[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e made it through summer and now we’re going into our best fishing of the season… FALL, what most anglers wait for all year. We’ve started seeing our first cold fronts come through with some northeast winds and it’s alerting the fish that it’s time to feed up before winter. We’re still going to have plenty of warm days but things are starting to change.
We’ll start to see our first signs of the fall sea mullet and spot run very soon. Anglers have been waiting for the sea mullets to come back down the coast from when they came through this past spring. Usually, our fall run is a lot better than the spring because they’ve been up north feeding all summer, so they’ll be a bigger class of fish. We have already been seeing a few make their way into the Inlet area and the Shipping Channel area. By the end of the month they’ll be moving into the Turning Basin area. Spec Rigs tipped with bait shrimp, fished along the bottom will be the best choice bait to catch the sea mullets. The hand made local Spec Rigs that we had this spring are still working great so give one a try.
The spot run will also be moving through toward the end of the month. They’re usually a week or two behind the sea mullets. Bloodworms, Fish Bites Bloodworms and Fish Bites Shrimp will all be good choices, fished on a bottom rig. Also, the gray trout will be coming back through the area and you will catch them on the same lures, fishing with Spec-Rigs or jigging a Stingsilver in the same areas.
We are in our prime season for old drum and it’s been a good one so far. The bite will continue for the next few weeks until the water temperature gets low enough for them to move out of the Neuse River. Anglers are catching them from the mouth of Adams Creek out in Core Creek and back down the river to Cedar Island. There’s no real secret spots to fish. Yes, some are better than others… just look for flats with drops-offs and areas holding bait and you’ll have a good shot of having some great action. Most anglers having the best luck are fishing at night with mullet and menhaden just off the bottom. At night you can usually look for the group of boats to find the best areas to fish. Just keep in mind it’s a huge river and there’s plenty of area to fish, so keep your distance from other anglers who are already anchored up and fishing.
Also, we are catching old drum during the day on the popping cork rigs with DOA Airheads and Berkley Gulp four-inch Ripple Mullets. Anglers are fishing the same areas as you do at night, on the drops, flats and around bait. The night- time fishing usually produces the most action and fish, but you can see some great action in the daylight hours, too. We have been keeping plenty of fresh bait in stock at the shop along with plenty of custom-made rigs ready to go.
This is one of the best months of the year to fish for Spanish. They have been all spread-out over the last month, but now are schooling back up and feeding before they move out in October. You can have a great time around the Beau- fort Inlet area, casting 1/2-ounce to 3/4-ounce Jig Fish Lures, Glass Minnow Jigs, Spec-Rigs and Kastmaster Jigs. It’s best to look for the birds diving into schools of bait and more than likely you’ll find feeding fish.
The bluefish are also going to be in the mix with the Spanish, feeding up with them. This time of year, anglers will still catch them trolling along the beach and up at the Cape Lookout Shoals. Toward the last of the month, the Spanish will form huge schools around the shoals and you can catch all you want. Trolling Clarkspoons, Mackerel Trees, Squid Rigs and Bird Rigs will get the job done in order to fill your cooler. We’re still seeing some bigger fish out around the reefs like 315 and 285. In these areas, most anglers are fishing with live finger mullet, which producing the best luck and we have been keeping plenty in-stock, ready for action.
King mackerel have moved in and things will only get better and better as this is the best time of the season for the kings. The Beaufort Inlet, the Shipping Channel and over on the East Side around the Atlas Tanker, Drum Inlet and 285 Reef will all be hot spots for the rest of the year. Slow trolling live bait will be the best, but dead cigar minnows fished on a dead bait rig also is a good choice for the fall. When the water cools down they’re not as picky and are really feeding so the dead cigar minnows will work well. Also, this time of year trolling the bigger Drone Spoons will get hits.
Flounder fishing has been good and will continue as the water cools down. The Artificial Reefs 315, 320 and 330 all have been holding fish all summer. As the water cools down, they’ll get more active along the beaches and surf zone. Also, the Port Wall usually gets real good now as the flatties are starting to move. Bridges and docks are also good areas to fish at when looking for the flatfish. Live mud minnows and live mullet minnows have been working well and we have both in-stock. Also, the Spro two-ounce bucktails tipped with Berkley Gulp four-inch Shrimp has been working well when jigging for them. This is the time of the year when we see the biggest fish of the season caught. Most likely they’ll be caught around the Port Wall area or one of the bridges on live minnows.
Redfish action has been good and should get better as the water cools down and they really get more active. They will be feeding heavy on live shrimp and live minnows in the marsh areas. As we get some cooler days, the bite will be strong most of the day, not just early in the mornings and late in the afternoons. You need to fish the marsh areas to find the fish…if you locate bait, there should be some reds around to catch. The Core Creek area has been holding fish all summer and will continue. Topwaters, spinnerbaits, gold spoons, Berkley Gulp Baits and Z-Man Baits all will work. Popping corks with live minnows and cut mullet is also a good choice when looking for redfish.
So far, the sheepshead action has been great this year with lots of fish being caught and some big ones at that. This month will also be good fishing for them, because when the water starts to cool down, they’ll get into schools, making them easier to catch plus they get more aggressive. The Port Wall area, high rise bridges, docks, oyster bars and rock jetties all are holding good numbers of fish. Live fiddler crabs and live sea urchins are both a great choice for bait, and we have both in stock, ready for action By the end of the month, we should see our first signs of fall albacore fishing. If some good cold fronts come through, they’ll push in right along the beach and start to feed on glass minnows. Jig Fish Lures, Glass Minnows Jigs and the new Epoxy Glass Minnows Jigs will all be great choices. The key to catching albacore is for look for active birds, which a good sign of fish feeding under them.
Speckled trout fishing has been somewhat slow, but the water has been hot during August. Once we get some fronts to move through, cooling the water down, they’ll start to bunch up and get into their fall pattern. By mid-month and toward the end of the month, fishing should be getting good for speckled trout. The Core Creek area up toward the Neuse River will have the best areas until later in the month, when we’ll start to see them around the Haystacks and beach areas.
We’ve been seeing pretty good numbers in the Neuse River this summer so we’re hoping for a good fall.
Also, I’ve been hearing good numbers of fish above us in the Outer Banks and Virginia area. These fish will come our way once the water gets cooler in that area. The hottest bait on the market last year for trout was the Vudu Shrimp and now they’ve just came out with a Vudu Mullet, which is very impressive and looks just like a live mullet swimming in the water. So, I have a good feeling it’s going to be just as good as the Vudu Shrimp.
Also, MirrOlure has come out with a new trout lure as a new addition to the Soft Dines they introduced last year, which worked great. Now, they have a bigger soft dine which is going to work great on the specks. They also have some new C-Eyes MirrO- lures out that should be great, too. We have all of these new speckled trout lures in stock now, ready for action. As, we get more into September, live shrimp will start working well as the water gets cooler and the pinfish move out.