Sorry for the lax reports as of late. The fishing, from the pier, to offshore and back inshore, has shifted into the warm water, summer pattern. Mornings and afternoons have been much more productive than has mid-day fishing. Although the quantity of fish has decreased with this change, the overall size and quality of fish has increased.
Jolly Roger Pier- The Spanish mackerel and bluefish are still here in good numbers, but the bite has been restricted to early in the morning (first hour of daylight) and late afternoon (last two hours of light). This morning they had an excellent Spanish and blue run right after sunrise. Gotcha plugs are still the lure of choice, but as the water warms and they start feeding on smaller shad/minnows, I expect the diamond jigs to start producing as well. Flounder, drum (black and puppy), sheepshead, pompano, and spots have all been scattered throughout the day and night. I just weighed a 4 ½ lb. and a 9 lb. sheepshead that were caught this afternoon on the pier.
Surf- I received mixed reports from surf fishermen this past week, with a smattering of bottom fish and drum reported. Sand flees are by and far the bait of choice. FRESH shrimp or cut/live bait follows as a close second. The drum moved in-in outstanding numbers immediately after the NE wind we had near the end of May. They have since spread out along the beach in the sloughs and deeper holes.
Inshore- A few larger trout and flounder can now be found back in the sounds and the intercostal. Reports of a few very nice sized flounder have been coming in throughout the week. Some of the best action has been around the inlets with live baits and or gulp. The mullet and shrimp are beginning to become more active in the creek and marsh areas, making it easier to acquire live bait. Drum are scattered throughout the marshes around oyster rocks and docks (structure).
Offshore- We finally had a few calm days this week, and quite a few people got out and took advantage of the beautiful conditions. Near shore the Spanish and blues bit well near the inlets early in the morning. Just off the beach (0-12nm) the kings and cobia are scattered around hard-bottom and artificial structure. Find the bait, and you will find the fish. Mahi and sailfish are just beginning to move into the same areas from 7-20 miles offshore. Gulf Stream fishing was mixed this week, with decent gaffer mahi fishing and scattered wahoo and billfish. We made it offshore Tuesday and were greeted by a flat calm ocean. I was anxious to find some mahi a little closer to shore, so that is what we started out targeting. The bite was slow, and from sunrise to 8:30 AM, we only found one king. I made the call to switch over and do a little bottom fishing, and man was it the right call! We picked up and ran to a patch of ledges/live bottom, where we found a red hot grouper bite. We quickly reached our five-man limit, and began to catch and release 25-30” grouper! One of the crew spotted a large leatherback turtle surface, and I quickly ran over to see if there might be a cobia cruising with it. There wasn’t a cobia, but rather a school of cobia; 9 to be exact. They were not in the feeding mood, but we finally got two to bite. For one reason or the other, we ended up pulling the hook on both fish. Just wasn’t our day, but I sure hated to see all that pretty white meat swim away! All in all it was a great day on the water, and we were back at the dock by 1:30.
Even with the water warming, there is still some great fishing to be had. The key is to get out early before it gets to hot. I think just a couple days of good light E or SE wind would really pack the bait in on the beach and get things going.
Good Luck,
Capt. Rob Orr
Jolly Roger Pier
Topsail Beach, NC
(910)-328-4616
www.jollyrogertopsailbeach.com
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Topsail Area Charter Boats2009 NC Recreational Coastal Waters Guide
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