Morehead City April 29, 2010
Melvin Blalock and other members of the Indy Sportfishing Club, from Indianapolis, IN, with bigeye toro and snowy grouper, part of a limit catch of snowies, gray tilefish, red porgies, and eight bigeye they hooked while bottom fishing in 450' of water out of Atlantic Beach with Capt. Bobby Freeman of Sunrise Charters. The fish fell for squid and salted mullet.
Matt, of Chasin’ Tails Outdoors, reports that there’s a great whiting bite going on, with anglers finding plenty of fish in Beaufort Inlet, the turning basin, and out at the Dead Tree Hole. Spec rigs tipped with shrimp are producing most of the action. A few gray trout are mixed in, but they don’t seem to have shown up in big numbers yet.
Red drum are schooling in the area marshes like the Middle Marsh, Haystacks, and at the mouth of Core Creek. Soft plastics from Gulp, Trigger-X, Z-Man, Redfish Magic, and Deep Creek are fooling most of the reds. When they turn down the plastics, live mud minnows and cut mullet will draw bites.
The speckled trout bite has been decent in Bogue Sound, with better action in the creeks off the Neuse River. Gulp baits and MirrOlure MR17’s are producing most of the fish.
False albacore are still around and feeding from the beaches to around 3 miles offshore.
Boats have found some action with Atlantic bonito around AR-315 and 320 and near Bogue Inlet. Casting Stingsilvers to breaking schools of bonito and albacore will draw plenty of bites, and anglers can troll Yo-Zuri Deep Divers to fool them when they aren’t feeding on the surface.
The nearshore flounder bite is also getting good, with anglers finding action around AR-315 and 320 and the nearshore reefs off Bogue Inlet. Live mud minnows and Spro bucktails tipped with 4” Gulp baits or Deep Creek Flounder Strips are fooling the flatties.
Surf and pier anglers are hooking some whiting, pufferfish, bluefish (with blues to 8 lbs. caught last week), sharks, and a few smaller flounder. When the bluefish and albacore schools come close enough to the piers, anglers are hooking up with the fish by casting metal lures.
Offshore, there’s been a decent wahoo bite along the break, with some blackfin tuna in the mix as well. Most of the wahoo are falling for Blue Water Candy Jags in dark colors paired with ballyhoo.
Yellowfin tuna are feeding around warm water temperature breaks further offshore.
Bottom fishermen are finding excellent black sea bass action along with good numbers of triggerfish. Structure like wrecks and live and hard bottoms 5+ miles offshore are producing the best bite and fewer trash fish. Squid and cut cigar minnows are the best natural baits for the bottom feeders, and anglers are also finding success on Blue Water Candy Roscoe and Shimano Lucanus jigs.
Jennifer Tycast with her first wahoo. She hooked it on a skirted ballyhoo while trolling near the Rise on the "Dirty D."
Marty, of Freeman’s Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers are finding action with gray trout and some whiting in the Turning basin, mostly on spec rigs tipped with natural baits and metal jigs like Shore Lures.
Sheepshead are beginning to feed along pilings, rocks, and around other inshore structure. Anglers can tempt the sheeps to bite fiddler crabs or other crustacean baits.
Anglers casting live baits and soft plastics in the marshes are hooking up with some red drum and an occasional flounder (with some 18-20” fish reported last week).
Pier and surf anglers are finding plenty of action with bluefish of varying sizes (some 8+ lb. choppers were caught last week). Cut mullet seems to be fooling the larger fish when they move through.
Atlantic bonito are feeding around the AR’s and other nearshore structure. Anglers can cast and jig Shore Lures or troll Yo-Zuri Deep Divers to hook up with the bonito, and the jigs have been producing better results lately.
The offshore bite has been slow, but some boats found action with yellowfin tuna after running far to the north last week.
A few wahoo and blackfin tuna are feeding on the break locally.
Charlie, of Old Core Sound Guide Service, reports that Atlantic bonito are feeding heavily on Lookout Shoals and at nearby wrecks and rocks. Casting soft plastic jerkbaits on leadhead jigs has been producing big catches.
Some citation-class red drum are also feeding along the shoals, and anglers have been finding some sight-casting opportunities with the big reds. Bucktails with curlytail trailers are the most effective lures.
Shelton Price, from Pine Knoll Shores, with a 3 lb. speckled trout he hooked in Hoop Pole Creek on a pearl white Gulp 4" shrimp. Weighed in at Chasin Tails Outdoors.
Shane, of Second to None Charters, reports that there’s been a hot and cold yellowfin tuna bite offshore of the Big Rock and north towards Hatteras. The action’s been out deep (around 800 fathoms), but the fish are seemingly here one day and gone the next. Several blue marlin have been released lately by boats fishing in the deep water.
There are still decent numbers of wahoo feeding along the break, and a handful of dolphin are in the mix as well.
Ballyhoo behind Blue Water Candy Jags and Witches are fooling most of the fish, with the tuna showing a preference for lighter colors like pink/white and blue/white, and the wahoo eating darker shades such as red/black and purple/black.
Pete, of Energizer Sportfishing, reports that nearshore fishing around the reefs and ledges has been producing action with sea bass, bluefish, and Atlantic bonito.
The offshore bite’s been a little slow, but boats are boxing up some blackfin tuna and wahoo. Some blue marlin were released last week, and anglers also caught a few mako sharks.
Dolly, of Oceanana Pier, reports that plug casters are hooking up with some bluefish on red/white Gotchas.
Bottom fishermen are finding a decent whiting and puffer bite while baiting bottom rigs with shrimp.
Doug, of Sheraton Pier, reports that anglers are starting to pick up good numbers of bluefish while plugging (some to 3 lbs.). The larger Hatteras bluefish should be arriving shortly.
Whiting and pufferfish are falling for shrimp-baited bottom rigs, along with a few black drum, spot, and pigfish.
