every year i see picks or reports of schools of slot or over slot spot tails, but not the big bulls ganged up in the surf zone from Cape Fear to Hatteras. The guys wax em on trout rigs, bait, spoons whatever… is there a reason they dont seem to do that here??? just curious i know they school up on the mud flats here, but do a portion of those fish also go into the surf and gang up??? function of water temps??? curious for any documented/scientific/subjective/best guesses…
Not with the same regularity, but it does happen.
That place fishes totally different. They stay in the surf a big portion of the year.
FWIW…Someone posted a video of them schooling like nutts off of a beach in Cape Romain a few years back.
The reason why they move into the surf in the colder months up north is because the shallow inshore waters get too cold for them. Down here, they school up in shallow water on the flats in the winter, and the temperatures stay tolerable for them generally. In North Carolina, the shallows usually get too cold, and when it starts getting really cold is when they move out of the backwaters and into the surf.
As stated previously, the reds up there are in the surf pretty much year round, but starting in September, there seems to be a migration toward the mouths of ocean inlets. 70 degrees isn’t too cold for reds on the flats which is when it starts. When the water is in the 40s here, they still do not exhibit the same behavior by vacating the flats and heading toward the ocean. Water temperatures here vs. Cape Fear-Brown’s Inlet are very similar.
quote:
Originally posted by The DudeThe reason why they move into the surf in the colder months up north is because the shallow inshore waters get too cold for them. Down here, they school up in shallow water on the flats in the winter, and the temperatures stay tolerable for them generally. In North Carolina, the shallows usually get too cold, and when it starts getting really cold is when they move out of the backwaters and into the surf.
Acually…the Reds are breeding now. They move into the nearshore waters around bays, inlets and around barrier islands to spawn. Breeder Reds will winter offshore though, with the juevinile winteting in the shallow creeks and flats that warm in the sun. I have caught 30"+ Reds in the surf as late as Feb.
They spawn out to 100+ feet. I was mainly referring to sub-adult fish not yet ready to spawn.
quote:
Originally posted by RADDADDYAs stated previously, the reds up there are in the surf pretty much year round, but starting in September, there seems to be a migration toward the mouths of ocean inlets. 70 degrees isn’t too cold for reds on the flats which is when it starts. When the water is in the 40s here, they still do not exhibit the same behavior by vacating the flats and heading toward the ocean. Water temperatures here vs. Cape Fear-Brown’s Inlet are very similar.
quote:
Originally posted by The DudeThe reason why they move into the surf in the colder months up north is because the shallow inshore waters get too cold for them. Down here, they school up in shallow water on the flats in the winter, and the temperatures stay tolerable for them generally. In North Carolina, the shallows usually get too cold, and when it starts getting really cold is when they move out of the backwaters and into the surf.
I’m talking about the winter schools of smaller (20-30") reds they get in the surf. That is what I was told by knowledgeable guides in the Morehead City and Southport area. My guess would be that they start moving towards inlets when the temps start dropping to avoid the extreme cold.
so the answer is not really…based on a combination of cooler water temps, different habitat, and available forage.
ok good enough for me.