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11/27/2006

Regional Saltwater Fishing Reports

Northern District  Dare, Hyde, Currituck, & Beaufort Counties
Contact: Brian Melott November 26, 2006
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/Private Boats: Anglers fished the same waters with similar results.  Offshore activity continues to yield limits of yellowfin tuna at least half of the time along with increased numbers of wahoo and dolphin mixed in.  There have been few billfish catches.  Midrange anglers have been delighted with nice catches of striped bass & red drum caught about 4-5 miles offshore, most of them being legal keeping size.  Anglers report large schools of menhaden in the area blitzing on the surface helping them target the best fishing areas.  Inshore success has been fair-good with most anglers targeting striped bass & spotted seatrout. Striped bass catches at Manns Harbor continue to be good, with plenty being caught, most being 18" and less under-size ones.  Striper catches in the ocean just outside of the Oregon Inlet bridge have been on the increase with most of them being 28" or greater.  Spotted seatrout catches throughout the sounds continue to improve with the bulk of them being concentrated at Oregon Inlets green Island Slough & Juniper Bay near Englehard.  Anglers are also catching a few flounder, croaker, bluefish, spot, and red drum. 

Headboats: No trips being booked at present time.  Most trips resume mid-late April.

Piers/Shore: Piers are now closed for the season, most of them will re-open around Easter.  Beach anglers are having a tough time catching anything due to rough surf & adverse weather conditions, but when weather permitted most prevalent were bluefish, red drum, and striped bass.  This mode of fishing has been very unpredictable with some days yielding nothing at all while others have produced plenty.

General Overview: Adverse weather conditions limited opportunities this week for most anglers.   Temperatures in the surf on the Outer Banks are in the upper 50's currently.  Fishing is generally slower in the winter, an overview of what one might expect will be   posted from Dec-April. 

Central District  Pamlico, Craven, Carteret, & Onslow Counties
 Contact: Suzanne Hill November 26, 2006
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.

Ocean: Charterboats are standing by, waiting for the blue fin tuna to show up and the weather to quiet down. Several charter boats hooked up with bluefin this weekend.  Headboats are also resting at the dock.


 

Sounds/Inlets/Bays: Private boats are out in force after spotted sea trout. There must have been 20 or more  in the Haystacks Saturday angling for trout. Fishing at the Cape is still hot. Anglers are after trout and red drum. One spotted seatrout was 5.25 pounds and all were over 2.5.   Sea mullet are in the Deadtree Hole. Weakfish are reported on AR 315 and Ar 320. Little tunny are off Shackleford and the beaches. Every angler reports up to 30 throwback bluefish. There are also many throwback red drum still being reported.

Piers/Shore: Spotted seatrout are the major  fish caught, the pier fisherman catching more than the angler in the surf. We are also seeing  lots of northern puffer and black drum.  Anglers report small bluefish everywhere.

Southern District  Pender, New Hanover, & Brunswick Counties
 Contact: Dennis Trowell November 26, 2006
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.

Ocean:  Not much to report last week due to weather. King mackerel fishing has been good down south around the tower and the red and white area. There were also some good wahoo catches taking place before the blow.

Sounds/Bays/Inlets: Inshore, speckled trout continued biting well around the Masonboro and Little River rock jetties.  There are good numbers of drum in area creeks. Striper fishing in the Cape Fear River around downtown Wilmington has been good over the last month or so as well.

Piers/Shore: No reports from the surf. Muddy water condition from the wind and rain of last week shut fishing down. The weather looks good this coming week. There are good numbers of drum and trout in the surf where condition are right. Most area piers are closed for the season or are going to close at the end of the month. Call ahead to find fishing dates for the piers you plan on fishing. They are still catching fish on area piers. Trout, drum, bluefish, and some sea mullets are being reported.

 

 

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