If you were fishing on the Carolina coast last week, odds are you were “drumming” up business, as in catching or trying to catch drum. John Savides of Afton wrestled in a slot size drum from the beaches of Topsail, and anglers on the Outer Banks were caching these powerful fish from piers, from the surf and from nearshore and sound side boats. The best bait was finger mullet, which was flying off the shelves in bait shops.
The mini-flounder season in NC ended, but there were some huge flounder caught in the two-week period. Who knows, maybe the appointed members of North Carolina Marine Council will give recreational anglers three whole weeks next year. Sheepshead were biting fiddler crabs around the pilings of Oregon Inlet and nice blues and speckled trout were caught in the sound. The offshore fleet is encountering lots of Mahi and marlin when the seas allow.
Virginia Saltwater
Flounder catches re coming more frequently – and nicer fish, too. The Rappahannock River has been good as has the lower bay waters. The Bridge Tunnel boats are reeling in Flounder, Sheepshead, Red Drum, Black Drum, and Tautog. As cobia exit the bay, Wahoo are moving into the coastline. Bluefish continue to prowl inside the bay and along Virginia Beach and Sandbridge. Gotcha Plugs are working well for the 3-to-8-pound blues. Surf fishermen are finding drum, blues, pompano, and sea mullet.
