Bluefish, Spanish mackerel and flounder make up most of the inshore/nearshore catches now that summer’s heat has descended upon the North Carolina coast.
“Right now we’re fishing for Spanish mackerel and bluefish,” said Pete Zook, captain of Morehead City’s Energizer sportsfisherman, a 46-foot Custom Harris (252.725.4185, www.energizersportfishing.com).
Zook’s party landed 65 Spanish and and a limit of 60 bluefish by mid-morning July 27 while he trolled Clark spoons near Beaufort Inlet.
“Most of the Spanish were from 1 to 1 1/2 pounds while the blues are from 1 to 3 pounds,” he said.
When Zook doesn’t have a charter party, he likes to fish for flounder in Bogue Sound west of the Atlantic Beach Causeway bridge.
“I look for the docks near the edges of the channel and fish there, mostly from 4- to 12-feet deep, using Carolina rigged live bait,” he said. “Live finger mullets or small pinfish are good baits for flounder.”
Most of the flounder he’s been catching are small, Zook said, less than the 15-inch minimum length required north of Bardens Inlet.
“About half of them will be undersized, but others will be 16 to 18 inches,” he said. “A friend caught a 24-incher off one of the docks recently. That’s a 5 1/2-pound fish.”
Be the first to comment