Southport/Oak Island – September 2024
Lucile, of Dutchman Creek Bait and Tackle, reports that most of the inshore anglers have been focused on the strong red drum action.
Targeting inshore structures is producing black drum and plenty of sheepshead.
Water temperatures are starting to slightly cool, and moving into September, the speckled trout action will be picking up.
Though you can’t keep them, flounder are absolutely all over the place.
Surf anglers have found the action to be sporadic. Bottom fishing is producing most of the action, with catches of croaker, whiting, pufferfish, pinfish, black drum, and sharks.
Just off the beach, anglers are finding some spanish mackerel and a bunch of bluefish.
Offshore runs are producing wahoo, sailfish, blackfin tuna, and the occasional mahi.
The offshore bottom fishing has been really good. Plenty of vermilion snapper, triggerfish, American red snapper, grouper, black sea bass, cobia, and African pompano are all mixed in the daily catches.
Rob, of Oak Island Sporting Goods, reports that surf anglers have been catching a bunch of black drum, with the occasional puppy drum mixed in.
The local piers have been doing well targeting bluefish, and the spanish mackerel are starting to show back up as water temperatures begin to come down.
Inshore anglers have been doing well catching red drum and black drum around creek mouths.
Those out on the water early in the morning have caught an occasional trout or two, but the trout bite is really only at first light.
Flounder are mixed in the action just about anywhere you fish.
Sheepshead fishing has been strong. Anglers are catching these fish around the bigger hard structures inside, with good numbers also coming from those fishing on the piers off the beach.
Tony Deason, of Monroe, NC, caught (and released) this 32″ red drum near Oak Island using a Carolina-rigged live menhaden.
Steve, of Reel ‘Em Up Charters, reports that finger mullet have been everywhere and easy to find, and both the speckled trout and red drum have homed in on them as mullet have quickly become the preferred meal.
Red drum action has been red hot. Live mullet fished on Carolina rigs or under slip corks has produced the majority of the strikes. Overall, most of the redfish action has been focused closer to the mouth of the river.
Anglers can find black drum and sheepshead by fishing fiddler crabs around structure.
Off the beach, the spanish mackerel are starting to pick back up, as is the nearshore king mackerel bite.
Hunter, of Dockside Fishing Charters, reports that schools of mullet have seemingly moved in by the thousands, but the menhaden, on the other hand, have basically disappeared inside. The thought is that most of the menhaden have likely pushed off the beach.
With all the mullet around, the red drum bite has been really good. Anglers are having the most success targeting docks along the waterways with Carolina-rigged baits. When looking for other structure to fish, focus on oyster rocks and deeper holes around creek mouths.
Another great fishery in the area has been sheepshead. This action has been steady all summer long, and the bite will only get better now that water temperatures are dropping. Anglers have had the most success targeting times of slower current near dead low tide. A simple split shot rig and a #1 sized Owner hook with a fiddler crab should produce strikes.
These same structured areas are also holding the occasional black drum.
Nearshore anglers are looking for signs of larger spanish mackerel moving back in on the beaches, as well as the nearshore king mackerel action to pick up. This improvement usually starts to happen for both species sometime in September.
Kaleb, of River Run Charters, reports that inshore anglers have focused most of their efforts on the lower part of the Cape Fear River, as this has been the first area to clean up and get back to normal patterns.
Red drum are staged up in shallower banks along grass lines as they ambush groups of mullet.
The same areas have a bunch of sheepshead, and these fish are staged around areas of heavier structure.
Moving into September when water temperatures cool down is a great opportunity to shift gears and start focusing more on black drum and speckled trout.
Leah Gauldin (age 9), of Winnabow, NC, caught this 5.64 lb. sheepshead off a dock in Southport using live shrimp.
Ryan, of Fugitive Charters, reports that nearshore anglers look forward to the water fully cleaning up and the spanish mackerel moving back in, and September usually sees the arrival of the larger class of spanish.
The king mackerel action is just starting to pick up with the slightly cooler water, and hopefully the kings continue to move their way closer to shore.
Bottom fishing remains the best option to enjoy a day offshore putting fish in the box. Plenty of good-sized vermillion snapper, triggerfish, and black sea bass are around and cooperating.
Troy, of Ocean Crest Pier, reports that anglers have been catching a bunch of ribbonfish. Mixed in this action are some ladyfish and jacks.
Bottom fishing is producing whiting, croakers, and the occasional gray trout and pompano.
A random speckled trout or two will also pop up in the daily catches.
Cindy, of Oak Island Pier, reports that cut bait fishing has mostly produced stingrays and blacktip sharks, but some pompano have also been coming over the rails.
A few sheepshead have been picked off from around the pilings, and some speckled trout are being caught in the evening hours.
