05-22-2003, 03:22 AM
[size 2][font "Arial"]Saltwater[/font]
[font "Arial"]Report Oregon Inlet [/font]
[font "Arial"]SSW wind at 10 to 15 clear sky and temperature mid 70s. Gulf Stream reports good tuna, good dolphin, king mackerel and a few wahoo. Some of the boats had up to 10 king mackerel aboard. Inshore boats having very good blue fishing. They are also catching sea bass. Very good sheep head fishing on Bonner Bridge (Oregon Inlet). Some of the sheep head weigh 8 pounds. There are also black drum being caught on the catwalks. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Report Pirate's Cove [/font]
[font "Arial"]A beautiful day and the guys offshore made the best of it! great catches of dolphin and some nice size tuna. Some king mackerel and wahoo in the mix as well. Inshore had great catches of bluefish again, we're still waiting for the cobia to show back up! So all in all a good day!! [/font]
[font "Arial"]Report Hatteras Landing Marina[/font]
[font "Arial"]The weather was gorgeous. Sunny skies, calm seas and warm weather made for a relaxing fishing day. A couple of Blue Marlin where spotted. Offshore had some Gaffer Dolphins, Yellowfin Tunas and King Mackerel. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Overall report Marine Fisheries [/font]
[font "Arial"]Northern District Dare, Hyde, Currituck, & Beaufort Counties[/font]
[font "Arial"]Charterboats: Yellowfin tuna and dolphin fishing continued to be good this week. Several big eye tuna were taken this week up to 202 lbs. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Headboats: Anglers caught bluefish, grey trout, pigfish and scattered flounder. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Private Boats:This week fishermen reeled in plenty of bluefish, Spanish mackerel, flounder and grey trout. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Piers: Bluefishing was excellent this week. There were also Spanish mackerel caught on jerk jiggers and double bucktails. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Shore: Bluefish, some Spanish mackerel, blow toads and sea mullet were beached by fishermen. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Central District Pamlico, Craven, Carteret, & Onslow Counties[/font]
[font "Arial"]Headboats: Fishing is great. If the boats aren't bottom fishing and bringing in sea bass, grunts, snappers and tons of grouper they are trolling for dolphin, wahoo and tuna. [/font]
[font "Arial"]CharterBoats: Great fishing especially for dolphin and wahoo. Tuna are sort of scarce. Boats are bringing in nice Spanish, bonito and king mackerel. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Private Boats: Fishers are finding weakfish, pigfish, croakers, and spot in the Newport River- Boque Sound area. Weighed one spot which was a hair over 1 pound. Spanish mackerel up to 4 pounds in the Beaufort and Bogue Inlet areas along with bluefish. Spanish and blues down Atlantic Beach and on AR 320. Cobia have arrived. Several were reported caught around Harkers Island and Shackleford . Flounder and croakers were caught in Oyster Creek but they were barely keepers. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Piers/Shore: Black drum, pigfish, blues and Spanish mackerel. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Southern District Pender, New Hanover, & Brunswick Counties[/font]
[font "Arial"]Headboats: Boats are fishing everyday for the most part, and are returning to the docks with catches consisting of beeliners, black sea bass, groupers, triggerfish, and other bottom fish. king mackerel, dolphin, and amberjacks were also observed in the catches. [/font]
[font "Arial"]CharterBoats: Lots of dolphin this week reported on gulf stream trips this past week, along with some scattered catches of tuna's and wahoo's. Some billfish were released this week as well. Half/day charters reported blues, king and spanish mackerel, and inshore charters reported black and red drum, along with blues and spanish mackerels. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Private Boats: Good catches of dolphin this week in the stream, along with scattered catches of tuna and wahoo's. Small king mackerels reported anywhere from 5 to 18 miles out of wrightsville, and spanish mackerels along area beaches. Red drum were reported along area creeks, bays, and docks along the waterway, and the flounder fishing has begun to pick up in the cape fear river. Lots of bluefish and some drum reported at Masonboro Inlet. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Piers: Thing slowed a little this week on most area piers, as the water temperate cooled along area beaches. Lots of blues are still being caught, but the Spanish mackerel catches slowed. There were some kings caught, and a few cobia on topsail and oak island piers this week. Bottom fish catches were slow with a few sea mullets, pompano's, and spots being reported this week. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Shore: Some big blues and some nice pompano's were reported this week on the south end of fort fisher. The big blues seem to be biting best at night. There are still some black drum being caught along area beaches as well as some sea mullets and bluefish.[/font]
[font "Arial"]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/font][font "Arial"]Fresh Water[/font]
[font "Arial"]Upper Roanoke River- WELDON[/font]
[font "Arial"]The topwater bite is getting better and better for Stripped Bass. Anybody who goes fishing this time of the year will be able to catch rockfish (striped bass) on topwater lures or down on the bottom with cut bait.[/font][/size][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]Good numbers of striped bass are being caught near the Highway 48 bridge. Striped Bass are being caught on bucktails and Sassy Shads. Most Big Rock are being took with live herrings on the bottom.[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]The rockfish probably will spawn this week and then start down river back to the sound.[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]More striped bass reportedly were caught farther down river this week because the water level has dropped some. The striped bass moved to the general area between the I-95 bridge and the Weldon boat landing. Several anglers reported catching striped bass this week near the Highway 301 bridge, the railroad bridge and the Weldon boat ramp.[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]The water is down about 10 feet, boaters who put in at Weldon should watch for boulders that litter the rapids just upriver from the Weldon boat ramp. In addition, the Roanoke River is now closed to striped bass harvest and until June 30th in Inland Waters of Roanoke River upstream of U.S. Highway 258 bridge, only a single barbless hook or lure with a single barbless hook (or hook with barb bent down) may be used. Also[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]children under age 13 must now wear a life vest while boating.[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]Wednesday, local fishing guide George Beckwith reported catching an 18-pound striped bass and 23-pounder on live herring fished near the Weldon boat ramp. They're not catching quite as many big fish, but they're still catching a lot of fish.[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]First-time anglers will find large minnows fished near the bottom will produce the most strikes. But with the striped bass still plentiful in the river, it’s also a good time to hone your skills with artificial lures. “Walking the dog” with a large Zara Spook can be effective.
Lower Roanoke River
A few rock have been caught in the lower river but they are few and far apart most of the Striped Bass are still up river. Some Big Bream are being caught in the rivers and creeks that feed the river. The bream are being caught on beetle spins and with poles and fishing worms along the shore. Also Largemouth Bass are starting to rise up from the deep but the bass are still off shore in 5 to 8 foot of water. Most bass are being caught on spinner baits, crank baits, worms, and deep running plugs. There are some huge catfish being caught around the mouth of the sound.
Albemarle sound
Fishing in the sound is hot also. Striped bass, catfish, white perch, and Shad are being caught when you can find them. Trolling along the bridges with deep running plugs and jigheads with a white rubber worms are best. Some Rock are also being caught jigging spoons around the bridge. Catfish are in good numbers also under the bridges and being caught wit cut bait on bottom rigs.
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[font "Arial"]Report Oregon Inlet [/font]
[font "Arial"]SSW wind at 10 to 15 clear sky and temperature mid 70s. Gulf Stream reports good tuna, good dolphin, king mackerel and a few wahoo. Some of the boats had up to 10 king mackerel aboard. Inshore boats having very good blue fishing. They are also catching sea bass. Very good sheep head fishing on Bonner Bridge (Oregon Inlet). Some of the sheep head weigh 8 pounds. There are also black drum being caught on the catwalks. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Report Pirate's Cove [/font]
[font "Arial"]A beautiful day and the guys offshore made the best of it! great catches of dolphin and some nice size tuna. Some king mackerel and wahoo in the mix as well. Inshore had great catches of bluefish again, we're still waiting for the cobia to show back up! So all in all a good day!! [/font]
[font "Arial"]Report Hatteras Landing Marina[/font]
[font "Arial"]The weather was gorgeous. Sunny skies, calm seas and warm weather made for a relaxing fishing day. A couple of Blue Marlin where spotted. Offshore had some Gaffer Dolphins, Yellowfin Tunas and King Mackerel. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Overall report Marine Fisheries [/font]
[font "Arial"]Northern District Dare, Hyde, Currituck, & Beaufort Counties[/font]
[font "Arial"]Charterboats: Yellowfin tuna and dolphin fishing continued to be good this week. Several big eye tuna were taken this week up to 202 lbs. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Headboats: Anglers caught bluefish, grey trout, pigfish and scattered flounder. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Private Boats:This week fishermen reeled in plenty of bluefish, Spanish mackerel, flounder and grey trout. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Piers: Bluefishing was excellent this week. There were also Spanish mackerel caught on jerk jiggers and double bucktails. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Shore: Bluefish, some Spanish mackerel, blow toads and sea mullet were beached by fishermen. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Central District Pamlico, Craven, Carteret, & Onslow Counties[/font]
[font "Arial"]Headboats: Fishing is great. If the boats aren't bottom fishing and bringing in sea bass, grunts, snappers and tons of grouper they are trolling for dolphin, wahoo and tuna. [/font]
[font "Arial"]CharterBoats: Great fishing especially for dolphin and wahoo. Tuna are sort of scarce. Boats are bringing in nice Spanish, bonito and king mackerel. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Private Boats: Fishers are finding weakfish, pigfish, croakers, and spot in the Newport River- Boque Sound area. Weighed one spot which was a hair over 1 pound. Spanish mackerel up to 4 pounds in the Beaufort and Bogue Inlet areas along with bluefish. Spanish and blues down Atlantic Beach and on AR 320. Cobia have arrived. Several were reported caught around Harkers Island and Shackleford . Flounder and croakers were caught in Oyster Creek but they were barely keepers. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Piers/Shore: Black drum, pigfish, blues and Spanish mackerel. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Southern District Pender, New Hanover, & Brunswick Counties[/font]
[font "Arial"]Headboats: Boats are fishing everyday for the most part, and are returning to the docks with catches consisting of beeliners, black sea bass, groupers, triggerfish, and other bottom fish. king mackerel, dolphin, and amberjacks were also observed in the catches. [/font]
[font "Arial"]CharterBoats: Lots of dolphin this week reported on gulf stream trips this past week, along with some scattered catches of tuna's and wahoo's. Some billfish were released this week as well. Half/day charters reported blues, king and spanish mackerel, and inshore charters reported black and red drum, along with blues and spanish mackerels. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Private Boats: Good catches of dolphin this week in the stream, along with scattered catches of tuna and wahoo's. Small king mackerels reported anywhere from 5 to 18 miles out of wrightsville, and spanish mackerels along area beaches. Red drum were reported along area creeks, bays, and docks along the waterway, and the flounder fishing has begun to pick up in the cape fear river. Lots of bluefish and some drum reported at Masonboro Inlet. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Piers: Thing slowed a little this week on most area piers, as the water temperate cooled along area beaches. Lots of blues are still being caught, but the Spanish mackerel catches slowed. There were some kings caught, and a few cobia on topsail and oak island piers this week. Bottom fish catches were slow with a few sea mullets, pompano's, and spots being reported this week. [/font]
[font "Arial"]Shore: Some big blues and some nice pompano's were reported this week on the south end of fort fisher. The big blues seem to be biting best at night. There are still some black drum being caught along area beaches as well as some sea mullets and bluefish.[/font]
[font "Arial"]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [/font][font "Arial"]Fresh Water[/font]
[font "Arial"]Upper Roanoke River- WELDON[/font]
[font "Arial"]The topwater bite is getting better and better for Stripped Bass. Anybody who goes fishing this time of the year will be able to catch rockfish (striped bass) on topwater lures or down on the bottom with cut bait.[/font][/size][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]Good numbers of striped bass are being caught near the Highway 48 bridge. Striped Bass are being caught on bucktails and Sassy Shads. Most Big Rock are being took with live herrings on the bottom.[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]The rockfish probably will spawn this week and then start down river back to the sound.[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]More striped bass reportedly were caught farther down river this week because the water level has dropped some. The striped bass moved to the general area between the I-95 bridge and the Weldon boat landing. Several anglers reported catching striped bass this week near the Highway 301 bridge, the railroad bridge and the Weldon boat ramp.[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]The water is down about 10 feet, boaters who put in at Weldon should watch for boulders that litter the rapids just upriver from the Weldon boat ramp. In addition, the Roanoke River is now closed to striped bass harvest and until June 30th in Inland Waters of Roanoke River upstream of U.S. Highway 258 bridge, only a single barbless hook or lure with a single barbless hook (or hook with barb bent down) may be used. Also[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]children under age 13 must now wear a life vest while boating.[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]Wednesday, local fishing guide George Beckwith reported catching an 18-pound striped bass and 23-pounder on live herring fished near the Weldon boat ramp. They're not catching quite as many big fish, but they're still catching a lot of fish.[/size][/font][font "Times New Roman"][size 3] [/size][/font][font "Arial"][size 2]First-time anglers will find large minnows fished near the bottom will produce the most strikes. But with the striped bass still plentiful in the river, it’s also a good time to hone your skills with artificial lures. “Walking the dog” with a large Zara Spook can be effective.
Lower Roanoke River
A few rock have been caught in the lower river but they are few and far apart most of the Striped Bass are still up river. Some Big Bream are being caught in the rivers and creeks that feed the river. The bream are being caught on beetle spins and with poles and fishing worms along the shore. Also Largemouth Bass are starting to rise up from the deep but the bass are still off shore in 5 to 8 foot of water. Most bass are being caught on spinner baits, crank baits, worms, and deep running plugs. There are some huge catfish being caught around the mouth of the sound.
Albemarle sound
Fishing in the sound is hot also. Striped bass, catfish, white perch, and Shad are being caught when you can find them. Trolling along the bridges with deep running plugs and jigheads with a white rubber worms are best. Some Rock are also being caught jigging spoons around the bridge. Catfish are in good numbers also under the bridges and being caught wit cut bait on bottom rigs.
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