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| January / February / March |
Giant bluefin tuna are the
prime targets for these three months. They usually show up in
December and leave around the first of April. The last few
years have produced some larger fish in near shore (1-10 miles) feeding
on menhadden schools. We have not seen them on wrecks feeding on
bluefish lately but maybe this year. Yellowfin tuna are always
here during winter months and the big kings are usually holding along
the temperature breaks in about 20 to 30 fathoms of water. If the
water stays cold, then stripers ave available around the Diamond Shoals
and the inlets.
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| February 24 - March 10 |
I will be in Mexico during this period running the charter boat,
Qualifier, owned by Captain Finn Gaddy. If you want to go
somewhere warm in the winter and get some practice using the new circle
hook techniques, this is the place to be. It is not uncommon to
have 20 to 30 sailfish bites per day, sometimes 50, during this time.
There is also some excellent bottom fishing available a little further
offshore.
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| April / May |
Water starts
to warm this time of year but it normally produces some excellent
fishing. The yellowfin bite is going strong the first of April
and starts to taper off as water temperatures increase but the size of
the fish get much bigger (50 to 60 pounds). It is not
uncommon to hook them in late May Big dolphin start to show
around the middle to late April and contiunue until June. Wahoo
are available year round but they usually have peaked around the middle
of May. King mackerel are also abundant during April, tapering
off in May. Blue marlin start showing up around the end of April
and make a good showing in May.
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| June / July |
Great fishing these two months! Blue and white marlin make a good
showing at this time. Blue marlin usually peak in June and white
marlin peak in July. Dolphin fishing is excellent with gaffers (8
- 40 pounds) early on and bailers (3 - 8 pounds) getting more plentiful
in late June and July. Big yellowfin tuna are around but hard to
catch (kites, spreader bars, etc.) Wahoo and bottom fish are also
available.
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| August / September |
In the last
few years, these months have produced some impressive billfish catches.
Blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish are an every day
occurance. We had a few sailfish days in September when we had
double digit bites. If you are looking for a trophy, this is a
good time to come. Dolphin remain plentiful, mostly bailers
and a few gaffers. Wahoo usually hits a peak again in September.
King mackerel start to show around the end of September which is
also a good time for bottom fishing. Weather is usually very
pretty this time of the year unless we have a big H (hurricane) brewing.
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| October / November / December |
The water
starts to cool back down and the yellowfin, blackfin, and bluefin tuna
make their way back to NC waters. Yellowfin and blackfin usually start
showing up around the middle of October and bite good right into the
next year. Bluefin start showing a little later around first of
December. Live bait king mackerel (20 - 30 lbs) fishing is
off the chart late October until the new year. If you like
catching big fish on light tackle and topwater strikes, you need to try
this. There are still a few dolphin around and wahoo stay consistent
all year long. Giant bluefins and stripers start to show up in
December.
 
Weather and water
temperatures certainly affect any forecast and can make it early or
late. So please take this into consideration when booking a trip.
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