Carolina Beach – June 4, 2015
Ron, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that anglers are seeing some excellent offshore fishing out of Carolina Beach right now.
Camille Clark (age 3), with a 28″ red drum she caught and released while fishing the lower Cape Fear River with her parents, Capts. Rennie and Shannon Clark of Tournament Trail Charters.
There’s been a good king mackerel bite 7+ miles off the beach, and solid numbers of dolphin are mixed in in the 20 mile range. Both are falling for dead cigar minnows trolled under pink skirts.
Grouper and black sea bass are looking for meals at structure starting around 15 miles offshore. Both will pounce on bottom rigs baited with squid or cut, live, and dead baits.
Closer to the beaches, anglers have been finding decent numbers of cobia recently. The cobes are falling for live baits and casting lures like bucktail jigs.
Ella McCarter, of High Point, NC, with a pair of spanish mackerel she landed on her first saltwater fishing trip while trolling aboard the “Goldfish.”
Spanish mackerel and bluefish are also feeding just off the beachfront. Trolling Clarkspoons behind planers and cigar weights will attract attention from both.
Surf casters are connecting with sea mullet, croaker, pompano, bluefish, and plenty of small sharks. Shrimp and cut baits are producing most of the action.
Inshore, there’s been some good action with speckled trout and red drum in the lower Cape Fear River, where anglers are hooking both on live baits, topwater plugs, and soft plastics.
Robert, of Carolina Explorer, reports that anglers are connecting with flounder inshore in the inlets, ICW, and Cape Fear River. The flatfish will bite live baits or Gulps pinned to jigheads.
Black drum are feeding around pilings, rocks, and oysters in the ICW and river. Anglers are tempting them to bite live and cut shrimp fished on the bottom near the structure.
Red drum are feeding on the flats and bays off the lower river and biting topwater plugs, soft plastics, and live and cut baits.
Speckled trout are also feeding in the river, and there was a decent bite for anglers last week leading up to the full moon. Most of the specks are falling for live baits and soft plastics.
Out in the ocean, spanish mackerel and bluefish are looking for meals within a few miles of the shoreline. Anglers can hook both while trolling flashy lures like Clarkspoons and casting Stingsilvers and other metal lures to fish feeding on the surface.
A few cobia are feeding in the same area and biting live baits and bucktail jigs.
Some king mackerel are feeding 5-10 miles out and biting live and dead baits.
Jeff, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are seeing some improved action with red drum and speckled trout in the lower Cape Fear River at present.
The reds are feeding on the flats and in the creeks and taking an interest in Gulp baits, other soft plastics, topwater plugs, and live baits.
Speckled trout are looking for meals near rocks and oyster points with some current. Anglers are also fooling them on soft plastics and topwater plugs along with live shrimp and menhaden.
Black drum are still feeding strong around oysters, pilings, and rocky structure, where they’re biting fresh shrimp on the bottom.
Sheepshead are in the same areas and pouncing on live fiddler crabs.
The flounder bite has also improved (both for numbers and size). Anglers are tempting the flatfish with live mud minnows, peanut menhaden, and Gulps.
Rod, of OnMyWay Charters, reports that anglers have seen some solid action with mid-size gaffer dolphin 15-25 miles off Carolina Beach recently. Most are falling for small ballyhoo behind Blue Water Candy king mackerel skirts.
Good numbers of king mackerel (some 20+ lbs.) are feeding in the same areas and biting ballyhoo, cigar minnows, and artificials.
Bottom fishing is producing some healthy gag grouper at spots in the 15-18 mile range with scamps and reds feeding at structure 30+ miles out. Some large (to 20”+) black sea bass are feeding in the same offshore areas. The bottomfish will fall for squid or cut, live, and dead baits.
Blue water trollers are still finding plenty of dolphin action. Beginning to troll in 140-150’ of water and working offshore to the break will ensure that anglers don’t over-run the fish. A few wahoo and blackfin tuna are mixed in with the ‘phins, and all three are biting skirted ballyhoo.
Anglers have also seen a good billfish bite over the past weeks, with blue and white marlin feeding in 220-350’ of water off many of the local blue water hotspots.
Leslie, of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that sea mullet and sharks are biting bottom rigs baited with shrimp.
Plug casters caught a few spanish mackerel and bluefish last week on Gotchas.
Kevin, of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that anglers are hooking spanish mackerel and a few bluefish while working Gotcha plugs and other casting lures from the end of the pier.
Some sea mullet and a few spot are falling for shrimp and bloodworms on bottom rigs.
