It’s hard to believe that we’re almost through the month of July and the official start of fall fishing is only a couple of months away. Even though current water temperatures don’t represent it, now reading in the lower to mid 80-degree range, local fishermen got their first taste of cooler temperatures and some unseasonable northeast winds over the weekend. That cool down fired off the inshore and pier fishing, but unfortunately slowed the offshore fishing due to conditions. Things are looking up for the weekend, but we’ll just have to wait and see what, if anything, it produces.
Pier anglers live baiting for king mackerel are reporting some humongous Spanish mackerel attacking the baits and catching fish between 5 and 7 pounds. Most of the action for these fish has occurred from the piers along the Pender County beaches but Johnnie Mercer’s Pier reports a few fish of this size also caught, including the pier record broken in back-to-back days with the final fish weighing in at 6.10 pounds. A few fat king mackerel have also been caught during the past couple of weeks. Not to be outdone, another tarpon was landed and released over the weekend, which makes two for the year off that pier. If live baiting isn’t your thing, there’s plenty of Virginia mullet, small spots and croaker and a handful of red and black drum eager to dine on those offering fresh shrimp on bottom rigs. A few flounder have been reported by those using live minnows.
Along the surf, anglers are finding a variety of species available, especially since the northeast wind cooled things down temporarily. Fresh shrimp fished on the bottom will entice Virginia mullet, spots and black drum while live minnows and cut bait are catching some red drum, black drum and flounder. A few rather large pompano have been caught on sand fleas for those lucky enough to find them.
Inshore, the fishing has just been getting better with plenty of reports of red drum, both in slot and over slot, being caught around the creek mouths and around the docks. Higher water seems to be the better time to target them. The flounder fishing is also taking off with more reports of keeper fish. Live bait, mainly finger mullet, is the bait of choice and there’s no shortage of them if you can throw a cast net. Some sheepshead have been caught around the pilings of the bridges and area docks during the time of high tide.
Off the beach, conditions over the weekend were not perfect but some managed to brave the seas and bring home fish. King mackerel are being reported from just off the beach out to around 10 miles or so. A few cobia have been landed in the same areas but mainly around the inlets and artificial reefs. Live baiters are also finding some of those big Spanish while those trolling Clark Spoons are finding good bites in water depths of between 40 and 50 feet. Some inshore dolphin have been found in the 10-15 mile range. Further off the beach, the bottom fishing has been outstanding with catches of trigger fish, grouper, black sea bass and snapper, but very few reports from the weekend.
