| 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
Recreational Fishing License goes into effect Jan. 1, 2007 for
all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. |
| Charterboats: Fishing has been good offshore
for yellowfin tuna, with a few wahoo & dolphin. Billfish catches have been
rare. Midrange (nearshore) catches have slowed down with the exception of
red drum & striped bass being caught near the surf zone when conditions are
right. Inshore success has been the most prolific with limits of striped
bass being caught on most occasions, and some very nice specimens of spotted
seatrout. Headboats: Trips not being booked at this time. Most trips resume April-May. Private Boats: Success has been similar to charter boats in described waters with a few notable exceptions. Red drum & spotted seatrout have been caught with increasing frequency in Oregon Inlet with most being legal keeping size. Anglers targeting striped bass have generally been happy with many catching their limit. Piers: Fishing success has been very good at times with early-morning being a good time to try for spotted seatrout. Red drum catches have picked up along with striped bass as well. Anglers should target the near-shore zone as opposed to the mid-end area of the pier. Shore: Catches have been similar to piers, and to the delight of surfcasters most of the spotted seatrout, red drum, & striped bass have been caught in the easily-accessible backwash area well within casting range. Sand fleas (mole crabs) have been the bait of choice for the red drum & spotted seatrout that are being caught. General Overview: Cooling water temps-(60 degrees in the surf, Kill Devil Hills, the day of this report) have made species associated with the Autumn fishing season show up in moderate-high amounts. |
| Central District Pamlico,
Craven, Carteret, & Onslow Counties Contact: Suzanne Hill November 13, 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
Recreational Fishing License goes into effect Jan. 1, 2007 for
all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. |
| Headboats: Great catches of sea bass,
triggers, grunts, porgies, grouper and snapper.
CharterBoats: Boats out looking for Blue fin tuna. They have not found them yet. They are bringing in lots of king mackerel. Private Boats: Fishing is incredibly good. I don't remember seeing so many anglers out in years of doing this job. Boats are loaded with king mackerel, and seatrout. There are redfish in the Haystacks in Newport River, around the Cape and off Fort Macon. Swansboro reports seatrout and bluefish. Gray trout are covering Ar.320 and Ar315. The kings are all over the Atlas Tanker, Trawler Buoy and at North west places. Spots in Bardens Inlet. There have been reports of the fall spots here and there but we have not seen them. Fly-fishing for Little tunny is hot. Anglers are releasing 11 or more per person per trip. Piers/Shore: Small sea trout, blues, spot, sea mullet. |
| Southern District Pender,
New Hanover, & Brunswick Counties Contact: Dennis Trowell November 13, 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
Recreational Fishing License goes into effect Jan. 1, 2007 for
all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. |
| Headboats: Fishing is very good when boats
are able to get enough people to justify a trip. Full/day trips are catching
vermilion snapper, groupers, grunts, and porgies. Half/day trips are
catching black sea bass. CharterBoats: Not many charters this week. Stream trips yielded a few Wahoo's, blackfin tunas, and some sailfish. Bottom fishing boats did very well on the groupers, along with some king mackerel, and inshore/nearshore charters caught speckled and gray trout. Private Boats:Offshore, wahoo fishing is slow with most boats
catching a couple a trip along with some sailfish releases. Bottom fishing
remains good. Gags are from 15 miles on out and the scamp and red groupers
are biting well in the 40-mile range. There were some good catches of school
size king mackerels down around the jungle area earlier in the week. Closer
to shore, lots of gray trout off the monument at Fort Fisher. Fish are on
the small size, 12 to 14 inches, but lots of them. Speckled trout are still
biting. Rich and Mason Inlets have been to good places to try. Shore: Fishing was good with catches consisting of many sea mullets, but the were a good many drum reported as well. |
