Carolina Beach – October 2022
Andrew, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that flounder are being caught just about everywhere.
Anglers drifting bait in the Cut have been catching a lot of slot-sized red drum, with over-slots mixed in.
The surf is seeing action pick up, with catches of whiting, pompano, spanish, and bluefish.
Nearshore anglers are finding good numbers of spanish mackerel and some scattered kings.
Offshore bottom fishing has been really good, with catches of grouper and plenty of amberjacks.
Christian, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are catching a mixed bag of red drum and flounder.
The red drum have been feeding best during lower water periods on live bottom-rigged mullet. It has been a great class of mid to upper-slot fish, with over-slots around as well. Shell points with a bit of depth seem to be the hot spots.
Flounder are holding in basically the same sandy bottom and shell-structured areas, especially those that are up against a grass bank. Slowly dragging the same live baits fished for reds along the bottom has been producing strikes on these keeper-sized fish (to 20”).
Luke, of Spot On Charters, reports that there has been a really good flounder bite, with some 4-5 lb. fish hanging around. Bait schools are pushing just about everywhere, and the light wind has allowed for good water clarity. A Carolina-rigged mullet has been the top setup, with live pogies also being a great choice if you find some around.
Redfish action has been steady, with the fish spread out all over the place to feed on bait.
Speckled trout are mixed in the action, though the bite is still very focused on those early morning/low light hours. Anglers are really looking for water temperatures to fall more into the 70 degree and below range for trout to fire off.
The nearshore wrecks are holding a lot of action recently. There have been tons of flounder at some of the lesser targeted reefs (as well as redfish).
Sight-casting anglers are seeing a lot of spanish mackerel around, with some false albacore starting to move in as well.
Tommy, of Mungo Fishing Charters, reports that transitioning from summer into fall is all about the mullet run in the region. These bait movements really fire off the local fishing action.
Red drum are being successfully targeted with a variety of setups, including topwater plugs, live finger mullet, and an assortment of soft plastics. Target these fish on inshore flats, oyster bar edges, deep ledges, and edges of grass banks.
Speckled trout action is picking up for anglers targeting moving water areas around points and oyster bars. Topwater plugs, soft plastics, and live mullet are all producing some strikes, and the action only gets better as waters cool.
Flounder are mixed in the inshore action, with most fish staged up at deeper drop-offs feeding on live mullet or Gulp shrimp.
Mason, of Grand Slam Fishing Charters, reports that redfish are biting really good right now. On the lower stages of the tides, anglers are finding a lot of action while targeting oyster banks near channels. With so much bait moving around, a 3/4-1 oz. Carolina rig with mullet has been the most productive setup. On higher tides, it has been a good idea to push up onto flats holding 2-4’ of water and rig your live mullet under Billy Bay corks. Having baits tight to the grass has been key in getting strikes, as that is where these reds will be feeding.
Targeting creek mouths during falling tides and areas of hard structure with moving water has been working well for flounder. Most of the flatfish are being caught with a big, live mullet on a Carolina rig. Anglers targeting ledges near structure in the river and Snows Cut areas have been seeing some of the bigger flounder.
Anglers looking to target speckled trout are still finding conditions to be a bit warm.
Black drum and sheepshead fishing has picked up a bit. A big fiddler crab or mud crab rigged on a Carolina or bottom sweeper rig will produce some nice fish. Targeting docks or areas of heavy rock structure is key for these species.
Rod, of OnMyWay Fishing Charters, reports that anglers getting off the beach have been experiencing an epic spanish mackerel bite. Trolling size 0-00 sized Clarkspoons behind planers or trolling weights and slow trolling smaller menhaden is producing tons of these 13-18” class of fish.
Some schools of false albacore are mixed in this action from the beaches out to 5 miles.
The fall run of king mackerel is just on the edge of firing off. Anglers will have a ton of success targeting live bottom ledges in the 7-10 mile range, especially those that are holding good concentrations of bait.
Bottom fishing around structure in the 15-25 mile range has continued to be nothing short of phenomenal. Huge black sea bass, pinkies, and vermilion snapper are all actively feeding out in this area.
Grouper are also mixed in the action, with some fish being caught more shallow (15-18 mile range). It is a great idea to look for the less-targeted bottoms and ledges with 2-3’ of relief.
Out in the 20-25 mile range, there are still some of the early fall mahi hanging around those pockets of warmer, cleaner water.
Anglers heading out to do some trolling towards the break are seeing the blackfin tuna and wahoo action picking up. You don’t need to run much further out than the 120-240’ range when targeting ledges that these structure-oriented wahoo will hang around, and be sure to also find current.
Anthony, of Kure Beach Pier, reports that spanish mackerel and bluefish action has been really good, with a bunch of bait now moving along the beaches.
There are a few flounder being caught, and bottom fishing is also producing croakers, whiting, a few spot, scattered black drum, and some red drum.
