Ocean Isle September 3, 2009
Manuel Bryant with a 4 lb., 10 oz. flounder he hooked on a live bait while fishing from Ocean Crest Pier.
Brant, of Ocean Isle Fishing Center, reports that the spanish mackerel bite remains solid along the beaches. Anglers trolling Clarkspoons within a few miles of shore are hooking good numbers of the spaniards.
Gray trout are beginning to school up on the nearshore structure. They’ll fall for live or dead baits on Carolina rigs or for jigging lures like Stingsilvers.
Offshore, since the first tropical system a few weeks ago, divers have been reporting a layer of cold and dirty water in the bottom 10’ of the water column. The dirty water apparently not only affects the bottom fishing, which has been terrible lately, but also the trolling for pelagics on the surface. Dolphin, king mackerel, sailfish, and cobia have all been very difficult to find over the past week.
Anglers have found a few kings far to the south of the area and offshore around Frying Pan Tower, but locally the bite has been terrible.
The pelagic bite should improve as soon as the dirty bottom water clears out of the area.
One species the dirty water hasn’t seemed to affect has been amberjacks. They’re schooled up on most high-relief offshore structure, and anglers looking for a serious battle can easily hook up with them on live baits.
Karter Craven, from Charlotte, NC, with a red drum caught on a live mullet minnow near Davis Canal off Oak Island. She was fishing with her dad, Bradley Craven, and Capt. Mike Gauldin aboard the "Gauldinville."
Kyle, of Ocean Isle Fishing Center, reports that the red drum bite is still on in the area.
Anglers landed good numbers of reds in the backwater creeks over the week (with good numbers of fish in the mid-upper 20” range). Live finger mullet fished in deeper holes and around structure in the creeks are producing most of the action with the reds.
Some speckled trout and flounder are feeding in the creeks as well, and anglers can hook them on the same baits.
ICW docks have also been producing some red, trout, and flounder action for anglers fishing with live finger mullet and shrimp.
The flounder bite was hot several days last week around Little River Inlet, where anglers landed good numbers of flatfish on Carolina-rigged finger mullet. The flatties are also feeding in the usual areas inshore. The Sunset Beach Bridge, Shallote Inlet, and the rivers all gave up some fish over the week.
Larger red drum (many 30”+) are also feeding around the Little River jetties, and anglers caught good numbers last week on live finger mullet and other baits.
Flounder are still holding on many of the nearshore wrecks and reefs in the area, and some gray trout are in the mix at the ocean structure as well. Live, Carolina-rigged finger mullet are producing results on both fish.
Paul, of Ocean Isle Pier, reports that anglers are hooking some speckled trout in the mornings on live shrimp.
Some flounder are also falling for the live shrimp, and anglers are also landing good numbers of the flatfish on live finger mullet.
