Carolina Beach June 23, 2011
Jamie Lowe, of Wilmington, with a 3 lb., 15 oz. flounder he hooked on a live bait beneath Kure Beach Pier.
Wes, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that the area’s flounder bite has slowed a bit, but anglers are still connecting with some quality flatfish in Snow’s Cut and the Cape Fear River. Live finger mullet, mud minnows, and smaller menhaden are the go-to baits for the flatfish.
Some red drum are feeding in the bays off the lower Cape Fear River, and anglers are hooking them on live baits, Gulps, spinnerbaits, topwater plugs, and a variety of other lures.
Black drum are feeding around hard structure in the lower Cape Fear, and they will pounce on dead shrimp on a bottom rig.
Sheepshead fishing has been good at ICW docks and rocky structure in the lower Cape Fear. Fiddler crabs are favorite baits for the sheeps.
Speckled trout have been a bit tough to find recently, but anglers are picking up a few specks in the Cape Fear River near Snow’s Cut.
Spanish mackerel are still feeding strong around the inlet and along the beaches, where trolled Clarkspoons will tempt them to bite. Plenty of bluefish are in the mix with the spaniards.
Some scattered king mackerel are also feeding along the beaches, but they’ve been a bit few and far between. Some kings are also coming from well offshore, but there haven’t been big numbers in between. Live menhaden will fool the kings wherever anglers find them.
Dolphin and some sailfish have moved inshore of the Gulf Stream. Anglers have been connecting with both around 23 Mile Rock recently. Live baits and dead cigar minnows and ballyhoo will tempt bites from the ‘phins and sails.
Not many people have been bottom fishing on this side of the shoals lately, but anglers have been catching some stout (to 30 lbs.) gag grouper at spots within 20 miles out of Southport. Live baits are top choices for the larger groupers.
Ryan, of Carolina Beach Bait and Tackle, reports that surf fishermen are finding plenty of action along Pleasure Island. Big numbers of sharks (from 1-6’ long) are feeding along the shoreline and taking an interest in cut baits.
Sea mullet and a few pompano are falling for shrimp and sand fleas in the breakers.
Kure Pier saw a surprising summer run of spot last week, and bloodworms were the ticket to putting some of the tasty panfish in a cooler.
Some upper to over-slot red drum have been falling for cut baits along the beach from Atlantic Towers down to the Fort Fisher rocks.
Inshore, there’s plenty of bait around right now. Anglers should have little trouble locating schools of finger mullet and small menhaden, and there have been good numbers of live shrimp in the marshes and creeks.
Flounder fishing inshore has been solid (with some larger fish). The best bite’s been in the creeks off the lower Cape Fear River, and live finger mullet or small menhaden are the way to go for the flatfish.
Black drum are feeding around the channel markers and other hard structure in the river. Anglers can tempt them to strike sand fleas or other crustacean baits.
Sheepshead are all over hard structure in the river, the ICW, and in the ocean. They’ll also take an interest in live or frozen sand fleas or live fiddler crabs.
Stan Hollingsworth with a 68 lb. cobia that attacked a live menhaden near the Carolina Beach Inlet sea buoy while he was fishing with Stuart Flynn.
Robert, of Carolina Explorer Charters, reports that there’s still a decent red drum bite in the bays and backwaters off the lower Cape Fear River. The fish haven’t been as aggressive as in recent weeks, and live finger mullet or cut mullet and menhaden have been outperforming artificial lures with the reds lately.
Anglers are picking up some speckled trout in the river, and fishing live shrimp or D.O.A. imitations has been the most effective tactic with them lately.
Flounder fishing has been best in the inlet over the past week, where live mud minnows, finger mullet, and small menhaden are attracting attention from the flatfish. A few flounder are also coming from the nearshore wrecks and reefs.
Spanish mackerel fishing has been decent when the water’s calm enough to get out the inlet. Trolled Clarkspoons are fooling the spanish and plenty of blues along the beach and just off the inlet.
Bill of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that bottom fishermen are catching a few croaker and sea mullet on shrimp and bloodworms.
Bluefish and a few spanish mackerel are falling for Gotcha plugs that anglers are working from the pier.
Live-baiters caught one king mackerel last week.
Anthony, of Kure Beach Pier, reports that anglers are finding some decent action with flounder from the pier, mostly on live mud minnows and finger mullet.
Some croaker, spot, and sea mullet are falling for bottom rigs baited with shrimp.
Plug casters are connecting with a few bluefish and spanish, but the bite’s been a little slow.
Live-baiters had action with king mackerel last week.
