Southern District Pender, New Hanover, & Brunswick Counties 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. |
Ocean: Offshore, bottom fishermen are catching red, scamp, and gag groupers along with an assortment of other reef fish. Closer to shore there have been some good catches of dolphin, king mackerel, amberjacks, and some cobia in the 10 to 20-mile range. The ten mile rock area and the shark hole have been producing as of late. The nearshore reefs are starting to produce some flounder along with some nice spadefish. Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Not much change over the last couple of weeks. Flounder are being caught in in the Cape Fear River, Lockwood Folly River, and Tubbs Inlet. There were several big fish caught last week, with one angler catching a 7 and a 10-pounder on the same trip. Trout fishing has been decent even with the hot weather. Early morning hours have been the best times. The Southern part of the Cape Fear River around Bald Head Island has had the most consistent fishing of late. Sheepshead and black drum are another summertime option. Snows Cut and the ADM dock are good places to try. Piers/Shore: Summer time mixed bag. Spots, blues, sea mullets, and pompano. Oak Island piers are still catching the trout. Most of the fish are being caught within the first hour of day light. Surf fishermen are catching some nice sea mullets and pompano on mole crabs and fresh shrimp. |
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| NC Division of Marine Fisheries - 3441 Arendell Street - Morehead City, NC 28557 - 252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632 |