Northern District: Dare, Hyde, Currituck and Beaufort Counties

Contact: Brian Melott

For the 2011 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. To obtain a permit go to: http://www.hmspermits.gov.

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.

Click here for the latest seasons, size and bag limits.

For the week ending Oct. 16

Ocean: Offshore activity was heavy because of very good catches of dolphin, wahoo and both, yellowfin and blackfin tuna. Billfish catches dropped off somewhat because few anglers targeted them. Midrange catches remained uneventful with the exception of a few king mackerel and an occasional red drum or striped bass caught by Gulf Stream anglers returning from their offshore trips. Near-shore success improved with some large striped bass catches just inside the three-mile legal zone. Spotted seatrout were caught in the surf zone, but rough seas made access was tough.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Flounder catches dropped off with only a few fish recorded. Fishermen caught large spotted seatrout and striped bass, a noticeable increase from the previous week. The best catches came in early morning and then again just before nightfall.

Piers/Shore: Most anglers caught spotted seatrout with very little effort. Large pompano, along with high volume amounts of spot, kingfish and pigfish filled coolers.


Central District Pamlico, Craven, Carteret and Onslow Counties

Contact: Kim Worrell

For the 2011 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. To obtain a permit go to: http://www.hmspermits.gov..

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. Be SURE to 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.

Click here for the latest seasons, size and bag limits.

For the week ending Oct. 16

Ocean: Offshore, the big wahoo continued to be brought in, as well as dolphin and blackfin tuna. The offshore bottom fishing brought in large numbers of sizable gray triggerfish and some nice numbers of gag groupers. Also being caught last week were white grunts, vermilion snapper, black sea bass, scup and flounder. Inside of 10 miles, Spanish mackerel and bluefish continued to be caught in decent numbers. Near shore, bottom anglers saw some kingfish (sea mullet), black sea bass, small flounder, scup and Atlantic sharpnose sharks in the mix.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Spot were still showing up everywhere from the Emerald Isle Bridge to the White Oak River area, off the beach at Shackleford Banks, Gallants Channel and west of the N.C. Port turning basin near the no wake zone where it drops off. There were also reports of good sized trout in the turning basin near this drop off. Fishermen were still catching sheepshead at the bridges all along the coast. A few flounder and bluefish were caught in the turning basin, as well.

Piers/Shore: The piers continued to have spotty catches of spot, croaker, sea mullet (kingfish), pigfish and Florida pompano. There were also some silver perch and small black drum and a couple of keeper weakfish (gray trout) in the mix this past weekend. Shore and surf reports for the past weekend were hit or miss on bluefish, pigfish, sharks, skates, the occasional trout and some small flounder.

Southern District Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick Counties

Contact: Dennis Trowell

For the 2011 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. To obtain a permit go to: http://www.hmspermits.gov.

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.

Click here for the latest seasons, size and bag limits.

For the week ending Oct. 16

Ocean: When weather conditions permitted, anglers did well on the wahoo and sailfish in the gulfstream. Bottom fishermen caught red, gag and scamp groupers in water depths of 100 to 120 feet. Gag grouper were also biting very well in the 10- to 20-mile range. Anglers targeting king mackerel caught a few fish, but fishing in general has been poor. Lighthouse Rock produced the best fishing, but the fall king mackerel bite hasn't materialized this year so far. Flounder and red drum were caught on the artificial reefs and ledges in the one- to five-mile range off the coast.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Overall anglers had some success fishing area rivers, bays and creeks. Anglers caught red drum and speckled trout using both artificial bait and live bait. The southern part of the Cape Fear River produced some trout, but most fish were on the small size. Carolina Beach Inlet and Little River Inlet were the two hot spots for trout, with most fish in the 2-to-3-pound range. Fishermen targeting flounder caught some citation sized flounder in the Cape Fear River and Snow's Cut.

Piers/Shore: Area piers reported a good week of fishing. Spot runs were a little more consistent than the previous weeks. Along with the spot, anglers caught some large sea mullet and pompano. Flounder fishermen had another good week with some catching limits of legal sized flounder. King mackerel anglers landed a few kings. Surf anglers saw much improvement in their catches. Red and black drum, large sea mullets and pompano, along with some bluefish in the 2- to 4-pound range were also caught.



N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries • 3441 Arendell Street • Morehead City, NC 28557 • (252) 726-7021 or 1-800-682-2632