From casting a line from your kayak to heading offshore to chase the trophies, world class fishing surrounds your coastal Carolina address. Whether they’re migrating through or thrive here year round, our local waters come alive this time of year, and the proof is on our dinner tables.
Inshore
A fisherman’s playground is in your backyard… literally. Drum, crabs, shrimp, and flounder have shown up in spades lately with tarpon and speckled trout around, but a bit more elusive.
We have one the best inshore fisheries in the world! Ssshhh, it’s a secret ?
Doormat flounder have been hanging on the river’s bottom, great to catch and eat, but (for now) the rule is catch & release. Slot red drum are swimming all over the place and a few trout have already showed up with many more to follow.
We’ve had many a neighborhood angler land drum, flounder and trout in the same outing… that’s what we call an ‘Inshore Grand Slam’!
Here are a few good recipes that will work interchangeably with any one of that delicious trifecta (trout or drum or flounder): Pesto Trout Recipe and Blackened Red Drum – Arlington Place
Jimmy blues
Break out the nets, steam pots and Old Bay for fresh as fresh can get blue crabs. Big ol’ Jimmy blue crabs call the wide waters of the Neuse and the warm waters of our surrounding creeks home in the summertime.
We’ve had ‘dinner from our backyard’ a few times a week since early June and whoa are they hefty, rusty and tasty! It simply doesn’t get much more summer than picking crabs on the back porch.
They’re pretty delicious just plain, but we like to dip them in our favorite go-to concoction: melted butter, apple cider vinegar, fresh lemon juice and Old Bay.
For those of you looking to get in on the action, try crabbing in the creeks. The commercial crabbers are only allowed to set their pots in the river and sound, and those crabs are wandering into the warm creek waters … lines only, no pots.
Curious about a day in the life of a commercial crabber? Check out this article about Zach & Ben Bruno of Oriental’s own Endurance Seafood.
Off shore
The off shore tuna bite on the Carolina coast has been crazy lately, and our salty crew was lucky enough to have a charter booked on the 59′ Sea Toy at the perfect time on a perfect day.
They left from Pirate’s Cove bright and early, actually it wasn’t even bright yet, and the Captain put them on the fish. They landed 700 pounds of yellow fin tuna by lunchtime. They even tell tales of huge tuna jumping from the water like silver bullets.
And then we ate like kings… the happy recipients of more fresh tuna than we knew what to do with.
The tuna fishing is so good off of our coast, they film the NATGEO show, Wicked Tuna from Oregon Inlet, so now we can all watch them reel in monster bluefin and a big pay day!
Want to chase the trophies? Each June, the world’s best bill fish anglers head to our shores for the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, a true representation of the best of the best.
Over 100 boats launch from the Morehead City waterfront with a sea of anxious spectators waiting on dry land to hear what’s called in on the radios….who’s hooked up, who pulled the hook, who landed the BIG ONE and which lucky boats will capture a piece of the $2 MILLION purse?! Since 1957, this marlin tournament has grown to become one of the largest sport fishing tournaments in the world.
Blair and buddies went marlin fishing last week and hooked and released a huge blue marlin, the prize of the ocean.
Whether you’re local or visiting, charter fishing is a highly recommended adventure… a memorable experience is waiting for you right off our coast!
On deck: Old Drum
These big boys will swim into town and grace us with their presence late summer. “Old Drum” of this size, 50 pounders, are some of the oldest fish on our coast… a few even tied with me at the ripe old age of 40.
Even though they are delicious on your dinner table, these drum are here to spawn, so if you land one don’t get too attached…..drum over 27″ are all catch and release. The fun is definitely reeling them in.
Rig of choice: poppin cork with a DOA soft plastic. Bait of choice: fresh cut mullet on a circle hook.
Tight lines and full bellies… that’s just how we like it around here. It’s an exciting time of year for those that have a love of fishing and those (of us) that have a love of eating. Ready to get HOOKED UP?