Southport – October 12, 2017
Annette, of Dutchman Creek Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers targeting the surf zone have found plenty of action. Red drum, black drum, flounder, speckled trout, and a few spot have all been landed. A mix of fresh cut mullet and fresh shrimp have worked best when fishing the bottom.
The inshore speckled trout bite has picked up. Anglers targeting marsh banks and points have found limits of fish. Live shrimp under float rigs, as well as Gulp soft plastics, have been the top producer. Most fish have been in the 13-17” range.
A few flounder have also been feeding inshore. Live finger mullet on a Carolina rig has gotten the job done.
Just off the beach, the king bite has started to heat up. Live baits have been the best way to hook good numbers of kings.
Mark, of Angry Pelican Charters, reports that the king bite is on from the mouth of the Cape Fear River to Lockwood Folly Inlet. Structure and ledges in the 40-50′ range have held the best numbers of fish. Live bait has worked best for the nearshore kings, but off a little further, dead baits behind Pirate Plugs have been successful, too.
Blue Water Candy Shovel Heads have done well at drawing strikes from schooling fish. Pink/white and chartreuse/white have been the top colors.
Large spanish (in the 5-6 lb. range) have held tight with the nearshore kings. A mix of live and dead baits, as well as spoons, has gotten the job done. False albacore have been in the mix with the spanish.
Bull reds have started to trickle in to the area. Most fish are holding tight to bait pods off the beach. Live pogies fished on the bottom have been the top producing bait.
Cooper Deason with a flounder caught while targeting the reefs off of Oak Island. He was fishing with his father Nicholas Deason and sister Carson.
Wally, of Oak Island Charters, reports that inshore fishing has produced good numbers of red and black drum. Targeting creeks with fresh shrimp and live finger mullet have worked best.
Just off the beach, the over-slot drum bite is starting to pick up. Anglers dropping large cut baits near structure have found a few fish.
The king bite has kicked off nearshore. Slow trolling live baits has been the best way to hook quality fish.
Ryan, of Fugitive Charters, reports that large red drum have been feeding well just off the beach. Those tossing live pogies have had the best luck.
Spanish fishing has been hit or miss near the beach. The fish that have been caught have been on the larger side, though. Live bait seems to be the ticket for the bigger spanish.
Kings have moved in close to the beach around the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Live baits have produced quality fish and in good numbers.
The offshore bottom fish bite has heated up, with good numbers of beeliners landed for the cooler, and a few smaller kings and mahi have been landed when trolling offshore.
Shane, of Fin-Fisher Charter Service, reports that speckled trout fishing has started to pick up. A mix of live shrimp and topwater plugs (like the MirrOlure She Pup) have worked best.
Redfish have been holding in the marshes and around area docks. Fresh cut mullet and live finger mullet on Carolina rigs have been the ticket for the reds.
Just off the beach, the king bite has fired up. Live baits fished around nearshore structure have produced good numbers of fish.
A few bull reds are also being caught just off the beach. Dropping large pieces of fresh cut mullet has worked best.
Chris McMurry, of Wilmington, NC, with an 8 lb. spanish mackerel that went for a live pogey. He was trolling near Southport during the US Open KMT.
Steve, of Ocean Crest Pier, reports that anglers plugging from the pier have found steady numbers of spanish and bluefish. Gotcha plugs and Stingsilvers have been the lures of choice.
A few sheepshead have been landed around the pilings. Fresh shrimp and sand fleas have been the ticket to getting them to bite.
