Swansboro/Emerald Isle – March 2021
Rich, of The Reel Outdoors, reports that inshore anglers have been targeting speckled trout, though weather has the bite slowed. It is going to take a stretch of sunny weather to pick up the water temperatures to a place where fish look to feed well again.
Red drum are schooled up in tight groups and moving around bays throughout the marshes. Going into March, they will continue this pattern, with cut baits and soft plastics producing bites.
Surf fishing is just about ready to pick up. Anglers should expect to see sea mullet and bluefish popping up over the next few weeks.
Todd Locker with a 23″ flounder that was caught (and released) on a Gulp shrimp while fishing behind Bear Island with Capt. Rob Koraly of Sandbar Safari Charters.
Benjamin, of Dudley’s Marina, reports that speckled trout fishing is steady in the New River and should be picking up with warming temperatures. The action will improve, and soft plastics and live baits will be the top producers. Shortly after is the much sought after topwater bite.
Nearshore anglers are just holding out for good weather days to make the run. Bottom fish would be the top targets, with plenty of large black sea bass staged over structure.
Flounder will start being caught around the offshore reefs by the end of the month, even though keeper season is closed.
False albacore and great-eating bonito should be arriving anytime around the middle to end of March. Sight casting glass minnow jigs is the preferred tactic for both species.
Johnathan, of On Point Charters, reports that red drum fishing really picks up as we move into March. These schools will be found from shoals around the inlet to flats in the marshes. Soft plastics tend to be the go-to lure for these early season fish, as it takes a lot of moving around to find and stay on top of the school. Cut baits will be productive as well.
Speckled trout action should be picking up, though the large amounts of rain have messed up the bite. The trout will start moving out of the creeks and into deeper holes along the waterways and sounds when water temperatures get in the 50s.
Sea mullet start to arrive throughout the inshore waters for anglers fishing smaller bottom rigs. These shrimp-rigged setups will also produce a few black drum.
Hopefully by the end of the month, the bluefish will start showing up around the inlets, and then not far behind the bluefish is the sought after sight-casting action of bonito around early April.
John, of Early Riser Fishing Charters, reports that though it may seem colder than prior years, the inshore species are still responding in typical fashion—held up in mainland creeks and on marsh flats.
Red drum are more often on the marsh flats, as they move in large schools while feeding. Slow moving to basically dead-sticked Gulp soft plastics have been best when targeting these fish, as too much action may spook or be too much effort for the reds to strike.
Speckled trout are holding in the creeks as they seek out muddy bottoms to keep them warm. The same slow moving soft plastic baits are productive in these areas, and there won’t be much of a change over the next month. Another good tactic that usually only gets action from the larger trout is topwater fishing. Yes, even in the winter, you can very slowly work these plugs on the surface and possibly get a few strikes on the right day.
Jody and Tammi Smith with two upper-slot reds caught using cut mullet while fishing the surf in Emerald Isle with Capt. Dale Collins of Fish Or Die Charters.
Josh, of Liquid Fire Sportfishing, reports that offshore bottom fishing is producing good numbers of beeliners and triggerfish.
Large black sea bass are holding in good numbers around the 180’ mark, with smaller fish closer (around 120’ of water).
Offshore anglers haven’t found much for blackfin tuna, but there are scattered wahoo around to provide action.
Nearshore action has been slow, but around mid-March the false albacore begin to arrive off the beaches. Bonito shouldn’t be too far behind, predicted to arrive around the end of the month.
Offshore action starts to pick up with more fishable weather days. Yellowfin tuna made a good showing last year, and anglers hope to see more again this season. The yellowfins will be a part of mixed bags of blackfin tuna and wahoo.
Bogue Inlet Pier is closed for the winter and will reopen in spring.
