# Spot fishing



## 01snowman (Oct 15, 2011)

For the last few years I would come down to Springmaid Pier to fish for spots in the fall but sadly now there is no Springmaid. The other MB piers did not interest me as much. Any suggestions of where to fish for spots? Any piers in NC that is good for catching? 
Thanks for the info! I love the taste of spots...


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## Bosco (Jan 2, 2017)

What happened to Springmaid? Nice place or seems was.


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

Well it was called Hurricane Matthew Oct 8, 2016... Hugo got it I'm 89....That's what happened to Springmaid... Were were you? 

As far as Spots. Hahahaha ...I hadn't seen a run in years... if your in the right place at the right time you might see a couple days somewhere from Topsail south ....


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## 23mako (Aug 24, 2016)

Yep the days of good spot runs are over thanks to the east coast shrimping fleet that rapes and pillages pamlico sound.


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## kbueno1 (Jun 3, 2015)

DaBig2na said:


> .. if your in the right place at the right time you might see a couple days somewhere from Topsail south ....


I stumbled upon a nice run of spot on Avon pier labor day weekend unexpectedly. I was more interested in plugging, but I mixed in a little bottom fishing to put some fish in the cooler. I think I caught 5-6 spot all of last fall. It was nice not having to make the beer batter for them spots so thick. A group of 6-7 peeps hammered the spots all afternoon.

KBueno

View attachment 42946


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## pmcdaniel (Nov 13, 2013)

Just have to be in the right place at the right time, unfortunately. They still run, but they seem to be in smaller quantities and fewer schools.


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## Bosco (Jan 2, 2017)

I was in spelling class.


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## Oldmulletbreath (Jan 7, 2006)

another product of our fine regs on Bunker............................OMEGA


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## RonRon (Oct 15, 2014)

bosco said:


> i was in spelling class.


lol...


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## 23mako (Aug 24, 2016)

Boys I am telling ya, most people who have started fishing in NC in the last 15 years or so just don't understand the old spot runs. You could literally walk across the boats almost in the turning basin in Morehead City there were so many boats. Everyone was catching big spot too...didn't keep any under 8 inches or so. 

Their demise may have to do with several factors but killing them wholesale in the name of shrimp doesn't help.


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

23mako said:


> Boys I am telling ya, most people who have started fishing in NC in the last 15 years or so just don't understand the old spot runs. You could literally walk across the boats almost in the turning basin in Morehead City there were so many boats. Everyone was catching big spot too...didn't keep any under 8 inches or so.
> 
> Their demise may have to do with several factors but killing them wholesale in the name of shrimp doesn't help.


AMEN Brother!

As a 13-15 year old boy fishing the Topsail Piers, (Dolphin, Scotch Bonnet, and Barnicle Bills) I remember catching Yellow Bellies 2 at a time filling a five gallon bucket in about an hour. This would go on for a couple weeks depending on the wind and conditions, usually in October.. Folks fished elbow to elbow, and occasionally tempers would flare about "someone's spot on the pier".

One of the piers had this de-scaler machine that looked like a huge front load washing machine. Dump your fish in and feed it a buck and waited five or ten minutes and the fish came out descaled. It did a pretty good job, some looked a little chewed up but it sure made cleaning those things much easier. 

Scotch Bonnet's restaraunt would fry them up for you. Bring your cleaned fish and pay (X) number of dollars for all the slaw, French fries and Hush Puppies you can eat.


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## Jollymon (May 21, 2015)

The crowd that my Grandfather hunted and Fished with would tell me about all the Ducks and huge Fish that they got "Back in Day"
I thought it was just Old Men telling tails , Now I've lived long enough to have been able to see the decline myself.


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## Bosco (Jan 2, 2017)

Back in the day, in addition to catching a multitude of fish, it was not uncommon to see someone catch an eel or even an octopus. I remember as a kid seeing more than one octopus caught from the pier on a day of fishing, being picked up and slammed down on the planks to kill it. Dang that was a long time ago and a lot of species have disappeared from the pier area waters since then.


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## oldguy (Sep 15, 2014)

This thread brings back some good memories of fishing with my father off the north pier in Carolina Beach as a kid. I remember some cold nights, people crowded at the rail and hauling up spots two at a time and fishing during the day in the surf at Masonboro Island. A family friend, Leonard King, would take us over on his boat and put us on some good spots along the beach. We could throw the small ones back because there were plenty of sizable fish. And like Bosco said, we saw an octopus occasionally brought to the planks in the middle of all those spots. Better days, gentlemen.....


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## 9 rock (Nov 30, 2008)

Can catch all I want he in the Chesapeake bay , to big for my liking as my only interest in them is for livelining 


9


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2017)

Is there any such thing as a good run nowadays? Do you have to go out in a boat to have a good day where your just reeling in good fish all day?


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

Last three days.... Avalon they have been waxing the Spots.. Some yellowbellies mixed in.. pulling them up two and three at the time
From the surf to the end of the pier...Best spot bite I've seen in a few years. So the fish are around.

Garbo is Drum fishing with some nice big fresh pretty spot heads from that mentioned run trying to take that #1 Drum Pro Status...

There maybe one day left to get your butts over to the OBX before Jose's Girlfriend Maria passes to the east of us and messes up the fishing for a few days as she passes.


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## TreednNC (Jul 1, 2005)

DaBig2na said:


> AMEN Brother!
> 
> As a 13-15 year old boy fishing the Topsail Piers, (Dolphin, Scotch Bonnet, and Barnicle Bills) I remember catching Yellow Bellies 2 at a time filling a five gallon bucket in about an hour. This would go on for a couple weeks depending on the wind and conditions, usually in October.. Folks fished elbow to elbow, and occasionally tempers would flare about "someone's spot on the pier".
> 
> ...


Barnacle Bills. Boy there's a place from the past. I've been out there on some of those spot runs. Beat all I ever saw. Trash cans full of spots.


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## 23mako (Aug 24, 2016)

DaBig2na said:


> Last three days.... Avalon they have been waxing the Spots.. Some yellowbellies mixed in.. pulling them up two and three at the time
> From the surf to the end of the pier...Best spot bite I've seen in a few years. So the fish are around.
> 
> Garbo is Drum fishing with some nice big fresh pretty spot heads from that mentioned run trying to take that #1 Drum Pro Status...
> ...


Wow you ain't lying. Always heard the big girls come down from the Chesapeake. Wish I could have gotten down there in time.


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## LEADDRAFT (Oct 9, 2001)

23mako said:


> Yep the days of good spot runs are over thanks to the east coast shrimping fleet that rapes and pillages pamlico sound.


yep...

I got into a lil spot run during the last blow,, bout a Dozen or so,, nice Big'ins...
Heard a couple reports some caught now & then... the past fewdays..


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## LEADDRAFT (Oct 9, 2001)

TreednNC said:


> Barnacle Bills. Boy there's a place from the past. I've been out there on some of those spot runs. Beat all I ever saw. Trash cans full of spots.


Yep, that's the Pier My Dad started ME fishing on... I was like 6 years old when I started fishing there...
Lordy I remember catching a few huge spots in the Middle of July! at night/Early morning for Pin-riggin for my dad..


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## StillSearchin (Apr 9, 2007)

Beach nourishment has changed the bottom composition. Fish are still available, just a little further off the beach.


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