Atlantic Beach and Morehead City have been favorite fishing destinations for many North Carolina fishermen for many years. Atlantic Beach is the eastern end of Bogue Banks and has an ocean beach, while Morehead City is located across the Intracoastal Waterway and Bogue Sound on the mainland. The bounty of fish caught in the waters here is legendary, and most years something is ready to stretch a curious angler’s string all year.
Many fishermen consider this area a gateway to the Atlantic Ocean and, no doubt, it serves that purpose well; passing Cape Lookout with access to the world famous Big Rock. However, it is also an exceptional location for a wide variety of inshore opportunities. One fall, when their championship was held in conjunction with the N.C. Seafood Festival in Morehead City, several the competitors in a now-defunct redfish tournament trail said the fishing was as good as anywhere they’d been. Flounder, speckled trout, gray trout, red drum and numerous other species are found in the inshore waters here.
The area has an incredible amount of water for fish to find suitable habitat. The Atlantic Ocean is the southern boundary, while Bogue Sound is the west end. The Intracoastal Waterway, with Spooners and Pelletier creeks is the inland boundary for about half of its length, but when the ICW bends around Morehead City, this opens to include the Newport River marshes – or “Haystacks,” as many fishermen refer to them – the Newport River and Core Creek. The eastern boundary is the edge of Back Sound and Taylors Creek between Beaufort and Shackleford Banks.
Maybe not all roads lead to Atlantic Beach, but it isn’t difficult to get there. US 70 crosses all of North Carolina’s interstate highways as it works its way from the Appalachian Mountains to its seaside terminus at Atlantic. In doing so, it passes through or near all the larger cities except Charlotte heading seaward through Morehead City. NC 24 runs east from Charlotte, crossing I-95 and I-40 en route to its junction with US 70 at Morehead City. Along the way, NC 24 and US 70 intersect with enough highways that anyone wanting to head to Morehead City or Atlantic Beach to do some fishing shouldn’t have difficulty planning a route.
Capt. Matt Lamb (252-240-FISH) didn’t grow up in Carteret County, but he grew up fishing. Lamb spent his childhood in the Greensboro area and fished most weekends with his father, Ray. During his teens, they began pairing up for bass tournaments, and the die was cast.
Upon graduation from high school, Lamb headed to Wilmington and the boat building and marine mechanic curriculums at Cape Fear Community College. While working his way through these programs, he became addicted to saltwater fishing. This soon led to acquiring his captain’s license and beginning to guide.
Lamb relocated to Atlantic Beach and is fitting in just fine. After guiding for a few years, the opportunity to open Chasin’ Tails Outdoors on the Atlantic Beach Causeway presented itself, and the rest is history. Lamb still charters as his time allows, but between running the store and fishing the Redfish Action and Inshore Fishing Association (IFA) Redfish Tours, he stays pretty busy. His dad has learned to catch redfish and still partners with him for the tournaments – and they still do well. They practice at many of the locations listed below.
1 – Core Creek Bay 1 N 34 47 14/W 076 41 07
This little bay is one of my favorite spots to fish,” Lamb said. “You have to be careful leaving the waterway to get in, but after that there is enough water to move around for most of the falling tide. Most of what I catch in here is redfish; they are here as soon as the water warms a little in the spring, and stay until the water gets cold late in the fall.”
Lamb said he caught enough flounder in this bay that he is no longer surprised when one bites, and he sometimes even catches a few trout. Reds and flounder can be around at any tide, but this is shallow water, and any trout that might be there starts moving out as soon as the tide begins falling.
Lamb said fish will spook if approached too quickly, but they will usually hit almost any bait. The bay is fairly well-protected from the winds and is a good spot to work topwater lures and see crashing strikes. Berkley Gulp! shrimp are a favorite, but they and real shrimp are pecked badly by bait thieves trying to be more aggressive than the larger fish and steal a meal.
Editor’s note: This article is part of the Saltwater Series: Atlantic Beach feature in the July issue of North Carolina Sportsman. Digital editions can be downloaded right to your computer or smartphone.
Be sure to subscribe to ensure you don’t miss a single information-packed issue of North Carolina Sportsman.
