft plastics, and Carolina-rigged live baits are all producing bites.
Flounder (released) are hitting live mullet fished on the bottom in these holes and ledges out into the inlet.
Chris, of Pogie’s Fishing Center, reports that speckled trout fishing has begun to turn on for anglers fishing deeper holes and cuts in the marsh. Live mud minnows and shrimp are getting a majority of the action, though they’re also getting hit by everything else swimming around. Zoom and D.O.A. soft plastics are producing strikes when worked under popping corks or on naked jig heads. Topwater plugs are productive in the early mornings, with the bite being very short lived over the course of this last heat wave.
Red drum are holding in these same marsh areas. Carolina-rigged live baits are producing better numbers of reds as they follow the bait schools through deeper channels in the marsh.
Flounder are in the mix, and though anglers can’t keep them, some good-sized fish are picking up the live bait offerings.
Rob, of Sandbar Safari Charters, reports that nearshore anglers are finding good numbers of spanish mackerel and bluefish around the inlet out to three miles. Glass minnow style jigs (such as Stingsilvers) have been producing well when worked around these fish feeding on bait balls.
Red drum are feeding on schools of mullet around the marsh. They’re following the bait on its fall migration.
A few speckled trout are mixed in these same deeper channels and holes.
Jonathan, of On Point Charters, reports that even though they can’t be kept, nearshore anglers are finding good numbers of flounder chewing while bottom fishing at the wrecks. Carolina-rigged live shad and bucktails paired with Gulp soft plastics have been getting most of the hits.
False albacore are being spotted from the beach out to 10 miles. These fish are busting the surface, feeding on smaller baits and glass minnows. Anglers are having the most success with heavy, small casting jigs cast through these frenzies.
King mackerel are beginning their fall push back onto the beaches. Dead bait rigs with cigar minnows have been providing most action on these good-sized kings.
Inshore anglers are seeing that many of the red drum are starting to head towards the surf zone and are staging up at the inlets. Big schools of fish are holding in these areas, and they’re feeding on bait balls pushing their way out with the tide changes.
Speckled trout fishing has been good. Live shrimp has been the top producing bait, with Gulp soft plastics rigged on Fathom jig heads also getting strikes. A couple of days of cooler weather should see this bite pick right back up.
A few flounder and red drum are being caught inside on the same live baits and soft plastics.
Bobby, of Teezher Charters, reports that bait has been pushing out of the inlets, and its drawing spanish mackerel and bluefish to the beachfronts. Casting jigs thrown at these surface-feeding schools has had great success over recent weeks.
False albacore should be showing up any day, and small casting jigs produce most strikes.
Offshore anglers have been seeing great numbers of wahoo in the Stream.
Bottom fishing anglers are landing snapper, grouper, and triggerfish.
Josh, of Liquid Fire Sportfishing, reports that offshore anglers are focusing on the strong wahoo bite, with some large fish (50+ lbs.) being caught in the area.
A few gaffer-sized mahi and blackfins are being landed, but the bite isn’t producing huge numbers.
King mackerel are scattered out around 15 miles and have been slowly pushing closer to the beaches, and this should be the pattern over the next few weeks. Fishing live baits and trolling dead bait rigs are both successful in getting strikes.
Teresa, of Bogue Inlet Pier, reports that large spanish mackerel (up to 4 lbs.) are being caught on casting jigs and Gotcha plugs.
A few schools of false albacore (up to 6 lbs.) have popped up in the mornings, and cooler water temperatures will likely show better numbers.
Bluefish (up to 3 lbs.) are being landed in good numbers, and as the bait runs out of the inlets, anglers anticipate these surface-feeding frenzies to become more commonplace.
Good numbers of spot have shown up for anglers fishing bloodworms on bottom rigs.
Other bottom fish species (such as sea mullet, pompano, and the occasional sheepshead) are hitting shrimp and sand fleas.
Gray trout made a showing. They’re mostly hitting fresh shrimp on bottom rigs fished off the deeper ends of the pier.
