# Emerald Isle in October



## Fish_Fil (Jan 4, 2011)

My wife and I have rented a house on the Coast Guard Pointe of Emerald Isle for the first week of October. I plan on surf fishing and was wondering what I can expect to catch at that time of year? 

I do plan to visit a local bait shop when I arrive to get as much info as possible, but any suggestions would be most helpful. 
I have surf rods spooled with 15lb mono will this be enough? 

Oh, I have a two up ATV that I’m plan on bringing. Once again any info or suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Terry from Michigan


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## Smally (Jan 16, 2009)

October Is a great time to be heading there to fish. @ Emerald Isle I'd guess the later into Oct you get the better the fishing will get. It really depends on the water temps & how fast they cool. But There's tons of species to catch in Oct. You'll have a shot @ catching Flounder, Croaker, Spots, blues, red drum (redfish), black drum, blowtoads, speck trout, maybe grey trout, and let's not forget whiting (&sea mullet). And if the temps haven't dropped too much you might catch of few pompano that are lagging behind.

Then there's still all the other stuff that you don't really want but can still be fun to tourists like us on a boring day. The big dogfish, skates & stingrays. I envy you. I haven't put a line in the surf in over a year now. This is the first time I've been to the site in a long while cause it's almost painful to read about all the good times when I can't be there  I"m crossing my fingers & hoping I can make a trip to the OBX this fall.

Good luck!


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## Smally (Jan 16, 2009)

One more note. If you want to have some success then I recommend you spend as much time reading up on this site & asking questions. I've been to emerald Isle a few times. Maybe someone from that area can point you in the direction of a helpful baitshop. But the ones I've been too have not been helpful with advice. It's like they have frozen shrimp, frozen squid, frozen clams. Ask them what's best? They say Frozen shrimp, frozen squid, frozen clams. If I ask if anyone has fresh shrimp they look @ me like i'm speaking chinese. They say their shrimp is fresh even though it's frozen. And treat me like I'm an idiot because I think fresh shrimp do better than frozen (BTW that's an opinion that I think 95-99% of folks here would agree with). Well anyhow, my point is I wouldn't expect too much along the lines of helpful advice from the baitshops I've visited down there. Maybe someone can recommend a good one. And since I brought up the shrimp thing, i don't know anyone that sells fresh (never been frozen) shrimp @ those baitshops like the way they sell fresh bait around Hatteras when it's available. So 1 more bit of advice would be to stop by a seafood place & buy some fresh shrimp from them if you want to use shrimp for bait. 

Again, best of luck


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## gilly21 (Feb 15, 2006)

Parking beachside sux in ei. Fish south on the island and you can expect sharks, drum, blues, mullet, spot, pin fish, flounder or trout.


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## Starboard (Apr 23, 2008)

October is my favorite month to surf fish at EI. I would use finger mullet and FRESH shrimp. Bring a cast net if you have one. Finger mullet are usually running thick in the surf by early October and you can catch your own. Go to Clyde Phillips Seafood in Swansboro if bait isn't in the surf or you don't have a cast net. He always has fresh shrimp and usually has fresh mullet. If Clyde is out of mullet, you can buy frozen finger mullet at Reel Outdoors. Their frozen finger mullet where caught locally and is a pretty good substitute if fresh isn't available. They can also give you good advice on the best way to rig the bait. If you don't want to cross the bridge to go Clyde's for bait, you can also buy fresh shrimp at Willis Seafood. Willis is across the road from Reel Outdoors. If the surf is calm, you can also cast....My favorite is using light spinning with lead head and gulp (pogie or shrimp) or gold cast master. Gulp is good for flounder & blues and cast master for blues and Spanish should still be around (specially early in morning/late evening).


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## Fish Hunter (Jul 31, 2002)

The Shrimp Lady on the corner after the bridge will still be open in Oct. Reel Tackle on the left about 3 miles past the bridge is good tackle dealer and info. You cannot use ATV's on the beach. You can buy a permit for a 4x4, but on Coast Guard Rd, you are in good place to walk to the point and the shoals.


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## Fish_Fil (Jan 4, 2011)

Thanks for all the helpful replies! Sounds like we picked a great time to visit NC
I will definitely be doing research to learn as much as possible before our trip.
Based on the replies, I think I will buy a cast net and start practicing !! 
BTW if any one is planning a trip to Michigan in the future feel free to contact me
for any fishing info.


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