Southport May 28, 2009
Drew Edger, of Maryland, with a dolphin and a king mackerel he caught while fishing offshore of Southport aboard the charter boat "Yeah Right II" with Capts. Butch and Chris Foster.
Butch, of Yeah Right Charters, reports that spanish mackerel are feeding nearshore, and anglers are hooking up with them while trolling Clarkspoons behind #1 and #2 planers. Around 7 knots seems to be the best speed.
Sharks are feeding along the beach and on the shoals, too, and anglers can hook up with them while drifting with large cut baits.
Flounder are beginning to show up on the nearshore reefs, and a Carolina-rigged peanut pogy is hard for them to resist.
Spadefish are beginning to school up on the nearshore structure as well. Chumming with cannonball jellies and then baiting up with a piece of the jelly will get their attention.
Cobia are prowling the nearshore and offshore waters right now, and anglers may see them while king mackerel fishing. Pitching a squid-tipped bucktail to the fish when they show up should provoke a strike.
Kings are showing up offshore, nearshore, and in between, and anglers can hook up with them while slow-trolling live pogies.
Offshore, grouper and other bottomfish like sea bass, snappers, triggerfish, and others are feeding around structure like ledges, live bottoms, and wrecks. Anglers can anchor up on the structure, and then drop rigs baited with cigar minnows, squid, or cut baits to hook up with the bottom feeders.
Light-lining a cigar minnow while bottom fishing will attract attention from dolphin and king mackerel cruising the surface in the same areas.
Gulf Stream trollers are finding action with dolphin, wahoo, blackfin tuna, and a few yellowfins. A few mako sharks have even been landed this spring. Trolling ballyhoo under blue/white Blue Water Candy lures will produce action with all the Stream predators.
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Bobbie Wells and Terry Miller, from Southport, with a bluefish caught in 2' of water near Bald Head Island using a live pogy. They were fishing with Capt. Greer Hughes of Cool Runnings Charters out of Oak Island.
Tommy, of Southport Angler Outfitters, reports some decent grouper fishing lately not far from Frying Pan Tower. Anglers landed both red and gag grouper (most in the 10 lb. class) while dropping bottom rigs baited with cigar minnows and sardines to structure in around 100′ of water.
Some dolphin and kings are in the same vicinity as the grouper, and light-lining cigar minnows while bottom fishing produced action with both fish.
Anglers hooked some fat flounder last week (with several over 8 lbs. weighed in) in the Cape Fear River and around Southport. Live baits like finger mullet and peanut pogies are top choices for the flatfish.
There are plenty of drum in the backwaters behind Bald Head, but the fish have been very skittish lately and extremely hard to hook.
The water’s a little dirty, but spanish mackerel trolling near the beaches has produced some fish over the past week, and there are plenty of big sharks around the same area for anglers looking for a big battle nearshore.
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Igor Smirnov, from NY, with a 32 lb. blackfin tuna he hooked on a topwater popper at the Steeples while fishing with Capt. Mike Jackson of Live Line Charters out of Wrightsville Beach.
John, of Dutchman’s Creek Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers caught some cobia and king mackerel from the island’s piers on live baits last week.
Pier anglers also enjoyed action with flounder and speckled trout on live shrimp, mud minnows, and peanut pogies.
Anglers fishing structure around Snow’s Cut and the west river bank hooked up with some sheepshead and black drum on fiddler crabs and sand fleas.
A few red drum and speckled trout are also feeding in the area creeks and falling for live baits and a variety of lures.
Anglers are still catching plenty of spanish mackerel along the beachfront while trolling Clarkspoons.
Boats have landed a few kings as well, with most falling for live pogies, which have been plentiful around the lighthouse and west towards Holden Beach Pier.
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Keith, of Stand’N Down Charters, reports that the gaffer dolphin bite in the Gulf Stream has been on fire lately. Trolling ballyhoo on South Chatham Tackle Pirate Plugs is producing most of the action, and the bite was especially good around the 100/400 last week.
Also in the mix are some big king mackerel and a few wahoo. Pirate Plugs and Black Bart high-speed lures have attracted attention from the kings and ‘hoos.
Dropping jigs to the bottom around the blue water structure is an excellent idea as well, as a 22 lb. African pompano that fell for a Blue Water Candy Roscoe jig last week proved.
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Dave, of Ocean Crest Pier, reports that anglers have experienced some excellent speckled trout fishing over the past week. Anglers have been hooking the specks (most 1-3 lbs.) on Gotcha plugs, D.O.A. and Billy Bay shrimp, live peanut pogies, and live shrimp. Those anglers who can get live shrimp have been limiting out on the trout.
Bottom fishermen are finding action with pompano (some over 2 lbs.) while fishing shrimp on bottom rigs.
Flounder (most around 2 lbs.) are taking an interest in live peanut pogies and mud minnows fished on the bottom.
Sheepshead are feeding near the pier’s pilings, and anglers are hooking them on cut shrimp and sand fleas dangled near the structure.
Plug casters caught a few spanish mackerel last week on Gotcha plugs, but dirty water slowed down the spanish fishing.
Live baiters had plenty of action last week, landing good numbers of chopper bluefish, a pair of king mackerel (the larger one 22 lbs.), and a 44 lb. cobia.
