| Regional
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Northern District Dare,
Hyde, Currituck, & Beaufort Counties Please Note: Anglers sometimes confuse small king mackerel with Spanish mackerel. King mackerel and spanish mackerel have different size and catch limits. Make SURE you properly identify the mackerel you are catching. (Tips here) A recreational Saltwater Fishing License goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. For more information on this license please view this fact sheet. |
| Charterboats: Offshore fishing is still
producing nice catches of dolphin, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, king mackerel, and
ever increasing amounts of billfish. Midrange catches include king mackerel,
Spanish mackerel, striped bass, tautog, cobia, and assorted sharks. Inshore
success has been primarily bluefish along with a mixed bag of other species.
Headboats: A mixed bag including bluefish, croakers, kingfish, pigfish, dogfish sharks, skates, weakfish, searobin, and black drum. Private Boats: Catches similar to charter boats with a few noteable exceptions. Spotted seatrout fishing in Oregon Inlet has seen the most improved fishing this week. Flounder fishing success has backed off somewhat, but nice specimens are still being caught in the shallows near the islands. Anglers are still catching nice sheepshead & black drum near the bridge structure. Piers: Catches similar to beaches, but with more bluefish & Spanish mackerel. Spadefish & sheepshead are being caught near the pier pilings. Shore: An assortment - most abundant are bluefish & Spanish mackerel. Flounder are still being caught in the backwash on sand fleas (mole crabs) with moderate success. General Overview: Favorable weather conditions have allowed anglers to target & catch a mixed bag of specimens in most cases. |
| Central District Pamlico,
Craven, Carteret, & Onslow Counties Contact: Suzanne Hill August 28, 2005 For the 2005 fishing year, all owners/operators of vessels recreationally fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, must obtain an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling permit. This permit has replaced the Atlantic tunas Angling category permit. In North Carolina, additional HMS harvest reporting requirements are also in place. Please Note: Anglers sometimes confuse small king mackerel with Spanish mackerel. King mackerel and spanish mackerel have different size and catch limits. Make SURE you properly identify the mackerel you are catching. (Tips here) A recreational Saltwater Fishing License goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. For more information on this license please view this fact sheet. |
| Headboats: Grouper, grunts, pigfish, black sea
bass, beeliners, and porgies are being caught offshore.
CharterBoats: Fishing has slowed as the weather has been rough and hot. Sailfish are around. Dolphin and kings with a wahoo here and there have been caught. Private Boats: Kings are at Buoy 13. Black drum are popping up at Sneads Ferry - one angler had 14. A sheepshead was hooked at the Swansboro Bridge, and weighed in at 6 pounds. Gray trout have come back to the turning basin at the state port along with some fair sized pigfish. Piers/Shore:Spots, with some meat on them, are finally appearing. Pier anglers are catching nice pompano and weakfish. We are still seeing good-sized bluefish. |
| Southern District Pender,
New Hanover, & Brunswick Counties Contact: Dennis Trowell August 28, 2005 For the 2005 fishing year, all owners/operators of vessels recreationally fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, must obtain an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling permit. This permit has replaced the Atlantic tunas Angling category permit. In North Carolina, additional HMS harvest reporting requirements are also in place. Please Note: Anglers sometimes confuse small king mackerel with Spanish mackerel. King mackerel and spanish mackerel have different size and catch limits. Make SURE you properly identify the mackerel you are catching. (Tips here) A recreational Saltwater Fishing License goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. For more information on this license please view this fact sheet. |
| Headboats: Not that many trips last week due
to weather, full/day boats did well on the vermilion snapper. Other fish
brought in on these trips were groupers, hogfish, amberjacks and other reef
fish.
CharterBoats: No report from stream trips last week, the week before brought some good wahoo catches. Full/day trips yielded good bottom fishing trips that included gag, red and scamp groupers. Half/day trips are doing well on the Spanish mackerel. Inshore charters are catching flounder, sheepshead, and a few drum. Private Boats: Very few reports offshore this week due to weather,
but there has been some decent catches of wahoo as of late. Bottom fishing
remains good. Areas SW of Frying Pan have been producing some big scamps and
hogfish. I did not hear of any king mackerel reports last week. Inshore,
flounder fishing is fair on some of the inshore reefs. It was a somewhat
slow last week in the river. Shore: No report. |
