Carolina Beach – May 29, 2014
Matthew McIver, of Wilmington, and his cousin David Lashley (age 8), of Cary, NC, with a 30″ red drum that bit a frozen mud minnow in the Cape Fear River near Carolina Beach.
Ron, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that there’s been some excellent dolphin fishing in the Gulf Stream recently. The fish are feeding along current rips and weedlines, and they’re biting skirted ballyhoo that anglers are trolling. Some wahoo and blackfin tuna are mixed in and also falling for the ballyhoo.
Bottom fishing around structure 20-40 miles out has been producing some solid hauls of black sea bass along with a few grouper. Squid and cigar minnows are fooling the bottom feeders.
King mackerel are feeding around Frying Pan Tower, where boats can hook them on live baits, dead cigar minnows, or Drone spoons.
Spanish mackerel are on the feed nearshore, and boats trolling Clarkspoons along the beachfront are hooking big numbers. Plenty of bluefish are mixed in.
Surf casters at Carolina Beach are reporting action with black and red drum, croaker, bluefish, and a few flounder.
There’s been a good flounder bite in Carolina Beach Inlet, with most of the fish falling for live peanut menhaden.
Liza Herring and Brandon Wilson (both 13) with four of 30 spanish mackerel they hooked while trolling Clarkspoons just off Carolina Beach Inlet.
Anglers working the backwaters off the Cape Fear River are connecting with some red drum and speckled trout on live baits, soft plastics, and MirrOlure topwater plugs.
Robert, of Carolina Explorer, reports that anglers are still seeing plenty of spanish mackerel in the ocean just off Carolina Beach. They’re connecting with the spaniards while trolling Clarkspoons and casting metal lures like Sea Striker Jigfish. Plenty of bluefish are in the same areas and biting the trolling and casting lures as well.
Flounder fishing is improving at nearshore structure in the ocean. Anglers can fool the flatfish with bucktail jigs or live baits on Carolina rigs.
Anglers are seeing more and more flounder inshore in Carolina Beach Inlet, Snow’s Cut, and the Cape Fear River. Live menhaden are the ticket to connect with the flounder inshore.
There’s been plenty of red drum action in the bays and backwaters off the lower Cape Fear River. Live baits have been more productive than artificials of late, but anglers are also hooking some on topwater plugs and Gulp and Strike King soft baits.
Ren and Warren Powell with dolphin that they hooked while trolling near the Same Ol’ Hole on the “Trigger Mack.”
Sheepshead and black drum are feeding around structure like pilings and rocks in the ICW and Cape Fear River. Shrimp or fiddler crabs will fool both crustacean-lovers into biting.
Jamie, of Seagate Charters, reports that anglers are seeing improving flounder action on the nearshore reefs and inshore (with several 4 lb. class fish last week and plenty of keepers). Live finger mullet or peanut menhaden on Carolina rigs will fool the flatfish inshore or offshore.
Plenty of spanish mackerel are feeding near the beaches and biting trolled Clarkspoons and casting lures. There have been big numbers of juvenile king mackerel along with them, so anglers should be sure to make a positive ID before keeping a fish.
Some larger kings are also within a few miles of shore feeding on large schools of sardines, which anglers can catch with sabiki rigs and use as live baits for the kings.
Cobia have shown up around the area inlets, where anglers can sight-cast jigs or live baits to them or bottom fish with live and dead baits.
Brenda, of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that anglers are hooking up with some spot, croaker, and smaller flounder while bottom fishing with shrimp.
A few spanish mackerel are falling for Gotcha plugs that anglers are working from the pier.
Joel, of Kure Beach Pier, reports that plug casters are hooking some spanish mackerel and bluefish while working Gotchas from the pier.
Anglers saw some king mackerel from the end of the pier last week but weren’t able to land any.
Bottom fishermen are hooking a few flounder in the day and sea mullet at night.
