APRIL
New River Inlet: Atlantic Bonito
Atlantic bonito are abundant in April, providing the best opportunity for for anglers to catch a great fighter with light tackle. They often mix with schools of Spanish mackerel, but there's no question when a bonito strikes. The fight is a bulldog fight, compared with one or two runs made by a Spanish mackerel. It ends with a spiraling battle straight down beneath the boat as the bonito doggedly expends its strength in its effort to escape.

The New River inlet is shallow, compared with other inlets. But launching at Sneads Ferry or Jacksonville and making the trip in a center console boat is worth the trouble.

The fish are easy to find. Watch for birds, baitfish and bonito and make a cast. Use a spoon, jig, fly or topwater lure and hold on tight at the strike.

For more information, contact Capt. Jamie Rushing, Seagate Charters, (910) 232-9693.

MAY
Bluefish: Surf and Piers
Bluefish were officially declared recovered from overfishing by NOAA in 2008. The big choppers are back, and the best time to catch them close to shore is May.

Most ocean piers host bluefish runs. The fish strike live baits fished on trolley rigs and cut baits fished on bottom rigs.

Surf-fishermen get in on the action, with Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras national seashores the best places to fish.

Contact: Kure Beach Fishing Pier, (910) 458-5524.

JUNE
Flounder: Carolina Beach
Every saltwater inshore fisherman likes to catch flounder. But catching a big flounder, a doormat weighing more than 5 pounds, is the flounder of a lifetime. Nevertheless, there is one place where a 5-pounder scarcely raises an eyebrow.

The fertile waters of the Cape Fear River intermesh with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean near Carolina Beach -- "Flounder Central" to those who know their flatfish.

The Cape Fear River, Snow's Cut and other ICW waters, Carolina Beach Inlet and the Carolina Beach boat basin all hold monster fish.

Live minnows are the best bet for flounder. The sandy bottom areas of the inlets and ICW allow drifting as a tactic. Drifting the open bottoms yields smallish fish. But fishing the hard structure areas -- the boat docks, dredged channels and rock ledges -- where trophy flounder lurk requires stationary tactics. For fishing in the junkyards, anglers anchor up and drop large menhaden and mullet to the bottom on Carolina rigs.

Contact: Capt. Dennis Barbour, Carolina Beach Fishing Charters, (910) 458-3409.

JULY
Tarpon: Pamlico Sound
Sometimes tarpon show up in large numbers and sometimes in not-so-large numbers. But the best tarpon guides feel that fishing for two days will give most anglers at least a shot at one of the big silver fish that can top 125 pounds in Pamlico Sound.

The fish arrive as early as June, after migrating north and swimming into the sound through the various inlets. Guides watch the surface for rolling or jumping fish. Rolling fish are usually lazy fish, not active feeders like the jumpers. Tarpon have a reputation for feeding perhaps 15 minutes a day.

The boat is positioned in front of a school of fish by guessing which way they are traveling. Chunks of croaker, mullet or other baitfish are cast with large circle hooks on spinning rigs in all directions to cover lots of bottom.

But catching tarpon is like watching paint dry -- until the moment of the strike. Then pandemonium rules the cockpit as the angler keeps the line tight and bows to the fish to avoid a break-off every time the fish jumps.

Contact: Capt. Gary Dubiel, Speck Fever Guide Service, (252) 249-1520.