Inshore Fishing Archives - Page 226 of 287

July 10, 2026

A pier cart, store-bought or homemade, helps tote gear onto the pier and coolers full of delicious spot back out.

Cart ’em away by the bushel

While some anglers may carry all the spots they want home in a plastic pail, dedicated pier fishermen use fishing carts, such as this Angler’s Fish-N-Mate Pier Cart. […]

Alice Locklear is dressed for the elements as she unhooks a spot that hit a bloodworm.

Spots bite best in the worst weather

Mike Marsh

Cold fronts bring spots migrating southward in the fall. They are accompanied by windy, rainy weather. […]

Bashir Bounajin cleans a nice mess of spot at the Kure Beach Fishing Pier.

Exotic spots

Mike Marsh

A native of Lebanon, Bashir Bounajin moved to Raleigh more than 20 years ago, and he’s been a regular visitor to Kure Beach Fishing Pier during the fall spot run. […]

Red drum are just one of a number of species often caught from the same areas in the lower Neuse River.

The Flat and Eno rivers form the Neuse River, which runs downstream from Falls of the Neuse Dam between Raleigh and Wake Forest until it empties into the Pamlico Sound 10 miles downstream from Oriental. […]

Juvenile red drum, often referred to as ‘puppy drum’ are most often found in coastal rivers, sounds and marshes; the majority of reds found in the ocean are larger fish of spawning age.

What’s a “puppy” drum?

Jerry Dilsaver

Along the North Carolina coast, extending north to Virginia Beach, Va. and south to Myrtle Beach, S.C., red drum that measure roughly between 16 and 32 inches are affectionately called “puppy drum.” […]

Puppy drum are a popular species for fishermen in the lower Neuse River.

Go oystering for fish

Jerry Dilsaver

With the lower Neuse River basically void of much fish-attracting structure, the Neuse River Oyster Reef is an oasis in a relative desert. […]

A halved or quartered crab can be an excellent redfish bait.

Preparing crab baits

Phillip Gentry

Thankfully, blue crabs top out in the 6- to 8-inch range and rarely exceed a pound or so in weight. If they got any bigger, you could forget going near the water during the summertime, because there is no meaner animal that lives in saltwater. […]

Chatterbait redfish

Phillip Gentry

Not many lures in recent memory have had such a profound impact on bass fishing as the Chatterbait. […]

Setting the hook

Dan Kibler

There have been volumes written about how long to wait before setting the hook after a flounder’s initial bite. […]

Drift or troll with 3-way swivel rig

Dan Kibler

For active drifting and trolling, there’s nothing better, according to guides David Cutler and Mark Dickson, than a rig featuring a three-way swivel, a short leader and weight tied to one eye of the swivel and a longer leader and hook tied to the other eye. […]