Topsail Island – May 28, 2015
John, of East Coast Sports, reports that surf casters are hooking some sea mullet and pompano while soaking shrimp and sand fleas off the Topsail beachfront. Pier bottom fishermen are also connecting with a few of both.
Anglers working lures like Gotcha plugs from the ends of the piers are connecting with bluefish and some spanish mackerel.
Dylan French with an amberjack he hooked on a live pinfish while grouper fishing 17 miles off New Topsail Inlet with his father David.
The spanish bite has also been solid for boaters working from the beachfront to 2-3 miles offshore. Some are falling for casting lures, but trollers are putting more in the box while pulling Clarkspoons, mackerel trees, and daisy chains behind planers, trolling sinkers, and bird rigs. The spaniards seem to have been biting a bit better off the north end of the island over the past week than around Surf City or Topsail Beach.
Brookelynn Matthews (age 10), of Teachey, NC, with her first Atlantic Bonito, hooked on a Yo-Zuri Deep Diver while trolling off New River Inlet with her dad.
Anglers are also seeing some cobia within a few miles of the beaches, both cruising fish and those working through pods of menhaden. Live baits, bucktail jigs, and large soft plastics will get attention from the cobia when anglers spot them.
Further offshore, the dolphin bite remains excellent 40+ miles off the inlets. Most anglers are connecting with the ‘phins while trolling ballyhoo and skirted lures like sea witches, but they’ll bite a variety of baitless artificials as well.
Rodney Williams with a red grouper that bit a cut bait in 125′ of water off New River Inlet while he was fishing with David Cavenaugh and Harry T. Fisler.
Inshore, flounder fishing continues to improve around the inlets, in the marshes, and near structure like docks. Most of the flatfish are falling for Gulps or small live baits fished along the bottom.
Red drum are feeding in the bays and marshes off New River and the ICW. Anglers can tempt the reds to bite a variety of live or cut baits, topwater plugs, or soft plastics.
Allen, of Breadman Ventures, reports that anglers are seeing some excellent action with red drum in the bays and on the flats near Sneads Ferry. Many days have produced good sight-casting conditions recently, and anglers are hooking up with the reds on MirrOlure topwater plugs, Salty Bay soft plastics, and Flats Intruder spoons. A few healthy black drum have been mixed in with the reds and biting the same lures.
Some fat speckled trout are feeding in the creeks off the New River, along with a few looking for meals with the drum. The specks will fall for soft plastics, suspending plugs like MirrOlure MR17’s, and sometimes topwater plugs.
Flounder are still around in good numbers, and they’ve been biting artificials well lately. Salty Bay Finger Mullet have been producing plenty of action with the flatfish when anglers are targeting them.
Greg, of Seaview Pier, reports that anglers are connecting with plenty of bluefish and some spanish mackerel while working Gotcha plugs, diamond jigs, and other casting lures from the pier. The best action has been early and late in the day.
Vinita, of Surf City Pier, reports that bottom fishermen are hooking some sea mullet and a few pompano while baiting double-drop rigs with shrimp.
A few keeper flounder are falling for live baits fished on the bottom.
A 20 lb. cobia fell for a live bait pin-rigged from the end of the pier early in the week.
April, of Jolly Roger Pier, reports that plug casters are hooking bluefish and some spanish mackerel while casting Gotcha plugs and metal jigs from the pier. Both (but the spanish in particular) are biting best in the morning and evening hours.
