The Emerald Isle is home to some of the best surf fishing spot along the entire East Coast of the United States. However, to experience success at this location, anglers must learn to read the water correctly and respect the moods that the water at this spot can put on them. The beach along this location is many miles in length, and the beach features gentle slope along its beaches.
These long troughs created due to the slopes of the beach are the spots where fish like redfish and drum live. These spots are perfect for anglers who want to stand in the waist-deep water and who want to watch mullet skip across the water’s surface. In these locations, it is not uncommon for anglers to spot drum or redfish below the water’s surface.
This spot is the reason that both local and nonlocal anglers comes to Emerald Isle every year. The waters at this location can change quickly. On one day the water may be flat and clear, but the next day a nor’easter may stir up the water to a color as dark as chocolate.
These changes in the water do not affect the successful anglers at this spot. These most successful anglers are those who have learned to travel with lightweight gear and who are prepared to move from spot to spot along the beach based off the information that they gather about the water. These small details about the waters will make the difference in whether or not there cooler returns with fish that they catch.
These tips will be shared with the readers as a result of the years of trial and error that they have experienced while fishing along these beaches. By following these tips, anglers will waste less of their time and they will catch more fish at Emerald Isle. One of the biggest differences that will make a significant impact on the success that anglers have while fishing at Emerald Isle is by properly timing there fishing trip.
Essential Tips for Emerald Isle Surf Fishing
1. Time Your Trip with the Tides
The fish will be most active between the two hours before low tide and the two hours after low tide. This time of activity is due to the retreating water from the beach that exposes area where the baitfish live. The predators in these waters will follow the baitfish and target these areas where the baitfish live.
Anglers should arrive at the Emerald Isle fishing spot two hours before the low tide and should position themselves near a cut or a hole in the beach. Following this tip will ensure that anglers have the best possible time to fish along the Emerald Isle spot. Many new anglers may be unaware that the best times to fish are not during the high tides when there is sunlight falling on the beach.
These anglers may find the spot visually more appealingly during high tides. However, the feeding frenzy for the fish occurs at dusk and dawn when the tide drops. Anglers who do not account for this lose fish every single weekend.
2. Use Fresh Shrimp as Bait
The type of bait that anglers use at the Emerald Isle spot will dictate the types of fish that will show up at the location. Using fresh shrimp as the bait will attract the most number of fish due to the fact that many fish species will eat shrimp. The shrimp should be cut into the size of a thumbnail and threaded onto a circle hook such that the pointed tip of the hook is exposed.
3. Target Redfish or Black Drum with Menhaden
If anglers want to target redfish or black drum, using fresh clams or menhaden will attract these species because of the oily scent that these species emit. These scents will travel further in the murky waters of the Emerald Isle area. Regardless of the bait that anglers use, they should store the bait in a cooler that contains a little bit of ice.
The alternative of leaving the bait out in the sun for three hour will ruin the fishing trip for that days outing. Another helpful tip for the anglers who visit the Emerald Isle spot is to properly read the surf at this location. Anglers should look for any changes in the color of the water.
4. Read the Surf and Water Color
The area where the breaking waves meet the darker green waters beyond the waves contain the troughs that the fish swim in. These fish will cruise in areas parallel to the shore. Anglers can also look for seams in the beach where the two separate currents create a rip current along the shore.
These areas attract baitfish that attract the larger fish who cruise just outside the rip current. Taking five minutes to walk along the Emerald Isle beach prior to fishing will pay for itself due to the increased number of fish that will bite at the anglers lines once they are in the water. The selection of the fishing rig that anglers use at the Emerald Isle spot is another important tip for these anglers.
5. Select a Basic Fish Finder Rig
A basic fish-finder rig is likely all the rig that anglers will need when fishing at this location. The fish-finder rig uses a two ounce pyramid sinker and a 24 inch leader made out of 20-pound fluorocarbon fishing line. This basic rig will hold up in most situations that the anglers will encounter at the Emerald Isle spot.
The pyramid sinker will slide along the fishing line such that the fish are not prevented from picking up the bait that is on the hook. This bait presentation to the fish will result in more bites on the fishing line. If the surf is more calm at the spot that the anglers are fishing then a one ounce sinker and lighter leader will work better for the anglers.
However, using the lighter sinker poses a risk of the surf moving the anglers’ fishing rig and tangling their lines in the structure of the spot. Therefore, anglers should bring both light and heavy sinker in case the surf changes. Switching the sinkers will take anglers thirty seconds but will result in increased success in their fishing trips.
6. Use Specific Strategies for Pompano Fish
Pompano fish require a different fishing strategy than the other types of fish in the Emerald Isle area. Pompano fish are present in the area during the late spring months when the temperature of the water at the spot reaches the sixties. Pompano fish hunt for sand fleas along the inside bar such as the area in the beach where sand fleas are abundant.
Anglers can use a two-hook rig for pompano fish and use small pieces of shrimp or sand fleas placed on size four circle hooks. A small piece of colored tubing or a bead can be placed above the hooks to entice the pompano fish because these species are likely to be interested in the flash of color that the color create. The bait should be cast past the first break of the waves and retrieved slowly with short hops with the fishing rod.
Pompano fish will strike at the bait when there is a pause in the movement of the fishing rod. Once an angler catches a pompano fish, the others will be found in the same location. Anglers should stay at that spot and continue to use the same type of bait to catch the rest of the school of pompano fish.
Pompano fish have a fairly strong fight relative to their size. Additionally, the white fillets of their fish are sweet and worth the effort of anglers who catch them. To extend the time that anglers spend fishing at Emerald Isle, anglers should ensure that they are comfortable and safe during their fishing trips.
7. Protect Yourself from Sun and Dehydration
The sun reflects off the water at this spot and the wind hides the amount of sunlight that falls on the anglers skin. Anglers should wear a long sleeve shirt with a UPF rating, a hat that blocks the sun and polarized sunglasses that will help to reduce the glare from the water while still permitting anglers to observe the fish that are biting at their line. Anglers should bring enough water with them to spend the day fishing because dehydration can occur quickly when anglers are focused on the tip of their fishing rods.
Anglers should use a small backpack to hold their fishing gear while they walk along the beach. This will give them the freedom to move to different spots along the beach while fishing without having to return to their truck to retrieve their gear. This freedom is one of the main reasons for which anglers enjoy fishing at the surf instead of from a pier or boat.
8. Monitor the Moon Phases
The phase of the moon also influences the bite of the fish at Emerald Isle. At the time of full moons and new moons the strength of the current along the beach is the strongest of the year. This strong current stirs the fish in the bottom of the beach and activates the baitfish that live in those areas.
These periods bring the heaviest catch of the year but also present challenges for anglers due to the big waves created during these times. For new anglers to the Emerald Isle area the days just before or just after the moons change are the best times to fish for Emerald Isle because these days offer the benefits of the full and new moons with fewer challenges to the anglers who are just getting started. As anglers gain more experience fishing at the Emerald Isle spot the days with large moons become their favorite days to fish because the fish at this spot will line up and bite at the anglers during these times.
During this time anglers should be prepared for stronger water movement at the spot and bigger swells at the beach. The process of landing the fish that are caught in the surf at Emerald Isle spot is different than the process of landing fish that are caught in the lakes. The fish should be kept in place with some pressure on their body while the anglers allow the waves to help them land the fish.
9. Master the Art of Landing Fish
When a wave is about to hit the fish the anglers should lift their fishing rod high to encourage the fish to surf in on the white water of the wave. Anglers should time their landing such that the fish reaches the sand at the same time that the wave reaches the beach. Anglers should then walk backward quickly from the location of the fish to ensure that the fish does not move back into the ocean due to the next incoming wave.
Using a large landing net will allow anglers to land the largest number of drum fish. However, most anglers will simply grab the fishing line leader and slide the fish onto the beach. Practicing this skill on smaller fish will ensure that anglers dont waste these fish at the shoreline where they could of landed them.
Patience and observation are two of the main characteristics of a serious angler who spends time fishing at Emerald Isle. The fish do not use neon light to announce their presence to anglers. Experienced anglers learn the patterns of the fish along the Emerald Isle area by being present at these spots and by observing these areas for details about the fish such as the direction of the wind, the clarity of the waters and the movement of baitfish in these locations.
Anglers can note these details with a notebook or with their phones while they are fishing. After the season is over and they have compiled the records it will be interesting to see that the fish are most active along the beaches with the wind blowing from the southwest when drum are spotted and when the winds come from the northeast when bluefish and Spanish mackerel are spotted. The ability to understand these patterns is part of the skill of anglers who take the time to observe the areas where they will fish.
The ocean at Emerald Isle does not owe the anglers anything. Some days they will not catch a single fish while on the beach and they will leave with a tan. On the other hand, the fish will line up along the shore at the Emerald Isle spot and the anglers will find themselves wondering why they would ever fish in any other location.
The success or failure of anglers will always come down to the small decisions that they make prior to their fishing trips. Anglers should make sure that they show up at the right tide, that they read the water, that they use the proper type of bait and that they fish with focus. These conditions will ensure that the fish at the Emerald Isle spot will respond to them and will always respond to them.
When anglers stand knee-deep in the Atlantic Ocean at the Emerald Isle spot with the sun falling on their shoulders while they are reeling in a large fish the entire experience will be worth it for them. This specific moment when anglers catch a fish is the reason that they come to Emerald Isle location time and time again. While the view of the ocean is the same as the last time anglers were here, the fish to be caught are different and the challenge that anglers feel when they go to fish is the reason why each fishing trip to Emerald Isle is full of possibility.