Specks are caught by anglers fishing with jigs, live baits and lures along grassbeds and oyster reefs, at hard structure such as docks and rock seawalls, from ocean fishing piers and in the surf. They grow fast, have protracted spawning over the summer and fall, and therefore have a tremendous reproductive potential. They can begin spawning at a length of around 10 inches.

Winters of 2004-06 were mild, resulting in some spectacular speckled trout fishing, with plenty of big fish caught and large numbers of fish being caught at places like the Wrightsville Beach jetties, Cape Lookout jetty, Fort Macon jetty, Cedar Island seawall and Ocracoke, Topsail and Hatteras inlets. New River has hosted some really nice speck runs. The speck fishing should remain excellent barring severe weather during the winter of 2007.

While the speck fishing in 2004 was excellent, with 383,861 pounds landed by recreational fishermen, it improved to 624,076 in 2005, nearly equaling a record high landing of 690,003 pounds in 1994. But 2006 eclipsed all recorded recreational landings by nearly 50 percent with a total recreational catch of 925,612 pounds.

Specks can be caught all year long, with the best fishing in late summer, fall and winter. The recreational bag limit for speckled trout is 10 fish with a minimum length of 12 inches.

YellowfinTuna
One of the brightest spots for offshore fishing is big, yellow and shiny. It swims in abundance on the yellowfin tuna grounds. These ferocious fighters school in early summer and late fall and usually attack baits and lures set in trolling spreads en masse.

Tuna trolling is a game of strong, young backs and plenty of them. In many cockpits of offshore trolling craft during the initial yellowfin run in April and May, every line in a trolling spread may have a tuna tugging at the business end. When a tuna strikes, it makes a long run. The angler must wait until the fish, which can weigh between 30 and 100 pounds, gives up. The fish is then pumped to the boat until it slugs it out straight down in a tight spiral until it’s brought to gaff. Tackle in the 30- to 80-pound class is necessary to boat these strong, high-endurance fighters.

Recreational landings of yellowfin tuna have been increasing. Historically, landings have varied wildly from 982,060 pounds in 1992 to 7,075,966 pounds in 2000. In 2003, recreational landings fell again, bottoming out at 511,319 pounds. But in 2004, recreational landings jumped to 5,232,812 pounds, increasing to 5,510,876 pounds in 2005 and to a whopping 7,645,118 in 2006. Barring any changes, and with welcoming spring weather conditions, landings above this all-time high could be in store for offshore big-game anglers.

The best places to find yellowfin are warmwater eddies spinning off the Gulf Stream that intercept baitfish concentrations. Baitfish are also associated with structure, so dropoffs attract yellowfin tuna to the same old holes year after year, such as the Same Ole (short for “Same Ole Hole”) offshore of Carolina Beach, named for this attracting effect.

Top yellowfin tuna baits include skirts with small to medium ballyhoos and strip baits. Yellowfin tuna are attracted to commotion, so deploying spreader bars and dredges to imitate baitfish schools in a trolling spread is a good ploy.

Kite fishing for yellowfin is becoming increasingly popular. With the baits dropped from kite lines, leader-shy yellowfin tuna cannot detect the leader. The skipping of the bait or lure across the surface imitates a flying fish, a top-drawer yellowfin tuna forage fish. Watching a school of huge yellowfin tuna crashing and missing a kite bait several times before one or more of them hook up is one of the most adrenaline-generating events in all of saltwater fishing.

For more information, visit the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries Web site at www.ncfisheries.net. (Editor’s Note: Mike Marsh is author of Inshore Angler -- Coastal Carolina’s Small Boat Fishing Guide ($20), Offshore Angler -- Carolina’s Mackerel Boat Fishing Guide ($20) and Carolina Hunting Adventures -- Quest for the Limit ($17). To order send a check or MO to 1502 Ebb Dr., Wilmington, NC 28409. Also available at bookstores and tackle shops.)

Find more about North Carolina fishing and hunting at: NCgameandFish.com