By Mike Marsh

Fishing at the coast has never been more popular or more productive. Many saltwater species once suffered from years of over-fishing by both the recreational and commercial sectors.

However, science and good management at the state and federal level have gone a long way toward restoring some sport fisheries. Flounder are being caught everywhere. Red drum have increased their population to the point that they provide yearlong fishing. Spanish mackerel schools cover the water for acres at tide lines near the inlets. Weakfish have become a top reason for anglers to keep their boats in the water through the winter months. Where tarpon were once a little understood species in the state, they are now a major reason for fishing guides and anglers to deck out their rod holders with heavy tackle during the sweltering heat of the summer.

For anglers who want to know more about the finest fish the state's salt water has to offer, here's the latest word on where and when they are biting and how to go about hooking them up.

"The northern coast had a lot of rain last year," said Lee Paramore, North Carolina Marine Fisheries red drum biologist. "That hurt the fishing in the sounds. But the fishing along the beaches was good. The best spawns in history came after hurricanes, and Hurricane Isabel hit the northern coast in 2003. It could help the red drum fishing in the future, but you never know."

During 2003, the rains kept the big fish out of areas in Pamlico Sound that normally produce fish in late summer. The big spawning adult fish were still there, but they did not head for the same spots where fishermen usually catch them. They were nearer Oregon Inlet instead of at the lower end of the Neuse River. The biggest fish are caught in July and August.

Steve Laughinghouse holds up a big flounder and a red drum taken at Carolina Beach. Photo by Mike Marsh

"There should be more and more big ones," Paramore said. "It's just a question of whether the anglers will catch them. There were also lots of year-old fish last year. Those will be slot-sized fish during 2004. The next stock assessment will be conducted in 2005 and nothing will change as far as bag limits until then. But it seems that the management plan is working and the fish are recovering."

Tagging data supports separate fisheries for red drum north of Cape Lookout and south of Cape Lookout. The inshore areas south of Cape Lookout have more salinity and smaller inlets. Red drum prefer high salinity areas, so anglers target them at inlets and marshes near the inlets. Along the northern coast, anglers catch red drum in the surf, inlets and inside sounds when rainfall is normal.

For the biggest red drum, which can exceed 50 pounds in weight, anglers use heavy spinning tackle or baitcasting rigs with 20- to 30-pound-test lines. Live menhaden, mullet and other fish such as spots and croakers make top red drum baits. Cut baits, whole dead baits and lures are also used to catch fish. Large fish are caught from the surf at Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, Bald Head Island and at artificial reefs near Southport. They are also caught in Pamlico Sound at the mouth of the Neuse River.

Smaller "puppy" drum of up to 12 pounds in weight are caught everywhere there is salt water. Swansboro has seen a resurgence of juvenile fish in the marshes and creeks. The fish are schooling in big numbers all the way south to the South Carolina line. Bear, Brown, Bogue, Topsail, Masonboro, Carolina Beach and Lockwood's Folly are inlets that have produced great red drum fishing in the southern coastal area.

For catching puppy drum, anglers use the same baits as for the adult fish, just in smaller sizes. They are also caught on lures and flies. Light spinning, baitcasting tackle and fly rods offer great sport for drum.

As the fish become more populous, anglers are sight-fishing the big schools. The trick is to catch one or two fish from a school and move on to another school to keep from educating the fish.

Capt. Bryan DeHart (252-473-1575) guides anglers for big Pamlico Sound red drum.

"We are doing a new stock assessment and plugging in new data on Recreational Commercial Gear License gigging and netting, which was not done before," said NCDMF biologist Carter Watterson. "Recreational giggers are taking 90 percent of the recreational quota of 450,000 pounds, putting a lot of pressure on southern flounder."

The pressure has caused summer flounder stocks to become composed of mostly 1- and 2-year-old fish, which barely make keeper size. Many recreational anglers are asking for size and bag limits, especially for gigging. Still, lots of fish above 5 pounds in weight are being caught at Morehead City, the Cape Fear River and southern inlets.

Summer flounder stocks have recovered, thanks to restrictive harvest regulations. Gulf flounder have also benefited from the ocean flounder restrictions and have created an exciting fishery just off the beaches.

"Summer flounder occur mostly offshore, but are also caught inside," Watterson said. "Along the southern coast, much of the offshore catch is Gulf flounder. It is difficult to tell the two fish apart. But there is a pattern of five eye-like spots with outer rings on the summer flounder and three on the Gulf flounder. Gulf flounder occur from one to 35 miles out and like hard bottoms and wrecks, so they are not easily caught in commercial trawls like summer flounder. They don't get as big or as thick as summer flounder. A good Gulf flounder is 17 inches."

Lots of fish over 5 pounds in weight are being caught at artificial reefs and natural rock ledges off Swansboro, Wrightsville Beach and Southport. Anglers use live baits to catch the biggest flounder, with menhaden and mullet top choices.

Baits are dropped to the bottom structure on Carolina rigs and worked slowly. The same is true for inside fishing in the shallower water, where anglers use Carolina rigs while allowing baits to drag behind a boat on an incoming or outgoing tide at the inlets, or with the wind in a bay. Some anglers use Carolina rigs or variations of them to troll for flounder in areas where there is no water movement.

Jigs tipped with strips or minnows catch lots of flounder along shallow bars, oyster beds and grassbeds. Lures work best when there is little current and the water is less than 10 feet deep.

Capt. Jeff Cronk of Fish'n-4-Life charters (336-558-5697) specializes in catching large flounder inshore and offshore of Swansboro.

"Stocks are in good shape," said NCDMF biologist Randy Gregory. "The last couple of years, we haven't caught our quotas, but we don't think anything is wrong with the fishery. The fishery is healthy."

Spanish mackerel are prolific and achieve "keeper" size of 12 inches at age 1. These yearling fish make up the bulk of the catch when anglers are trolling spoons near the inlets.

"A citation fish of 6 pounds is only about 4 years old," Gregory said. "There are lots of those large fish around."

While anglers who want to catch lots of fish troll tide lines that form during falling tidal stages at the inlet mouths, anglers who want bigger fish use live baits or cast lures in the vicinity of offshore structure.

Big Spanish mackerel are suckers for live menhaden and mullets fished on king mackerel live-bait rigs and tackle. They will also strike poppers, casting spoons, jigs, minnow-imitating lures and flies.

Spanish mackerel anglers have no trouble finding the fish. The fish form huge schools that chase baitfish to the surface. Birds are attracted to the feeding frenzy and fishermen are attracted to the fish by the birds.

Spanish mackerel are fast swimmers, and can leave the area in a hurry if spooked by a boat. Trolling anglers should navigate the edge of a school to keep them near the top. Anglers casting lures or flies should stop the boat at the edge of a school and make casts from downwind to keep the shadow of the boat from drifting through the school and spooking fish.

Lots of Spanish mackerel are caught by anglers trolling at Oregon Inlet, Barden Inlet, Bogue Inlet and Masonboro Inlet. Artificial reefs all along the coast hold some huge Spanish mackerel. The reefs off Morehead City and Wrightsville Beach attract some of the biggest fish of the year in the fall and are good bets for live-bait fishing for citation-sized fish.

Capt. Dave Dietzler of Cape Lookout Charters (252-240-2850) is a top guide in Morehead City who specializes in catching big Spanish mackerel using live baits.