North Carolina State Northern and Southern District Fishing Report 4-03-10

[Saltwater Fishing]

Northern District

For the week ending July 4

Ocean: Offshore activity remained moderate to good with fishermen catching their limits of dolphins, at least half of the time. Yellowfin, blackfin, bigeye and skipjack tuna catches were fair. Wahoos, king mackerel, little tunny and Atlantic bonito were caught in low amounts. Ocracoke and Hatteras anglers fishing on bottom caught yellowedge and snowy grouper, blackbelly rosefish, red and vermillion snapper, blueline tilefish and barrelfish. Billfish catches remained moderate to good, primarily with blue marlins and lesser amounts of white marlins and sailfish being caught. Midrange success rates remained consistent with catches of striped bass and red drum around eight miles off shore. Anglers should note that stripers caught beyond the three-mile range are illegal to possess and must not be kept. Artificial reefs continued to yield catches of triggerfish, black drum, tautogs, sheepsheads, black seabass, and spadefish on a regular basis. Near-shore success rates continued to swing from one extreme to the other, with short-term, high-volume catches of bluefish and Spanish mackerel caught by the anglers lucky enough to be there when they were biting. Cobia catches off of piers were fair, with nighttime proving to yield the bulk of the catches. Striped bass and red drum were caught in the surf from Avon southward, with increased regularity.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Flounder keeper ratios continued to delight anglers, who were able to keep well over 50 percent of their catch. Oregon Inlet continued to be the hot spot, but catches improved throughout the area. Spotted seatrout were almost exclusively caught in the early morning and late evening hours, with catches concentrated in the Roanoke Sound and, in lesser amounts, the surrounding area. Croakers and spot filled the void when little else was available.

Piers/shore: Anglers had similar success rates to that of the near-shore boaters, with very few exceptions. Bluefish and Spanish mackerel catches were excellent if you are there at the time of opportunity. High volumes of spot and croakers filled coolers, with lesser amounts of pigfish, pinfish, pompano, striped burrfish, weakfish, needlefish, skate, rays, and assorted sharks.


http://www.ncdmf.net/fishreport/northdist.html

[Saltwater Fishing]

Southern District

For the week ending July 4

Ocean: Offshore, boats fishing in the Gulf Stream reported somewhat slow fishing, with a few dolphins and some sailfish releases. Fishermen targeting grouper did well, with the best catches coming from the 120-foot depth range. Along with the grouper, anglers caught an assortment of porgy, triggerfish, snapper and amberjacks. Anglers targeting king mackerel did very well fishing at 60-to-70-foot depths early to mid-week, but fishing slowed towards the weekend. Near-shore reefs produced some nice flounder and big spadefish.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Inshore, fishing seemed to improve compared to the previous week. Flounder fishing was good in most locations. The best catches continued to come out of the Cape Fear River and the south Brunswick area. Some really big fish were caught this week, including numerous flounder over 5 pounds and some other fish weighing as much as 10 pounds. Trout fishing has been slow all year so far, but there were a few caught around the bays and creeks behind Bald Head Island and the N.C. 172 bridge at New River. Live shrimp fished under a cork was the best method for catching the trout. Black drum and sheepsheads were biting well around most bridges and docks. The ADM dock, Snow's Cut and the rock wall at Fort Fisher produced some nice catches over the past couple of weeks.

Piers/Shore: Summertime has brought the usual mixed bag of fish to area piers. Spot, sea mullet, black drum, and pompano were the catch of the day for anglers fishing on the bottom. Anglers also had some luck targeting flounder and sheepsheads. Several tarpon were landed by fisherman targeting king mackerel on the end of the piers. Surf fishermen caught a few sea mullets and some pompano using sand fleas and fresh shrimp for bait.


http://www.ncdmf.net/fishreport/southdist.html