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N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

Regional Saltwater Fishing Reports
 

Northern District  Dare, Hyde, Currituck, & Beaufort Counties
Contact: Brian Melott October 14, 2007
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 went into effect Jan. 1, 2007 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. Tagged Red Drum: Download PDF with reward details.

Ocean: Offshore catches have been primarily small dolphin, along with a few yellowfin tuna and wahoo.  Billfish catches were few. Midrange anglers were primarily anglers that were unsatisfied with their offshore success and decided to fish these waters as they were returning from the gulfstream.  Catches consisted of high numbers of blueline tilefish along with a moderate amount of very large king mackerel.  Triggerfish, black seabass, tautog, and hake were also caught.  Nearshore anglers managed to catch plenty of bluefish with little effort. Spanish mackerel catches were the most improved this week, with some very nice specimens being recorded.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Fishing success rates were down this week.  Assorted species were caught, all in small amounts, including flounder, croaker, kingfish, spot, silver perch, puffers, pigfish, pinfish, and a host of others.

Piers/Shore: The high-volume catches of spot have dropped off considerably, with most anglers sharing the plentiful bluefish with the nearshore boaters. Moderate amounts of kingfish and croaker were mixed in. 

General Overview: Fishing success rates were down this week with the exception of the midrange ocean anglers.  Water temps in the ocean, (Kill Devil Hills) remain in the lower 70s.
Central District  Pamlico, Craven, Carteret, & Onslow Counties
 Contact: Suzanne Hill October 14, 2007
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 went into effect Jan. 1, 2007 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters.

Tagged Red Drum: Download PDF with reward details.

Ocean:  Fishing is picking up. The entire charter fleet was out this weekend. Every boat caught and released at least one sailfish, some boats caught more than one. Everyone got their limit on wahoo. There were a few blackfin tuna landed.   Spanish mackerel are jumping out of the water around the mouth of Beaufort and Bogue inlets. These fish are running 2 to 3 pounds.  They are also around Cape Lookout.  Mixed inside these schools of Spanish there are some nice sized blues and snake kings. King mackerel are on AR 315, Buoy 13, Jerry's Reef, Dead Tree Hole, and Northwest Places. Some nice sized sea bass (at least 13 inches) and triggerfish can also be caught on AR 315.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Flounder are reported in the  Crab Point area of Newport River and off the jetty at Cape Lookout.  Spot fishermen are out in force looking for the schools of fish around Duke Marine Lab and the Beaufort drawbridge. The fish are not here yet.  Anglers catch one or two but no impressive catches have been reported. Spotted seatrout are found in the creeks around Swansboro and in the Newport River. They are good sized - up to 2 1/2 pounds. Weakfish can be caught around the south side of the Morehead-Beaufort high-rise bridge.

Piers/Shore: A croaker weighing more than one pound was hooked at the Beaufort draw bridge. Piers continue to have a mixed catch of blues and Spanish at the end of the pier and small pigfish, croakers and spot along the pier. Saturday anglers lined the shore of Fort Macon State Park. They were catching bluefish.  Lizardfish are getting enormous.

Southern District  Pender, New Hanover, & Brunswick Counties
 Contact: Dennis Trowell October 14, 2007
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 went into effect Jan. 1, 2007 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters.

Tagged Red Drum: Download PDF with reward details.

Ocean: Offshore, the wahoo bite is good to very good right now. I haven't heard of any real big fish being caught, but the fish are in the 35 to 45-pound range. Closer to shore, the kings are biting along the area beaches from Topsail Island to Southport. The Surf City ledge, fairway ledge, and the river channel all produced fish last weekend. The flounder fishing on the nearshore reefs has gotten good again. There are some nice gray trout and some over-the-slot reds being caught as well.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays:  Not a lot of change from the last couple of weeks. The flounder fishing in the river is slow. There are some big fish being caught, there was a 14-pounder weighed in last week, but they are few and far between. The trout fishing has slowed. The water temperature is still in the upper 70s. The cooler weather we are getting now should help the trout fishing. The creeks and bays behind Bald Head Island and the Cape Fear River would be good spots to look for trout and slot size drum.

Piers/Shore: Everyone is looking for spots with mixed results. The better fishing has been taking place after dark. It's also a matter of being there when they come through. Some days they catch plenty of spots and other days not a one can be found.  Along with the spots there are pompanos, blues, sea mullets, black drum, and some keeper flounder. All area piers had a good week on the king mackerel last week, with the Oak Island Piers having some double-digit days.

 

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