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Northern District  Dare, Hyde, Currituck, & Beaufort Counties
Contact: Brian Melott Oct. 5, 2008
For the 2008 fishing year, all owners/operators of vessels recreationally fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, must obtain an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling permit. This permit has replaced the Atlantic tunas Angling category permit. In North Carolina, additional HMS harvest reporting requirements are also in place.

Please Note: Anglers sometimes confuse small king mackerel with Spanish mackerel. King mackerel and spanish mackerel have different size and catch limits. Make SURE you properly identify the mackerel you are catching. (Tips here)

A recreational Recreational Fishing License went into effect Jan. 1, 2007 for all of the state's coastal and ocean waters. Tagged Red Drum: Download PDF with reward details.

Ocean: Offshore anglers had good catches of yellow and blackfin tuna, dolphin, wahoo, king mackerel, blueline tilefish, greater amberjack, black seabass, snowy grouper, vermilion and bigeye snapper, and red porgies.  Billfish catches dropped off considerably.  Midrange success rates were poor, with only a few fish being caught.  Inshore success rates were good with a few select species. Some very large spot and croakers were caught in the near shore surf zone when seas were calm enough to access them.  A few spotted seatrout were also caught.  

Inlets/Sounds/Bays: Catches have slowed.  Spotted seatrout and red drum continue to be most abundant, especially off of the Melvin Daniels Bridge and underneath the Washington Baum Bridge in the Roanoke Sound.  Striped bass catches improved slightly, but most were small ones.  A few weakfish, bluefish, kingfish, black seabass, pigfish, pinfish, silver perch and searobins were also caught. 

Piers/Shore: Large croakers and spot were the prize catch of these anglers on a consistent basis, with a number of citation specimens being caught this week.  Pompano, spotted seatrout, weakfish, kingfish, red drum, black drum, sheepshead, bluefish, pigfish, pinfish, and assorted sharks and rays were caught in low-moderate amounts.       

General Overview: Calm seas and favorable weather allowed anglers the opportunity to access all modes of fishing this week with moderate-good success rates.  Water temps have dropped somewhat, but remain in the lower 70s throughout the area.  Favorable conditions are predicted for the coming week. 

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NC Division of Marine Fisheries - 3441 Arendell Street - Morehead City, NC 28557 - 252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632