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Northern
District
For the week ending October 17
Ocean: Offshore anglers continued to have good results in most outings
with a variety of tunas caught, including yellowfin, blackfin, skipjack
and some bluefin and bigeye. Dolphin, wahoo, amberjack, and Atlantic
bonito were all caught in moderate amounts. Bottom fishing out of
Hatteras and Ocracoke yielded high numbers of gray triggerfish and black
seabass with a few vermillion snapper, blueline tilefish and both
yellowedge and snowy grouper. Billfish catches were few and far between.
Midrange fishing was slow with very little to report except a few
sheepshead and tautog off of the artificial reefs. Near-shore anglers
experienced a notable increase in success rates for striped bass with
some nice, 28-inch and larger fish caught in the 1- to 2-mile range from
Oregon Inlet northward to the Virginia line. Bluefish in the 8- to
10-pound range showed up and were caught in this same region with
increased frequency.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Anglers saw much improved flounder keeper ratios.
Oregon Inlet yielded the most consistent catches, while shallow waters
around the islands produced most of the fish. Spotted seatrout catches
dropped off, but nice catches continued in the early morning hours and
in the early evening hours. Roanoke Sound continued to produce the bulk
of them. Large spot, kingfish and croaker were caught throughout Pamlico
Sound.
Piers/Shore: Anglers in these waters caught some nice striped bass, a
moderate amount of which were 28 inches and larger. Anglers should note
that these fish must be tagged and have a catch card filled out for
them. Red drum catches made a modest improvement from Avon southward.
Surf fishermen started to catch a few of the larger 8- to10-pound class
bluefish off of the northern beaches. Assorted other species were caught
in low-to-moderate amounts, including spot, croaker, kingfish, flounder,
pinfish, pigfish, silver perch, black drum, skates, rays and sharks. |
Central District:
For the week ending October 17
Ocean: Anglers fishing in the Gulf Stream continued to catch sailfish,
dolphin and large wahoo with a number of citation sized catches.
Blackfin tuna were also caught in record numbers, with one boat
reporting 16 hookups on a single trip. King mackerel were caught closer
to shore, with a few reported from Cape Lookout. The offshore bottom
fishing produced gray triggerfish by the hundreds, with a number of
amberjack, vermillion snapper, pink and whitebone porgies, sand tilefish
and some large gag grouper.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: The sounds were still trying to work out all of the
rainwater from a few weeks ago, and most bottom anglers reported slow
fishing. The fish that were caught included some flounder, pigfish, gray
trout, black and red drum, occasional spot and a few sea mullet. The red
drum were caught in the inlets on fish finder rigs with an added cork
before the hook and live bait; others had better luck sight casting gulp
baits sweetened with shrimp. The haystacks, near Morehead City, and
places in the New River started to produce some nice speckled trout,
caught on either live bait or soft plastics. The trout fishing should
get better as the temperatures continue to drop.
Piers/Shore: The water temperature fluctuated in the low 70s, but the
shore fishing picked up. Anglers fishing on Bogue Banks piers reported
large Spanish mackerel, false albacore, bluefish and a few king
mackerel. The bottom fishermen saw a number of pompano, kingfish,
croaker, pigfish, and spot. A number of anglers reported schools of spot
moving up and down the beach, and a few were able to fill their coolers.
The bluefish were all over the surf and hit just about anything thrown
at them.
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| Southern District:
For the week ending October 17
Ocean: Boats offshore targeting wahoo did well with most fish in the 30-
to 50-pound range. Scattered catches of dolphin and blackfin tuna were
reported, along with some sailfish. Boats targeting bottom fish caught
limits of grouper and vermilion snapper fishing in water depths from 100
to120 feet. Boats fishing closer to shore found plenty of action with
king mackerel. Most fish were caught close to shore along area beaches
and inlets. Fish in the 20-pound class range were common, but fish up in
the 40-pound range were landed also. Near-shore reefs produced a good
number of gray trout, along with a few flounders and some very large red
drum.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Inshore fishing was good for the most part. Speckled
trout, red drum and flounder were biting in area creeks, bays and
rivers. Some of the most productive spots were Carolina Beach Inlet, the
Cape Fear River near Baldhead Island and the Little River rock jetty.
Live shrimp fished under a float was the most productive method for the
trout and drum, and live mullet or menhaden fished on a Carolina rig
enticed the flounders. Spot fishermen fishing around Southport and the
Holden beach area did not have much luck with the spots. Bluefish, sea
mullet, gray trout, croaker and some pigfish were what most spot
fisherman caught.
Piers/Shore: Anglers were lining up along area piers looking for spots,
but fishing was off for them. Fishermen caught good numbers of pompano
with some fish up to 4 pounds. Sea mullets were also biting well with
some fish up to 2 ½ pounds caught. Flounder fishing was productive, with
fish up to 5 pounds caught on area piers. The big news of the week was
the great fall king mackerel fishing on piers in Pender, New Hanover and
Brunswick counties. Lots of fishermen caught their limits, while some
piers boasted upwards of 20 fish a day. Fish up to 40 pounds were landed
with lots of 20-pound class fish caught. Surf fishermen caught some very
nice pompano and sea mullets out of the surf on fresh shrimp and mole
crabs. The beaches of Surf City seemed to be the most productive areas
to surf fish. |