Topsail – September 10, 2015
Chris, of East Coast Sports, reports that surf casters are hooking some solid sea mullet and pompano while casting shrimp, sand fleas, and Fish Bites baits from Topsail’s shoreline.
There’s also been a good spanish mackerel bite for anglers working metal lures from the beachfront in recent days.
Pier anglers are connecting with much of the same along with black drum and bluefish. Some king mackerel have been landed by anglers live-baiting from the ends of the piers.
Boaters should have little trouble connecting with the spanish while casting metal lures at fish feeding on the surface or trolling Clarkspoons around diving birds, bait schools, and other activity.
The kings are more apt to take live baits like bluefish and menhaden, and boaters may run into them along the beachfront or at structure from a few miles out to the 100’ depths. Dead cigar minnows and ballyhoo will fool the kings as well as the live baits when anglers find them offshore.
Bottom fishermen are hooking some gag grouper at spots 10+ miles offshore, along with a mixture of other bottom feeders like sea bass, porgies, grunts, and more. Dead cigar minnows, sardines, and cut baits will fool all the bottom fish, and anglers can also target the larger groupers with live baits.
Not many reports have come in from the Gulf Stream over the past week, but the wahoo bite should still be decent when boats can get out to the blue water.
Inshore, anglers are starting to catch some speckled trout around ICW docks, with live baits and artificials like MirrOlures and soft plastics fooling the fish.
Sheepshead are feeding around inshore structure like the Hwy. 172 and 210 bridges, and anglers are hooking solid numbers on live fiddler crabs and sand fleas (some to 7+ lbs.).
Flounder are also looking for meals around inshore structure and near the inlets. Anglers can tempt the flatfish to bite live finger mullet and mud minnows or scented soft lures like Gulps fished on jigheads.
Anglers continue to hook plenty of red drum in the marshes and bays, around docks and other structure, and near the inlets. Like the flatfish, the reds will bite live baits and Gulps or topwater plugs, spoons, spinnerbaits, and other artificials.
Charles Brown with a red drum he hooked on a live mullet while fishing inshore of Topsail with Randy Jones.
Daniel, of Flat Foot Charters, reports that anglers are connecting with good numbers of flounder at spots like docks and bridges inshore. Deeper water continues to produce the best fishing, and most of the flatfish are falling for live finger mullet and peanut menhaden.
Red drum are feeding in the marshes and near the inlets. Grass and shell banks with some current flow are the best places to find the reds, and anglers can tempt them to bite live or cut menhaden and mullet.
Earl, of Seaview Pier, reports that bottom fishermen are hooking some spot, sea mullet, and pompano while fishing with shrimp. A few red drum have been mixed in and biting shrimp and cut baits.
Spanish mackerel and bluefish are biting casting lures like Gotcha plugs that anglers are working from the pier.
Tonya Jones with a 28″ red drum she caught and released in the New River after it struck a live finger mullet.
Gaylon, of Surf City Pier, reports large amounts of legal flounder are being caught around the pilings and surf break using live baits such as finger mullet and menhaden.
Big schools of red drum have also been spotted schooling around the pier. Fishermen have had successful trips using live bait and cut-bait to fool the big drum.
Bottom fishermen are taking full advantage of the spot fish starting to run, with most being caught on shrimp and bloodworms.
Larger sized sheepshead are also being caught off the pilings using fiddler crabs.
Early morning/late evening spanish mackerel fishermen are having success using Gotcha plugs from the end of the pier and catching nice sized spanish as well as bluefish.
Amanda Sheets, of Jacksonville, NC, with a 25″ red drum she landedafter it struck a live finger mullet while she was fishing near Browns Inlet with Capt. Ricky Kellum of Speckled Specialist Charters.
Billy, of Jolly Roger Fishing Pier, reports large amounts of bluefish and spanish mackerel are being caught off the end of the pier by anglers working Gotcha plugs.
Bottom fishermen have been catching spots, pinfish, and croakers using shrimp and squid.
This week a 24 lb. king mackerel was caught off the end of the pier using a live bait during the morning hours.
