[timmyr]

Hey

We will be coming down to Emerald Isle the last week of July for vacation. I am considering bringing my 18' Lund Alaskan to do a little fishing. We fish for Walleye on Lake Erie quite often and are very excited to give it a go down south.

I was thinking of just staying in the ICW as I don't think I am ready to head out to the deep water without any ocean experience. If you would, share some insight on what to target and rough ideas of needed gear.


Thanks Again
Tim

 

[trigger22]

I would fish the intercostal for flounder, redfish and trout. As far as artificial baits go small 3-4 inch grubs, Shad tails, and jerk shads will all work as will artificial shrimp. I like DOA products personally and they offer the CAL Shad

the CAL jerk Shad

and also offer a shrimp

. As you can see from the pictures the shrimp are already rigged so hooks aren't required, but the Shad tail and Jerk Shad will need one. For this I recommend a 1/8 or 1/4 ounce jig head. DOA Jigheads are my favorite but because of the price I fish them in areas that are less prone to snags. I also like Blue Water Candy aftershock heads. Since you won't be fishing here very often in order to save a little money the sea striker heads will work just as good. Next you'll want a popping cork

. You can fish all 3 of the above mentioned baits under that cork. Cast it out and troll it behind the boat or cast towards docks/oysters and pop it back to you.

Another option and suggestion is to fish live/fresh dead shrimp or mullet on a Carolina rig around docks and oysters. This should yield the same species and also gives you a chance at a black drum as well as smaller fish like Pinfish and croaker that will in turn make good bait. My last suggestion would be to get some fiddler crabs and fish them on a Carolina rig around the bridge pilings for sheepshead. This is a perfect middle of the day fishery as the bridge will provide you with some much needed shelter.

 

[pgarick]

Deja Vu

 

[pgarick]

Trigger, are the DOA baits only sold online? I can not seem to find a retailer.

 

[trigger22]

Most of the tackle shops carry them. You aren't likely to find them at Walmart but any coastal shop will have some of them. At least that is the case in my area of the coast. I will say that if you order directly from DOA the shipping is very fast and they obviously have the best selection.

 

[pgarick]

I was checking Bass Pro Shops here in Charlotte, hoping they would have, don't see them on the website

 

[pgarick]

Retraction, if I could learn to spell DOA correctly they would indeed come up. For some reason DAO doesn't work

 

[trigger22]

Since you're in Charlotte I would check Academy. Their prices are lot better than BPS.

 

[pgarick]

Yeah, big fan of Academy Sports but our store never tends to have a lot for saltwater.

 

[timmyr]

So artificial over real for the ICW? I fished off a public pier off of coast guard last year and did ok on flounder with real shrimp.

 

[trigger22]

The real deal will do doubt get bit and is almost fool proof. I prefer tossing artificial baits though.

 

[Island Man]

Stop at ez bait and tackle in Goldsboro on your way to the coast, they will have everything you need.

Yeah, big fan of Academy Sports but our store never tends to have a lot for saltwater.

 

[timmyr]

One other quick question: our house is lees than a mile from the 13th street launch. Is the sound deep enough for me to head due south out of there to the ICW? Thanks

 

[sandbar]

If you don't feel up to pulling that Alaskan back to Ohio......

 

[trigger22]

This is the best way out of the ramp. It is marked pretty good though. It's been a year or so since I've launched there but I doubt it's changed much.

 

[NCflatfish]

I just spent a week at Emerald Isle and The Reel Outdoors shop will have everything you need for bait and gear. They have a good website if you do a Google search. We caught redfish, flounder, blues and several other species while down for the week. One thing you may want to consider is hiring a local guide to go on your boat with you. They should give you a discount and it will be a good learning experience for you. There are lots and lots of shallow water in the area, so you will need to learn how to navigate the ICW and adjoining waterways. One other thing, keep a tide chart with you--definitely comes in handy.