The black sea bass season reopened May 15th and runs through July 6th. Don’t w miss this opportunity to catch some jumbo-sized fish. The Triangle Reef is a popular spot with plenty of sea bass. They will bite squid, crab, fresh cut fish, clam strips, shrimp, or diamond jigs.
Flounder fishing at Rudee and Lynnhaven inlets is picking up. Some nice keepers have been caught, mostly in the 16- to 18-inch range. Larger fish are rare. The best flounder baits are buck tails dressed with a Gulp or minnow/squid sandwiches.
Sheepshead are feeding on crustaceans clinging to the CBBT pilings. They can be caught by fishing fiddler crabs, mole crabs or clam tight against the structure. Some large fish in the 12-pound range have been caught.
Red drum are in their usual haunts and cobia will be joining them soon. There have been cobia reports on the Outer Banks. Live eels, spot, menhaden, mullet, large spoons, white buck tails, plastic eels, swimming plugs or cut bait will catch fish.
OBX
The surf is holding lots of drum, trout, and big bluefish, plus citation sea mullet are biting like mad. Don’t miss the action at the Point, where big drum are beached daily. Monster bluefish are on the prowl from Ocracoke to the Virginia state line.
The piers are hot spots now, with Spanish mackerel and bluefish hitting Got-cha Plugs hard. The best times are in the mornings and evenings when the fish are feeding more aggressively. You can also catch some huge sea mullet on all the piers, as well as some nice puppy drum.
Nearshore boats are catching cobia and big drum along the beaches and around Buxton. Trolling for Spanish mackerel and bluefish around the inlet has been productive.
On the sound side, bluefish that are smashing topwater lures left and right. These fish are larger than usual and will give you a good fight. You can also find drum on the flats and some quality trout deeper in the sound.
Offshore fishing is on fire right now, with some boats limiting out on tuna before lunchtime. The Hatteras Village Offshore Open kicked off with four Blue Marlin over 500 lbs. checked in.