Added on Thursday, August 21, 2014  Fish Post

Topsail – August 21, 2014

Chris, of East Coast Sports, reports that anglers are finding plenty of red drum feeding around the shoals of local inlets. Anglers are hooking the reds while casting finger mullet and cut baits on bottom rigs, along with working lures like gold spoons around the breakers.

Surf and pier bottom fishermen are also hooking good numbers of black drum and a summer mixed bag of panfish like spot, sea mullet, and pompano. Shrimp are fooling most of the bottom feeders.

Boaters are reporting king mackerel just off the beachfront, and several have been landed from the piers this week. The kings will bite live baits (like menhaden) or frozen ballyhoo and cigar minnows pinned to dead bait rigs.

Boats making the run to the Gulf Stream are reporting plenty of dolphin action still going on. Most of the ‘phins (and other blue water predators like wahoo, tuna, and billfish) are falling for ballyhoo paired with skirted trolling lures.

Black drum and sheepshead are feeding around local bridges, docks, and sea walls. Anglers can tempt both fish to bite shrimp or fiddler crabs fished tight to the structure.

Red drum are feeding in the bays and marshes off the ICW and New River. Anglers are fooling the reds on topwater plugs, spoons, soft plastics, and with a variety of natural baits.

There’s still some decent flounder action going on around the inlets and inshore structure (like docks). Most of the flatfish are falling for live baits and Gulps.

Daniel, of Flat Foot Charters, reports that red drum and flounder continue to provide most of the inshore action in the area. Anglers are finding the flatfish near the inlets, in the marshes, and around inshore structure like docks and bridges. Live finger mullet and peanut menhaden are tough for the flounder to turn down, and anglers can also cast white Gulp baits with success.

Red drum are looking for meals in the marshes, especially along grass banks with good current flow. Live baits are tough for the reds to turn down as well, but anglers can also fool them with a variety of artificials

Allen, of Breadman Ventures, reports that anglers are still hooking plenty of upper and over-slot red drum around Sneads Ferry. The fish are feeding on the flats and in the marshy bays, with some sizeable schools in the bays. Topwater plugs, gold spoons, and suspending lures like MirrOlure MR17’s are fooling the reds.

Some speckled trout are also looking for meals in the shallow backwaters off the New River. The specks have been taking an interest in topwater plugs and MR17’s as well.

Fowler, of Seaview Pier, reports that anglers are still hooking spot and sea mullet while bottom fishing with shrimp and bloodworms.

There’s also been some solid spanish mackerel action for anglers working Gotcha plugs and diamond jigs lately.

Some larger spanish have been falling for live baits fished off the end of the pier, and live baiters also landed a king mackerel last week.

Garrison, of Surf City Pier, reports that a 25 lb. king mackerel was landed from the end of the pier last week.

Anglers are hooking some bluefish and spanish mackerel early in the day on Gotcha plugs and other casting lures.

Spot and sea mullet are biting shrimp and bloodworms on double-drop rigs, and a bottom fisherman also landed a 9 lb. black drum last week.

Robin, of Jolly Roger Pier, reports that anglers saw plenty of action with king mackerel (20-40 lbs.) while live-baiting from the end of the pier last week.

Spanish mackerel are feeding around the pier, but they have been tough to fool on many recent days. Bluefish are mixed in and biting the Gotcha plugs and diamond jigs that anglers are working for the spanish.

Bottom fishermen have been hooking spot (big numbers when the wind goes east), sea mullet, and black drum on shrimp and bloodworms.

Anglers fishing small live baits on the bottom have been hooking some legal flounder.