Fishing

Mother Nature opened up a window over the weekend that afforded fishermen an excellent opportunity to get on the water. It could not have been any nicer on Saturday and Sunday, and the fishing results could not have been much better, either. Inshore, the speckled trout fishing has been outstanding. At the Shallotte River, Lockwood, Little River—you name it, the fish have been biting. Add in the abundance of redfish and a sprinkle of flounder, then you have some of the year’s best inshore fishing.

Warmer than normal temperatures so far this year have anglers hoping for a late fall, and it looks as if that is what might happen. October was a bit more streaky than usual, but there are a lot of fish being caught now.

I hate to sound like a meteorologist, but higher than normal water temperatures with a succession of cold fronts followed by sunny days make for great fishing weather, especially if the fish are still biting. Also, strong tides influenced by the moon are having a big impact on local fishing.

Wilmington based brothers, Mark and Billy Emmart fished aboard their boat, Moon Doggie, in the annual Fall Brawl King Classic, hosted this weekend out of the Ocean Isle Fishing Center. One hundred seventy fishing teams from across the Southeast entered the event and aspired to win the top prize of over $15,000, but this year the Emmarts punched their ticket and walked away with the big money.

The cold may not be at the top of your “favorite things” list, but as far as stimulating fall fishing, this is the exact weather we need to get the final push of fish that our area is due.

The spots certainly will be running in full force by the weekend, as beach water temperatures cool to near 70 degrees. This also means the beach king mackerel fishing should be excellent. Typically just before the water reaches the 60s, the kings will bite good at Shallotte Inlet, so I’m looking for that to take place any day.