Harkers Island may be out of the way, but its waters hold some of North Carolina’s best flounder this month.
Noah Lynk was headed to the Cape Lookout rock jetty one morning when a higher-than-expected tide caused him to change his plans and stay inshore.
He worked his way into one of the braided channels that sweep around the east end of Shackleford Banks, found a small but wide spot and set Shallow Minded Anchor Poles at each end of his skiff so the fishermen in his guide party could easily cast to where he thought flounder would be holding.
“See how the current is pushing out of this creek just in front of us and bending around to run between us and that bar?” asked Lynk, who runs Noah’s Ark Fishing Charters out of Harkers Island. “We’re going to fish out to the edge where the current is obviously running harder. It is pushing bait through here, and there should be flounder and maybe some other fish gathering here to feed. I expect we’ll catch a few while the tide is still rising, and the action should get good once the tide begins falling. We’ll probably catch a few drum, too.”
Lynk passed out spinning outfits spooled with 12-pound Fins braid and a couple of feet of 20-pound Calcutta fluorocarbon leader tied to Salty Bay jigheads on which were impaled mud minnows and killifish — mullet minnows and small menhaden having been hard to find.
“Everyone shouldn’t cast to the same spot,” he said. “Some can fish from the stern and some from the bow. Any time you get in the hard running part of the tide, these little jigs will drift with it, so pay attention, and we can spend our time fishing and not untangling. Cast right across this little deeper spot to where the slower- and faster-moving water make that current edge. That’s usually where flounder like to feed. Try to cast right to the edge of the slower-moving water and then barely creep your line back in.”
Lynk explained that a flounder bite would typically be a solid thump, followed by the sensation of something heavy on the other end of the line — caused by flounder grabbing the bait, then stopping to turn it so it can be swallowed headfirst. Count to 10 or 15 after the first thump, he told them, then reel in the slack and set the hook with a pretty hard jerk so it will stick in the fish’s relatively hard mouth.
It only took a few minutes before one fisherman had a fish on, and in a short time, he led the 3-pound fish to the boat, where Lynk waited with the landing net.
“You have to net fish from the front,” Lynk said. “If you approach them from the rear and touch or spook them, they can run off and may break the line or throw the hook. By netting from the front, if they try to run, they run into the net rather than away from it. They’re quick and spooky, but they don’t have reverse and have to go forward to move.”
A short time later, Lynk caught a nice keeper that joined its neighbor in the fish box, but the next several fish that were caught were barely keepers. Lynk put them in the livewell, explaining that flounder often shrink a tiny bit if kept on ice, so fish that are barely above the 15-inch size minimum should go in the livewell where they can remain alive and not lose length.
As the tide changed, the bite slowed, and Lynk headed to a section of marsh closer to Harkers Island, dodging oyster rocks that were barely visible to get into a small creek. He got the boat positioned and pointed out several oyster rocks and a channel that ran deeper into the marsh.
“Cast to where that little bit of grass makes a point,” Lynk said. “You want your bait to be setting right at the edge of the grass. We may catch some reds here, too. They work along this side, but they usually come later in the falling tide. The flounder move into place early in the tide to catch any baits that might leave the creek when the tide first begins falling.”
It took no time for one fisherman to get a flounder bite, but the fish obviously didn’t like the idea of winding up in a frying pan. After four surges across the marsh to the channel, the hook finally came out of the flounder’s mouth.
“I hate that for you,” Lynk said. “You want to set the hook as soon as you can, but it’s always a guess between what’s long enough or not quite long enough. Don’t feel bad about it, it happens. You waited long enough he had the bait good, but he didn’t quite have the hook.”
Lynk slipped a fat mud minnow on the hook and told the fisherman cast to the same place. He explained that flounder sometimes pile up in a hole, and that the fish that had escaped flounder might even come right back. Over the next hour, several more flounder found their way into the boat and cooler.
DESTINATION INFORMATION
HOW TO GET THERE — Harkers Island is 15 miles east of Morehead City on US 70, the main east-west highway that brings anglers to the Crystal Coast. From the south, take NC 24 to US 70. A public ramp is at Straits, on the mainland at the bridge to the island. Several marinas on the island have fee ramps.
WHEN TO GO — Flounder arrive in the waters around Harkers Island and Cape Lookout in late April and May. They’ll remain until the fall. Numbers increase through the spring into July and will hold steady from there.
BEST TECHNIQUES — Most fishermen use medium-action to medium-light 61/2- to 7-foot spinning outfits spooled with 12-pound braid and a 2-foot leader of 20-pound fluorocarbon. Live mud minnows, mullet minnows and small menhaden are productive fished on 1/8- to 3/8-ounce jigheads. Soft-plastic baits fished on the same jigheads are also good choices.
FISHING INFO/GUIDES — Noah’s Ark Fishing Charters, 252-342-6911, www.noahsarkfishingcharters.com; Cape Point Marina, 252-728-6181. See also Guides and Charters in Classifieds.
ACCOMMODATIONS — Crystal Coast Visitors Bureau, 800-SUNNY-NC, www.crystalcoastnc.com; Cape Pointe Marina, 252-728-6181, www.capepointemarine.com, has R.V. sites, and Harkers Island Fishing Center, 252-728-3907, www.harkersmarina.com has a small motel.
MAPS — Capt. Segull’s Nautical Charts, 888-473-4855, www.captainsegullcharts.com; Sealake Fishing Guides, 800-411-0185, www.thegoodspots.com; Grease Chart, 800-326-3567, www.greasechart.com; GMCO’s Chartbook of North Carolina, 888-420-6277, www.gmcomaps.com.
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