Carolina Beach May 24, 2012
Adam Zazzali, Chris Satatorie, Alex Glover, Steve Loflin, Daniel Russell, and Robby and Scott Strickland with gag grouper they hooked on live pinfish and bluefish 20 miles off Carolina Beach while celebrating Scott Strickland's wedding aboard the charterboat "The Mate" with Capt. Tom Sayer.
Kyle, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that Gulf Stream trollers are putting together some big catches of gaffer dolphin while pulling ballyhoo around local spots like the Steeples and Same Ol’ Hole. Some fish have begun to push inshore to the 30-40 mile range, and they should keep moving toward the beaches as the water temperature continues to warm.
Bottom fishermen are connecting with red, gag, and scamp grouper around structure in the 120’ range. Some gags are feeding at structure closer to shore in the 80-100’ depths. Live, dead, and cut baits will fool the groupers, and squid or smaller cut baits will attract attention from smaller bottom dwellers like triggerfish, grunts, porgies, and more.
King mackerel have been tough to find lately. They’ve been feeding at Frying Pan Tower and along the beaches, but the bite’s slowed down in recent days. The fish are somewhere in between, though, so trolling live baits or dead cigar minnows at structure from 5-40 miles offshore may well attract their attention.
Closer to the beaches, spanish mackerel are feeding wherever there’s clean water between the beaches and a few miles offshore. Plenty of bluefish are feeding in the same areas, and both will respond to Clarkspoons trolled behind planers and trolling weights or metal lures cast towards working birds and surface activity.
Sheepshead have moved inshore and are feeding around structure like bridge and dock pilings and rocky areas in the ICW and Cape Fear River (and anglers landed fish to 8+ lbs. last week). Live fiddler crabs are top baits for the sheeps.
The red drum bite has been solid around ICW docks and the flats and bays off the ICW and river. Anglers are hooking the reds while working topwater plugs, Gulp baits, and live shrimp and mud minnows through the shallows.
Flounder fishing has improved markedly from a few weeks ago (with anglers weighing fish to 10 lbs. last week). The flatfish are feeding in Carolina Beach Inlet, Snow’s Cut, and the Cape Fear River, as well as at nearshore structure out in the ocean. Live mud minnows, mullet, and menhaden, as well as Gulp baits, are the best ways to invite a flounder to dinner.
Jeff, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that the sheepshead bite keeps getting better (and the fish keep getting bigger). Targeting areas of pilings, rocks, or other hard structure inshore is the best way to find the sheeps, and live fiddler crabs will tempt them to bite.
Flounder are also getting more numerous and larger, and anglers are catching decent numbers while casting Gulps and other soft plastics or live baits for red drum in the backwaters off the Cape Fear River.
The red drum bite is still solid, and with the right weather conditions (calm and sunny), anglers are able to find large schools of reds working the bays off the lower river. Sight-casting paddletail grubs, Gulp baits, or topwaters to the schooling fish is the way to hook up. When anglers can’t find the schools visually, casting topwater plugs in the bays and creeks will help them locate active reds. If they make a pass at the topwater but miss, casting a soft plastic bait to the area will often tempt a bite.
Ryan and John, from Charlotte, with the results of a double red drum hook up in a bay off the lower Cape Fear River while they were fishing with Capt. Jeff Wolfe of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters. Live mud minnows fooled the reds.
Robert, of Carolina Explorer, reports that the tropical system hanging off the coast has slowed the bite a bit over the past week, but the fishing should get dramatically better in its wake.
Red drum are feeding around shoreline structure and in the shallow bays of the Cape Fear River, and anglers can tempt them to bite live and dead baits, soft plastics, topwater plugs, and a variety of other lures.
Speckled trout are feeding around the grass islands and oyster beds in the river, and they will take an interest in live shrimp and mud minnows or soft plastic imitations like D.O.A. shrimp.
Some flounder are in the same areas as the reds and specks and will fall for the same baits. Anglers are also catching some larger flounder while casting Carolina-rigged live baits to deeper holes and structure in the river.
In the ocean, the spanish mackerel bite has improved, and anglers are hooking the spaniards (and plenty of bluefish) while trolling Clarkspoons and casting metal jigs to fish feeding on the surface.
Brenda, of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that anglers have been catching some sea mullet, croaker, and a few black drum on bottom rigs baited with shrimp.
Alyssa, of Kure Beach Pier, reports that some sea mullet and croaker are taking an interest in cut shrimp fished on the bottom.
Plug casters are catching some bluefish on Gotchas, and some larger chopper bluefish are biting Gotchas, live baits, and bottom rigs.
