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morehead city vs topsail what's best for inshore and near shore fishing
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morehead city vs topsail what's best for inshore and near shore fishing
will be heading down to the coast sometime the week of april 3rd to 10th for 2,3 or 4 days would like to do some inshore or near shore fishing which do you guys think is better morehead or topsail? would like to stay inshore or near shore if the weather is good trying to get the better half into fishing. went offshore charter fishing and didn't go so well she and her daughter got sick.. hoping for a better experience!!
If you want to catch fish and let the wife have a good time Sea Mullets will be biting then.Easy to fill a cooler,good eating,no fuel burn! Drop to the bottom and something bites good for women and children who arent into fishing but into catching. In Morehead you can do that right at the port,dont know bout Topsail. If you want to go to some AR nearshore(weather permitting) the bonitos should be there early in the morning,then you could bass fish. Your taking the chance of wife getting bored doing this...and sick. Unless you really know the area Sea Mullets your best bet and a tasty lil fishy!! Good Luck, Hope you have fun
Are you planning on hiring a guide? Or bringing your own boat? You can get reds and trout inshore and flounder nearshore. If you're hiring, depends on where your planning on staying. Jeff Cronk out of Swansboro would be a good choice (about 1/2 way between) http://www.nccharterfishing.com/fishn4life.html . I know a lot of good guides out of Morehead City, not that familiar with Topsail. Jimmy Price is down that way, now that would be a hoot.
__________________ "If Heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I don't want to go"
oops realize didn't finish my thoughts on my post. i wanted to hire a guide with a boat hopefully catch some fish, see a lot of nice scenery. if weather is pretty get offshore and ride around a little, maybe catch some fish and see some dolphins..
my goal is to get her "hooked" on boating/fishing, etc.
my dad had a 21 foot grady cuddy down near topsail and i use t take it out with the kids. never caught anything but had a lot of fun riding around and saw a lot of dolphins. never went out more than 10 miles but had a lot of fun. good memories.
my new wife hasn't had any boating experience except a ride from beaufort to the outer banks for some shelling/ horse watching, etc. and an ill fated gulf stream charter. she didn't get sick on the beauforttride even though it was rough on the sound that day. when we went out in june of 2008 (i chartered a boat for the whole family) she got sick as a dog.
so i'm hoping to get a good boating/fishing experience otherwise i think my boating days are over.
Sounds like you dont care what you catch as long as you catch. PM me and I can give you some #'s for the Morehead area,I have no clue about Topsail area..sorry.
This past Sunday, there was a large Pod of Dolphins "fishing" near the Harkers Island bridge. From all the birds, I'd say they were "catching" something.
I think you are making a wise choice hiring a guide that has the capacity to fish inshore and/or near shore. I took my grand kids that were visiting from Miami a few years ago. I hired a guide to be sure to put them on some fish. They caught over 100 sharks, some flounder, etc. The guide and I spent all our time baiting and unhooking. The kids talked about the experience for their whole stay.
Lots of good guides here. Tell them what you want and if you have a choice, I'd go with one that uses a bay boat over a flat bottom. Both boats have their limitations, but I'd rather ride in a Pathfinder or Ranger over a Carolina Skiff or such.
__________________ "If Heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I don't want to go"
Yup bet the dolphins were"catching" the heck out of trout and drum?? Dont mislead people with large pods of Dolphin feeding themselves.You make it sound like tuna offshore. Fishing sux in March and gets a little bit better in April,dont hype it up. Carolina Sportsman does that.
Bonit"O" & large Spanish Mac from last year - check the date on photo ....... New River Inlet north end of Topsail Island ..... ICM
If you need a charter I highly recommend Capt. John Mallette, Capt. Jim Sabella, Capt. Lee Parsons & Capt. Jot Owens - PM me for their phone numbers ...... ICM
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Twin Vee 22 Awesome
2XSuzuki 115 4S
My wife keeps saying that I don't listen .... or something like that.
Yup bet the dolphins were"catching" the heck out of trout and drum?? Dont mislead people with large pods of Dolphin feeding themselves.You make it sound like tuna offshore. Fishing sux in March and gets a little bit better in April,dont hype it up. Carolina Sportsman does that.
Wow! I got slammed for relating something I saw this weekend. You make it sound like I'm trying to sell something. I benefit in no way by "hyping it up". Because of illness, disability and finances, I've put my boat in the water 4 times in two years. What the heck is your problem?
You are right, March suks by comparison to October and April is a little better than March. At the same time, I've caught reds year round, False Albacore in April, etc.
The man asked a simple question and I gave what I believe was a honest answer. I certainly have no reason to intentially "mislead" anyone.
Sometimes I hate the Internet!
__________________ "If Heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I don't want to go"
hey guys i appreciate all the input i'm a complete newbie. i've been to the nc shores 6 times now since moving here and i sure like it a lot more than the myrtle beach vacations we use to take.
everybody who takes the time to input on this your comments are appreciated and welcomed. most all of you know more about this than me, there are obviously strong opinions i really think and hope expression of these opinions is in the spirit of helping a family have a good vacation i don't want to stir up ill will.
looks like i need to be thinking about a fall trip too!!
April holds some of the best trophy trout fishing of the year, drum are schooled up thicker than they will be during summer months, flounder begin showing up in the backwater and nearshore reefs, black drum begin to show up in the creeks. As ICM posted above, bonito show up in April, along with some spanish. A lot of boats are still "winterized" so there is less of a crowd on the water.
Whoever says fishing in April sucks is wrong. Sure there are no snake king mackerel nearshore or spots/pinfish in the waterway, but spring fishing is a lot of fun.
The guide Jeff Cronk (http://nccharterfishing.com/fishn4life.html) is my recommendation. He's got the setup to catch drum/trout in the morning and nearshore flounder in the afternoon.
__________________ Mckee Craft Marathon 172 CC w/ F115 Yamaha
Dave, don't worry I hate internet too sometimes. Translations and statements get twisted when so few words are typed on a screen.Didn't mean to Internet slam you! Anyway,lots of dolphins showing up the Core Creek way also. If your able to go fishing this year PM me I'm always out there. Lots of time off and fish by myself alot.
Dave, don't worry I hate internet too sometimes. Translations and statements get twisted when so few words are typed on a screen.Didn't mean to Internet slam you! Anyway,lots of dolphins showing up the Core Creek way also. If your able to go fishing this year PM me I'm always out there. Lots of time off and fish by myself alot.
Thanks, hopefully I'll be able to take you up on your offer.
I haven't fished over that way in a few years, but I remember some VERY nice trout near/under a certain bridge. Also, I caught a 34" red in the Crab Pt. area. I was just remembering all the big shrimp in some of the creeks, need to get a smaller net than the one I used to throw.
__________________ "If Heaven ain't a lot like Dixie, I don't want to go"
hey dave and llord. if you guys need me to come along and keep the peace...i also bait hooks, remove fish and even padde if the engine quits just kidding.
still haven't nailed down exactly where we're going yet but thanks to everybody have names and #'s of charter captains. looking forward to a fun and relaxing week.
Thanks, hopefully I'll be able to take you up on your offer.
I haven't fished over that way in a few years, but I remember some VERY nice trout near/under a certain bridge. Also, I caught a 34" red in the Crab Pt. area. I was just remembering all the big shrimp in some of the creeks, need to get a smaller net than the one I used to throw.
Cought lots of big trout under that "certain" bridge this year. It will be hot again in 2 or 2 1/2 months. We got alot of fish over 5lbs last year. I hope this year will be as good. Umm we'll call it the Beaufort high rise bridge. Every flats boat East of Raleigh wears out Crab Pt and the haystacks now,its not worth it anymore. 15yrs ago you could fish there and see 1 boat all day,now 30 Gradys wake you to death. As stated above the drum are thick as fleas from Sep. to Marchish, April. Then they scatter. Last I went (about a month ago) there were literally thousands of drum. They were so cold you could touch them with your rod tip in about 2 feet of water. Scooped one up with a net!
morehead city vs topsail what's best for inshore and near shore fishing 
just kidding. 
