Carolina Beach August 11, 2011
Charles Smith, of Wilmington, with an 8 lb., 6 oz. flounder that bit a live finger mullet in Snow's Cut.
Wes, of Island Tackle, reports that anglers are seeing good numbers of flounder on the nearshore reefs, wrecks, and live bottoms off Cape Fear. Live baits on Carolina rigs and Gulp-tipped bucktails will both fool the fish. Gray trout are holding in the same areas and will readily strike the same baits.
The flounder bite has also been solid in Carolina Beach Inlet and Snow’s Cut lately, as the recent rain seems to have pushed a lot of fish out of the river. Live finger mullet and menhaden are the top flatfish producers inshore.
There’s also been decent flounder action for surf casters lately. Anglers are also catching good numbers of sea mullet from the beaches on shrimp and sand fleas.
Sheepshead are looking for food around bridge and dock pilings and other hard structure inshore, and anglers can tempt them to bite live fiddler crabs.
The red drum bite’s been a bit slow around Carolina Beach lately, but there are still plenty of reds feeding around the rock wall and backwaters at Fort Fisher. Live baits, soft plastics like Gulps, topwater plugs, and other artificial lures will tempt bites from the reds.
The spanish mackerel bite is still on just off Carolina Beach Inlet, and boats caught excellent numbers of the little mackerel while trolling around the sea buoy last week. Clarkspoons and squid rigs are top trolling lures for the spaniards.
King mackerel are still very hard to come by, but sailfish have been making up for their absence and are chasing bait 10+ miles offshore. Trolling teasers like dredges and daisy chains along with naked ballyhoo for hook baits is the way to tempt bites from the sails.
Bryan, of Carolina Beach Bait and Tackle, reports that the heat has slowed things down a bit, but anglers are still finding some action from the beaches and in the backwaters.
K.I. Elliot (age 11), of Wilmington, with a 4 lb. spanish mackerel that bit a live finger mullet off Johnnie Mercer's Pier.
Sea mullet and a few puppy drum have been rewarding surf casters over the past week. Shrimp and sand fleas will fool both.
Sharks (from tiny to monstrous) are also feeding just off the beaches, and they will happily strike a large cut bait paddled or casted from shore. The sharking tends to be best down towards the southern end of the island.
The flounder bite has been rather slow everywhere but Snow’s Cut over the past week, but anglers are catching some healthy flatfish in the Cut on live finger mullet and menhaden.
Sheepshead are feeding around rocky areas, bridge and dock pilings, and other hard structure inshore. Live fiddler crabs and sand fleas will tempt bites from the crustacean-loving sheeps.
Robert, of Carolina Explorer, reports that with the triple-digit heat indexes lately, the inshore fishing has been best very early in the mornings. The red drum are a bit scattered right now, but anglers are managing to catch decent numbers by staying on the move and casting soft plastic paddletail grubs to marsh banks and oyster rocks in the creeks and backwaters off the lower Cape Fear River.
Flounder fishing has been best in the ICW and Carolina Beach Inlet lately, with some excellent action at the nearshore reefs as well. Live finger mullet and menhaden are top choices for the flatfish, but anglers can also score good results while bouncing bucktail/Gulp combos off the bottom.
The spanish mackerel bite has been incredible lately just off Carolina Beach. Anglers are catching big numbers of the little mackerel while trolling Clarkspoons and casting small metal jigs at the feeding fish.
Large sharks are feeding in the same areas as the mackerel, although they’re not quite as numerous as in previous weeks. Still, drifting large cut baits within a few miles of the beach offers anglers an excellent chance at a shark encounter.
Danielle, of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that anglers are connecting with some flounder and red drum while fishing live baits on the bottom.
A few bluefish are taking an interest in bottom rigs and metal lures like Gotcha plugs.
Live baiters landed an 18 lb. king mackerel last week.
J.R. Melvin, of Hampstead, NC, with a gag grouper that fell for a cigar minnow/squid combo at some structure 45 miles off Masonboro Inlet.
Mike, of Kure Beach Pier, reports that the flounder bite was solid under the pier last week. Anglers landed good numbers of flatfish on live mud minnows and finger mullet (with a few to 5 lbs.).
Spanish mackerel and a few bluefish have been falling for Gotcha plugs worked from the pier. Larger spanish (some to 5 lbs.) are biting live baits on king rigs.
Live-baiters landed a 22 lb. king mackerel last week.
