Regional Saltwater Fishing Reports

Northern District  Dare, Hyde, Currituck, & Beaufort Counties
Contact: Brian Melott May 28
For the 2006 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. Tagged Red Drum: Download PDF with reward details.

Charterboats: Fishing offshore is improving with limits of yellowfin tuna and dolphin, and good catches of wahoo and king mackerel.  Mid-range catches have included blueline tilefish, black seabass, tautog, and snowy grouper.  Inshore catches have been slow with only a few spotted seatrout, croaker, bluefish, and a few flounder. 

Headboats: Catches have been fair with a mix bag being caught including croaker, skate, dogfish shark, spot, pigfish, speckled trout, and weakfish.

Private Boats: Fishing success simular to that of charter boats with the addition of  nice catches of spotted seatrout and increasing numbers of flounder being caught in the shallow waters of Oregon Inlet.  Tautog, sheepshead, black seabass, and triggerfish have been caught near the pilings of the Oregon Inlet Bridge. 

Piers: The most improved mode of fishing this week with regular catches of bluefish, Spanish mackerel, kingfish, croaker, and a host of others. Speckled trout and weakfish have been caught in the early morning hours.  Red drum have been caught on a regular basis from Avon southward to Ocracoke. 

Shore: Catches similar to those of piers with nice catches of  speckled trout  in the early  morning hours  at most locations.  Anglers have had success with isolated catches of Spanish mackerel and bluefish

General Overview: Water temperatures in the surf at Kill Devil Hills reached 65 degrees and fishing success improved greatly this week.
Central District  Pamlico, Craven, Carteret, & Onslow Counties
 Contact: Suzanne Hill May 28
For the 2006 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.

Tagged Red Drum: Download PDF with reward details.

Headboats: Boats were catching  vermilion snapper.  There were also gags, scamp and reds. We trolled in the Gulf Stream Wednesday and came in with some pretty dolphin.

CharterBoats: Lots of dolphin reported around the Big Rock. Snake kings caught around AR 315 and AR 320.  All boats are catching dolphin and wahoo.

Private Boats:  Spanish mackerel are thick around the Cape Lookout area and down the  banks of Atlantic Beach. A 78.5 pound cobia was caught in the hook at the Cape. It was weighed in at Anchorage Marina. Spanish mackerel and striped mullet were also caught in the Sneads Ferry area.  Flounder were reported in Middlemarsh behind Shackleford, 4 nice ones were caught on mud minnows. Bluefish were caught everywhere.

Piers/Shore:  Small bluefish, spots, pinfish and black sea bass reported.   
Southern District  Pender, New Hanover, & Brunswick Counties
 Contact: Dennis Trowell May 28
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.

Tagged Red Drum: Download PDF with reward details.

Headboats:  Offshore trips are doing well on an assortment of bottom fish such as vermilion snapper, grouper, grunts, porgies and triggerfish. Half/day trips are catching sea bass, grunts, and some keeper flounder.

 

CharterBoats: Gulf stream trips produced lots of gaffer dolphin along with  a few tunas and wahoo's.  Full/day trips are catching groupers, king mackerel, cobia, and dolphin. Half/day trips are catching Spanish mackerel, and inshore charters are catching flounder, bluefish, and drum.

Private Boats: Reports from the stream last week were lots of gaffer size dolphin, along with some wahoo, and a few nice tuna. Lots of school size king mackerel around the 23 mile rock, wr4, and the dredge wreck. There were some big kings reported just offshore of Shallotte Inlet, with fish over 40 pounds reported being caught. There are cobia around, any near/shore reef might be holding some. Inshore, things are a little slow. There are flounder, trout, and drum being caught, just no big numbers. The bays behind Bald Head Island are a good place to find some drum and trout, and Lockwood Folly Inlet would be a good place to try for flounder.

Piers: Oak Island piers had several big cobia catches last week, the largest was close to 70 pounds, along with a good many king mackerel  as well. They are also reporting speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, pompano, and some nice keeper size flounder. Topsail, Wrightsville, and Carolina Beach piers report, Spanish mackerel, pompano, and some keeper flounder, along with a couple of nice cobias.

Shore: Sea mullet, blues, some keeper flounder, and a few drum.