June
In a lot of respect the fishing fortunes for June on North Carolina Piers will look a lot like May and that is a good thing. Water temps will get into the 70’s and approaches the 80’s by the end of the month. The wind direction will be mostly out of the west or south west and the normal Bermuda High that positions itself just off of the coast will keep most of the days sunny and bright for anglers.
Bottom fisherman will mostly be targeting croaker and whiting. Look for the bigger whiting just past the breakers. June croakers are smaller than their fall counterparts but they will be plentiful all along the decks and from either side. Squid or shrimp are suggested baits for them. Those targeting these fish will also be rewarded with a good dose of spadefish and pompano.
Trout, redfish and black drum won’t be caught in the same numbers as earlier in the year but some can be expected especially in the surf zones. Look for the puppy drum in the trough right behind the breakers to near the end of the pier.
Sand fleas make and excellent bait for several species of fish and in June they should be near the surface at the water’s edge in great numbers. You can scoop them up by hand or invest in a sand flea rake and do some serious harvesting of the little critters. Females with orange eggs present make for the best bait. Many of the beaches along the coast this spring are doing beach re-nourishment projects and you will have trouble finding fleas on those beaches.
The guys at the end of pier will have plenty of action as the month will be productive for king mackerel, large bluefish and the highly sought after cobia. Their bait of choice will be small bluefish which will be in abundance. They will use a two-rod system with an anchor rod and the bait on a fighting rod that will be tethered out away from the pier.
Flounder fisherman will also have success working a live finger mullet, small spot or other minnow along the pier. Many fishermen will Carolina rig these fish using an egg shaped sinker followed by a leader then the baited hook. You will see these anglers dragging their rigs along the sides of the pier working them out and back slowly. The main action this month will feature anglers plugging for bluefish and Spanish which will be in show up in large numbers. When the action gets going these fisherman will stand shoulder to shoulder to each other and throw and retrieve sometimes with one lure or more following in the same path as another. This action is believed to portray schooling bait and keep the fish in that area longer.
The best time for Spanish will be in the early hours or late in the day. The calmer and cleaner the water is the better fishing will be. Often Spanish and bluefish that are the same size will school together. Got-Cha plugs again will be the preferred lure with Red and White, Red and yellow, and yellow and white being the top choice for colors.