Morehead City Fishing (May 20, 2024 Update) (2024)

Morehead City is known as a Fisherman’s Paradise, and is home to the world famous Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. With beautiful estuaries, the Gulf Stream relatively close to land, hundreds of reefs and wrecks off the coast, and the best inlet in North Carolina, Morehead City offers some of the best fishing on the East coast.

Offshore fishing out of Morehead City allows anglers to target billfish, including Blue Marlin and Sailfish. The Gulf Stream constantly pushes Mahi-mahi, Wahoo, and many different species of tuna past the area all season long. Fishermen can target many different highly migratory species of fish from these waters.

The nearshore fishing on the numerous artificial reefs and shipwrecks around Morehead City produce lots of Amberjacks, Black Sea Bass, Triggerfish, and Grunt. Big grouper and snapper are a favorite target as well. There is also excellent Albacore, Spanish, and King Mackerel fishing much of the year. During November and December is typically when the Giant Bluefin Tuna show up, with some fish weighing over 1,000 pounds.

The creeks around Morehead City are filled with Flounder much of the year. With deep water along the Port Wall, a favorite place to fish among Sheepshead and Shark anglers, a variety of big fish pass through the area. The flats around Morehead City are home to many Red Drum and Speckled Trout, making this a top destination for avid saltwater fishermen.

Morehead City Fishing Forecast

Target Species of Fish

Based on historical data for fishing Morehead City, you should target one of the following species for this time of year:

Pinfish

There is a 13.95% catch rate for Pinfish, based on 8064 Pinfish counted.

See Also

Morehead City, NC Reviews17 Best Morehead City Restaurants (From A Local) - Trekking Price's20 Best Things to Do in Morehead City, NC - Travel LensGarlon L. Campbell, Jr., MD - EmergeOrtho

Morehead City Pinfish Counts Chart

ENLARGE MOREHEAD CITY PINFISH COUNTS CHART




Bluefish

There is a 13.86% catch rate for Bluefish, based on 8011 Bluefish counted.

Morehead City Bluefish Counts Chart

ENLARGE MOREHEAD CITY BLUEFISH COUNTS CHART




Spanish Mackerel

There is a 13.84% catch rate for Spanish Mackerel, based on 8003 Spanish Mackerel counted.

Morehead City Spanish Mackerel Counts Chart

ENLARGE MOREHEAD CITY SPANISH MACKEREL COUNTS CHART




Mahi-mahi

There is a 9.66% catch rate for Mahi-mahi, based on 5583 Mahi-mahi counted.

Morehead City Mahi-mahi Counts Chart

ENLARGE MOREHEAD CITY MAHI-MAHI COUNTS CHART




Black Sea Bass

There is a 8.88% catch rate for Black Sea Bass, based on 5134 Black Sea Bass counted.

Morehead City Black Sea Bass Counts Chart

ENLARGE MOREHEAD CITY BLACK SEA BASS COUNTS CHART




Pigfish

There is a 8.55% catch rate for Pigfish, based on 4943 Pigfish counted.

Morehead City Pigfish Counts Chart

ENLARGE MOREHEAD CITY PIGFISH COUNTS CHART




Atlantic Croaker

There is a 6.24% catch rate for Atlantic Croaker, based on 3608 Atlantic Croaker counted.

Morehead City Atlantic Croaker Counts Chart

ENLARGE MOREHEAD CITY ATLANTIC CROAKER COUNTS CHART




Spot Croaker

There is a 3.7% catch rate for Spot Croaker, based on 2140 Spot Croaker counted.

Morehead City Spot Croaker Counts Chart

ENLARGE MOREHEAD CITY SPOT CROAKER COUNTS CHART




Atlantic Menhaden

There is a 2.4% catch rate for Atlantic Menhaden, based on 1385 Atlantic Menhaden counted.

Morehead City Atlantic Menhaden Counts Chart

ENLARGE MOREHEAD CITY ATLANTIC MENHADEN COUNTS CHART




Weakfish

There is a 1.83% catch rate for Weakfish, based on 1056 Weakfish counted.

Morehead City Weakfish Counts Chart

ENLARGE MOREHEAD CITY WEAKFISH COUNTS CHART

Recommendations above based on 104 species of fish and 57809 fish counted for May around Morehead City.

To date, there are 186 species of fish and a total of 1652845 fish counted for Morehead City and within a 30 mile (48 km) radius since 1/1/1853 (171 years).

Last Update: 5/20/2024 11:58:36 AM

*** PLEASE NOTE ***
Please check local, state/province, and federal laws before fishing for any species found on this site. All data is based on historical data found for this area, and in some cases as far back as the year 1600.

View full Morehead City Fishing Forecast to see all species.

We will create a SD card of all fishing spots in the Morehead City, specifically for your GPS Unit, and to your specifications. Alternatively, you can create a custom GPS map yourself by using one of our methods.

Top Morehead City Fishing Spots

The Top 10 Fishing Spots for Morehead City are the following:

1. Atlas Tanker
   The SS Atlas was sailing alone from Houston, Texas to Seawarren, New Jersey loaded with 83,00 barrels of gasoline. At 0250 EWT, a torpedo struck the #6 tank on the starboard s

2. 1700 Rock
   Good place for trolling and bottom fishing.

3. AR-340
   Average Depth: 58' Buoy Location in GPS ddm: 34° 34.350' / 076° 58.300' LORAN Coordinates: 27162.4 / 39545.3 General Location: 129° M, 7.0 nm from the Bogue Inl

4. Patch East
   Live Bottom

5. AR-285 - Buoy
   

6. Larry's Spot
   Black Sea Bass spot

7. 14
   34.306416666667 -76.405516666667

8. Black Sea Bass
   

9. C
   34.511712 -77.034883

10. HMS Senateur Duhamel
    Vessel Type: Originally built as a fishing trawler and converted for anti-submarine patrol Length: 192.3 feet Breadth: 31.1 feet Gross Tonnage: 913 Cargo: N/A Built: 1927, H

View more Top Morehead City Fishing Spots

Latest Morehead City Fishing Reports

• Allen Heath getting it done the last few days with the cobias
  

• 5/27
  Slow fishing today 1 for 2 on sailfish today

• 5/28
  Little better day 11 for 16 on sailfish today

• From Capt. Justin
  trips with Jeff and crew. They were very happy and looking forward to coming back. Lots of 22-25 inch fat healthy class of fish

• From Capt. Justin
  Fishing with Curtis and his 7 year old daughter. When I met them at the dock she had her grundens and her life jacket on ready to go. It rained all morning and she never co

• Opening day
  Opening Day High expectations with consistent turkey sightings on the trail cameras including a pair of brother velociraptors with beards dragging the ground. I’m on the

• Roanoke River has fired off
  Capt. Bud had a triple digit morning and Capt. Kelly got a good 'un this morning

• yes fish bite in the winter time
  Thanks Capt. Bud Bishop for the report sounds like a good beginning for the Roanoke River.

• Sun 12 Nov 2023 11:46:00 +0000
  

• Down East Guide Service can connect you with duck hunting guides in North Carolina
  Down East Guide Service can connect you with duck hunting guides in North Carolina Cast and Blast trips. Duck blind rentals.

View Morehead City Fishing Reports