Swansboro July 20, 2006
Jeff, of FishN4Life Charters, reports that everywhere you go around Swansboro there is bait. The finger mullet are schooling along the ICW, especially on the falling tide. There are a lot of shrimp around the shorelines and creeks in the mouth of the White Oak River and Queens Creek, as well as some of the creeks off Bogue Sound. You can also find plenty of small peanut pogies in the feeder creeks of the river and sound.
Along the internal waters, the extreme low tides and constant afternoon rains have pushed many of the red fish out of the shallow bays and into the deeper water in the river and the main channels between the ICW and the inlets. There are also some redfish around the docks and other structure along the ICW.
There are plenty of 1 to 2 lb. black drum around the oyster rocks and the bridge pylons. Live or fresh shrimp will be the best baits, along with fiddler or mud crabs. Try fishing these baits under a popping cork around the shallow oyster rocks for the best success on the black drum.
The summer flounder continue to show in good numbers around the inlets and their connecting channels and nearby creeks, along with plenty of southern flounder around structure along the ICW.
The summer flounder bite around the live bottoms and artificial reefs continues to produce good numbers of big flounder. Both live baits on Carolina rigs as well as Berkley Gulp baits fished on a 1 to 2 oz. jighead or bucktail will work great on bringing flounder to the deck.
The sheepshead bite has slowed as it usually does during the extreme heat of the summer. The fish are ranging from 1 to 5 lbs., with the better bite on the rising tide lately.
A few speckled trout are continuing to show up around the inlets and nearby channels during the rising tides. The bite has been on live shrimp or soft plastics. Most of these specks are under 1.5 lbs., although there have been several in the 2 to 6 lb. range caught recently.
Along the beaches out to several miles there are spanish and kings on the natural live bottoms and the AR’s. The spanish and kings should be hitting best on 4-8” live shad and cigar minnows fished on your standard king mackerel rigs.
The flounder bite in the ocean has been consistent, with most of the fish ranging from 1 to 5 lbs.
There are still plenty of spadefish feeding around the structure at AR342, AR340, and AR345. Try fishing clams strips or jelly balls on a small hook while anchored over the structure. It helps to have a chum tube filled with crushed clams or mussels hanging below the boat.
Out around the C and D Buoys there has been a good dolphin bite this week, with fish ranging from 5 to 10 lbs. and some into the teens. Live bait has been the ticket. Cigar minnows can be jigged up around these buoys using a Sabiki rig.
Stan, of Capt. Stanman Fishing Charters, reports that the fishing slowed up this past week. No doubt the full moon and the current had a major effect.
There were some kings and dolphin caught at the rock south of the 13 Buoy. And the jig bait is playing “hide and seek” right now at the Alphabet buoys.
The dolphin are moving in closer to the beach, and the 20 lb. kings are due any day. Wahoo will start making their annual migration to the beach in the next few weeks, so watch for some of the smokers that you think are kings will actually be wahoos.
Billy, at Bogue Inlet Pier, reports cut shrimp fished on bottom rigs is producing black drum, pompano, and whiting. Small spots are eating bloodworms. Some speckled trout are also being caught.
Flounder up to 3 lbs. are coming over the rails for those fishing mud minnows.
King mackerel weighing 13.15, 18.5, and 23.8 lbs. were caught on live baits early in the week.
The water temperature at the pier is 81 degrees.
