Spring 2024 Nearshore Trips

We are a week into the month of April and things sure are feeling spring-like.  Flowers are in bloom, the grass is green, and the air and water temps are on the climb.  And warming water temps in April, make me think of one thing.  The bite that's getting ready to fire up along our nearshore waters any day now.

Surf temps are currently at 60 degrees and that's the magic number for Atlantic Bonito to show up along the beaches of the Crystal Coast.  I've heard recent reports from South Carolina and just the other day Wilmington, so I expect them very soon.  

Atlantic Bonito show up along our nearshore wrecks and hard bottoms from 1 to 5 miles off the beach where the bait is this time of year.  These fish will generally hang around until the water temps climb over 70 degrees in May.  Atlantic Bonito, like their cousins the False Albacore, feed voraciously on Anchovies, Silversides and other schooling baitfish.  There is ususally a topwater bite at first light and then you can fish for them deeper in the water column once the sun gets up.  Fly or Spin, these fish are a fun target and fight hard just like Albies.  The biggest difference is that these fish have a set of sharp teeth, and they are quite good to eat, both cooked and raw.

We target these Bonito out of my Parker 23' and we can easily handle up to 3 anglers comfortably.  I'll have fly rods rigged with sinking and intermediate lines and spin gear set up with the Bonito's favorite baits.  We normally leave out of Morehead City, but sometimes we will fish out of Bogue or Browns Inlet depending on where the best bite is.  Either way, the best bite is usually right at first light, before the wrecks get covered up with competing boats, so plan to head out early.

My first nearshore trips for Bonito will start this week and I will be running them through the end of April before heading to the Roanoke for Striped Bass.  I'm really excited to get out after these awesome fish that are so much fun to tangle with.

The great thing about hitting the nearshore waters in April is that there are so many other opportunities if the Bonito don't play nice.  False Albacore, Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel should be around at some point during April, so you never know what you might get into.  The Albies and Blues show up in March or early April and the Spanish show up towards the end of the month when the water temps approach 70 degrees.  While fishing the hard bottoms and wrecks for Bonito, you can also have the opportunity to jig up some Grey Trout from the bottom.

Another possibility during April, is finding big schools of Bull Redfish in the ocean.  This is definitely a possibility, not a guarantee, but I've had several trips in April where we were rewarded for going looking.  Once the Bonito bite slows down, it's an option to go checking for these giant goldfish.

These fish are often in giant schools, numbering in the hundreds, and often in clear water.  We will sometimes mark them down deep on our sonar, but it's not unusual to be able to sight fish them on the surface.

Heavy spinning rods rigged up with big bucktails or swimbaits along with rods rigged with big poppers can be the best way to get hooked up.  That being said, we can also get it done on 10 to 12wt fly rods if you have a good casting arm.  These fish, and the excitement that you experience pursuing them, just might make these my favorite fish to target in North Carolina.

Between Bonito, Albies, Blues, Mackerel and Bull Reds, there are so many ways to have a great time in the ocean in April, whether you want to target one of those species or all of them.  If you'd like to get out there and go look for them in the next 3 weeks, give me a shout.  

Let's Go Fish!