Carolina Beach – April 2023
Lewis, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that surf action has really picked up in recent weeks, with the springtime species all becoming more common. Anglers bottom fishing are catching good-sized whiting, pufferfish, bluefish, and some hard-fighting rays.
Pompano started making an early showing before all those cold fronts over the past month. Now that weather patterns have stabilized, the pompano are again showing up in the action.
Inshore anglers have been doing best targeting red drum in the bays further down the Cape Fear.
Speckled trout are around, but the majority of anglers are finding mostly smaller fish.
Offshore, there are king mackerel still out by the Tower and schools of Atlantic bonito over the deeper structure.
Christian, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that anglers will have the most success while continuing on with their winter fishery tactics. The recent cold snaps have kept the fish from moving forward into a spring pattern. With red drum, this means they are holding in schools back in the shallow bays and creeks. Going forward, warmer water temperatures will get bait moving around, and this should pull the reds out and have them spread out more throughout the area.
Black drum fishing has remained steady, with anglers having success targeting hard inshore structures with bottom-rigged shrimp.
Sarah Anderson, of Pine Level, NC, caught this upper-slot red drum while floating live shrimp under a cork in 4′ of water. She was fishing in the Cape Fear River with Capt. Mason Porter of Grand Slam Fishing Charters.
Luke, of Spot On Charters, reports that the recent cold snaps definitely didn’t help local anglers looking for speckled trout action to pick up. Those targeting trout on the Cape Fear River are still able to find some pockets of trout, but nothing of quality size or consistency.
Red drum have been the more reliable target, especially down towards the mouth of the Cape Fear. Smaller soft plastics have been a great bait choice to keep from spooking these fish. The reds are still in winter patterns, with fish back in creeks seeking out the slightly warmer waters.
Moving into April, anglers should continue to fish these reds while also checking in on the trout action. It really is only a matter of time before these larger trout start feeding more actively.
Tommy, of Mungo Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are finding red drum starting to become more active as we move into spring. Of course, the recent cooler weather didn’t help, but these fish patterns don’t seem overly effected by that speedbump. A warming trend over the next few weeks could see these reds start to spread out a bit as they break off into smaller groups.
There have been better numbers of speckled trout being caught as they break out of their lethargic winter patterns. In the coming weeks, start targeting these fish around more current-filled areas along the waterway and on the ledges out towards the inlet.
Mason, of Grand Slam Fishing Charters, reports that red drum patterns largely remain similar to those in the past month. The cooler weather has kept these fish schooled up in the shallower waters, and lightly weighted soft plastics remain the top bait for targeting these schools as the lower profile is less likely to spook the school.
Black drum fishing has really started to get better, with stronger numbers being the most recent change. A Carolina-rigged shrimp is the best setup for working these deeper ledges and holes, and areas with nearby structure of some sort are the spots to really target.
Rod, of OnMyWay Fishing Charters, reports that this month anglers are really going to start focusing on the Atlantic bonito action that is about to kick off in our area. There are already some nice schools being found north of us (up around Topsail area), and it won’t be long until the more local schools push in from offshore.
Not far behind them are the first waves of spanish mackerel. These early schools tend to have some really good size to them.
There are a ton of king mackerel staged up in the 30-40 mile range, and they’re just waiting for nearshore water temperatures to pick up into that upper 60 degree range before moving closer.
Action on the large black sea bass remains spectacular for anglers targeting live bottoms and ledges out in the 80’+ areas. Bottom fishing overall is such a strong fishery for our area, and it will only continue to stay strong right into grouper season later in spring.
Out on the break, anglers are finding good numbers of blackfin tuna and wahoo staged up over the offshore rocks and ledges. Structure and offshore currents are key in this fishery, and anglers can save a lot of time and money being prepared with the most up to date SST charts.
Kyle Harvey landed this 28″ redfish on a Category 5 Shrimp Minnow in the Carolina Beach area. He was fishing with Capt. Rennie Clark of Tournament Trail Charters.
Lex, of Hunt Riggs Charter Company, reports that some Atlantic bonito action has been reported out over structure in the 3-10+ mile range. These early fish were a quality class of 4-6 lb. fish, and hopefully early next month they will be more common targets. Trolling is a great tactic for scouting new areas, with many anglers pulling lures until fish pop up and they can sight cast metal jigs at surface-feeding schools. When throwing these jigs (such as a Hogy or Big Nic Spanish Candy), be sure to retrieve quickly and add occasional jerk motions to really get the lure imitating a fleeing baitfish.
There have been schools of false albacore being seen offshore as well. The same fishing tactics for bonito will also entice strikes from the albacore.
Another option for nearshore anglers in the early spring is to bottom fish at the reefs for sheepshead and plenty of smaller black sea bass.
