Carolina Beach – June 2022
Andrew, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that surf fishing has been picking up, with bottom fishing producing black drum, whiting, and scattered pompano. A few flounder are being caught in the surf, too, and red drum are being landed with Carolina-rigged cut mullet.
Inshore anglers have found good black drum fishing while targeting areas of docks and rock structure.
Sheepshead are becoming more plentiful inside as they finish moving in from their offshore winter haunts. Live shrimp or fiddler crabs fished around the same inshore structures as black drum are working for the sheepshead.
Bottom fishing inside with live bait has been producing red drum and flounder.
Nearshore anglers have seen the arrival of large king mackerel. This should pick up more as the kings move in with the bait.
Spanish mackerel remain plentiful from the beach out to nearshore wrecks.
Offshore bottom fishing anglers are catching amberjacks over wrecks.
Scott Moore caught this 24″ sheepshead on blue crab at the pier near Inlet Watch Yacht Club.
Christian, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are finding good action on a mix of red and black drum.
Most of the red drum have been in the 16-18” class, with slot-sized fished mixed right in. Fresh dead shrimp bottom-fished around structure (such as shell beds or drop-offs) on lower tides has produced most bites.
Black drum have been in the 14-18” range, with some going even bigger. Target these black drum around the same inshore structures that redfish are holding on.
A few sheepshead are being pulled up around hard structures in the area. These fish love to feed on live fiddler or mud crabs.
Luke, of Spot On Charters, reports that anglers are having a lot of success targeting all the red drum around. There has been a ton of bait in the river from Bald Head all the way up to downtown Wilmington. These red drum have broken out of cold-water patterns and are traveling in small pods just about anywhere, and they’re feeding best during times of moving tides. Carolina-rigged baits are all you need to get in on the bite.
Speckled trout action has just about wrapped up with the higher water temperatures pushing these fish deep and spreading them out.
Flounder are a part of the mixed bag, and they’re readily hitting bottom-rigged live baits.
Tommy, of Mungo Fishing Charters, reports that the red drum bite continues to be good moving into the summer months. Anglers are doing well while sight-casting to them early with Rapala Skitterwalk and Heddon Spook Jr. topwater plugs. These more active fish have been following the rule of “larger bait, larger bite,” and warmer water allows anglers to scale up bait size.
On lower tides, anglers have done well switching to Gulp shrimp or Z-Man paddle tails. There have been pogies moving in, so grabbing some live bait and fishing them on Carolina rigs along a grass edge will produce strikes.
The black drum bite has been great. Carolina-rigged fresh dead shrimp, mud crabs, or fiddler crabs all are great setups.
Speckled trout fishing is picking up and will continue all summer. Perhaps your best opportunity for action is using topwater baits and Z-Man split tail or paddle tail soft plastics. Fish the tops of structure during high tides, and then the seam lines around structure as the tide falls or is moving from low to rising.
Mason, of Grand Slam Fishing Charters, reports that the red drum action continues to improve, with more slot-sized fish showing up in the lower Cape Fear. This is a great time of year for topwater plugs when conditions are right. Both Rapala Skitterwalks and MirrOlure Top Dogs in orange, chartreuse, or pink color patterns are great lures to start with. On lower tides, anglers will find success by dropping back onto the deeper edges of oyster banks and fishing with Carolina-rigged live pogies or mud minnows.
Throwing bottom-rigged shrimp or crabs in these same areas will also produce black drum.
Speckled trout fishing in the warmer months is usually done in the first couple hours of daylight. Topwater plugs or jig heads rigged with paddle tail or split-tail soft plastics will produce some strikes. The trout are best found in deeper holes throughout the creeks and around the current seams of oyster bars.
Sheepshead have moved in and will hang around all summer. Crabs fished on bottom sweeper jigs will produce bites. Target the older docks with lots of barnacle growth to increase the odds of a hookup.
Rod, of OnMyWay Fishing Charters, reports that there has been plenty of good-sized spanish mackerel being caught near the beach (in the 25-47’ depth range). Clarkspoons pulled behind a planer has been the go-to method for producing strikes. Most have found the schools holding deep, so running lines out extra-long has brought baits down into the strike zone. Anglers can target the schools over areas of live bottom or along tidelines outside the inlet during the falling tide cycle.
King mackerel have started moving onto the beach for anglers slow-trolling live bait or cigar minnows. There are quite a few big kings mixed in with the more plentiful 12-25 lb. fish. The action has been best around live bottoms and ledges that are nearby wrecks.
Bottom fishing has been excellent from the 15-mile range and out. The closer in structure (18-25 miles) has been holding keeper black sea bass and big grunts. Moving out into the 30+ mile range has produced good-sized pinkies and beeliners.
With grouper season now open, anglers are targeting them with live baits, but the areas holding the grouper have been absolutely loaded with American red snapper.
Mahi are showing up in good numbers offshore on temperature breaks. Blackfin tuna are mixed in on these breaks, with some fish scattered in as close as the 26-mile range.
A few wahoo and sailfish fill out the mixed offshore trolling action.
Jeremiah, of Kure Beach Pier, reports that bottom fishing has been best. Good-sized whiting and croakers hitting smaller baits is making up most of the action.
A few bluefish are mixed in for anglers plugging.
Spanish mackerel are in the area, and as conditions clean-up, they should move back onto the beachfronts.
