Carolina Beach – March 26, 2015
Ron, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that anglers are still seeing some solid wahoo fishing in the Gulf Stream when it’s calm enough to make the long run. The best action has been at local spots like the Steeples and Same Ol’ Hole. Blackfin tuna are feeding in many of the same areas as the wahoo. Ballyhoo paired with skirted trolling lures will fool both fish, and sending a bait deep behind a planer will increase anglers’ odds at connecting with a ‘hoo. Smaller lures like green machines and cedar plugs can also produce results with the blackfins when they’re hesitant to strike the larger baits.
Kevin Gray with a pair of black drum that bit shrimp in the lower Cape Fear River while he was fishing with Capt. Jeff Wolfe of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters.
Bottom fishermen are connecting with a variety of fish just inshore of the break, including triggerfish, beeliners, porgies, sea bass, grouper, and more. Squid and cigar minnows are the way to attract attention from the bottom feeders.
Joel Quinnette, of Holly Ridge, NC, with a 28″ red drum that bit a Salty Bay soft plastic while he was fishing the New River near Sneads Ferry with Capt. Allen Jernigan of Breadman Ventures.
Structure (like wrecks and rocks closer to the beachfront) is holding plenty of black sea bass right now, and anglers can fool the bass with vertical jigs or squid and cut baits pinned to bottom rigs.
Inshore, sea mullet have shown up around the mouth of the Cape Fear River, and anglers are hooking decent numbers while soaking shrimp and other baits around drop-offs and flats in the area.
Surf casters are hooking a few pufferfish and an occasional red and black drum. Shrimp and cut baits are producing most of the action in the breakers. Sea mullet should be joining the fish feeding in the surf zone as soon as the water warms a few degrees further.
Red drum are looking for meals in Buzzards Bay and the backwater creeks off the lower Cape Fear River. Most of the reds are falling for soft baits like Gulp and Saltwater Assassin lures that anglers are working around schools of fish they spot or near oyster bars and drop-offs in the creeks.
Robert, of Carolina Explorer, reports that the sea mullet have shown up in the lower Cape Fear River and are providing plenty of action and some tasty meals to anglers targeting them. Dogfish are mixed in with the mullet, and both are taking a hearty interest in shrimp fished on double drop bottom rigs. Mud flats and channel edges are top spots for anglers looking to connect with the mullet.
Red and black drum are looking for meals in the creeks and backwaters off the lower river. Most are feeding around oyster rocks and points or in deeper holes in the creeks. The reds will bite a variety of artificial lures, but Gulp baits and soft plastic paddletails are two of the best. Cut shrimp on Carolina or bottom rigs is the way to go for the black drum and will also attract attention from the reds.
Out in the ocean, anglers are seeing some black sea bass feeding around nearshore wrecks and other structure. A few bluefish are beginning to trickle into the same areas, and they’ll be getting more numerous and moving in toward the beachfront as April progresses and the water warms up. Small jigging lures like Stingsilvers will fool the blues and bass.
Jeff, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are hooking some red and black drum in the bays and creeks off the lower Cape Fear River. The reds are falling for a variety of baits and lures, while shrimp fished on the bottom are the best bet for the black drum.
A few trout are also feeding in the creeks and taking an interest in soft plastic baits that anglers are working.
