North Myrtle – September 25, 2014
Wilson Cole with a 22 lb. king mackerel that bit a live bait off Cherry Grove Pier.
Patrick, of Capt. Smiley’s Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are connecting with some large red drum while fishing in Little River Inlet. Live and cut mullet and menhaden are the way to go for the big reds. Anglers can anchor up and soak the baits near the rocks, but drifting through the inlet with baits on the bottom can be the best way to locate groups of feeding fish.
Anglers are hooking more (but smaller) reds inshore in the marshes and creeks off Dunn Sound and Bonaparte Creek. The fish are feeding in the shallows at higher tides and along deeper potholes and drop-offs when the water drops. Live shrimp and finger mullet pinned to jigheads and Carolina rigs will fool the reds, and anglers can also often hook up while working topwater plugs and a variety of soft plastic baits.
Speckled trout are on the feed in some of the same areas as the reds and along grass and shell banks off the ICW. They’re feeding close to the flooded banks at higher tides and have a very tough time turning down a live shrimp drifted along the shoreline beneath a float. Topwater plugs and subsurface artificials can also be effective when it’s tough for anglers to find shrimp.
Flounder are looking for meals in Tubbs Inlet and at a variety of spots along the ICW locally. Live finger mullet on jigheads and Carolina rigs are the best bets for anglers looking to connect with a flatfish.
Mark, of Shallow Minded Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are finding steady action with some big (to 40”+) red drum in Little River Inlet at present. Drifting through the inlet with live mullet and menhaden on the bottom is the best bet for anglers looking to connect with the big reds.
Frank Westmoreland, of Greensboro, NC, with a 23″ flounder that bit a Gulp bait inshore at Ocean Isle Beach.
More reds are looking for meals in the marshes and around ICW structure, where anglers can tempt them to bite live finger mullet and shrimp or soft plastic artificials.
Anglers are connecting with some speckled trout inshore around grassy shorelines and oyster beds. Live shrimp are tough to beat for the specks, but anglers can toss a variety of artificials with success if they can’t secure any shrimp.
The flounder bite is still going both inshore and at nearshore structure in the ocean (when it’s calm enough to get out there). Live, Carolina-rigged mullet are the way to go for the flounder, with weights sized appropriately to the depth and current at a given spot.
Ronnie, of Cherry Grove Pier, reports that anglers are connecting with some sea mullet and croaker while bottom fishing with shrimp. The first spot of the year also showed up over the past weekend, and anglers hooked decent numbers on bloodworms.
Some flounder are falling for small live baits fished under the pier.
Anglers working Gotcha plugs and mackerel trees from the pier are hooking a few spanish mackerel (in the early morning hours) and plenty of bluefish.
Live-baiters fishing from the end of the pier have landed a tarpon and a pair of king mackerel over the past week.
