Southern District Fishing Report —
Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick Counties
Contact: Dennis Trowell (Dennis.Trowell@ncdenr.gov)
For the week of Aug. 6-12
Ocean: Favorable weather conditions allowed boats to venture offshore. Those trolling caught a few wahoo, but overall the blue water fishing was slow. Anglers targeting reef fish had good catches of vermilion snapper and black sea bass. They also caught scamp, gag grouper and red snapper. Closer to shore, in the 10-to-15-mile range, the king mackerel bite slowed compared to the previous week. Nearshore, anglers caught flounder and some over-the-slot red drum. Good numbers of Spanish mackerel were caught along area beaches.
Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Improving water conditions allowed anglers to catch decent numbers of black drum and red drum, along with a few flounder. Sheepshead and black drum were caught around area bridges and jetties. The ADM dock in the lower Cape Fear River was the most fruitful place. Anglers also caught over-the-slot red drum at the Little River and Masonboro rock jetties. Anglers also caught tarpon on the shoals off the tip of Bald Head Island.
Piers/Shore: Typical summertime catches consisted of low amounts of spot, croaker, and sea mullet. Anglers fishing with live bait, such as shrimp and mullet minnows, caught a few keeper flounder, red drum and black drum. Surf fishermen caught much the same with sea mullet making up the bulk of the landings with a few red drum and black drum.
For the fishing year, all owners/operators of vessels recreationally fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (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 Angling permit. This permit has replaced the Atlantic tunas Angling category permit. In North Carolina, additional Highly Migratory Species harvest reporting requirements are also in place. To obtain a permit go to: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/compliance/permits_reporting/index.html
Report a tagged fish
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 fishing license went into effect Jan. 1, 2007 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters.
Click here for the latest seasons, size and bag limits.
Please note: New reports are usually posted by early Monday afternoon.
