Topsail/Sneads Ferry – April 2023
Jerry, of East Coast Sports, reports that surf anglers continue to see better numbers of sea mullet, pufferfish, and black drum. With water temperatures on the beach still cool, expect these same species to be the main targets well into April.
Nearshore anglers started to see bonito push into the area, and then the late cold fronts pushed them back offshore. Anglers anticipate these schools showing back up over the coming weeks as stable weather allows warmer water to move in.
The offshore action is mostly about the strong bottom fish bite, with wahoo being caught by the few anglers doing some trolling.
Inshore anglers are catching both red drum and speckled trout. These fish are holding in the same areas they did all winter, with trout back in creeks and reds back in shallow bays and creeks.
Mike, of Native Son Guide Service, reports that with April now here, anglers are looking forward to Atlantic bonito starting to show up. Early spring still sees a lot of winds, and anglers need to be ready to run out with any weather window that opens up.
Inshore anglers have found the red drum to be a bit hit-or-miss after the last cold fronts. Smaller soft plastics or natural baits can help entice strikes from these more timid fish.
Speckled trout have yet to really pick up after the cooling trend. There are still a bunch of smaller “spike” fish around back in the deeper areas of mainland creeks, and soft plastics have been producing best.
Justin Burns, Erin Weaver, and Jerry Brooks landed these 21-24.5″ black drum using shrimp on Carolina rigs. They were fishing from Surf City Pier.
Ray, of Spring Tide Guide Service, reports that anglers getting out on the water are still focusing the majority of their efforts on speckled trout. These schools haven’t moved far from their wintering holes, and most of the fish already “on the move” have been of smaller size. Soft plastics are still the top bait for scouting these schools.
Black drum fishing can be pretty good for anglers soaking bait around docks and oysters back in the creeks.
Red drum action is still spotty, with many of these fish holding in their “spooky” winter schools back on shallow bays and flats.
For nearshore action, Atlantic bonito fishing is set to fire off any time, with anglers reporting schools out over the deeper reefs off Topsail. These schools are sure to see a lot of pressure on the calm weather days, so trolling can be the best tactic as crowds push the schools down. When they do start feeding on the surface, casting jigs are great when quickly retrieved through the frenzy.
Chadwick, of South End Anglers, reports that the wintering schools of red drum are starting to finally break up and become more active. Anglers have had plenty of success casting a variety of Z-Man soft plastics (StreakZ, JerkshadZ, and DieZel MinnowZ) on Mustad pin hooks or Eye Strike jig heads. MirrOlures have also worked well in areas with bait present. If the school is really pressured or spooky, an angler’s best bet is to fish live shrimp under a cork or with a small split shot weight.
There are some trout mixed in behind Topsail, but so far, the numbers aren’t as good as we typically see in the spring. Anglers have found Zara Spook Jr. topwater plugs or weighted paddle tails to entice strikes.
These soft plastics fished close on the bottom will also hook a few flounder that have started to move in.
Nearshore bottom structure is holding plenty of black sea bass, grunts, and porgies. Squid on a chicken rig, Stingsilvers, or Blue Water Candy Roscoe jigs all can help anglers start weeding through the shorts to locate some keepers for supper.
Daniel, of Surf City Charters, reports that anglers that get a chance to run offshore are finding decent numbers of blackfin tuna and wahoo. Weather windows have been the hardest factor to overcome in recent weeks, with anglers looking forward to conditions stabilizing.
There are reports of Atlantic bonito starting to trickle in. There seems to be no pattern so far, with schools being found from 20 miles out and in closer.
Bottom fishing has been going strong, with anglers finding plenty of larger black sea bass in the 10+ mile range.
Jim, of Plan 9 Charters, reports that bottom fishing has been really good out on deeper structure in the 15+ mile range. Larger black sea bass and porgies have kept anglers plenty busy during the fishable weather windows.
Nearshore anglers really look forward to the surface fishing action that comes to the area each spring. Atlantic bonito and false albacore are both being found further offshore, and it won’t take more than another longer warm stretch to bring them closer to the beach.
Colin Bower, of Wrightsville Beach, NC, caught this red drum on a popping cork with live shrimp in the Topsail Beach area.
Robin, of Jolly Roger Pier, reports that the up and down weather conditions have held up spring fishing a bit. Bottom fishing still remains the top tactic for anglers taking advantage of the warmer weather windows. Some good-sized Virginia mullet, spots, and black drum have made up the catches.
There are some bluefish mixed in as well when water temperatures have swung into the 60s.
Pufferfish have been the most common catch, with anglers having days with double-digit numbers.
Vinita, of Surf City Pier, reports that bottom-rigged baits have been producing nice mixed bags of spot, trout, bluefish, and sea mullet.
A few larger black drum (to 5 lbs.) have also been caught on these setups, with shrimp being the top bait choice.
Blowfish are also moving through in good numbers as these cooler conditions continue.
Tyler, of Seaview Pier, reports that bottom fishing remains the source of action as anglers look forward to warmer water temperatures bringing in some more of our spring target species.
Bait (shrimp or artificial bait strips) tipped bottom rigs are producing some good-sized sea mullet and croakers.
