Carolina Beach August 17, 2006
Jamie, at Reel Bait and Tackle, reports that flounder fishing continues to be good both inshore and off.
The Yaupon and McGlammery Reefs are holding good numbers of fish. Snow’s Cut, Carolina Beach Inlet, and the Cape Fear River are all good places to look for flatfish inside the inlets. As usual, live finger mullet, peanut pogies, and mud minnows fished on Carolina rigs will produce the best results.
Trout fishing has been quieter this week, but the puppy drum bite continues around waterway docks at high tide.
Offshore, kings are abundant from the 23 Mile Rock area inshore to the beach. Dolphin are also thick around 23 Mile Rock. The kings and dolphin are falling for ballyhoo with Blue Water Candy skirts in pink/white, blue/white, and chartreuse. Chartreuse seems to be particularly hot for the dolphin.
Grouper fishing has been most productive for reds and scamps 35 to 40 miles off the beach. Some gags are coming from the 28 mile area. Spanish sardines and Boston mackerel are the best baits.
The gulf stream has been quiet.
Dave, of FryingPanTower.com, reports that dolphin are still the big catch in the gulf stream. White marlin are mixed in (and the occasional blue marlin) if you are rigged for it. Rigged ballyhoo with pink/white skirts has been the money maker. Look for the weed lines just north of the Same Ole.
Kings and dolphin have both been plentiful around the 23 Mile Rock area. Be sure to run something deep during the heat of the day. Rigged ballyhoo, rigged cigars, drone spoons, and cedar plugs all work.
The spanish bite continues to be strong around the area inlets and rocks. Clean water seems to be the key, with 00/01 Clark spoons as the bait of choice. Be sure to run one down deep.
The big king mackerels have shown up inshore as well, so be sure to run a rigged ballyhoo or drone spoon on the way back line.
The gags continue to move inshore, with keeper-sized fish now coming from as close as 15 miles. Red grouper are from 20 miles on out, and scamps are from the high 20’s on out. Cigar minnows, squid, and cut bait are the baits of choice.
Bruce, at Flat Dawg Charters, reports that spanish mackerel fishing has been very good outside Carolina Beach Inlet trolling clark spoons on the surface. Spoons on the planers were not getting bites this week for some reason.
Mullet are becoming the bait of choice for the flounder in the area, with many flounder in the 3 to 4 pound range caught during the week. They are spread out around the Cape Fear River, Snow’s Cut, the inlets, and the nearshore reefs.
A few speckled trout, redfish, and croakers are being caught in the river and the creeks. And the Wrightsville Beach area has been productive for redfish using spinner baits.
Anthony, at Kure Beach Pier, reports croaker, pompano, and spot biting shrimp and bloodworms on bottom rigs.
Small live baits on Carolina rigs are producing lots of flounder up to 3.5 pounds.
A few sheepshead were caught this week.
Spanish mackerel are falling for plugs, and larger spanish from 4 to 6 pounds have hit live baits on king rigs.
Three kings were landed this week, with the largest weighing 36 pounds.
The water temperature is 83 degrees.
