Topsail Winter 2006
Doug, at East Coast Sports, reports that there was excellent surf fishing throughout November, and this is forecasted to continue through December. Bull whiting (up to 2.5 pounds) have been biting especially well along Topsail’s beaches.
Fresh shrimp have produced the most fish, but anglers baiting up with sand fleas and artificial bloodworms have gotten in on the whiting action as well.
Fishermen casting TT and M series Mirrolures in the surf have seen excellent catches of speckled trout, with most between 1.5 and 3.5 pounds.
Plenty of red drum, most within the slot but a few over, have been caught from the beach as well. Cut or finger mullet have been the best drum bait, and more fish have come from the south end of the island than anywhere else.
Off the beach, jigging Stingsilvers and diamond jigs at the nearshore reefs is producing lots of gray trout.
Anglers are seeing good numbers of false albacore at Diver’s Rock and Christmas Rock, and they’re catching them by trolling spoons.
Starting at Diver’s Rock, bottom fishermen are filling coolers with good numbers of black sea bass.
The grouper bite has been good, with gag grouper holding as close as 20 miles from the beach. The reds and scamps are further offshore.
Ricky, at Speckled Specialist Charters, reports good speckled trout and red drum fishing in the New River and nearby inlets. The trout are hitting live baits, as well as artificials such as Mirrolures and shrimp imitations.
Most trips have been well over double digit days, with the sizes averaging 2-3 pounds. The bigger fish are ranging all the way up to 7.5 pounds.
Redfish are hitting the same baits and averaging 17-18 inches.
Eric, at New River Marina, reports that you don’t need to go far to catch a few fish. The inlets and surf have been very good for speckled trout, flounder, redfish, and sea mullet. Most anglers are using shrimp or tossing Mirrolures.
The New River has been equally good for speckled trout and redfish on live shrimp or artificials.
Ed, at Surf City Pier, reports grubs and shrimp on bottom rigs produced plenty of speckled trout in November.
Shrimp has also been effective for catches of black and red drum weighing in the 3-pound range.
A few flounder are still around and biting bottom rigs, but most are undersized.
There were a few good spot and whiting runs over the month, but the fish came through in narrow bands, without the usual 2-3 weeks of solid fishing.
The water temperature is 59 degrees.
Frank, at Sea View Pier, reports excellent speckled trout fishing. Trout from just legal to around 6 pounds are falling for a wide selection of baits and lures. Live shrimp under floats are producing best further out on the pier, while TT808 Mirrolures and soft plastics are accounting for a lot of fish around the surf line.
Red and black drum have pleasantly surprised anglers fishing with shrimp over the past month. Most of the reds have been in the slot, and anglers have caught black drum up to 6 pounds.
Whiting (up to 2 pounds) and some very nice-sized spot have been caught on shrimp, but neither fish has shown up on the beach in the traditional numbers this year.
