Springtime Brings on Super Surf Fishing Action

Surf fishing is a great way to spend a warm spring day, or night, with Memorial Day weekend one of the most popular camping weekends at the beaches. All southern coast’s beaches have walk-in access with dedicated parking. The walk-in accesses at Oak Island are plentiful and free. Topsail and Carolina Beach are other great destinations for walking to some great surf fishing. Parking places at Wrightsville Beach are metered and fill up early. For those who prefer driving on the beach, Freeman Park at Carolina Beach’s north end and Fort Fisher State Recreation Area at the south end offer beach driving for a fee.

Flounder swarm in the surf in April and May. But many of them will be “shorts” too small to keep. Still, a few will top the 5-pound citation weight toward the end of May.

Red drum will form dense schools, with the fish weighing between three and 14 pounds. These are the juvenile fish that have headed for the ocean from the backwaters as the water starts heating up.

Other fish that can be caught during a super surf-fishing trip include Virginia mullet, bluefish, pigfish, pinfish, sheepshead, black drum, pompano, dogfish and other sharks, and spot and croaker.

Anglers should fish with fresh shrimp, cut mullet or menhaden, squid and mole crabs. A two-hook bottom rig is the ticket to the surf fishing action. But some anglers prefer using a sliding sinker rig, also called a flounder rig or Carolina rig, for targeting flounder.

While almost any spot may hold a few fish, dedicated surf fishermen look for anomalies to find the best fishing spots. Walking or driving along the beach during low tide will help the angler discover changes in the bottom such as bars, current rips, clay and cochina rock formations, shell beds and steep drop-offs. These are the places that hold the most fish as the tide rises. The best fishing action usually occurs as the tide hits its peak and the following two to four hours of falling tide.

One of the best things about surf fishing is that it is inexpensive. All you need is a rod, a couple of bottom rigs, a PVC rod holder and a bucket to haul your gear to the sand and haul your catch back home. Remember to take along some sunscreen, drinking water, a knife, pliers, a hand towel and sunglasses. If you will be fishing after dark, a lantern or flashlight is a necessity. A folding chair is a nice addition. But if you want to travel light, you can always just sit on the bucket or soak up some rays while lying down on the warm beach sand on a towel.

More From Mike Marsh

Mike Marsh’s New Book, “Fishing North Carolina,” ($26.60 ppd.) along with “Inshore Angler – Coastal Carolina’s Small Boat Fishing Guide” ($26.20 ppd.) and “Offshore Angler – Carolina’s Mackerel Boat Fishing Guide” ($22.25 ppd.), are available by check or M.O. to Mike Marsh, 1502 Ebb Dr., Wilmington, NC 28409. Visit www.mikemarshoutdoors.com for credit card orders and more hunting and fishing information.

Shallotte/Calabash Area

Larry Horowitz (Voyager Fishing Charters, 910-575-5978) said the bottom-fishing seasons would open.

“Fishing for beeliners will open the first of April and grouper fishing will open the first of May,” he said. “The beeliner fishing will be excellent. Most of the bottom fishing will be happening from depths of 100 feet on out.”

Tuna, wahoo and dolphin will be biting in the Gulf Stream, with the 100/400 lines one of the top spots. The best bets for offshore trolling will be ballyhoos and strips rigged fished on trolling heads and skirts.

The top nearshore action will be the Spanish mackerel, Atlantic bonito and false albacore fishing. King mackerel will also move closer to shore as the water warms up in May.

 

Holden Beach/Ocean Isle Area

Capt. Brant McMullan (Ocean Isle Fishing Center, 910-575-3474) said inshore fishing for speckled trout would be excellent.
“It’s catch-and-release fishing, but our May speck bite is the best of the year,” he said. “Redfish action will be excellent in the creeks and Ocean Isle canals.”

Sight fishing for red drum will be excellent. Anglers should watch for the fish on the oyster beds and cast wherever they see shrimp popping.

Flounder will arrive in early May. The inlets should host great flounder action, with Tubbs Inlet a popular destination.

In late April, Atlantic bonito will bite over structure in 60 feet of water. Anglers should watch for the birds and sight-cast spoons and Got-cha lures for bonito. Trolling Clarkspoons is the best way to find the fish when they aren’t showing on top. Once the fish have been located anglers can catch them with jigging spoons.

Spanish mackerel and bluefish show up when the water hits 66 degrees. Big schools of menhaden will attract these toothy predators.

King mackerel will arrive at structure in 100 feet of water by April, then move to 35 to 50 feet of water in May. Kings will follow the baitfish and Spanish mackerel schools.

Grouper season will reopen May 1. Anglers should fish early to take advantage of uneducated fish. Vertical jigging in 150 to 250 feet of water will be the best bet for grouper and will also result in catches of cobia, African pompano and amberjack.

Trolling for wahoo, dolphin and tuna will take off. Anglers can also catch blackfin tuna by vertical jigging the top 100 feet.

 

Southport/Oak Island Area

Capt. Butch Foster (Yeah Right Charters, 910-845-2004) said whiting would be biting.

“Virginia mullet, which some people also call whiting, will be biting at the nearshore structure such as the Lighthouse Rocks and the artificial reefs,” he said. “That’s going to be your best bet for nearshore bottom fishing with the sea bass fishing closed until later on. Offshore, the grouper fishing will be good in May.”

Foster catches most of his grouper at Frying Pan Shoal. But he heads for the Same Hole for top trolling action. Another good place for finding wahoo, dolphin and tuna is The Steeples.

“We are hoping for better yellowfin tuna fishing,” he said. “It was not very good last season. But blackfin tuna turned on early this spring and it should continue to be very good into May.”

Inshore, the red drum fishing will be excellent, with the Bald Head marshes and Elizabeth River good places to catch redfish. Speckled trout will be biting, but the numbers of fish may be down due to winterkill and the fish cannot yet be retained.

 

Wrightsville Beach/Carolina Beach Area

Capt. Jot Owens (910-233-4139) said anglers would begin seeing redfish in the shallower water.

“On the warmer days the redfish will be on the mud banks and oyster rocks on the falling tide,” he said. “Black drum will mix with the red drum. Any kind of fresh cut bait or a scented soft plastic like the Berkley Gulp Shrimp will catch both species. Best Berkley Gulp colors are Molting and New Penny.”

The catch-and-release speckled trout fishing should be good, depending on the winter carryover. A topwater lure such as the MirrOlure Top Dog will be a good choice for fishing the grass banks.

Anglers should start looking for false albacore and Atlantic bonito from right on the beach to 10 miles offshore. Bait concentrations at the hard bottoms, artificial reefs and ledges will attract the fish and the seabirds. Small jigs, casting spoons and soda straw rigs are the best lures for these schooling fish. Trolling a No. 1 planer with a Clarkspoon down deep and a Bluewater Candy Daisy Chain on top is a good tactic for cover the water column. Good colors are pink and silver.

The big chopper bluefish weighing 5 to 15 pounds will show up at the inlets. They will strike live menhaden or mullet fished on float rigs. Good lures for bluefish include topwater poppers and mid-depth jerkbaits.

Cobia will arrive by late May. Fishermen should look for cobia around the inlets and the big schools of baitfish anywhere, from right in the surf to two miles offshore. Sight casting bucktails and pitching circle hook rigs baited with live menhaden are good ways to catch cobia.

The flounder will begin biting, with good numbers of small fish back in the creeks. The bigger fish will move inshore later in the summer.

 

Hampstead/Topsail Beach Area

Capt. Wayne Crisco (Last Resort Charters, 910-465-0611) said anglers should begin catching a few decent flounder in May.

“The best places for flounder will be the inlets and marina basins,” he said. “Live baits fished on bottom rigs will be the best way to catch them.”

Speckled trout fishing will be good, but anglers cannot retain any specks. Atlantic bonito will arrive in May. Bluefish will arrive in April or May and mix with the schools of Spanish mackerel and bonito. Schooling fish will be at the inlets and at the natural ledges. Divers rock is a great place to find schooling fish.

Red drum will move back into the creeks. Black drum will bite at the N.C. 172 Bridge in New River and at the N.C. 50 Highway swing bridge across the ICW.

 

Surf City/Sneads Ferry Area

Rusty Pate (Rusty’s Bait and Tackle, 910-329-0247) said the warm water would stir up red and black drum.

“Red drum will be biting on the south side of Lea Island,” he said. “Topsail Inlet as another red hot red drum fishing spot. In the backwaters, Turkey Creek and all the creeks in New River will hold some red drum. Black drum will be mixed with the red drum.”

Shrimp, cut baits and minnows will be the best drum baits. Speckled trout will also be biting in the same waters and the drum and trout will strike MirrOlure 17MR lures and the newer, similar Bomber Badonk-a-donk lures.

Some bonito, Spanish mackerel and bluefish will school in April. Anglers will also catch spots at Surf City pier and in the ICW.

Old North State Fishing Report

Overall lake fishing has been tough in February and the trend continued a little longer this year. Most anglers across the state have accepted this longer winter pattern and pushed back the spring patterns. Fish were still caught and even some of quality size as indicated by the winter bass trail results. But most anglers have started to see signs of longer days, a few red maple blooms peaking out and some warmer days. March madness is here and not a minute to soon. So get some new sunscreen, some new line or maybe a few new lures and get on out on the water.

Capt. Paul Rose, www.carolinabonefishing.com

Mayo Lake

Theodore Peters Jr. of Roxboro Trading Post (336-322-4100) can give your fishing reels and rods of any make the attention required after a long cold winter to have you ready for the season. Stop in on your way to the lake for the local conditions, tackle and a gear tune-up. Guide Kennon Brown of Hawg Hunter Guide Service works out of the same shop. “Pre-spawn is BIG bass time.”

Belews Lake

Power plant lakes are ahead of other local lakes from heated discharges. Water downstream of the outflows can be warmer and congregates bait and game fish. Guide Buddy Parks (336-414-4648) suggests drifting from the outflow for about 1 mile and keeping an eye on the temperature gauge and how it relates to depth.

On his first drift, he will have a plain old hardware thermometer attached to a weight and line. He will measure depths and record the pattern of temperature changes under the surface then mark the electronics.

The next drift he sets out crappie spreads in the ideal temperature ranges (58 degrees) at specific depths (4-to-20 feet), using Calcutta minnows. “The crappies have been coming on strong and this really pinpoints where they are holding before getting real shallow.”

Bass fishing is also picking up particularly around the willows. Carolina rigs and spinnerbaits with minnow trailers are working for fish in a strong pre-spawn pattern. Depths can vary to as shallow as 4 feet.

Hyco Lake

Due the warm water resulting from power generation, Hyco Lake offers earlier season opportunities for fishing. “Sometimes these lakes can be weeks ahead of others” according to John Stevens at Hyco Marina (336-599-2211).

The biggest crappies of the year are under the bridges right now. Get them on minnows with and without standard crappie jigs. As spring approaches John “expects more of an abundance rather than these monster slabs.” Besides the excellent crappie bite, April on Hyco features a great white-spinnerbait pattern against rip rap. Try South Hyco Creek and don’t be afraid to use a top-water lure, like a Spook, for a really big fish.”

Jordan and Falls Lakes

Jamie Olive (919-625-0707) has his strategy worked out on these two gems. He guides on both lakes and the pattern for success is identical. Lucky for us he readily shares info.

“In Feb you had water around 43 degrees. With it getting so cold everything is going to be late. Longer days and increasing temperatures have bass now on both lakes moving up from the depths into pre-spawning positions, particularly the big females looking for crayfish.”

His biggest bass of 11 pounds came from this exact pattern and the water was just 49 degrees. “Start at the mouth of creeks and work back to the edge of the spawning flats. Follow well defined channels and hit all the secondary points. Use Carolina rigged centipedes and Senko worms rigged wacky.

If it is windy, target the same points and any rock formations with lipless crankbaits and shad raps to score on the reaction bites. Spinnerbaits will work great on the south and west sides of the same points. Once you get a few strikes, get the jig or shakey heads out to slow it down for a few quality bites.

On Falls, fish Upper and Lower Batton and New Light Creeks. On Jordan best bets are Beaver, Whiteoak and Bush Creeks.”

Shearon Harris

Rich Szczerbala (919-418-2912) had this to say: “February was definitely slow and tough. Water was as low as 40-to-43 degrees. As the water gets up to low 50’s, the bass are pulling up to stage.

The primrose edge will hold fish and anglers should throw jigs and Netbaits in paca craw. If the water is calm, fish will suspend on these edges but can be spooky so stay off them a bit.

If the bite becomes tough, move out into the middle of the coves on the creek channel edges. As the water gets close to 60, move on the inside edge of the primrose and fan cast unweighted trick worms on 2/0 hooks with a swivel and 12-pound flouro to prevent twisting. Try a buzzbait to score a trophy.” Rich had a record 5 fish for 39 pounds on staging patterns like this.

Lake Gaston

Joel Richardson (336-643-7214) reports in with a rock pattern holding up well. “Fish rocks with deep water close by using spinnerbaits in chartreuse/white or crawfish cranks running 6-8 feet down. Jigs will always work.

Plenty of 3-5lb fish are being caught but expect a good 6-7 pounder one to bite. Spawn action runs from the end of March and well into April this year. Use floating worms in bubblegum/white or pumpkin lizards. Hit the visible cover in 5-feet of water. The Eaton Ferry Bridge to the dam has the clearer water”

Kerr Lake

Lynn Harvell had to endure temperatures as low as 38-to-39 degrees. But all is well now as “crappie are on brush tops and logs using 5/16oz jigs (c/r, c/b, and c/b) under a float.

You can also use small gold hooks and small minnows with a small shot about 4-feet up. Pre -spawn bass will react to Carolina rigged lizards on 3/0 hooks. Tandem spinnerbaits also have been productive along main lake points, around wood, and willow bushes. March and April temperatures will run 50-to-53 degrees.

by Mike Marsh

Mike Marsh’s new book, Fishing North Carolina covers every detail for fishing 100 rivers, lakes, sounds, piers and beaches. Fishing North Carolina ($26.60 ppd.), Inshore Angler – Coastal Carolina’s Small Boat Fishing Guide ($26.20) and “Offshore Angler – Carolina’s Mackerel Boat Fishing Guide” ($22.25) are available by check or M.O. to Mike Marsh, 1502 Ebb Dr., Wilmington, NC 28409. For credit card orders or more hunting and fishing information visit www.mikemarshoutdoors.com.

March is a transition month, with warming weather stirring anglers into action. While the wind can keep boats in port, it is the wind that will be warming up the water to jumpstart the spring fishing. Once April arrives, the fishing action picks up substantially.

Federal rules have shut down the fishing for several bottom fish species, but the action is still on for grunts, jacks, blackfin tuna and a host of other fish caught incidentally to what was once a “grouper” trip.

Inshore, red drum, black drum, sheepshead, whiting and speckled trout will begin biting eagerly as February ebbs and March rises. These species will bite at the piers, jetties, marinas and backwater creeks.

Little River

Capt. Chris Long (Longway Charter Fishing, 843-249-7813) said the bottom fish action would be good, but many fish species would have to be released.

“Because of the current regulations, we will be releasing some of the favorite species including sea bass, red snapper and grouper,” he said. “But anglers can still keep grunts, triggerfish, amberjack and other bottom fish species. They will still catch lots of fish and go home with plenty to eat.”

For the best bottom fish action, anglers should head to the hard bottoms located beyond 60 miles offshore. The key to finding the bottom fish is locating the correct water temperature where it occurs over a good hard bottom area. The best tactic for locating a likely fishing hotspot is to use online temperature services before heading offshore to go fishing. Anglers should try to find water temperatures in the high 60s to low 70s and, once they arrive in the area, use a color sonar unit to locate fish on the bottom structure. Different species are indicated by different colors, sizes of fish marks and height above the bottom.

Light-lining for wahoo, tuna and amberjack will be an excellent way to catch pelagic fish while bouncing squid and cut baits off the bottom for grunts and triggerfish. Small baitfish caught with Sabiki rigs or small grunts caught on bottom fish rigs make excellent baits for light-line fishing.

Pier Fishing

Apache Pier

Deon Grainger (Apache Pier, Myrtle Beach, 843-497-6486) said anglers should start catching some great eating fish, with April a better month than February.

“Black drum are the fish of the month for March,” she said. “There should also be some good catches of whiting.”

By the latter part of April, a few flounder will show. Anglers may also catch some speckled trout.

Most fishermen use shrimp for bait because it will catch all of these species. Shrimp is available at the tackle shop. Some anglers also use cut fish. The best wind for fishing is a northeast wind. But angler can also have good fishing during warm, calm weather. The pier has a shelter at the end from protection from the elements.

Springmaid Pier

Adriana Kascher (Springmaid Pier, Myrtle Beach, 843-315-7156) said the winter months shut down the fish, but bites should come more frequently as spring arrives.

“We will see some croaker, whiting, speckled trout, dogfish and weakfish,” she said. “There will also be some catches of red drum and black drum.”

The best bait is shrimp, which can be purchased at the pier house. The pier has a shelter at the end for bad weather and the pier house is always open for warming up between the fish runs. The best action occurs when the wind is blowing from the east.

Most fishermen use a medium- to heavy-action spinning rig for casting bottom rigs and catching the smaller species of fish. But if the dogfish run is strong, anglers may want to upsize their rods and reels and switch from monofilament to wire leaders.

Murrells Inlet

Capt. Jay Biesch (Fishfull Thinking, 843-902-0356) said action at nearshore reefs would be picking up.

“We will be catching sheepshead at all the nearshore reefs,” he said. “With grouper and sea bass shut down, that will be the best bottomfish action. Fiddler crabs will be the best baits for sheepshead.”

Sheepshead will also be biting at the inlet, along with black drum. Fiddler crabs will also work well for black drum. Shrimp is a great bait for black drum and will also catch sheepshead.

Back in the creeks, the red drum and speckled trout will bite more strongly as the weather warms up. Some good places to catch them are in Oak Creek and in the main channel near Marlin Quay Marina.

The best bets for red drum and speckled trout are slow-trolling or casting with MirrOlures and grubs. The channel edges are the best places. Any place with hard structure such as jetties, seawalls, marina basins and bridges should hold some fish.

King mackerel will strike spoons, live baits and frozen baits in the offshore waters. Anglers should watch their depthfinder screens for baitfish concentrations when they arrive in an area with the right temperature for king mackerel. The best water temperatures are in the upper 60s to low 70s and can be found by searching online for temperature charts.

Georgetown

Capt. Mike McDonald (Gul-R-Boy Guide Service, 843-546-3625) said the speckled trout and red drum action would warm up.

“Redfish aren’t affected by the cold so there will be plenty of them around this spring,” he said. “But our speckled trout numbers may be down. The water got too cold last winter and may have moved them out. I don’t know that any of them were killed and we are hoping the fishing will not be impacted too badly.”

The best fishing will occur in the latter part of March. Red drum spend 90 percent of their lives in less than 18 inches of water during the first three years of life. Therefore, anglers will find them as they move from the deeper holes at night to the shallower, warmer waters during the day.

Speckled trout will be biting in the deepest holes in the backwater creeks. Ledges that drop from the shallow flats to depths of 4 to 7 feet are good bets for specks. By the last of March, the speckled trout will start moving to the jetties.

Black drum will bite in the deeper holes. They congregate wherever there is structure. If you catch one black drum, keep fishing because others are in the same area.

For red drum and speckled trout, soft plastic tails like the D.O.A-C.A.L shad tails and Haw River curly tails are good bets. They should be fished on jigs sized to reach the bottom depending on water depth and current flow.

While black drum will strike soft plastics, they prefer shrimp, cut baits and crab baits. If you can find them, live mullet or menhaden are good bets for all three species of fish.