Carolina Beach – June 9, 2016
Cody, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that the flounder bite is heating up in the Cape Fear River. Many fish have been close to the 5 lb. mark, and none of the fish weighed in recently from the river have been under the 3 lb. mark. The fish are falling for live pogies on Carolina rigs.
Black drum have been hanging out around structure in Snow’s Cut, and larger fish are falling for live fiddler crabs and sand fleas. Red drum are being caught in the bays at the end of the island, and anglers have had success with Gulp soft plastics or live shrimp rigged under a popping cork.
Surf anglers have been connecting with small bait fish, such as pinfish and croakers, along with undersized flounder and black drum. Most are biting bait shrimp. A few scattered pompano have shown up in the surf as well.
Anglers on the piers have been seeing good numbers of spanish and bluefish, along with several undersized black drum and flounder. Bottom rigs tipped with shrimp or Fishbites have proven successful. Kings and cobias have not yet been reported at local piers.
Cobia have been hanging out in the shoals between Fort Fisher and Bald Head, and most of the fish landed have been citation sized. The fish can be found around bait balls of pogies and grass shad.
Spanish mackerel and bluefish have been reported nearshore, with the fish falling for Clarkspoons behind a #1 planer.
Fishing offshore on the bottom will yield grouper and black sea bass, and both fish will quickly bite a pinfish.
Anglers in the Gulf Stream have reported mahi and wahoo. They’re being caught while trolling skirted ballyhoo.
Larry Rowland, of Wilmington, with a red grouper that he caught fishing aboard the Sadie J. He was fishing 50 miles out of the Carolina Beach Inlet.
Jeff, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that the reds have been feeding in the bays and the lower Cape Fear River. Sight casting topwaters to the fish, or jig heads baited with a Gulp shrimp, will fool these fish, and most of the fish are slot-sized.
The black drum in the river are hitting dead shrimp on Carolina rigs, or floating a popping cork over oyster beds or rock piles.
A few speckled trout are mixed in with the reds, and these fish can be targeted with mud minnows or dead shrip on a popping cork. If you are using artificials, DOA jerk shad or a Gulp shrimp will prove effective on the specks.
Sheephead have been hanging around pilings and docks, as well as oyster beds. Live fiddler crabs on a popping cork will tempt the fish, which are mostly in the 3-5 lb. size range, with a few running even larger.
Large cobia, between 30-40 lbs., have been reported up and down the beaches, and finding and following bait balls is key to finding the fish. The best method is sight casting to fish or bait balls with live menhaden on a light line.
Bluefish, spanish, and larger jack crevelle (up to 30 lbs.) have been mixed in with the migratory species.
Brandon Rumpf, of Clayton, with an 18″ flounder he caught off Kure Beach Pier on a live mud minnow.
Luke, of TopWater Guide Co., reports that the redfish bite has been decent in the river and close to the inlets. Plenty of fish are being found by targeting areas in 3-6’ of water, and the fish are falling for gold spoons, as well as Down South Lures soft plastics in magic grass and red shad. Most of the fish are mid-slot to over-slot (23”-32”).
A few flounder have been mixed in with the redfish as they move back inshore. The size of the flatties can vary, with some ranging up to 20”, and they are biting soft plastics on a jighead.
The speckled trout bite is best in the river first thing in the morning. Try hitting areas around marsh points in 4-8’ of water when targeting the species. Soft plastics will tempt the fish, as well as throwing topwaters, like the Rapala Skitterwalk or the MirrOlure She Dog.
Brian Bellamy with a large grunt he pulled up while bottom fishing off Carolina Beach with his dad Donald Bellamy.
Rod, of OnMyWay Charters, reports that 00 and 0 size Clarkspoons with #1 planers or 2-3 oz. trolling sinkers are the way to catch spanish mackerel across the nearshore area. Cobia are also near the beach, and sight casting with bucktail jigs while trolling live bait is a great way to find a bite.
Offshore, the mahi have been caught as close as 10 miles. Troll at a slow speed with live or dead bait. Deep diving plugs have also worked with mahi bites around the 20-35 mile ledges where bait balls are found.
Bottom fishing for black sea bass, snapper, and grouper has been successful in the 20-40 mile range. The best bet is to target live bottom areas.
In the Gulf Stream, billfish, mahi, blackfin tuna, and even a few wahoo have been landed. This variety of fish can be found starting in the 140’ range and then trolling out towards the ledge breaks and into deeper water.
Capt. Jason Dail and Bob Rutherford with two upper slot reds that fell for Betts spinner baits and Salty Bay soft plastics.
Jesse, of Ocean Stinger Fishing Charters, has reported that spanish mackerel and bluefish are being found nearshore in the 5-10 mile range. Specifically, 10 Mile Rock and 12 Mile Rock have been producing a large quantity of take home fish. Trolling anywhere from 7-10 knots, using #1 planers with silver/pink and silver/purple Clarkspoons will prove successful, but don’t forget to troll the spread outside of the school to not spook the spanish.
As far as king mackerel, they are being caught in the 7-14 mile range off of Wrightsville Beach; however, most of the kings are a smaller size (18-24”).
Bottom fishing around structure in the 15-20 mile range has been producing the usual variety of sea bass, triggers, and beeliners. Rigs baited with squid or other cut baits have been working the best, and AR-376 has been a recent favorite.
Blackfin tuna and mahi are being caught in improving numbers between 25-40 miles off the beach. Anglers should look for temperature breaks in the water around 78-82 degrees to find the mahi. Trolling with Fathom soft heads (blue/white) rigged with ballyhoo has regularly produced for both species. In addition, Fathom offshore skirt rigs have been bringing in more of the gaffer mahi, while casting topwater plugs (like the Williamson Jet Pro) has worked on surfacing blackfins.
Leslie, of Kure Beach Pier, reports that spanish and blues are being caught mostly in the mornings using Gotcha plugs. During the day, flounder are hitting on live bait (such as mud minnows). The flounder are still running small, but there has been the occasional keeper.
In the evenings, the primary bite has been croakers. They’ve been caught using shrimp.
Brenda, of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that the croakers bite has been good. Virginia mullet and bluefish have been landed using shrimp, but the sizes have been small for both species.
