Southport/Oak Island – November 2024
Matthew, of Dutchman Creek Bait and Tackle, reports that inshore anglers have been seeing a good speckled trout bite in the area.
Fishing around creek mouths and oyster structure is producing red drum and a bunch of flounder. The flatfish in particular are seemingly everywhere you fish.
Good-sized sheepshead are being caught around some of the deeper hard structures.
The black drum bite is slowly improving, but soon it should really kick off.
Anglers out in the surf zone are landing a mixed bag that includes spot, whiting, red drum, croaker, rays, and sharks.
Nearshore anglers are finding some spanish mackerel and are also taking advantage of the bull red drum that are still in the area.
Some king mackerel are being caught, although much of this action has pushed off the beach due to cooler temperatures and a lot of fishing pressure.
Anglers getting a chance to run out to the Gulf Stream are hooking wahoo, a few blackfin tuna, and sailfish.
Josh, of Oak Island Sporting Goods, reports that bottom fishing from the surf zone with sand fleas or shrimp is producing sea mullet and some black drum.
Bluefish are being caught by anglers both casting jigs to feeding frenzies or rigging cut bait on the bottom. Red drum (both slot and the occasional over-slot) are also being caught in good numbers with cut bait.
In addition to the same surf species, the local piers are also seeing some spanish mackerel come in for those casting jigs.
Inshore anglers are finding that the speckled trout bite has begun to heat up. The specks are being found in many of their fall-time creeks.
Anglers fishing Carolina-rigged live baits in the creeks and around docks are catching slot-sized red drum and a bunch of flounder.
Justin Weaver and Matt Helm, of Oak Island, landed this 70 lb. wahoo while trolling a live pogie 14 miles offshore at Frying Pan Shoals.
Robert, of Reelin’ Pelican Fishing Charters, reports that there continues to be some bull red drum being caught around structure off the beach. The best bait has been cut pogies.
King mackerel have been moving back off the beach, and they are now in better numbers throughout the 10-20 mile range.
The inshore action has really kicked off, especially for speckled trout. Most of the early action has been coming from live shrimp fished under corks in the creeks.
Red drum are still mixed in and are hitting both live shrimp and live mullet, but most of the live mullet is pushing its way out and won’t be here long.
Hunter, of Dockside Fishing Charters, reports that there are still some bull red drum out in the ocean. These big reds aren’t being found around the bait pods anymore. It’s now more productive to focus on the nearshore structures.
King mackerel fishing has been best out in the 50-60’ range. Water temperatures on the beach are still good for king mackerel fishing, but the nearshore waters just haven’t had the clarity that is needed to be productive.
Action on the inside has fired off, as the speckled trout bite has been phenomenal. Anglers are doing best by targeting shell bottoms and shell banks in and around creek mouths. Most of the early fish are the 15-18” trout, with bigger fish likely to show better once moving further into November. Live shrimp under a cork is far and away the best bait option right now.
Anglers can find slot red drum around the docks and deeper grass banks.
Black drum are cooperating, especially when fishing around docks or over shell-bottomed areas (the more shells the better). A live shrimp on the bottom is the best way to target the black drum.
Mark, of Angry Pelican Charters, reports that spanish mackerel are hanging just off the beach for anglers looking for trolling action.
King mackerel are scattered just about everywhere from the beachfronts on out.
A nice run of bull drum are hanging around the nearshore structures, with some cobia also in the mix.
The bottom fishing in the 10-15 mile areas has started to pick up, with catches including black sea bass, gray trout, and porgies.
Offshore, bottom fishing in the 80-100’ area has been outstanding, with king mackerel and cobia hitting the drift lines. Moving further into late fall, anglers could see some blackfin tuna occasionally showing up in these same areas.
River Faris, of Oak Island, caught this red drum surf fishing behind Fort Caswell using a Carolina-rigged finger mullet.
Ryan, of Fugitive Charters, reports that the bull red drum action in nearshore waters has been hot. Anglers have been catching 40-45” reds with cut pogies out over structure.
Some bluefish and spanish mackerel are around for those looking to troll.
A few scattered kings are along the beachfronts, though most of the king action has moved out into the 15-mile range.
The bigger black sea bass are starting to show up closer to the beach.
Offshore bottom fishing action remains strong in the 20-30 mile range, with tons of American red snapper, big triggerfish, vermilion snapper, and grouper.
Anglers have a shot at wahoo and blackfin tuna in this same 20-30 mile range.
Some sailfish are still around, though they should be pushing out as water temperatures continue to cool.
Rick, of Oak Island Pier, reports that the pier saw a great run on king mackerel, with 35 caught in one day.
The bottom fishing action has been pretty good, with anglers catching a bunch of croakers and some large pompano.
With temperatures cooling down, anglers have started seeing the occasional speckled trout.
Troy, of Ocean Crest Pier, reports that anglers are enjoying the abundance of gray trout that have shown up.
The flounder have also been plentiful.
Some nice runs of bluefish have been moving past the pier, with early mornings the best time to cash in on this action. Some ribbonfish are mixed in with the blues.
