Topsail Angler

It's official, spring fishing has begun! The mullet bite has been strong, plenty of nice speckled trout are being caught in the New River and its creeks and now the Bonito have showed up off of New River Inlet at Divers rock.

Speaking of Bonito, it's one of my favorite fish and really gets my fishing blood warmed up in the spring. The bonito visit our coastline about this time of year and will stay a few weeks before heading further north. 

Once the water gets above 62, you can start looking for them. They will come very close to the coastline but seem to prefer structure that breaks up the currents. The near shore artificial reefs are a great place to hunt for them. While they do come fairly close to shore it would be rare to be able to catch one from shore or the pier.

The best time to target them is early in the morning around first dawn but you can find them at other times too. They usually travel in large schools and often can be seen busting on balls of baitfish at the surface. Quite a sight to behold for a set of winter-fatigued eyes! 

They spook fairly easy so you will need to approach them from up current if at all possible and then drift toward them. If they are not on the surface, use your fishfinder in combination with a vertical jigging rig to find them in the water column. Once you have located them and get close enough, they are fairly easy to target. They are a bit leader shy so I use a fluorocarbon leader, never metal or heavy monofilament. 

You can fish for them much like you would for Spanish mackerel. I like to use a fast action, light duty rod and reel, much like a flounder or sea trout combo with 10 or 12 pound test line. Many fishermen like to use a light metal jig like a Maria lure or a Lurh Jensen crippled herring to target them on the surface. Anywhere from .5 to 1.5 ounces usually works well depending on the water conditions. If they are deeper in the water column try using a diving type lure such as the Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow Deep Diver or pull a Clark spoon on a trolling weight. 

The bonito will at first bite seem almost an easy pull, but when the fish realizes it is being pulled away from the school and it will make a fast run trying to catch up. Then they will begrudge you every inch of line as you reel them in. Once they see the boat it starts all over again, only this time the run isn't quite as far.

Catching Report

The Bonito action has started around the Diver's Rock area and should be showing up at other near shore reefs as well. The Sea Mullet bite remains strong with a mixed bag of sizes. They are biting fresh shrimp real well but some anglers are reporting some of the bigger ones on fresh sand fleas. Vinita Gass, manger of Surf City Ocean Pier, reports good catches on mullet especially at night with some grey trout and a few flounder and puffers being caught as well. The marine weather hasn't allowed to many trips out to the stream lately but the few days when boats have made it out confirm that the Yellowfin and Blackfin tuna bite is hot and some nice size. Wahoo have also been caught.

Tight lines to all!

Mike Becker is an area angler who publishes a fishing blog on-line at topsailangler.com