Topsail – July 16, 2015
Chris, of East Coast Sports, reports that anglers are connecting with some bluefish and spanish mackerel while working metal casting lures from the piers.
Bottom fishermen soaking baits from the piers and in the surf are connecting with spot, sea mullet, and black drum while baiting up with shrimp. A few spanish and bluefish are biting casting lures from the beach as well.
The flounder bite remains solid in the backwaters, where anglers are finding the fish around the inlets, marshes, and inshore structure like docks. Live baits and Gulps fished on the bottom will attract attention from the flatfish.
Red drum are also prowling the marshes and inlets looking for meals. They’ll bite the same things as the flounder along with topwater plugs and a host of other artificials.
Boaters fishing the ocean are hooking plenty of spanish mackerel and bluefish around the inlets and a few miles offshore while trolling flashy lures like Clarkspoons behind planers and torpedo weights.
King mackerel have been biting from the 2-5 mile range to well offshore. Anglers can tempt the kings to bite dead cigar minnows and ballyhoo or live baits like menhaden.
Bottom fishermen targeting the 10-30 mile range are connecting with sea bass and gag grouper while dropping live, dead, and cut baits to structure like rocks and ledges.
Other bottom feeders like triggerfish and beeliners are looking for meals at structure a bit further out.
Gulf stream trollers are reporting solid action with wahoo and sailfish while dragging baits in the blue water. Ballyhoo paired with skirted trolling lures are producing most of the action.
Travis, April, and Nathan Ashbrook with a trio of slot red drum they hooked on frozen menhaden in New Topsail Inlet.
Allen, of Breadman Ventures, reports that anglers continue to find fast action with red drum and speckled trout in the backwaters and bays around Sneads Ferry and Topsail. Water off both the New River and ICW is producing fish, and anglers have been hooking many on topwater plugs (with upper and over-slot reds and some citation-class speckled trout). When the fish don’t want to bite on the surface, anglers can tempt them to take weedless spoons, soft plastics, and suspending hard baits like MirrOlure MR17’s.
Plenty of flounder are present in the same areas, and giggers have been taking solid numbers. Anglers who want to target the flatfish on hook-and-line can bounce scented soft plastic baits along the bottom with success.
Brad Weathersby, of Raleigh, with a king mackerel he hooked at AR-362 on a cigar minnow while fishing from his SeaDoo.
Richard, of Seaview Pier, reports that anglers have been catching some citation-class spanish mackerel on live baits fished off the end of the pier. Tarpon and king mackerel have also been paying attention to live-baiters’ offerings recently.
The plug fishing for smaller spanish and bluefish has been hit-or-miss lately, but some days have produced a solid bite.
Bottom fishermen are hooking some sea mullet, black drum, and over-slot red drum, with the best action at night. Shrimp and cut baits are fooling the fish.
Eric Fowler with a 6.2 lb. spanish mackerel that bit a live mullet off the end of Seaview Pier.
Ed, of Surf City Pier, reports that anglers are hooking some croaker, sea mullet, and red and black drum while bottom fishing from the pier (with one 40” red caught and released last week). Shrimp and cut baits are fooling the bottom feeders.
A 6.5 lb. spanish mackerel was landed on a live bait early in the week.
Charlie Medlin and Finn Filer with a sharpnose shark that bit a pinfish just outside New River Inlet while they were fishing with Charlie’s dad, Capt. Chris Medlin of East Coast Sports.
Erin, of Jolly Roger Pier, reports that anglers are hooking a few spanish mackerel and bluefish while working casting lures like Gotcha plugs and diamond jigs from the planks.
Live-baiters landed a 25 lb. king mackerel last week.
