47.9 F
Wrightsville Beach
Friday, March 29, 2024

Hook, line and sinker

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By Skylar Walters

One could really not ask for better weather, especially considering it is the last week of January. With mostly sunny skies, highs reaching near 80 degrees and water temperatures warming up into the mid-50s, those heading out to wet a line have been mostly successful.

Sea conditions have allowed those with boats to head off the beach and the inshore fishing, while not on fire, has been relatively good. Of course, we’re about to head into the month of February so all this could change, but at least for now the extended forecast shows mild weather through the weekend.

The bluefin tuna continue to impress those targeting them just off our beaches, although the past few days have been a little rough. One significant catch of note occurred in Morehead City last Friday with a 1,045-pound behemoth landed by anglers fishing in a 26-foot center console boat. This fish would have crushed the state record but because it was caught by commercial anglers and headed for the sale table, it doesn’t qualify. Nonetheless, that’s one impressive catch!

For those not wanting to wrangle with a monster and fight a fish for hours on end, the black bass fishing in water depths around 70 feet has been very good and some very large bass have been reported. As usual, sometimes you have to weed through the smaller ones but many anglers targeting them have been getting limits in short order.

Inshore, the speckled trout fishing has slowed quite a bit but those putting in the time and effort have been successful. Live bait seems to be working a little better than artificial baits but both are working. Live mud minnows, which can still be caught using a minnow trap in the creeks, are a good, hardy bait to use under a popping cork. If using artificial baits, make sure the retrieve is slow because even though the water temperatures have warmed up a bit, the fish are still slow and lethargic. There have been lots of reports of red drum being found around the area docks and creeks around the Wrightsville Beach area also. For those looking for something a little different, the striper fishing in the Cape Fear River near downtown has also been producing well along the waterfront using bucktails and swimming plugs.

If fishing is just not in your schedule, then you might want to make a weekend trip and visit the Carolina Outdoor Expo being held in the Greenville Convention Center this weekend starting on Friday. A day ticket is $10 or a weekend pass is $15 with children under 12 free. Plenty of seminars are scheduled throughout the weekend and more than 100 hunting and fishing vendors will be on hand. For additional information, visit www.carolinaoutdoorexpo.com to see a complete list of the weekend happenings.    

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