Carolina Beach – June 26, 2014
Ellie Williams (age 6) with a pair out of a limit catch of spanish mackerel she hooked while trolling just off Carolina Beach with Capt. Charlie Schoonmaker of Back Bay Fishing Charters.
Kyle, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that anglers are seeing good numbers of sheepshead (and some big fish) feeding around docks, bridges, and rocks in the ICW and Cape Fear River. Most are falling for fiddler crabs fished tight to the structure.
Speckled trout are on the feed in the Cape Fear River, where anglers are finding them around grass islands and rocky structure. Live shrimp are tough to beat for the specks, but anglers are also hooking up on topwater plugs, soft plastics, and other artificials.
Flounder action has been good recently as well (with solid numbers of fish to 3-4 lbs. and some larger). Live menhaden and mud minnows are fooling the majority of the flatfish.
Spanish mackerel are feeding around the inlet and just off the beachfront, and anglers are hooking big numbers while trolling Clarkspoons behind planers and cigar weights.
Some dolphin have pushed in as close as 15 miles offshore, with consistent action reported in the 20-30 mile range. Live and dead baits are fooling the ‘phins.
Todd Pinkman with a speckled trout that struck a Strike King soft plastic in the Cape Fear River near Carolina Beach while he was fishing with Capt. Robert Schoonmaker of Carolina Explorer.
Blue water trollers are also reporting steady dolphin action and some solid catches of blackfin tuna.
Anglers bottom fishing around structure 20-40 miles offshore are hooking good numbers of grouper, big black sea bass, and plenty of smaller bottom dwellers. Live, dead, and cut baits are all producing results on the bottom feeders.
Jeff, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are still seeing plenty of action with red drum in the bays and backwaters off the lower Cape Fear River. Topwater plugs and soft plastics are fooling many of the fish, and anglers are also hooking plenty on live mud minnows and menhaden.
The speckled trout bite is improving, and anglers are hooking the specks on live baits and while working topwater plugs and soft plastics around grass lines and points in the lower river.
Flounder are feeding in the same areas as the specks and reds, and they’re biting live baits and soft plastics as well.
Sheepshead fishing continues to improve (and the fish keep getting larger). Anglers are finding the sheeps around pilings and rocks in the ICW and Cape Fear River and hooking them on live fiddler crabs.
Robert, of Carolina Explorer, reports that anglers are still connecting with some solid numbers of speckled trout in the Cape Fear River around grass islands, oyster points, and other current breaks. Live baits and Strike King soft plastics are tempting bites from the specks.
Red drum are feeding in the bays and backwaters off the lower river and falling for live and cut baits along with topwater plugs, soft plastics, and other artificials.
Andrew and Elizabeth Duskie with the 6 lb., 11 oz. winning spanish mackerel in the Cape Fear Anglers Spanish Mackerel Tournament. The big spaniard bit a live menhaden near a ledge in 60′ of water off Carolina Beach while they were fishing with Scott Smith and Pete Bullock on the “All Mine.”
Flounder fishing is still decent in Carolina Beach Inlet, the ICW, and the Cape Fear River. Live baits like menhaden are producing most of the flatfish.
There’s also been a decent flounder bite around nearshore structure in the ocean.
Spanish mackerel and bluefish are feeding along the beachfront and within a few miles of shore. Trolling Clarkspoons and casting metal jigs to fish feeding on the surface is fooling the spanish and blues.
Brenda, of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that bottom fishermen are hooking some croaker and sea mullet on shrimp.
A few flounder are falling for live baits under the pier.
Anthony, of Kure Beach pier, reports that anglers are connecting with some flounder while soaking live baits around the pilings.
Some bluefish are falling for Gotcha plugs that anglers are working from the pier.
Bottom fishermen are connecting with some sea mullet while baiting up with shrimp.
