Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier 2019

What to Expect for your next trip to Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier

Courtesy of CrystalCoast.com Each summer I take my family on a North Carolina vacation. And each year we discover new places to explore and new adventures to experience. By far one of our favorite places along the coast is Emerald Isle. Part of the Crystal Coast (named for its clear waters and miles of white, sandy beaches) Emerald Isle is an outdoor family’s paradise. There’s sailing, fishing, swimming, beaching, and more! One sure spot to visit in Emerald Isle is Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier. We visited this unique location in early summer of 2018, before disastrous Hurricane Florence hit in September. The hurricane did some pretty devastating damage (five sections of the 1,000 foot pier were demolished); But the owners have rebuilt - it wasn’t their first hurricane after all. The pier reopened in March 2019 after six months of repair and it’s now stronger than ever! If you love North Carolina like we do, we can’t recommend enough visiting this great town and fishing from Bogue Inlet Pier.

Here’s what you can expect as you plan your fishing trip to Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier: To Fish Or Not To Fish:

You don’t have to be an angler to enjoy the pier. It’s free to visit and check out the scene. Anyone can walk the pier and see an elevated view of the beach or wildlife swimming below. If you enjoy fishing, definitely make the time to get a day pass so you can cast a line from the pier. They have a small convenience store that sells everything you’ll need to fish: bait, lines, weights and tackle. Just bring your rod, a cooler, sunglasses, and get ready for a tranquil- yet exciting day of fishing. There’s usually at least a few people dropping lines from the pier, but I’ve honestly never seen it over-crowded. When the bite is red hot, there are times when the pier can be shoulder-to-shoulder, but everyone is always respectful and accommodating. At our most recent Bogue Inlet Pier fishing experience my family fished for a couple of hours and we were all able to land a fish of our own. At lunch time we left our gear to grab a quick bite at the nearby restaurant, then came back and finished up the day.

At the End of the Line:

Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier goes so far out over the Atlantic Ocean - with 1,000 feet of deck it takes you right to the fish! There’s a variety of species waiting for your lures/bait and we’ve heard stories of people catching some incredible trophies. From Barracudas to Croakers it seems there’s an endless variety of what you’ll find at the end of your line. Spanish Mackerel and King Mackerel seem to be the shining stars at the pier. Other catches include Bluefish, Sheepshead, Speckled Trout, Red Drum, Cobia, Flounder, Black Drum, and Pompano, to name a few. My family caught some Mackerels (1 King Mackerel and 2 Spanish Mackerel), Trout, and a few juvenile Sheepshead by the end of our trip to the pier. Although we had to release the two small Sheepshead, we were able to keep the Mackerel and Trout! To put an exclamation mark on a fruitful trip to the pier, we brought home our catches for a fresh dinner. The King Mackerel made for an incredible fish dip, and the fillets we pulled from the two Spanish Mackerel and Speckled Trout were enough to feed the whole family.

Let's Go Fishing:

Bogue Inlet Pier opens in March and closes at the end of November. For serious anglers the best fishing seems to be in those spring and fall months. But I can attest to the early summer fishing - it was a great experience! So no matter when you’re visiting Emerald Isle: come drop a line from the pier!