Inshore / Nearshore
Well, it’s “speckled trout” time and the fishing has already been pretty steady during October. The water has now cooled down enough for the fish to school up and produce an easy top catch.
I know early November last year proved to have some of the most awesome speckled trout fishing you could’ve asked for. The Haystacks, Core Creek, Hoop Pole Creek, Middle Marsh, North River, Carrot Island are all good marsh areas to fish for the specks. They’ll be holding in the deeper holes off the oyster points.
All of the rock jetties like Radio Island, Fort Macon, Shackleford Banks and Cape Lookout will be big producers this month. In the surf zone from the Oceana Pier back toward Fort Macon Park will be the “hot spot” for the surf trout.
Really, anywhere you can find a nice slough up or down the beach you’ll have a great shot at catching trout. In looking for a slough, it’ll be deeper water right in front of or right behind a sand bar where the trout will stack up and feed. Another good way to find fish in the surf zone is simply to look for the crowd. If you see anglers fishing in one area, that is a good indication that fish have been caught in that area. Make sure you have waders since the water will be cold and you might have to wade out to the outer bar where the fish could be holding. Live shrimp fished under a float rig will be hard to beat for catching numbers of fish. But don’t pass up taking along live mud minnows, because if the water gets cold fast, the trout will switch to them because the shrimp won’t have any action. One of the top hard baits is MirrOlures, plus Slayer Paddle Tails, DOA Tails, Z-Man Tails, Yo-Zuri 3D Shrimp, Yo-Zuri 3D Minnows, DOA Shrimp, Billy Bay Shrimp, Bass Assassin Tails, all Gulp Baits, Got-Cha Grubs and Honey Hole Grubs…all will work very well.
November is usually a great month for sea mullets in the ocean. The Dead Tree Hole and Shipping Channel has been known to have big numbers of fish around Thanksgiving. But remember, we’re late into fall now, so if the water gets too cold they’ll move out. It can be really good or really slow fishing there. Spec-Rigs tipped with bait shrimp fished right along the bottom will be the best chance to put fish in the cooler. This month is when we see the biggest fishery we’ll have all year.
There’s plenty of gray trout action in the Beaufort Inlet back toward the Turning Basin area. Also, good numbers will hold around the Railroad Tracks. Spec-Rigs tipped with bait shrimp or live shrimp will catch you a cooler full of fish. You can catch the grays also by jigging Sting Silvers and Jig Fish off the bottom.
Red drum are now schooling up in good numbers along the beach and around the jetties. We’re also seeing good numbers mixed in with the speckled trout in the marsh areas. From Rough Point back up to Shackleford Banks will be good areas to fish. This time of the year, they’ll also get right in the surf zone. If you’re not casting your bait pretty much onto the beach you’re not close enough in. You can find them in big schools from the point of Shackleford Banks all the way up to the Cape.
Late November is the time they’ll get in very large schools at the Cape Lookout Rock Jetty. On some days you can easily catch over 50 fish a day. Gulp Baits, Slayer Paddle Tails, Z-Man Baits, live mud minnows and live shrimp all will work great.
The false albacore fishing was great in October and will continue into November. They’ve been schooling up around the Inlet and schooling up around Cape Lookout. The key is to find the bait; if you can find the big schools of glass minnows the fish won’t be far behind. Another good key to having success on the albacore is looking for the birds working the water. When you see them in action, it means fish are feeding, and around this time of year, it’s probably albacore pushing bait to the top. When fishing for albacore, Jig Fish Lures in 1/2-ounce to 3/4-ounce work great, along with P-Line Jigs and Sting Silvers.
The flounders are still around and are not yet moving out to the ocean. We’re still seeing some good fish coming from the Port Wall. You have a chance to catch them through most of November. Some may think all of the flounder have moved out for the winter but that’s not the case. So, fish around the wall, bridges and docks all winter long. They just won’t be feeding as much when the water gets real cold. When fishing on the inside, the best bait will be live mud minnows because they are about the only live bait that remains here through the winter. This time of year can be great at the nearshore reefs like 315, 320 330 and 285, as many of the flounder that were inside have made their way back out. Spro two-ounce bucktails tipped with a four-inch Berkley Gulp Shrimp will be the best for action.
Pufferfish are starting to move into the area. Good places to fish will be around the Turning Basin area and up at the Cape Lookout Rock Jetty. The colder the water gets, more and more fish will move in larger schools, making them pretty easy to catch. Some might ask why would I want to catch puffers but they’re some of the best eating fish in the ocean. Bait shrimp fished on the bottom with a bottom rig will get the job done.
King mackerel fishing is still pretty good over on the east side of the Cape. AR 285, Atlas Tanker and 1700 Rock all are holding good-sized kings. This is the time of the year we’ll see the biggest fish caught. Every November we’ll weigh fish that go over 60 pounds from that area. Some days, if you catch the weather right, you can catch them all day long. Now, don’t be surprised also to hook into a big wahoo. We’ve seen some monsters come from that area in the past month. We weighed one in over 80 pounds last month and there were a few more in that class of fish. Live bait and dead cigar minnows are the baits of choice when going searching for late fall king mackerel.