| Regional
Saltwater Fishing Reports
Northern
District Dare, Hyde, Currituck, & Beaufort Counties Please Note: Anglers sometimes confuse small king mackerel with spanish mackerel. King mackerel and spanish mackerel have different size and catch limits. Make SURE you properly identify the mackerel you are catching. (Tips here) Lionfish Alert: Please visit our lionfish information A recreational Saltwater Fishing License goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. For more information on this license please view this fact sheet. . |
| Charterboats:
Yellowfin tuna fishing was exceptional this week. Several wahoo were
also taken. Striped bass have been good for the inshore boats.
Headboats:Closed for season. Private Boats:Very good striped bass fishing both in the ocean and at Mann's Harbor. Piers:Most piers are closed for the season as of this report. Shore: There was good to fair striper fishing up and down the beach depending at which location you were fishing. The most consistent catches came from the Oregon Inlet area and Rodanthe. |
| Central
District Pamlico, Craven, Carteret, & Onslow
Counties Contact: Suzanne Hill December 5, 2004 For the 2004 fishing year, all owners/operators of vessels recreationally fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, must obtain an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling permit. This permit has replaced the Atlantic tunas Angling category permit. In North Carolina, additional HMS harvest reporting requirements are also in place. Please Note: Anglers sometimes confuse small king mackerel with spanish mackerel. King mackerel and spanish mackerel have different size and catch limits. Make SURE you properly identify the mackerel you are catching. (Tips here) Lionfish Alert: Please visit our lionfish information A recreational Saltwater Fishing License goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. For more information on this license please view this fact sheet. |
| Headboats:
Fishing now is primarily for black sea bass, porgies and triggers .
There are still a few beeliners coming in.
CharterBoats:Boats anxiously waiting for the bluefin tuna season to open. There have been 2 bluefin caught and released west of the knuckle and another off Drum Inlet. The fish were big - 90 to 95 inches. Private Boats: There are plenty of flounder on AR 330 and AR 320. Anglers are also catching tautogs, and black seabass there. Triggers are thick 2 miles sw of the Knuckle Buoy along with a few beeliners. Sea mullet are appearing in the Dead Tree hole and in the Turning basin of the state port. Anglers are getting their limit of Kings on the Atlas Tanker. Spotted seatrout are still being caught - the biggest coming in from the Cape. Piers/Shore: Fishing is still good for black Drum - the largest weighed was 4.5 pounds, spotted seatrout, Northern Puffers and small spot. A 1.5 pound gray trout was caught on the Iron Steamer along with many puffers measuring a pound. There are quite a few undersized red drum, flounder and spotted seatrout reported caught and released. |
| Southern
District Pender, New Hanover, & Brunswick Counties Contact: Dennis Trowell December 5, 2004 For the 2004 fishing year, all owners/operators of vessels recreationally fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, must obtain an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling permit. This permit has replaced the Atlantic tunas Angling category permit. In North Carolina, additional HMS harvest reporting requirements are also in place. Please Note: Anglers sometimes confuse small king mackerel with spanish mackerel. King mackerel and spanish mackerel have different size and catch limits. Make SURE you properly identify the mackerel you are catching. (Tips here) Lionfish Alert: Please visit our lionfish information A recreational Saltwater Fishing License goes into effect Jan. 1, 2006 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. For more information on this license please view this fact sheet. |
| Headboats:Most
boats are done for the season, there are some that are running on a very
limited basis, call ahead for boat reservations and fishing dates.
CharterBoats:Very little charter activity due to off season, boats do well on king mackerel and bottom fish this time of year. Inshore charters are still doing well with the gray trout. Private Boats: King mackerel were reported around Frying Pan Tower, and some very good catches of grouper last week in the 25 to 30 mile range, along with some nice sea bass. Inshore, there are scattered catches of speckled trout in the area, riches inlet, jetties at Masonbroro, and the waterways and creeks in Brunswick County. The gray trout are still biting off the monument at Fort Fisher, and when weather permits, there are some schools of drum along area beaches, that can be sight fished for. Piers: Most if not all piers are closed for the season. Call ahead for pier schedules. Shore:There are some speckled trout being caught along area beaches. Topsail and Surf City beaches have been yielding some fish. |
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