Any good fishing spots on the coast of North carolina/Cape Fear River area?

If going out into the ocean isn't possibile, fish the sea-walls along the Morehead City Port (down from the big bridge over onto Atlantic Beach), with minnows. Supposed to be some of NC's finest flounder fishing along those walls. I've caught my share there. If you can make it out "front", then assk the locals about the sunken liberty ship that is just off Atlantic beach (about 1 mile off shore), I believe it is labeled AR316 on nav charts. Decent schools of mackeral can usually be located near there if the water temp and clarity are agreeable.

If you end up South, down near the Cape Fear (Wilmington/Southport), the best fishing usually found down there during the summer heat is Spanish mackeral. Catch them from the surf or up to several miles off shore, again with spoons.

Don't know of any places down near Wilmington, but if you go to Morehead at all, go across the bridge (that crosses the ICW) into Altantic beach, and before the first major intersection, there will be a motel and bait shop on your left. Advice from either of these two proprietors is usually top notch. The owner of the motel's name is Billy, ask for him. He'll tell you exactly where to go and what to fish with, he's never wrong. Tell him Bob from Barloworld in Raleigh said to look him up.

Can't commen on sound fishing as of late. We do go up to Oregon Inlet (northern edge of the sound) and fish for and catch rockfish a lot, but I don't think they're that close in right now. There may be some tarpon, redfish and or rockfish (striped bass) out there in the sound right now, but when it's hot, we head offshore for mackeral, wahoo, and mahi mainly (you have to go far enough out to find a weed line to catch the latter 2 species when the weather is hot and sticky like it is now...)

Good luck, I hope you catch a bunch of something while you're here.

Obviously, there are a ton of charter boats down there (most found at Big Rock Landing near the Sanitary Seafood Rest. & Market there on the waterfront in Morehead), surely someone has something for rent down there that isn't a 58' Hatteras...lol You might just Google rental boats in the Morehead City/Atlantic Beach/Emerlad Isle/even New Bern area. (The Trent River comes out of New Bern and into the sound right there at Beauford/Morehead...) As I mentioned before, I think that whole area is known collectively as NC's "Crystal Coast", so you may try that too.

But yes, Emerald Isle is just down the road south of Atlantic, so everywhere I was citing is right there where you're staying except the Southern Coast (Wilmington/Soutport/Cape Fear) which is considerably farther South, just above the NC/SC line. We go out from Morehead more often than not since that whole "Crystal Coast" area juts out into the ocean more, and cuts down on the travel time to the Gulf Stream, which is where fish are year round if the heat or tides are screwed up near shore. During decent weather though, you can usually find a productive weedline no more than 10 miles out (if hunting kings, dolphin/mahi, wahoo, tuna, etc)

If you do manage to get a ride, and go out the ICW under the M-C bridge, closely *watch* and follow the bouys. It shallows up pretty good on low tide, and I've even seen small Carolina Skiffs get stranded out there during those times. Especially right there around the bridge itself. Especially if you come out of one of those skinny causeways and into the ICW (sandbars rise above water level during low tides there BTW)...if all goes well, and you get a boat, miss the sandbars and get to go out the inlet, be sure to watch the small island opposite (on the left) of the Atlantic Beach side. That's Shackleford Island, and it is inhabited solely by wild horses that have been there since the days of Blackbeard according to local lore...a beautiful site to behold if you can catch a glimpse of a pack of them. Of course, farther up the beach, at dawn and dusk, you can see the Cape Lookout lighthouse too.

If your trip is in a couple of weeks, the best bites out there are likely going to be Spanish and Flounder unless you can get a ways offshore...so good luck again. I hope you have a safe and productive trip.

Nowadays, living near Raleigh, we mainly go to Morehead to put out for our ocean fishing trips, which we do about 5-6 times a year on an average year. About three hours from our driveway, and we're on the waterway headed for the inlet. We've already caught our share of Kings out there this year, earlier in the Spring while the water was still cool enough for them, and we're looking to head that way sometime around July 4th to hit the Spanish and Flounder some..and just got back good from the Big Rock tournament this immediate past weekend (as a spectator, of course). http://www.thebigrock.com/ (they caught some *large* blue marlin this year...better than some recent years anyway)

Here's a nice sunset I captured right outside the Beaufort Inlet a couple years ago, looking back over Atlantic Beach (with Emerald Isle not too far to the left/down the beach either):

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/simracer68/detail?.dir=eaac&.dnm=9493.jpg&.src=ph

We loaded up on the flounder that day (figuratively speaking of course), caught a nice single limit's worth between the 2 of us that evening. Just drifting between the channel bouys right off shore.

What can I say, the old Sprint telephone commerical hits the nail on the head, "I like calling North Carolina home."