Thanksgiving Weekend Fishing Heats Up on North Carolina's Atlantic Coast

Today, November 24th, the fishing scene off North Carolina's Atlantic Coast is looking promising, despite the cooler temperatures. ### Weather and Tides The morning is sunny and clear, with an air temperature of around 57 degrees and a water temperature of 56 degrees. Winds are coming in from the East-Northeast at about 10 mph. High tides are expected at 10:18 AM and 10:39 PM, with low tides at 4:26 AM and 4:14 PM. Sunrise was at 6:43 AM, and sunset will be at 4:53 PM. ### Fish Activity Fish activity has been robust, particularly with the cooling water temperatures. Inshore anglers are seeing a significant pickup in speckled trout action, as these fish are staging up around deeper bridges and areas like the Haystacks or Newport River[2][3][4]. ### Catches Yesterday, anglers caught a mix of species. From the surf, catches included bluefish, spot, sea mullet, pufferfish, gray trout, speckled trout, black drum, and shad. Nearshore areas yielded false albacore, bluefish, and some king mackerel. Deeper waters saw catches of gray trout, bluefish, and occasional wahoo and blackfin tuna[1][2][4]. ### Best Lures and Bait For inshore fishing, live shrimp or live/cut mullet are top choices for speckled trout, red drum, and black drum. Soft plastics under popping corks or rigged on a jig head are also effective for red drum. For bluefish and false albacore, Stingsilvers, Beach Bum lures, or other glass minnow style jigs are recommended. Albie Snax, Beach Bum lures, and Hogy Epoxy lures are favorites for targeting false albacore[2][3]. ### Hot Spots - **Cape Lookout**: This area is hot for false albacore and bluefish, with anglers finding acres of fish feeding out around the shoals. - **Nearshore Reefs**: Areas like the Big 10/Little 10 reefs are good for king mackerel, wahoo, and nice-sized black sea bass. - **Inlet Areas**: High rise bridges and deeper holes around the inlets are good spots for gray trout and speckled trout[2][4]. With the right gear and knowledge, today promises to be a great day for fishing off North Carolina's Atlantic Coast. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.