Now that we have made it to the middle of May, there are all sorts of fishing possibilities. The weather is warming up nicely and so are the water temperatures.

The water temperature is the key factor that triggers almost all fish species to make their spring runs. The next three weeks should put us at the height of the new season.

At the coast, fish are already on the move. The speckled trout have left the deep protected waters of our coastal rivers and are headed to their spring spawning grounds out on the sound.

Fishing activity is starting to improve out on the big water. The fish are gathering along points with deeper dropoffs. They are never far from their staple food sources – minnows, shrimp and small pinfish.

After a two-week layoff, we are ready to try our familiar places along the northern shores of the Pamlico Sound. Finding the larger concentrations of trout is always the challenge, but usually rewarding.

This year, we have a new artificial bait to try. It is a gold minnow that suspends just below the water surface. It has sharp treble hooks and we are daring the pinfish to look at it. They usually reek havoc on our soft plastic gulp lures.

May brings a lot of fish into Bogue Sound near Morehead City. Already, reports are good from this area for the taking of large sea mullets. Last year, we found a good school in deeper water near the channel.

We had plenty of bait and, as long as the tide was moving, the sea mullets were plenty hungry. We had shrimp and squid, but the bait they really preferred was fresh-cut pinfish.

Before long, it will be time to troll for Spanish mackerel in the mouth of the inlet. Usually, Memorial Day weekend is the peak of the spring run for these fish. My son and I enjoy plugging for Spanish off the end of The Bogue Inlet Pier during this holiday.

Larger fish will follow the smaller fish closer to the shoreline in a few weeks. Soon, it will be time to catch King mackerel, wahoo and dolphin. We already have a trip planned for early June to the bluewater to try to find big bull dolphin.

The height of the spring run will be winding down, but there are still plenty of fish to catch. Pier fishing is usually good in the early mornings and again in late afternoon. During times of low tides, we catch a bunch of fish in the surf. Nights are usually spent wading in the shallow waters of Bogue Sound, gigging flounder.

We are hoping for a nice quiet spell in the weather for that week. We need very little wind, some dark nights and all the lightning and thunder to stay out to sea.

The last two vacations have been lean for the taking of flounder. But every third year seems to be good for flounder gigging. Maybe this summer will continue the predictable cycle.

We are looking forward to the new fishing season. Many trips have been planned. And now it is up to the fish, because we think we are ready.