Carolina Beach – June 11, 2015
Wes, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that fishing is improving inshore around Carolina Beach. The red drum bite has improved in the Cape Fear River, where anglers are finding the fish on the flats and in the bays off the lower river. The reds will bite topwater plugs, soft baits like Gulps, spoons, or a variety of natural baits.
Black drum are looking for meals around structure like rockpiles and bridge and dock pilings in the ICW and river. Anglers can fool them with fresh shrimp.
Many sheepshead are in the same areas and will bite fiddler crabs or sand fleas dangled tight to the structure.
Daniel Lantz with a 26.5″ red drum that struck a live mud minnow in the Cape Fear River.
The flounder bite has picked up as well, and anglers are bringing more and more fish by the shop to weigh for citations (5+ lbs.). The flatfish are feeding in Carolina Beach Inlet, Snow’s Cut, and the Cape Fear River. Anglers can fool them with live mud minnows or menhaden or with scented soft baits like Gulps.
Surf casters are hooking some decent croaker while baiting up with shrimp.
Spanish mackerel are feeding just off the beachfront. Anglers are hooking them while working Gotcha plugs from the piers and while trolling Clarkspoons and other flashy lures from boats.
King mackerel action remains good within a few miles of the beaches, and the fish are feeding from there out to spots well offshore. Live baits like menhaden and bluefish are tough to beat for the kings.
Dolphin have shown up as near as 12-15 miles off the inlets, with fish scattered from there out to the Gulf Stream. The ‘phins aren’t picky and will bite live and dead baits along with a variety of artificials.
Jesse Avant, of Wilmington, with a 25″ black drum he hooked on a whole shrimp while fishing Snow’s Cut at night.
Rod, of OnMyWay Charters, reports that anglers have found a very good spanish mackerel bite in 25-30’ of water off the beachfront recently. Most of the spanish are falling for trolled Clarkspoons.
King mackerel action has been best along the 60’ curve over the past week, with anglers trolling cigar minnows and larger spoons connecting from Carolina Beach north to Topsail.
Dolphin have moved into the 15-35 mile range (some large gaffers) and are falling for trolled ballyhoo and cigar minnows.
Bottom fishermen are finding plenty of black sea bass, snappers, and grouper at structure 35-45 miles out.
Gulf Stream action also remains strong, with good catches of dolphin and some wahoo for anglers trolling from 140’ of water out to the break.
Robert, of Carolina Explorer, reports that there’s been some decent inshore action in the Cape Fear River recently. Red drum are feeding in the shallows off the lower part of the river and biting Gulps, other soft plastics, and live baits.
Some flounder are in the same areas and taking an interest in the baits as well.
Black drum are feeding around structure like rocks and pilings in the river and ICW. They’ll bite shrimp fished on bottom rigs.
Out in the ocean, anglers are finding some flounder feeding on the nearshore reefs and tempting them to strike live baits and bucktail jigs.
Spanish mackerel are also feeding between the beachfront and the 40-50’ depths. Anglers can troll Clarkspoons or cast metal jigs to spanish they see to hook up.
Jeff, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are finding some red drum on the flats of the lower Cape Fear River, but not many fish in the creeks right now. The reds are biting live baits and Gulps.
Flounder are feeding in the same areas as the reds and around drop-offs and other structure in the river. The flatfish are also falling for Gulp baits and live mud minnows.
Structure in the river and backwaters is holding some black drum, and anglers are hooking them on shrimp.
A few sheepshead are in the same areas and biting live fiddler crabs.
Brenda, of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that some flounder have been coming over the rails for anglers fishing small live baits under the pier.
Croaker are biting shrimp on bottom rigs.
Plug casters have been hooking good numbers of bluefish while working Gotchas.
Loren, of Kure Beach Pier, reports that sea mullet have been biting bottom rigs baited with shrimp in the evening hours.
Anglers are hooking some spanish mackerel from the pier on Gotcha plugs and other casting lures.
Flounder are biting live mud minnows fished on the bottom.
