Northern District NCDMF Fishing Report



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Northern District Dare, Hyde, Currituck, & Beaufort Counties
Contact: Brian Melott May 4, 2008
For the 2008 fishing year, all owners/operators of vessels recreationally fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, must obtain an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling permit. This permit has replaced the Atlantic tunas Angling category permit. In North Carolina, additional HMS harvest reporting requirements are also in place.

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. Tagged Red Drum: Download PDF with reward details.

Ocean: Offshore anglers caught slightly less overall than last week. Yellow and blackfin tuna were the most abundant, and some very large ones were caught. Dolphin have showed up in moderate amounts but most of them were very small, weighing less than five pounds. Little tunny, Atlantic bonito, wahoo, amberjack, and assorted sharks were also caught. Midrange anglers have had a modest improvement with increasing numbers of striped bass caught in a narrow range about 2 miles offshore, from Duck southward to the Oregon Inlet area. Inshore anglers caught very little with the exception of skates, dogfish sharks, and stingrays. A few mall bluefish were caught.

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Spotted seatrout have been abundant along with increased amounts of red drum mixed in. The Melvin Daniels Bridge and WRC access underneath the Washington Baum Bridge have been the hot spots, but catches have improved throughout the area for both trout and red drum. Striped bass catches have improved slightly but most of them were undersize specimens. Sheepshead and triggerfish are still being caught around the bridge pilings at Oregon Inlet on a fairly regular basis.

Piers/Shore: There were good catches of spotted seatrout, bluefish, and sea mullet. Seatrout were caught primarily in the early morning hours while sea mullet and bluefish were caught throughout the day. A few urrfish, weakfish, croaker, spot, pinfish, and assorted others were also caught. Skates, dogfish sharks, and stingrays remain plentiful.

General Overview: Success rates are much improved in all modes of fishing along with favorable weather conditions and warming water temps, (58° in the surf- Kill Devil Hills the day of this report) Favorable conditions are predicted for the coming week.

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