Weekly Report 4/30/2010
Wow – hard to believe it is already the end of April. A little hard to tell from the water temperatures (upper 50s north to mid 60s south) and weather at times, but I am not complaining. I’d rather have a slow, steady upward trend in temperatures than a sudden shift from winter- to summerlike conditions. That said, the weekend looks to be rather summerlike — low 90s here inland in Chatham County, but the surf will moderate coastal temperatures to the low 80s or so. With moderate SW winds and surf predicted, it should be a great weekend for fishing.
This week’s report is much the same as last week’s…with a few updates. The first Spanish Mackerel of the year have started hitting along the southeast North Carolina coast – nothing hot and heavy, but this is just the beginning. A surprising number of ocean-keeper stripers continue to be caught. I even heard of a 15 pounder down at Fort Macon below Cape Lookout – this area rarely even gets stripers during the fall and winter, so seeing one in the spring is unusual. Ocracoke has had a couple as has Hatteras Island and the beaches north of Oregon Inlet. Coincidentally (or not), points further north (I track the New Jersey coastal fishing reports more than any other state besides North Carolina), there has been an excellent run of stripers along the coast there. And big blues – lots of them – running 2-3 weeks ahead of typical schedule. Oddly, North Carolina fishing seems to be running a week or two behind schedule, while New Jersey is running ahead. Who the hell knows…
Striper fishing is starting to peak in the rivers, most notably the Roanoke. A 52-pounder was measured by fisheries biologists last week. Bluefin tuna (along with yellowfin) fishing continues to be excellent – again, late in the season for this fishing to still be firing off. Inshore/inside (sound) fishing continues to pick up slowly.
I am heading down to ocracoke the second week in June for a vacation. I am a freshwater guy and really want to try my hand at some surf fishing. I was hoping to get a few pointers from you about where on Ocracoke to fish, what I should expect, and some suggested tackle for the trip. Thanks in advance for your help!
Hi Josh –
I understand that both the north end and south end of Ocracoke are currently inaccessible because of resource closures (birds). If they are still closed in June, your choices for surf fishing locations will be seriously limited, since the ends of the island feature the most interesting fish-holding structure.
In particular each inlet (Hatteras Island on the north end and Ocracoke Inlet on the south end) can be fished with metal lures for bluefish and spanish mackerel in June. Early morning and late afternoon are usually best. If you prefer to fish with natural bait, learn how to read the beach and mark deep holes, points, bars and breaks or outsucks along the surf at low tide. A two-hook bottom rig usually works well for a variety of species. Mid-June is nice timing and you should be able to find bluefish, pompano, sea mullet, some puppy drum and flounder. Bait is usually either shrimp or bloodworms for the smaller species or cut fish (menhaden or mullet) for the blues and pups. Stop in at Tradewinds Tackle (http://www.fishtradewinds.com/) and ask them what is going on and what lures are working best while you buy your bait and supplies.
You could also consider fishing the soundside of the island – this will be more similar to the freshwater fishing you are used to…plus the fishing in the back can be excellent. Again, your timing should be good. Tradewinds can also fill you in on some of the better soundside spots on Ocracoke.
Good luck and let us know how you do.
Vic