Fishing Forecast: Carolinas enjoying Year of the Dolphin
It appears to be The Year Of The Dolphin for offshore fishing along the Carolinas coast.
Good to excellent catches of the colorful, hard-fighting, highly palatable fish were reported this week from Oregon Inlet southward to Georgetown, S.C., and locations in between.
In freshwater, relatively small Lake Lee (125 acres) near Monroe is yielding big catches of largemouth bass up to 9 pounds. Limits of 5 bass per day that include 5-pounders haven’t been uncommon.
Lake Norman: Hybrids in the 18-inch range in surface-feeding schools around major points from about 4 p.m. until dark. Spotted bass and scattered largemouth along the shoreline on soft plastic lures and crankbaits. Plentiful white perch, with hybrids and spotted bass mixed in, taking mainly minnows worked around humps 20 feet down. Good to excellent for crappie 10-25 feet deep around brush and docks. Very good for catfish 5-30 feet deep on cut baits, crawlers and stink baits.
Lake Wylie: Good to very good for largemouth on topwater lures, swim plugs, swimming jigs and artificial worms. The backs of creeks are producing especially well. Very good for crappie, mainly on minnows. A splendid bream bite on crickets cast to the shoreline as the fish bed during the full moon period.
Mountain Island Lake: Producing good catches of crappie and bream are very active, too.
Union County lakes: Catfish and crappie biting well at all four impoundments – Cane Creek Park, Lee, Monroe and Twitty. Cane Creek also is yielding quite a few largemouth.
Yadkin/Pee Dee River lakes: Some anglers have reported their best-ever catches of crappie at Badin Lake, baiting with minnows and finding the fish over brush 25 feet down. Crappie also are hitting well at the other impoundments – High Rock, Tuckertown, Tillery and Blewett Falls. The largemouth bass bite is improving at all locations. Now that the water level has normalized, the catch of American shad has resumed in the tailrace at Blewett Falls. The shad are striking Sabiki rigs best.
Lakes James, Rhodhiss, Hickory: Fair to good catches of crappie at all three reservoirs. James also is yielding walleye on crawlers. Fair to good for largemouth at Hickory and Rhodhiss.
Rankin Lake: Good for bream and catfish at the Gastonia municipal reservoir.
Hampton Lake, Yadkin County: Good catches of crappie and largemouth.
Fontana Lake: Good to excellent for smallmouth and spotted bass on shiners fished around points. They are hitting best from about 5 p.m. until dark.
Lake Wateree: Fair to good for crappie 10-15 feet deep around brush and bridge pilings. Good catches also being made while long-line trolling in the creeks.
Lake Thurmond: Good to very good for stripers and hybrids, especially in the lower third of the lake. They hitting as shallow as 3 feet deep around points, taking free-lined live herring best.
Lake Murray: Stripers all over the reservoir, from the feeder rivers to the dam. The fish are hitting from the surface down to 30 feet, with all techniques working.
Santee Cooper lakes: Very good as the full moon wanes for large bream on crickets cast to shallow brush along the shoreline.
Lake Hartwell: Very good lake-wide for stripers and hybrids, which are feeding around the points on spawning herring.
Lake Keowee: Good for largemouth and spotted bass on artificial worms cast to points. The largest fish are being found 20-30 feet deep.
Lake Jocassee: Good for smallmouth and spotted bass on soft plastic lures and swim baits worked near creeks, on flats and around shoreline cover, including boulders.
Outer Banks: Nags Head area: A bluefish blitz in the surf and at piers. The blues are averaging about a pound, great size for table fare. Spots and whiting also are showing well, along with a few gray trout; Oregon Inlet: Dolphin and yellowfin tuna offshore, along with a few mako sharks, when weather conditions are favorable. Blues from the catwalk at Bonner Bridge spanning the inlet; Hatteras Island: Good to excellent offshore in decent sea conditions for blackfin and yellowfin tuna, along with big dolphin and wahoo. Bottom anglers are scoring on the grouper and tilefish. Blues and whiting in the surf from Salvo to Hatteras Inlet, with several big red drum taken by surfcasters at Cape Point near Buxton; Ocrakcoke Island: Gaffer dolphin offshore. Scattered red drum to 46 inches in the surf, which also is yielding black drum, sheepshead, blues, gray trout and a few whiting. Big reds are being found in the inlet and Pamlico Sound; Morehead City area: Increasing numbers of Spanish mackerel along the beach and at piers. Bonito and false albacore continue to show in the catch. Dolphin, blackfin and yellowfin tuna offshore in the area of Big Rock.
Southeastern N.C. Coast: Excellent offshore for wahoo to 83 pounds and large dolphin. Limits of smallish king mackerel offshore. Additionally, a blue marlin estimated at 300 pounds was boated and released off Ocean Isle. Croaker, flounder, Spanish mackerel and whiting at piers with the latter three also being reeled from the surf.
S.C. Coast: Little River area: Fair for croaker and whiting; Grand Strand area: Good to excellent offshore for blackfin tuna, dolphin and wahoo. Flounder in the backwaters during the incoming tide on mud minnows. Reds, or spottails, in the backwater creeks. Black drum, sheepshead and big red drum at the Murrells Inlet and Winyah Bay (Georgetown) jetties. Spanish mackerel, blues and whiting at piers. Flounder in the backwaters. Good offshore for blackfin tuna, dolphin and wahoo. Fair to good for blues and whiting at the piers. Charleston area: Large trout inshore around shell rakes on shrimp fished 3-6 feet deep under popping corks. Very good for sheepshead around bridges and jetties. Reds under docks in the backwaters. Blackfin tuna, dolphin and wahoo offshore; Beaufort/Hilton Head area: Reds in the marsh grass, tailing to feed during low tide and susceptible to well-placed sight casts with Gulp! minnows on a jig head. Spanish mackerel along the beach. Flounder, croaker and whiting in the surf. Cobia anticipated any day in Port Royal Sound and the Broad River.
This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 8:08 PM with the headline "Fishing Forecast: Carolinas enjoying Year of the Dolphin."