Topsail April 1, 2010
Jeff Brown, of Reidsville, NC, with a 25" red drum he hooked on cut mullet in the south Topsail surf.
Chris, of East Coast Sports, reports that anglers are finding red and black drum schooled up together in the mainland creeks off the waterway. Cut shrimp on bottom rigs have been producing most of the action with both drum.
Some speckled trout are feeding in the same areas as the drum. Gulp baits are attracting attention from the trout.
The schools of reds that have been feeding on the inlet shoals all winter long are breaking up and moving inshore. Anglers are still finding some fish in the inlets, but the schools are much smaller. Inshore, the fish are feeding in the marshes and on the soundside flats. Soft baits on small jigheads (1/16 oz. or lighter) are fooling most of the red on the flats.
Surf anglers are seeing some whiting and a few puffers, and it shouldn’t be long before the whiting bite breaks wide open. Shrimp on bottom rigs are tough to beat for both bottom feeders.
Atlantic bonito will be making an appearance at nearshore structure like Diver’s Rock soon, and anglers have reported seeing schools of the fish around the 18 mile mark recently. When they make their way inshore, anglers can catch them by trolling Yo-Zuri Deep Divers or casting diamond jigs to the breaking schools.
Bottom fishermen are putting together excellent catches of sea bass at structure around 25 miles off the beaches.
The boats that have made the trip to the Gulf Stream recently have been rewarded with decent catches of wahoo and blackfin tuna.
Kevin Zimmer, of Somerset, NJ, with a 38 lb. African pompano he hooked while deep-jigging in 150' of water off Wrightsville Beach with Capt. Mike Jackson of Live Line Charters.
Eric, of New River Marina, reports that the red drum bite has been good all winter, and anglers are still finding the fish in the surf, the ICW, the bays, and the creeks off the river.
Gulp baits and the new Yo-Zuri Excite-A-Bite soft baits are producing most of the action with the reds.
Good numbers of flounder have been mixed in with the reds in the bays and creeks, and they’re taking an interest in the scented soft baits, too.
The speckled trout bite is improving, and anglers are scoring bites from the specks in the creeks and bays where they’re finding a lot of the reds. There aren’t many live shrimp around the area yet for baits, but the specks are taking an interest in Gulps and other lures.
Surf and inshore bottom fishermen have yet to see a good whiting run, but they’re picking up some croakers while awaiting the arrival of the whiting.
Offshore, anglers have been reporting schools of Atlantic bonito, false albacore, and king mackerel in the 40 mile range.
Those making the run to the Gulf Stream have been finding a scattered bite of wahoo and blackfin tuna up and down the break.
Rick and Phil, from Jacksonville, with a mess of sea bass they hooked at a ledge 35 miles off Topsail on squid. They were fishing with Capt. John Mallette of Plan 9 Charters.
Wayne, of Last Resort Charters, reports that anglers are finding schools of red and black drum in the tidal creeks. The fish aren’t picky right now, and most anglers are hooking them on shrimp-baited bottom rigs and Gulp baits.
A few trout and flounder are showing up in the creeks as well, and anglers are also picking away at them while fishing in the marinas. Gulp baits are attracting attention from both fish.
Atlantic bonito will be feeding at nearshore structure off New River and New Topsail inlets shortly, and anglers can catch them by casting diamond jigs and other metal lures to the breaking schools of fish.
Vinita, of Surf City Pier, reports that anglers are catching skates, sharks, and a pick of whiting and pufferfish. As the water warms up a few more degrees, the whiting bite should improve. Shrimp-baited bottom rigs are producing most of the action from the planks.
Sheryl, of Jolly Roger Pier, reports that anglers are starting to catch a few whiting.
Bobby, of Seaview Pier, reports that anglers are hooking up with some whiting and pufferfish on bottom rigs baited with shrimp. Anglers can expect to see a better whiting bite and the arrival of the first bluefish of spring as the water temperature climbs over the next few weeks.
