The spring fishing season is upon us and the fishing conditions are prime for some fabulous fishing to be had, except Mother Nature has other plans for those wanting to wet a line. Water temperatures are reading around 72 degrees, an almost perfect range for some early May fishing.
Unfortunately, the winds continue to plague anglers wanting to venture out the inlet and the upcoming weekend doesn’t look all that fantastic either. There were a few windows of opportunities the past week and a few anglers were able to take advantage of those opportunities but for the most part, the majority of fishermen stayed on the hill waiting out some better weather.
Probably the most noteworthy reports coming in late last week were the catches of some cobia, and some fat ones at that, with a few pushing the mid 50-pound range. Better fishing is normally reserved for the mid to latter part of the month so expect some good reports to be coming in, in the weeks ahead. For those not up to date on the regulations, there are a few changes to this year’s cobia fishing if keeping one is on your to do list. The cobia season opened May 1st and will close on August 31st. The minimum size limit for cobia has been increased to 36 inches with one fish per person or a total of four fish per vessel if there are more than four anglers on board. The NCDMF would also like for anglers catching cobia to submit catch information either by stopping by an official NC Citation Weigh Station or by going online and submitting via internet at http://www.ncrecfish.com/cobia/.
The Spanish mackerel fishing continues to produce some strong catches right along the beach and just outside the inlets. Trolling Clark Spoons will cover some water and help find the fish however the majority of those fish are on the smaller side. Those throwing small spoons and Gotcha Plugs are having some decent luck with some much larger fish by sight casting early and late in the day. Bluefish are still plentiful around the inlets as well and even some chopper bluefish are still being reported although they are slowly starting to disappear as conditions warm.
King mackerel have been reported as close as three miles off of the Wrightsville Beach area and by the time conditions allow those fish will have already arrived right along the beach. Most fish have been averaging in the eight to 10-pound range with some mid teens fish in the mix. As the baitfish start increasing in area waters, anglers should expect the predators to not be very far behind.
Surf anglers have been having some luck with Virginia mullet and black drum while using fresh shrimp. Fishing the deeper sloughs and holes with double dropper rigs during the mid tide are good spots to try. Anglers using cut bait and live minnows have been having some luck with bluefish and an occasional red drum. Inshore, the fishing is still in transition mode with red drum being found around the area docks and creek mouths. Some keeper flounder have also started being reported in the inside waters and as the baitfish increase so should the amount and the size of flounder being encountered.
