Carolina Beach August 12, 2004
Steve, of Seagull Bait and Tackle, reports that big flounder are back in Snow’s Cut. The store saw a number of citations come in over the past week. The fishing showed a marked improvement after the storm and the cold front. Snow’s Cut has also been the place for good red drum fishing. The best time has been right at dark in the evenings, and fish are running slot size and bigger. The best bait for both reds and flounder has been the 6″ finger mullet in the area. The numbers of baitfish have been improving, but they remain below the levels where they should be.
In the surf, the north end has been producing some Virginia mullet. There was a slow trickle of them all week, but then the weekend showed a strong bite, with some weighing in at over 2 lbs. Also in the surf are some pompano (also at the north end), blues, and a few flounder.
Some big spots have and croakers have been caught under the bridge. Also of note, a 20 lb. king was caught off of the North Pier.
Barry, at Cape Fear Marine and Tackle, reports that the flounder action has really picked up since the storm and cold front moved through. The biggest improvement came in the flounder catches coming out of the Cape Fear River. The river area to the north of Snow’s Cut and on the west side with the creek mouths was the best producer. There were also good catches of flounder and trout coming from John’s Creek. The other inshore action that has shown improvement is targeting red drum around the private docks and marsh grass of the ICW. Offshore, there has been a good grouper bite at about 18 to 20 miles off. This is a little closer than they’ve been recently.
Capt. Dave Marshall, of Musicman Charters, reports that the spanish are still a fairly consistent bite, and they probably represent the best fishing action for the charter boats right now. Once again this week, try 35 feet of water or offshore of the sea buoys at both inlets. The king bite hasn’t been that strong over the past week (as evident in the tournaments over the weekend). Most are still primarily throwbacks. The gulf has been scattered at best. There’s been a few wahoo and barracuda coming from the gulf, but overall it’s definitely been a slow and scattered bite.
Capt. Dave Tilley, of Wild Rover II Charters, reports that offshore the kings have been scattered this past week, with juveniles still being the rule vs. the exception. Dolphin have also been scattered for the most part, with a few nice bulls coming from the 30 mile mark. Inshore, the spanish mackerel have been hit or miss at best. The larger Clark spoons and a slower trolling speed seem to be the trick to get them to bite.
The grouper bite has been great all week. Keeper gag groupers are in as close as 10 miles, and they are plentiful from 18 miles on out. Reds are coming up in numbers from the area 25-ish miles on out, and scamps are any where from 30 miles on out. Whole squid, cut bait, cigar minnows, spanish sardines, and squid wings all are working.
