The New Year has arrived and with it has come the cold weather, with a few days of this week’s weather looking to possibly set record lows or highs, depending on how you look at it. But for the most part, the fishing conditions for 2014 were fairly good and after this cold onslaught, conditions look to improve for the weekend. Water temperatures are reading in the lower 50s, which will no doubt take a little hit after this week, but overall have been relatively warm considering the time of year.
A few reports have -trickled in over the holidays with last weekend seeing some calm waters and a few boats heading out toward the Gulf Stream. There were catches reported of a few wahoo, blackfin tuna and African pompano in the mix. Closer to the beach, the black bass fishing has been good in the 20 mile range.
Inshore, red drum has been caught here and there with a few anglers lucky enough to find some fish schooling in the surf. The speckled trout fishing has trickled off in our area but has not ceased to exist. Better fishing for trout can be found to our south in the Cape Fear River and to our north in the area of Topsail Island and New River.
As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the New Year brings lots and lots of fishing schools to help you hone your skills and maybe even learn something new. With some of the first schools coming up in the next few weeks, we’ll cover the details of a couple this week and a few more next week.
The first fishing school of 2015 is being held at the Oak Island Recreation Center in Oak Island on Saturday, January 3, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $60 in advance and $70 at the door and include lunch. Topics covered include fishing for speckled trout, red drum, flounder, sheepshead, gray trout, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, offshore bottom fishing and cast net throwing. With captain Jerry Dilsaver and Jimmy Price doing the teaching, there’ll be plenty to learn. For tickets, contact the Oak Island Recreation Department at 910-278-5518.
The next school in the lineup is the Fisherman’s Post Hand On Fishing School being held Saturday, February 7, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost of the school is $95 by January 30 and $105 after. Ticket price includes lunch as well as a T-shirt, snack, drinks, rigging material and goodie bags as well as a chance at some door prizes including a fishing package to Costa Rica or a hunting trip to Argentina. There are more than 20 local captains that will be in attendance with numerous sessions and rigging stations going on concurrently, which means you can find something that interests you at any given time. Tickets can be purchased at Tex’s Tackle or West Marine Wrightsville Beach as well as by phone at 910-452-6378, and online at www.fishermanspost.com
