Carolina Beach July 18, 2013
Natalie Hogan with her first flounder, a 3 lb. fish that bit a live finger mullet in the Cape Fear River. Weighed in at Island Tackle and Hardware.
Ron, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that despite at least 4” of rain in the last week, anglers are still finding some solid inshore action around Carolina Beach. Perhaps the best has been in the lower Cape Fear River, where anglers are finding solid numbers of speckled trout, red drum, and flounder in the bays and creeks off the main river. Bait-sized finger mullet have shown up in abundance over the past few weeks, and they’ve been fooling most of the fish.
There’s also been a good flounder and trout bite in Carolina Beach Inlet on the rising tides, and live mullet and menhaden are fooling both fish. Soft plastics like Gulp baits are also a good option for the specks and flatfish.
The flounder bite in Snow’s Cut is decent right now, but will improve as the water quality does when the fresh water flushes out.
Sheepshead are feeding around bridge and dock pilings and other inshore structure in the area. Fishing fiddler crabs close to their homes is the best way to tempt the sheeps to bite.
Surf casters are hooking some black and red drum, bluefish, and panfish like croaker and sea mullet while casting rigs baited with shrimp, sand fleas, and cut baits from Pleasure Island’s beaches.
Not many boats have been fishing the ocean lately, but bottom fishermen have been finding plenty of action with black sea bass around offshore ledges, wrecks, and other structure. Cut baits are fooling the bass and a few grouper in the same areas.
Kimberly Pruitt, of Los Gatos, CA, with a 46″ red drum she caught and released at the Marriott Reef off Carolina Beach.
Some dolphin have moved inshore, with a decent bite around 23 Mile Rock last week and one fish caught just 5 miles out. Some sailfish are also feeding in the 20 mile range, and both the sails and dolphin are taking an interest in rigged ballyhoo.
Robert, of Carolina Explorer, reports that the influx of fresh water has made fishing a bit tough lately, but fish are still biting and the action should be excellent once the fresh water flushes out of the system.
Most of the action has been taking place around rockpiles, oyster bars, and grass islands in the lower Cape Fear River.
Anglers are connecting with speckled trout while casting D.O.A. Shrimp under popping corks.
Red drum, black drum, and sheepshead are taking an interest in fresh shrimp fished around all the same areas, and anglers are also hooking the reds on live mud minnows.
There’s also been a decent flounder bite in Carolina Beach Inlet, where live mullet, mud minnows, and menhaden are attracting attention from the flatfish (with short fish and keepers mixed together).
Jeff, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that there’s been a decent speckled trout bite in the lower Cape Fear River around rocky structure, oyster bars, and other current breaks. There are huge amounts of finger mullet in the lower river right now, and the specks have been quite receptive to the mullet. They’re also biting soft plastic baits pinned to jigheads. A few of the specks are also taking an interest in topwater plugs.
Todd Richardson, of Hampstead, NC, with a sheepshead that bit a bucktail/Gulp combo in Snow’s Cut while he was fishing with Matt Cave.
Red drum are feeding in many of the same areas, and they’re keyed in on the finger mullet, too.
Some keeper flounder are also looking for meals in the lower river and pouncing on baits that anglers are casting for the specks and reds.
Robin, of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that anglers are still hooking some solid flounder while soaking live baits under the pier.
Some sea mullet and a few spot are taking an interest in bottom rigs baited with shrimp and bloodworms.
Anthony, of Kure Beach Pier, reports that bottom fishermen are decking some croaker, sea mullet, and bluefish on shrimp and other baits.
Some sheepshead are feeding around the pier, and they’re biting barnacles fished tight to the pilings.
