It’s August, and for anglers, that means still dealing with the heat. But it’s not that simple for the fish. Winds are a big factor in water temperature, and even though it’s still summer, the water can cool quickly. And while that cooling trend may be temporary, it still impacts the fish. And it can make a big difference in how easy or difficult it is for anglers to catch them.
For the last several months, finding cooler water has been one key factor in catching fish. But this past week, a north wind cooled the water considerably. So much, in fact that Outer Banks anglers were looking for warmer water to find biting trout.
Here’s the latest Outer Banks report from Capt. Pete with Sneaky Pete OBX Fishing Charters.
Trout fishing has continued to be steady over the last week. North winds helped keep the water a little cooler but some areas were covered up in cold clear water around the inlet.
Finding the warmer murky water was critical to finding fish that would bite. The last few days of south wind returned things to normal and the fish were much more cooperative and spread out. Some boats are using live bait but we have been very successful casting artificial baits on light tackle.
There have been a few sightings of big Red Drum schools and Cobia, but not as much as last week. That’s mostly due to the wind shift. Some schools of the big Reds were spotted inside the inlet after the North blow, indicating that many have made their spawning run up the Pamlico. Cobia numbers should improve as we have been hearing reports of lots of them leaving the Chesapeake Bay heading south off the oceanfront.
Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, False Albacore, Ribbonfish and a few Moonfish have also been biting on the oceanside. August is usually a good month for sight casting to these fish but trolling is more productive most days. We specialize in casting light tackle if trolling is not your thing.
