Bloodworms R Us

The spot bite has cooled a bit, but I suspect it's only temporary. The wind is E-SE and relatively calm. The water temp has risen, if you can believe it, to 81 degrees. We need some NE or N winds and some cloudy days to cool down the water before we will see the really good spot runs. I'm not saying you can't catch a few spots, but to catch a full cooler, it will take all day, maybe even two days. The best bait at this time is bloodworms, or goldworms as I like to call them. I’m so stingy, that I hate to turn loose of enough money to buy them when I can catch my own shrimp and finger mullets, or dig my own sand fleas, but spots love them. Most anglers with a substantial catch are using bloodworms. I haven't seen a big mullet in weeks. There have been some good spanish runs, but not many kings have been caught from the island's piers. The blues are still around, and the persistent angler can catch a few nice ones. Monday, there were a couple of nice speckled trout caught from Surf City Pier. The gray trout have been there for a while. It’s nice to see the specs finally move in. There are a lot of flounder in the water, but not many keepers. I talked to one angler, and he said he caught 9 with only two keepers. Surf fishing is still a pain because of the seaweed in the water. It's not unusally to pull in a 5 lb clump of the stuff on your bottom rig. I suspect that the seaweed settles in the holes just like shells do. All my favorite fishing holes are full of seaweed. You can search the beach and find a spot where there is no seaweed, or just put up with it. I haven't heard much about the backwater fishing near Surf City, but I have heard that some really nice trout are being caught around the high-rise bridge in Sneads Ferry.

My friend Yogi, owner of Yogi's Grill on Highway 17 in Holly Ridge is recovering from a broken leg. He hasn't been able to fish in a while. Stop by the Grill, have a nice lunch, and wish him well. Get well Yogi, see ya on the beach.

Till next time….
Tight Lines,
Johnny