Northern District NCDMF Fishing Report



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Northern District Dare, Hyde, Currituck, & Beaufort Counties
Contact: Brian Melott May 11, 2008
For the 2008 fishing year, all owners/operators of vessels recreationally fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, must obtain an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling permit. This permit has replaced the Atlantic tunas Angling category permit. In North Carolina, additional HMS harvest reporting requirements are also in place.

Please Note: Anglers sometimes confuse small king mackerel with Spanish mackerel. King mackerel and spanish mackerel have different size and catch limits. Make SURE you properly identify the mackerel you are catching. (Tips here)

A recreational Recreational Fishing License went into effect Jan. 1, 2007 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. Tagged Red Drum: Download PDF with reward details.

Ocean: Offshore success rates continue to be about average for this time of year with increasing amounts of dolphin, yellow and blackfin tuna, and wahoo. Little tunny, Atlantic bonito, and assorted sharks were also caught. Midrange anglers had improved catches this past week with some nice striped bass caught about 2 miles offshore throughout the area, along with a few large red drum. Inshore anglers had better luck this week, with some very nice spotted seatrout in the 2.5-3 pound range. These fish were tough to access being that they were in the very near-shore surf zone. A few small bluefish were caught.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Spotted seatrout continue to be the primary target of most anglers in these waters due to very high success rates. Anglers fishing in the Roanoke Sound under the Washington Baum Bridge - opposite Pirates Cove Marina - caught the bulk of them, with limits had by almost all anglers with a line in the water. Anglers also caught a few croaker, red drum and spot.

Piers/Shore: Sea mullet, bluefish, and spotted seatrout made up the majority of the catches this week. Seatrout were weighing in around 3 lbs. on a regular basis, with a few of them close to 4 lbs. Catches were short-term but high-volume and if you were there when they were biting you were almost assured catching your limit. Kingfish and bluefish were caught throughout the day in moderate amounts.

General Overview: Success rates continue to improve in all modes of fishing as the weather improves. Water temp in the surf- (Kill Devil Hills) the day of this report was 60 degrees.

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