OBX fish are biting, and so are the sharks
Summer is still going strong, and after dodging what could have been a major storm off the Carolina coastline, the fishing is just as strong. But Jimmy Hillsman of Oceans East Bait and Tackle in Nags Head said anglers are having to contend with an abundance of sharks. Plenty of other fish are biting, but many are being chomped before the anglers are able to reel them in.
Tuna are biting strong, but unfortunately it’s been tough to get them past those sharks.
“Some days, guys will have 20 or more tuna bites. But they’ll only catch five or six, because the sharks are eating them. Some of the best fishing has been from the 650 down to the point. Kite fishing has been really good lately around the point. But unfortunately, the sharks are terrible on most days,” said Hillsman (252-202-4688).
“We are catching some scattered bigeyes around the 630. A couple of them have weighed over 200 pounds. A few boats are catching some good dolphin, but there’s not a lot of grass around to fish. Some wahoo are still around too. Last week, Oregon Inlet Fishing Center weighed in a 112-pound wahoo caught by the Point Runner,” he said.
Beach fishing has had its ups and downs
Some hard southwest winds with very hot temperatures put a damper on the beach fishing in recent days. Luckily, the wind is switching now and blowing northeast. Hillsman said that should improve the fishing.
“The beach fishermen have been catching scattered sea mullet, speckled trout, croakers, and blues. We have weighed in several citation sea mullet this week. The biggest weighed 2.4 pounds,” he said.
The trout bite, which has been hot all up and down the Carolina coastlines, is still going strong. And Hillsman looks for that to continue on through the fall.
“It has been great seeing the good numbers of trout around this summer. We should have an unreal fall beach fishing for speckled trout, as long as we have no major storms,” he said.
Click here for Sneaky Pete’s latest Outer Banks fishing report.
