The fishing the past week has been nothing short of fabulous! Calm conditions and water temperatures that continue to warm have allowed anglers to visit just about any fishing spot they wish and judging from the fishing reports, the fish were there and waiting. The water temperature has reached into the lower to mid 70s, and with that has come a variety of species of both inshore and offshore fish.
We’ll start with the offshore fishing in and around the Gulf Stream, and there is no lack of reports from this area. Gaffer dolphin have been the talk of most anglers with most boats reporting numerous catches. Some wahoo have also been reported, however it appears that due to the abundance of dolphin, the wahoo catches have been limited. Areas around the Steeples and Same Ole Hole were some good areas to try while other boats found the fish hanging out around temperature breaks in water depths around 130 feet. There were also some reports of blue marlin seen in deeper water with at least one confirmed report of a catch and release out of Wrightsville Beach.
Bottom fishing in water depths starting around 100Â feet resulted in a smorgasbord of fish being reported, with trigger fish, snapper, grouper, black sea bass, African pompano and other species all coming home for dinner. Anglers continue to report that areas any shallower than 100Â feet are producing some fish as well, however sharks continue to be a nuisance.
Just off the beach, the arrival of cobia has excited anglers the past week with numerous boats reporting either sightings or catches. Schools of menhaden are running the beach in droves and fishing around these pods of bait with a bucktail and sight casting to cruising cobia feeding on them is an excellent tactic. Other anglers prefer fishing with natural baits either around the schools or weighing the bait on the bottom near the inlets and others simply happen to have a curious cobia come check out their boat while anglers are fishing for something else. Some king mackerel have been reported by live baiters right along the beach and around the mouths of the inlets. Spanish mackerel continue being caught although that fishing seems to have slowed just a bit, however the bluefish will keep fishermen busy just as well.
Off of Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, live bait fishermen have decked their first cobia of the year as well as their first king mackerel. More of these types of catches should be in the works for the next several weeks. Bottom fishermen are catching some Virginia mullet, black drum and a few small flounder. Spanish mackerel and bluefish continue being caught on Got-Cha Plugs.
Inshore, the flounder fishing is picking up with several nice fish up to 6 pounds being reported the past week. Anglers are reporting a lot of small fish being caught but with the quality size fish that are around, it’s worth the extra time and effort trying to find a big one. Creek mouths and around the docks are good locations to try as well as the mud banks around the inlets. Red drum are also being found in these same locations.
With decent weather forecast for the upcoming weekend, there should be plenty more good reports in the near future.
