[CBower]

Hi Everyone,
Our annual beach trip is coming up (June 11-18) and wondering if folks might weigh-in on a few questions I have about the Oak Island area. I'm planning to take my surf fishing gear and also my small skiff (Towee 16' tiller skiff). Some mornings, I plan to fish the surf with shrimp/sand fleas/fishbites for sea mullet and hopefully pampano. I'm hoping to also get the skiff out at least a few times. I'm doing the best web research I can, but here are my questions.

• Is the Garlands Seafood ramp public? If not, does anyone know the price to use and park at the ramp?
• With my small skiff, am I better off launching at Garlands and working up the river, or do folks recommend I launch at the Sunset Harbor wildlife ramp?
• Is Mill Creek worth exploring with my skiff? Looks nice on Google Earth, just wondering if it is "too skinny" for the Towee.
• Is the marsh west of the Lockwoods Creek/Howells Point a good place to explore?
• Is the ramp at Lonerider open? What is cost to use it? Can you launch boats and park a trailer? Looks like it may be specifically for kayaks, etc...
• If you wanted to get the skiff into the Montgomery Slough, would folks lauch at Sunset Harbor or Lonerider?
• Is it worth going further upriver past Mercer Cut? Looks like some nice bends up there.

Sorry for the long list of questions, but really appreciate any advice offered. Hopefully, I'll be able to write up a good report in a few weeks. Feel free to PM if you prefer.

Tight lines.

 

[quackquackboom]

See below. I go about once a year also so no expert here. Answered what I could.

• Is the Garlands Seafood ramp public? If not, does anyone know the price to use and park at the ramp? Not sure. Never used it.
• Is the ramp at Lonerider open? What is cost to use it? Can you launch boats and park a trailer? Looks like it may be specifically for kayaks, etc... believe it is open. they finally fixed the dock. no cost.
• If you wanted to get the skiff into the Montgomery Slough, would folks lauch at Sunset Harbor or Lonerider? Lonerider

 

[quackquackboom]

Did you do any good?

 

[CBower]

The catching wasn't great, but we did a fair amount of fishing and exploring.

We stayed near SE 40th St, and we caught croakers, perch and one baby red drum out of the Montgomery Slough using fresh shrimp. I caught a few croakers and a few small sharks from the surf near 40th St. I tried throwing sting silvers and mirrolures at the Western point one evening, and super early one morning, but was skunked, but I enjoyed walking around the point area. We took the skiff out on the Lockwood Folly river one day, launched from Garlands, and we caught & released four flounder on zman paddle tails on the incoming tide. I took the skiff out solo twice from the 55th St launch. I fished Beaverdam creek near the high tide and caught croakers. The second trip was on the falling tide, and I fished with cut pogies, and I caught three sharks. There was not that much bait around in the slough, I was able to cast net for decent sized pogies only one morning. The bonnethead was a new species for me. My son looks annoyed because he had just earlier had a bigger flounder at the boat and it threw the hook before I could get it netted.

 

[cbruce41]

Looks like you guys had fun even if you didn't catch a lot of fish! Tell Harrison we need to get together and fish again...big reds should be in down around Swanquarter now. Fishing inland this Saturday then offshore next week (waiting on a good weather day). Let me know if you're interested!