[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ell, we have made it to the “Dog Days of Summer” but the fish still have been biting pretty well so far. It won’t be long now when we’ll begin to see our first Northeast winds of the year, getting things fired up for the fall action.
August is the time when we really start thinking about old drum. By mid-to late August they’ll be feeding and breeding in the Neuse River area. We have one of the best fisheries in the world when the old drum show up in the Neuse River each and ever year like clockwork.
Last year, popping cork rigs became very popular when anglers figured out you didn’t have to go fish at night in order to catch the huge old drum. On a medium heavy-to-heavy spinning outfit, they’ll give you a workout. DOA Airheads and four-inch Berkley Gulp baits work very well under a popping cork. We have in stock the new DOA Airheads Popping Cork rigs ready to go. However, the most sought-out way to catch the old drum is dead mullet and dead menhaden fished on the bottom at night and during the day.
Where to look for the drum? They’ll be anywhere from Cedar Island all the way up to the mouth of Adams Creek out of Core Creek. It’s not very hard to locate these fish once they arrive. They’ll be at the mouth of the creeks dumping in the Neuse River, around the shoals. Finding the bait is the main key to success when fishing for old drum. These fish will come up and feed in just a few feet of water so they’ll nearer the banks of the river, unless they’re feeding on menhaden in the middle of the river.
Feel free to stop by the shop, where we have hand-tied rigs for bottom fishing, ready to go. We keep plenty of bait on hand during the old drum season too. Along with those, we can show you the complete selection of popping cork rigs.
Sheepshead fishing has been exceptional in July and will continue right into August. We’ve already weighed some fish over 10 pounds and lots in the three-to seven-pound range this year. It seems some of the biggest are caught each year in August when it gets really hot. The Atlantic Beach High Rise Bridge, Beaufort High Rise Bridge, Harkers Island Bridge, Port Wall, gas docks and any of the other docks along the ICW are great places to locate sheepshead. Live fiddler crabs and live sea urchins will be the baits of choice for them and we keep both in stock, ready for the sheepshead action.
Flounder fishing has been really good so far this year. We’ve been seeing good numbers of keeper fish being caught. The artificial reefs like 315, 320, 330 and 285 all have been producing the most fish. Jigging Spro two-ounce bucktails and Betts two-ounce bucktails tipped with Berkley Gulp fourl-inch Shrimp, along with live mud minnows have been working the best.
On the inside we have seen some in the mouth of the creeks, along the Port Wall and around the bridges. Also, another good place to look is around the docks along the ICW. Flounder love to get around docks, getting out of the heat while they wait on a bait to swim by. Live minnows usually work the best on the inside waters, but Berkley Gulp four-inch Shrimp and Swimming Mullet work well, too. In the summer, you can also have some luck drift fishing
for flounder along the ICW channels, in the inlet area and behind Shackleford Banks. When drift fishing, use live mud minnows, live finger mullet or Berkley Gulp SwimmingMullets to land a flattie.
When it gets hot in August, you can usually always count on some Spanish and bluefish action early in the mornings, then again late in the afternoon at dusk. During the day the action really slows down when the sun is high and it’s hot. Trolling Clarkspoons with planers and trolling weights, squid rigs and bird rigs all have been working well.
This is the time of the year when they’ll get very active early in the morning around the inlet area where you can cast small glass minnows jigs, spec rigs and small jig fish lures into them. In my opinion, catching Spanish on light tackle is the most fun way to catch them. Some mornings, if the tide is right (usually a high tide works the best) and the glass minnows are thick, things can get pretty crazy with the birds diving and the fish actively feeding.
Also, August is the time of year when we start to see the big Spanish at the reefs like 315, 320 and 330. Small menhaden or live finger mullet will help you in landing the bigger Spanish. We have now started stocking live finger mullet so we should have some live bait appetizers for the big Spanish when you need it.
The shark action has been good with some six- to eight-footers being caught. This time of year, the inlet area and Carrot Island hold sharks. Late in the afternoon and at night they get very active and you can catch the most. Also, right outside the inlet area can be productive for sharks too. We have shark rigs tied up and stock bait for them, plus we’ll show you the right area to fish if you want to try to catch a big mean fish inside the inlet!
Redfish and speckled trout fishing remain pretty good. We’re seeing some good action from the redfish in the Newport River area all the way up to the Neuse River and out into the river. Really, they can be found anywhere you can find bait, shallow water, grass and oyster bars.
Speckled trout fishing has been pretty good for summertime, but they’re very scattered out. Once, we get some cool weather next month, look out. We could see some great action this fall, based on what we have been seeing so far this year. Anglers using topwaters have been having some good luck on both the redfish and the speckled trout. It’s hot and like most fish, they’re going to be the most active early in the mornings and during the late afternoons. Popping corks with Berkley Gulp baits and live minnows or live shrimp also have been working well.
Check out some of our events we have running here at the shop:
1st Annual Sheepshead Challenge, July 1 – August 31
3rd Annual Flounder Challenge, July 1 – September 30
3rd Annual Spanish Challenge, July 1 – September 30
Plus, don’t forget that coming up is our 7th Annual Speckled Trout Challenge, September 1 – January 4. There is no deadline for signing up for any of our events – so come and join the fun.