Wrightsville Beach – July 3, 2014
Ana, David, Sara, and Daniela Topsana with a citation red drum they caught and released at some nearshore structure near Wrightsville Beach while fishing with Capt. Jamie Rushing of Seagate Charters.
Arlen, of Tex’s Tackle, reports the area’s Gulf Stream fishing has settled into a summertime pattern, with boats finding some gaffer dolphin, a few blackfin tuna, and an occasional white marlin. The fish are fairly spread out since the inshore waters have warmed up, but anglers who find some active fish should be able to put together a decent catch. Ballyhoo paired with skirted lures like sea witches are fooling most of the blue water predators.
Dolphin have pushed into the 10-30 mile range as well, and anglers are also seeing a decent king mackerel bite in those areas. Live baits will fool both, but anglers can troll faster and cover more ground with dead ballyhoo or cigar minnows and still tempt plenty of bites.
Bottom fishermen are reporting some solid action with red and scamp groupers around structure in the 40-50 mile range. Live, dead, and cut baits are all effective on the groupers. Other bottomfish like sea bass, triggerfish, grunts, and beeliners are in the same areas and will pounce on cut baits or squid fished on smaller hooks.
Gag grouper and more grunts and sea bass are looking for meals around structure a bit closer to land and will respond to the same baits.
Spanish mackerel action has been solid along the beachfront throughout the area. Most boaters are hooking the spanish while trolling Clarkspoons and daisy chain rigs behind planers and trolling birds. Anglers can also hook up while casting lures like Hogy Epoxy jigs towards fish feeding on the surface.
Some flounder are feeding around bottom structure within a few miles of the beaches, where anglers can hook up on live baits or bucktail jigs tipped with Gulps.
Harrison, Reed, and Michael Branham, of Charlotte, with a cobia and a flounder they hooked off Wrightsville Beach while fishing with Steve Campbell.
The flounder bite is also going strong inshore, with the best action recently around Carolina Beach and in the Cape Fear River. Anglers are also finding solid flatfishing in the creeks and around the inlets at Wrightsville. Live baits and Gulps are fooling the inshore flounder as well.
There’s also been a good summer speckled trout bite in the ICW and Cape Fear River. The trout are falling for topwater plugs, suspending lures like X-Raps and MirrOlures, and soft plastics.
Red drum are looking for meals around docks, in the inlets, and on the flats. They’ll take an interest in topwater plugs, spoons, and soft plastics on the flats, and then live and cut baits in deeper water and around docks.
Sheepshead are making a strong showing inshore around docks, bridges, and bulkheads. Dangling fiddler crabs or other crustacean baits tight to the structure will fool the sheeps.
Jamie, of Seagate Charters, reports that anglers are hooking flounder inshore in the creeks and around the inlets. Most are falling for live menhaden and finger mullet on Carolina rigs.
The flounder bite has also been solid in the ocean around the AR’s and other structure.
Some large red drum are feeding around the same structure and also taking an interest in live baits.
Speckled trout action has been solid inshore near the inlets and in the marshes, where anglers are hooking up on topwater plugs early and late in the day.
Red drum are feeding in many of the same areas and will also pounce on topwater plugs and subsurface lures like soft plastics. More reds are looking for meals around inshore docks and other structure, where anglers can hook them on live and cut baits.
Lynn, of Shearwater Charters, reports that anglers are still hooking solid numbers of spanish mackerel while trolling Clarkspoons along the beachfront and around tidelines at the inlets.
The king mackerel bite has improved around spots in the 10-20 mile range, where anglers are hooking the fish on dead cigar minnows, ballyhoo, Drone spoons, and strip baits. Decent numbers of dolphin are feeding in the same areas and falling for the same baits.
Bottom fishermen are reporting solid action with gag grouper, black sea bass, grunts, and more at structure 25-30 miles offshore, although strong currents due to last week’s full moon made fishing and anchoring a bit tough. Cigar minnows, squid, and cut baits are fooling the bottom feeders.
Ryan, of Johnnie Mercers Pier, reports that plug casters are hooking some bluefish and spanish mackerel while working Gotchas from the pier early and late in the day.
Live baiters fishing the end of the pier have been hooking some tiger sharks (to 6’) and seeing a few cobia.
Bottom fishermen are connecting with some sea mullet and red drum on shrimp and cut baits in the evening hours.
Flounder are falling for small live baits fished under the pier.
