Central District Pamlico, Craven, Carteret, & Onslow Counties
Contact: Andrea Olsen November 2, 2009
For the 2009 fishing year, all owners/operators of vessels recreationally fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, must obtain an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling permit. This permit has replaced the Atlantic tunas Angling category permit. In North Carolina, additional HMS harvest reporting requirements are also in place.

Report a tagged fish


Please Note: Anglers sometimes confuse small king mackerel with Spanish mackerel. King mackerel and spanish mackerel have different size and catch limits. Make SURE you properly identify the mackerel you are catching. (Tips here)

A recreational Recreational Fishing License went into effect Jan. 1, 2007 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters.



Spotted Seatrout - new size limits went into effect October 5, 2009 - See Rec. Guide
Snapper/Grouper - new rules effective September 18, 2009 - See Rec. Guide

Ocean: Again there were a few kings caught out at NW place this past week along with wahoo. Bottom fishermen brought back the usual mixed bag of triggers, sea bass, beeliners (vermilion snapper), grunts and a few grouper. The vermilion snapper closed season began on Sunday Nov. 1, and it will not reopen until April 1st 2010 (See link above for more information) The Spanish are still running thick off of the beaches out near Cape Lookout along with blues and a few false albacore.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: We saw a lot of grey trout come out of the White Oak River area and a few more in the Beaufort Inlet. The greys were keeper-size but nothing to write home about. Most of the speckled trout though have had some weight to them. Several that came out of the White Oak River area weighed right around 4 pounds and many others weighed in over 3. For those flounder fishing it has been much like other weeks with about one out of every 5 flounder caught being of legal size. Anglers casting a line in the Bay River area and in the waters around Bath had good luck with speckled trout again this week. The Virginia mullet (whiting) seemed to disappear over the past week or so. If they were caught their size was nothing to speak of. Spot fishing continued to do well this week and cooler full after cooler full were taken home by anglers fishing in the ICW. Hot spots for spot (no pun intended) continued to be near the Emerald Isle high rise bridge, the Gallant Channel draw bridge in Beaufort, and near the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort. This year, in comparison to past years, the spot seem to overall be larger although they are not typically the large "fall spot" that we may see occasionally.

Piers/Shore: The surf and pier fishing continues to be hit or miss just as it has been over the past weeks but for those who have hit it have been doing very well with a mixed bag of pompano, spadefish, LOTS of puffers, blues, spot, and a few whiting here and there. Fishing for blues has been better this week than in the past weeks from the shore/piers. Although they are not huge, the numbers have been good.