[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ell, it finally looks good heading into April! I know everyone is ready to put the cold weather behind us!
This month should have red hot action around all the nearshore beaches and inlets where we’ll see some of the hottest action for bluefish & Spanish, both in the two- to four-pound range. They’ll be from Beaufort Inlet out to the Cape Lookout shoals and back into the hook of Cape Lookout. These fish will provide some well-needed action after the long cold winter. Most people will be trolling for these fish using rod planers and hand lines with Clark spoons. One of the best methods to catch these fish is to troll using light tackle and a Yo-Zuri DD (deep diver) in the pink and white colors. I only use No. 2 planers on my hand lines and, by doing this, you can cover both water columns and find out which gear is catching better. By using the light tackle gear and the Yo-Zuri plugs if you get into a huge school, you can reel in the lines and start casting to them, with no cutting and rerigging lines and tackle.
For those looking to catch some bottom fish, the blow toads and sea ulcer are now in and you better get them while they’re here, because they don’t last too long. The best baits for these bottom dwellers will be shrimp and squid, used on a two-hook bottom rig. A Spec Rig tipped with bait is also a killer. There are several good reasons to catch these fish…they are excellent table fare and they have no size or take limits.
On the inside waters the redfish will still be schooled up inside the marsh areas of North River Marsh, Middle Marsh and the Haystacks of the Newport River. A great rig for anglers who are not used to throwing artificials will be the Cajun Thunder popping cork with about two feet of 30-pound test leader and a pinch weight and hook on the end. I like to use mud minnows on this rig and all you have do is work the creeks and banks of the marshes…sooner or later a drum or flounder is certain to find that live mud minnow.
Looking for some new artificials to use? The MirrOlure C-Eye topwater baits are really hot up in the shallows. For the soft plastics you really need to try out the new Salty Bay Red Devil rigged on a 1/8-ounce Red Devil head, or for really shallow water, rig it up on the Salty Bay Pencil Lead in 1/16-ounce size. These are killer new baits, specially designed for reds. Another new bait to try is the VuDu Shrimp. Most all of these baits can be found at the various tackle shops from Morehead City to Atlantic Beach, Beaufort and Harkers Island.
One thing I would like to mention is that now that the ferries are running out of the Park Service facility on Harkers Island and are no longer at the marinas.
Now I know there are some that didn’t get to make the boat and fishing shows this winter, so I’m going to give you a rundown on some of the best tackle and boat items for the new season. In the rod category, the new Star Plasma spinning rod is a really good choice that it weighs in at about three ounces, has an extremely fast tip that goes into a really nice backbone and comes with a lifetime guarantee. It can be found at all your better tackle shops around. Also, the new TFO rods (Temple Fork Outfitters) are really hot, as well. As for the artificial baits, the new MirrOlure C-Eye topwater baits are really hot and are using the black nickel wide gap sure set hooks. For those who haven’t tried the new Paul Brown Soft Dines by MirrOlure, you must try these baits because they are awesome! In the soft bait category Salty Bay Baits takes the cake with the new Red Devil, which comes in several different colors and its own jig head in 1/8-, 1/4-, and 1/16-ounce pencil lead. The drum just love them, hence the name! Salty Bay has also introduced a new cobia bait due out this month called the Salty Bay Whippet EEL with jig head to match, so be on the lookout for these. Looking for a new reel? Penn Reels has introduced the new Penn Conflict and Star Fishing Tackle has some new 3000 to 8000 series Star reels out this spring and they look and feel really nice. These should be a real complement to their already awesome rod line-up.
Well, here’s to great spring fishing, because it’s going to be hot, hot, hot! Anyone looking for spring and summer charters, I am starting to book up, so call and get your date now to fish some of the best areas on the East coast.