In late spring, the cobia begin moving up the Atlantic Coast after wintering off Florida and Georgia. Capt. Reese Stecher with Beach Bum Guide Service in Nags Head said the cobia are now in Carolina waters.
Most boats are catching cobia in Hatteras, Stecher said, but they showed up this week at Oregon Inlet where only a handful of boats have been fishing. That should change soon, as the big red drum made an Oregon Inlet appearance as well. Contact Stecher at www.beachbumfishing.com or (252) 449-0232 to book a trip.
Virginia Saltwater
By Dr. Julie Ball
With breezy weather making access to the evolving spring fishery a challenge, anglers are taking advantage of weather windows when they can.
The biggest new interest is the emerging drum scene, which is motivating many anglers to gather crabs and head for the Eastern Shore shoals during calm spells. Red drum are still providing some decent action among the shoals and sloughs near Smith and Fisherman’s Island, and this activity should continue to improve over the next weeks as we approach the next full moon. The best action is still happening among the surf and breakers, where some nice rockfish are also mixed in. The black drum bite is also shaping up, with a few big fish showing up this week, but most blacks are still ranging under 36-inches. The best local black drum action is occurring along the Eastern Shore seaside inlets, surf, and near Buoys 13 and 16 on the bayside. This trend will also continue to heat up over the next few weeks, and larger fish will become more common.
Some folks are taking advantage of the Bay’s Spring Trophy Striped Bass season. Anglers working top water lures along the rocks at the islands of the CBBT are catching some rockfish exceeding 36-inches. Storm Lures cast around the pilings of the CBBT are also working well.
Anglers fishing from the Ocean View Fishing Pier are still enjoying good catches of medium-sized croaker and small spot, along with scattered sea mullet. Bloodworms are working best for everything right now. Surf and pier anglers are also having good luck with spot and croaker from the shorelines off Ocean View and Little Creek, as well as Buckroe.
Good numbers of keeper flounder are coming from the Eastern Shore seaside inlets and the backwaters of Oyster, while a few flatfish are also coming from within both Lynnhaven and Rudee Inlets. The lower Bay flounder fishery will pick up once the water temperature stabilizes.
Anglers are still catching some speckled trout, healthy puppy drum and nice bluefish to over five-pounds in Rudee Inlet and along the oceanfront, where some early season Spanish mackerel also showed this week.
Tautog are still very active on lower Bay and inshore structures, but now these fish are only available for catch and release until September. Big sea bass are available on these same structures, and as of May 15, you can keep up to 15 fish daily at 12.5 inches or more. Look for sheepshead to become active in a few weeks.
Blueline tilefish ranging up to 16-pounds, wreckfish, and other deep water species are still available in deeper water over 50 fathoms when the weather allows boats to reach them.
Corolla
OBX Bait & Tackle reported a nice day in Corolla on Thursday though the water temp dropped again, down to 61 degrees. Fishing overall has been slow up and down the beaches and piers. The fish that have been caught up in Corolla have been quality fish. Nice size drum and three very nice stripers were caught also along with some black drum and bluefish. The Piers are reporting bluefish and some trout while inland boaters are getting bluefish.
Nags Head
TW’s reports on Wednesday:
Surf Fishing: There were a few scattered sea mullet on the south beaches.
Nothing much to report in Nags Head.
Sound Fishing: Anglers fishing the Little Bridge on the Nags Head/Manteo causeway are catching a few small trout. Doug Huber had 2 keepers.
Pier Fishing: Avalon reported trout in the 15-inch range and a few bluefish.
Nags Head: Trout and blues.
Jeannette’s: Bluefish.
Outer Banks: Bluefish.
Oregon Inlet
Oregon Inlet Fishing center reports on Thursday:
More wacky weather, but boats are still bringing in some good fish. Kenneth Daughtrey had a sailfish release on Tuna Fever and Robert Daniel had a white marlin release on Trophy Hunter. Anglers on 9 off shore boats brought in mahi-mahi with several gaffers, along with yellowfin and blackfin tuna.
The near-shore anglers had good bluefish action today with reports of cobia still lurking about.
On Wednesday, boats brought in catches of mahi-mahi, a few yellow-fin and Bonita today from the Gulf Stream.
Our Near-Shore boats had excellent bluefish today, bringing in lots of keepers in the 2-3 pound range. Anglers also had Bonita.
In-Shore boats had good speckled trout and bluefish catches as well as catch and release action on stripers.
Hatteras Surf
Fishing was a little slow Tuesday, but there were some fish caught. Finn Malloy caught a 2-7 Pompano. And Alex Foster caught one weighing 1-8 at Ramp 44. Ramp 38 had Sea Mullet. Avon had some Blow Toads, Sea Mullet and Blue Fish. The inshore boats had Puppy Drum and Trout.
On Wednesday, rain made for a poor fishing day, though Tyler Brill caught a 1-8 Sea Mullet around the Jetties. Ramp 55 on the sound side Black Drum and Gray Trout. A few of some other fishermen caught a few Sea Mullets.
Hatteras Offshore
Hatteras Harbor reports on Tuesday:
Weather was overcast and a bit breezy. Several boats were out fishing and good dolphin catches were reported. A few blackfin tuna and wahoo were on the line as well as grouper. Billfish were working the area with several being released today. Inshore puppy drum were being caught and the adult red drum were being released. Trout were also caught in good numbers.
Jeff Alman of Raleigh, NC had a 21-lb. grouper citation. Several sailfish release citations were also awarded.
On Wednesday, due to choppy waters, boats returned wet, but happy with really good gaffer dolphin catches. The wahoo bite was scattered, as was blackfin tuna. Three sailfish were released.