Swansboro November 12, 2009
Johnny and Joey Cartwright and Tony Donato with part of a catch of speckled trout and a 3 lb. flounder they hooked on pink Gulp baits in the marsh behind Emerald Isle while fishing with Capt. Rob Koraly of Sandbar Safari Charters.
Jeff, of Fish’N4Life Charters, reports the speckled trout bite is on throughout the Crystal Coast waters. The inlets, nearby connecting channels, and smaller creeks have been producing most of the fish lately. Anglers are hooking up on Gulp and Powerbait shrimp in white, natural, and tequila gold colors. Live shrimp and mud minnows are also top producers, and anglers can hook up on hard baits like MirrOlures and Rapalas when the pinfish and bluefish are too bad to fish live baits or soft plastics.
November through January typically offers anglers some of the best red drum fishing of the year, with opportunities to sight-cast to schools of fish numbering in the hundreds to thousands. The fish will school up in the shallow bays near the inlets as they prepare to make their way to the surf zone for the winter. Inlet shoals and ocean-side structure like jetties are also excellent places to look for the schools. Jigheads tipped with 4” Gulp baits are the best weapons for the schooled up reds.
Flounder are staging in the deeper water near the inlets and surrounding creeks as they prepare to make their way to the ocean for the winter. Anglers can also target the flatties around the inlet channels and nearshore live bottoms and artificial reefs in November. Live baits on Carolina rigs will produce the most action with the flatfish.
Whiting and gray trout are also feeding in the inlet channels, and they will fall for a Stingsilver tipped with Fish Bites or fresh shrimp.
False albacore (most 5-10 lbs.) are chasing glass minnows around structure within 5 miles of the beaches, moving even closer when the wind blows out of the north. Jigheads with 3-5” soft plastic baits like Trout Killers and Zoom Flukes are top producers on the albacore. Anglers can find the fish by searching for small terns hovering just above the water’s surface.
Jonathan Watson, of Swansboro, NC, with his first speckled trout. The fish fell for a MirrOlure in the White Oak River.
Rob, of Sandbar Safari Charters, reports that the speckled trout bite is good just about anywhere anglers can look near Swansboro right now. The specks are feeding along the beaches, in the inlets, the marshes behind the barrier islands, and in the rivers and creeks throughout the area. Lately the best bite’s been on falling tides in the creeks and rivers and during incoming water in the marshes.
Live shrimp and fluorescent-colored Gulp shrimp and jerkbaits are proving too much for the specks to resist. The next cold snap should drive many of the fish towards fresh water in the rivers and creeks, bottlenecking them in the narrow channels where anglers should have little difficulty finding them.
The specks and gray trout (most 2-4 lbs. with some larger fish thrown in) bite has been on at the Cape Lookout rock jetty, and the fishing should only improve as the water cools down. Live shrimp are often the best baits out at the jetty, but pink Gulp baits have been producing quite well lately, too.
The red drum bite is solid in the area’s rivers and creeks, with some fish feeding in the ICW and the shallow marshes as well. The fish are also feeding around the inlet shoals in the ocean. Anglers can hook them on Gulp baits and live finger mullet, as well as cut baits when fishing from the beach at the inlets.
Chesson, of CXC Fishing, reports that the false albacore bite has been on just off of Bogue Inlet and the surrounding beaches. Anglers can cast Stingsilvers or other small, metal casting lures to the fish as they chase bait on the surface.
King mackerel were feeding heavily in around 50’ of water last week, but they’ve likely moved out to structure in the 60’ range (5-6 miles offshore) and will continue to move out as the water temperature falls. Live pogies or other baits are top choices for the kings.
Amberjacks are holding at much of the same structure where the kings are, and anglers can hook them on live baits, vertical jigs, and topwater plugs.
Large lemon, bull, and other sharks (ranging from 30-40 lbs. to 9-10’) are feeding around shrimp trawlers working the area, and anglers should have little trouble hooking up while fishing large cut and live baits near the shrimpers.
Dana McCabe, from Ocean City, MD, with a sheepshead caught in the Swansboro area while fishing with Capt. Mike Taylor of Taylor Made Charters.
Stan, of Capt. Stanman’s Charters, reports that the king mackerel bite’s been on around the C and D Buoys, the Honey Hole, Sponge Rock, and Christmas Rock.
Jig baits like cigar minnows and sardines are still hanging around the Alphabet Buoys. They can be inconsistent this time of year, though, so anglers should bring a box of cigar minnows when heading offshore as well. A double cigar minnow rig with a Gitzem or Hank Brown jighead on the bottom bait is deadly with a live or frozen minnow.
Gag grouper and other bottom feeders are holding within 15 miles of the Bogue sea buoy, and anglers can hook them on live or dead baits. Pinkies, sea bass, and triggerfish are feeding on the same structure.
Rich, of The Reel Outdoors, reports that the trout bite’s been excellent in the backwaters lately, and grubs and other soft plastic baits on light jigheads are attracting plenty of attention from the specks. The fish aren’t feeding along the beaches in force yet, but they will be moving out to the ocean as the water cools off.
Some reds are around the backwaters as well, and anglers are hooking them on Gulps, spinnerbaits, and other lures.
Big numbers of flounder are feeding inshore and along the surf, but most are undersized.
False albacore are chasing bait just off the beaches, and anglers are hooking a few from the surf and big numbers from boats while casting metal lures at the breaking schools of fish.
The king mackerel bite has been hot wherever anglers can find the warm water edge, which has been around Station Rock and the Hutton lately. Live and dead baits will produce action with the kings.
Rhonda, of Bogue Inlet Pier, reports that bottom fishermen are picking up good numbers of flounder, puppy drum, whiting, and pufferfish. Shrimp are producing most of the action.
Plug casters have decked several false albacore while working Gotchas over the past few weeks.
