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Fishing

  • So far, spring fishing has been terrific despite weather

    Spring fishing has been terrific so far, at least when the weather has cooperated. Stormy and windy days have troubled pier anglers and boaters, but when the blue skies have been out, people have been catching fish. The biggest successes have been on sea mullet (whiting) on the piers, redfish inshore, and black drum everywhere.

    I talked to Capt. Patrick Kelly of Captain Smiley Charters, and he told me on some days he has had to go to the dependable black drum for his clients.

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  • Spring fishing about to hit full stride

    Last weekend marked the start of the first really good fishing stretch of the season. Reports were flying in from up and down the coast of good action on redfish, speckled trout, black drum and some nice sea mullet (whiting). The weather has added uncertainty to the mix since then, but there’s no doubt spring fishing is in about to hit full stride.

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  • Spring bite is on as fishing heats up

    As local world famous author Robert Rourke wrote in the best book ever written, “Old Man and the Boy,” a story of a boy growing up fishing and hunting in Southport with his grandfather, “March is for remembering, and the rest of the year is for making new memories.”

    Such was the case this past weekend as many new memories were created for anglers fishing the Gulf Stream to the inshore rivers, from monster wahoo to sea bass to trout, redfish, flounder.

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  • April means it's tuna time in Brunswick

    It is finally spring and starting to feel like it. If you are a Brunswick County fisherman, you can now come out of hiding.

    March is a great month, but it has a tendency to show all the signs of spring and then leave you hanging with water temperatures that are typically still too cool to promote much good fishing. However, April is here and the water is warming up.

    Ocean Isle Fishing Center inshore guide, Capt. Kyle, has been reporting good catches of redfish and speckled trout. He is optimistic about the inshore fishing over the next couple of months.

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  • Speckled trout emerge full force during April

    Last week I wrote about the nice redfish bite, and how those drum have been providing nonstop action all winter and into the early spring for local fishing guides like Capt. Mark Dickson.

    This week, I asked Dickson about the emerging speckled trout bite, since specks are a fish that anglers’ thoughts turn to in April the way a second baseman’s thoughts turn to base hits.

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  • Spring fishing action is steady for red drum

    In many places, the spring fishing has started off slowly, but don’t tell that to the folks landing the big red drum in our inshore waters. Shallow-water anglers and fishing guides have reported steady action on nice-sized redfish throughout the entire winter, and the landings are impressive. While pier patrons wait on the whiting and bluefish and surf fishermen fight skates and small sharks, light-tackle anglers are having a ball in the backwaters on the dependable red drum.

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  • Whiting an important fish for sportsmen--and a great fish for cooking

    The piers are opening in the Carolinas, and bottom fishermen are ready to fill their coolers. The fishing season usually takes a little while to start, especially ocean-side. One fish that often shows up early is the whiting. A dependable pier and surf catch, and a tasty dish, whiting are the bread and butter of our local piers until the spot decide to make an appearance.

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  • With spring comes upswing in inshore fishing

    Spring is almost here, and with it comes the annual seasonal upswing in inshore fishing. A lot of bait will soon be filtering through our local waters, and the number of fish to choose from is about to dramatically increase. The water temperatures this year got a little bit colder than last winter, but not so much so they won’t quickly bounce back into prime range for good fishing.

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  • Looking for a fight? Take on the red drum

    Red Drum range all along the Atlantic Coast, except in the coldest states up north. They are also found in the Gulf, where their population (and North Carolinas’) was once almost wiped out by the popularity of Louisiana Chef Paul Prudhomme’s “blackened redfish,” which caused the fish to jump from an occasional catch to a big deal for commercial fishermen.

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  • Fishermen can survive difficult economic times

    We live in difficult economic times, and sports enthusiasts are certainly not immune to the effects of our nation’s current recession. From the up and down (and up again) price of gas to the fact most of us have far less money to spend on tackle, folks into fishing have felt the pinch on their favorite hobby along with all the other aspects of their lives.

    Therefore it was with great cheer we greeted some unexpected good news last week, as the sea-lovers among us learned one encouraging thing has come from the troubled circumstances surrounding our monetary crisis.

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