17-Oct-14 10/17/2014

Even though Hurricane Gonzalo is in the Atlantic and threating Bermuda this weekend.  Our weekend weather has sunny skies with mid-seventies forecasted. Winds out of the west on Friday 5 to 10, Saturday WSW 10 to 15 and Sunday turning North.  The ocean is going to have swells from the storm passing by but intervals are around 14 seconds.

 

Inshore:

SPOTS – are still here with numbers being caught.  We’ve received reports all week of good quantities in the Turning Basin, Beaufort Draw Bridge and Gallant’s Channel.  The key bait they’re biting is “Live Bloodworms” along with Fish Bite Bloodworms and Fish Bite Shrimp. If you like to fish for Spot then make sure you take advantage of the great bite that’s going on right now. 

SEA MULLET – there’s a good bite going on in the Turning Basin plus around the Inlet fishing “Fresh Shrimp” on Spec Rigs. Anglers are enjoying catching them plus there’s also Croakers in the mix.

GRAY TROUT – the Railroad Tracks is the place to hook-up nice trout jigging a Sting silver or fishing a Spec-Rig tipped with bait shrimp.  Also, there’s a good area near the Atlantic Beach Bridge to fish at night producing Grays using Live Shrimp, Grubs or Sting silvers.  We have just got in the “NEW SILVERSIDE” Sting silver that I know will land you Gray Trout.  Come by the shop to pick one of these.

SPANISH – “Believe It” this has been one more great season for catching Spanish.  We weighed 6 to 7lb plus fish last weekend and the first of the week.  This weekend could be near the end but reports today, they are still here in the Inlet and on the beach.  Trolling Clarkspoons on planers and trolling weights are producing good sized fish near the beach and out around the artificial reefs.  You can still catch them in the 2 to 3 lb range feeding on glass minnows and there’s plenty of Bluefish in with them too.  You need to cast small lures like P-line Glass Minnows or Jig Fish in shiny colors plus you can cast Spec-Rigs into schooling minnows, just look for the birds working the water.

ALBACORE – right now is the time to cast small lures to the Albacore feeding on glass minnows. There’s huge schools up and down the beach and they are fun the catch.  Locate the birds and you’ll more than likely find Albacore feeding. 

KINGS – the bite continues.  We weighed fish last weekend and the first of the week.  They’ve been caught all over the beach: AR 315, Dead Tree Hole, Beaufort Inlet and the Shipping Channel locally to Atlantic Beach.  But truthfully, the bite has been exceptional one of the best in quite a few years.  Anglers are hooking up the kings using Live Bait and Dead Cigar Minnows on Blue Water Candy Dead Bait Rigs. 

FLOUNDER – are on the move to the ocean but the Port Wall and around the Bridges are holding the “Flatties” right now.  Fish live “Mud Minnows” or “Finger Mullet” to land fish in the 3 to 5lb range.  When fishing the reefs, the key is still the Spro Bucktail in white or glow tipped with 4” White Gulp Shrimp. 

SPECKLED TROUT – we’re beginning to see some good healthy fish come to the scales.  There’s many lures you can use to entice a bite: Gulp Shrimp, Vudu Shrimp, Vudu Mullet, Mirrolure, DOA Shrimp, Billy Bay Shrimp to name a few.  But the key bait will be “Live Shrimp” fished on a Popping Cork or a Float Rig.  Anglers are fishing around Core Creek, the Neuse River, the Haystacks but any creek can hold Specks. It will only get better as the weeks go on when the nights and days cool down turning the bite on fire.

REDFISH –  the bite is getting better every day.  Fish the same areas as the Speckled Trout. Anglers are hooking them up on Top Water Baits early in the morning.  Fish with Gulp Baits under a Popping Cork, Johnson Spoon or use Live Bait – Mud Minnows or Live Shrimp are good choices.

PIERS AND SURF

The Blues and Spanish action off the end of the pier is still going strong plus anglers are catching some Albacore.  Plugging Gotcha-plugs and casting metal lures to the schooling fish will bring them over the rails to your coolers. Reports this week that Spot, Sea Mullet, Croakers, Black Drum and Pompano have been caught using Bloodworms and Bait Shrimp.  There’s even been a few Flounder and Redfish caught on the pier this week.

The Surf is producing a few Red Drum, good size Blues and Flounder right in the breaking waves. The best baits are fresh mullet, fresh finger mullet, fresh bait shrimp, bloodworms and live mud minnows. The fresher your bait is the more likely you’ll land fish.  There’s Pompano, Sea Mullet and Spot being caught in the surf too.  Anglers fishing Fort Macon this week have been catching a lot of Flounder plus  all along the Surf Zone. The key bait is live mud minnows or Gulp in Swimming Mullet White and don’t  over throw, they’re real close in.

 

OFFSHORE

The Wahoo bite continues and should over the next several weeks.  Last weekend, anglers brought several to the scales with the largest topping it at 72 lbs.  We weighed three in the fifties and one upper forties. Still, the areas to fish is the 1700 Rock out to the Big Rock and down toward the Swansboro Hole. We have plenty of Medium Ballyhoo in stock for the HOO’s. You may catch some Black Fin Tuna in the mix or a stray Dolphin.

Unfortunately, the storm’s swell will probably keep the offshore boats close in Friday and Saturday but Sunday you may be able to venture out.