Inshore Fishing Archives - Page 235 of 287

July 10, 2026

Changes in the tide will push or pull speckled trout and their prey into different areas.

Chasin’ tides

As long as it takes the moon 50 minutes longer than a 24-hour day to orbit the earth, tides will change every day, affecting the lower Cape Fear River and the rest of the world’s coastal corrals. […]

The local estuary supplies a virtual buffet for speckled trout.

An estuary built for trout

Jeff Burleson

North Carolina’s coastal frontier is home to some of the most-productive ecosystems in the nation and the lower Cape Fear River is one of them. […]

The author caught this undersized cobia on a speck rig in Ocracoke’s Wallace Channel.

Ocracoke: End or Beginning?

Bruce Litton

On the highways that run south from Corolla, the village of Ocracoke is the end of the line on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. […]

A rising tide pushes clearer water from the ocean into Ocracoke Inlet, making for better flounder fishing.

Rising tide best for flounder

Bruce Litton

Pamlico Sound stays slightly off-color, and when the tide is falling, it carries those waters out through Ocracoke Inlet. […]

Fiddler crabs and trimmed sea urchins are top sheepshead baits.

Best sheepshead baits

Jerry Dilsaver

Most fishermen think of fiddler crabs as the top sheepshead bait, and they catch fish with them. Fiddler crabs are most often seen just above the water’s edge in salt and brackish estuaries. […]

Sand fleas, aka mole crabs, are prime bait for sheepshead, which feed mostly on crustacaens, including crabs, mollusks and barnacles.

Tide rips, ledges and shells mean sheepshead

Bruce Litton

Capt. Ryan O’Neal said that one look in a sheepshead’s mouth shows exactly where to look for them: around crustaceans, mollusks and especially barnacles for them to eat. […]

SCDNR personnel have been obtaining information on cobia by sampling fish caught in tournaments.

Each year, more and more saltwater fisherman enjoy targeting cobia, increasing the strain on the resource. Any reduction in cobia numbers greatly increases the likelihood of the South Atlantic Fisheries Marine Council imposing regulations to protect them, as they have done with several other species in recent years. […]