Topsail/Sneads Ferry – May 2023
Jerry, of East Coast Sports, reports that nearshore anglers are finding a bunch of spanish mackerel and bonita action a couple miles off the beach.
Offshore bottom fishing has stayed strong, with plenty of vermilion snapper and black sea bass being caught.
There hasn’t been a lot of action for those making the long run offshore to troll, but anglers are finding some good-sized blackfin tuna and scattered mahi.
Surf and pier anglers are catching sheepshead and bluefish, with spanish mackerel also starting to join the action.
Mike, of Native Son Guide Service, reports that anglers have had a great time taking advantage of the Atlantic bonito bite while they were around. With the weather continuing to warm, any day now these schools will be moving on.
Spanish mackerel are filling in nearshore, and schools of menhaden are starting to show up (a great sign of fishing to come). Both casting diamond jigs and trolling spoons will be productive tactics in the weeks to come.
Inshore anglers have found a nice speckled trout bite after the last cold front, with better numbers of smaller spike-sized trout and a few bigger fish mixed in.
Black drum are mostly staged up in deeper holes with nearby structure, and they’re feeding best on bottom-rigged shrimp.
Red drum are still a bit scattered as they transition out of their larger schools, but a good push of bait moving inshore should really kick off the bite.
Some flounder have been landed as bycatch while targeting the trout and drum.
Blake Boyd, of Topsail Island, with a bonito caught while casting Big Nic jigs. He was fishing about one mile off of Topsail Beach.
Ray, of Spring Tide Guide Service, reports that a decent spanish mackerel bite has moved in. Trolling spoons is a go-to method for landing fish, but many anglers are having plenty of success casting Big Nic jigs at the surface-feeding schools.
Atlantic bonito continue to be a part of this nearshore action, but with warmer water moving in, it’s only a matter of time before this bite slows down and pushes out. Anglers have stayed on this bite by trolling Yo-Zuri deep diver plugs and Clarkspoons, and by casting Big Nic jigs.
Inshore anglers have been mostly focused on red drum. These fish have broken out into smaller schools and are pretty scattered throughout the area. This has led to anglers doing a bunch of scouting to stay on the redfish bite.
Speckled trout fishing has generally been a bit slower.
Daniel, of Surf City Charters, reports that nearshore trips have been finding a bunch of spanish mackerel and good numbers of Atlantic bonito.
King mackerel are beginning to become more active out in the 20-25 mile range as the warmer waters start moving closer to the beach.
Offshore, there are some really good-sized blackfin tuna and scattered wahoo around. Local anglers hope to see some yellowfins also mixed in, with yellowfins already in regions to the north and south.
Moving into May, anglers should see the first waves of mahi in the area.
Bottom fishing off the beach has remained strong, with anglers catching plenty of snapper and larger black sea bass on structure in the 70-90’ range. With grouper season opening, anglers look forward to running trips targeting some of the variety of grouper species, especially tasty scamp grouper, which will be holding on deeper (120’+) bottoms.
Jim, of Plan 9 Charters, reports that spanish mackerel have showed up and are staging outside the inlets strong at the 50’ mark. Anglers looking for good numbers are having success pulling 00-sized Clarkspoons with a pink or chartreuse flash color pattern behind #1 planers. There are also some fish on top, and they’re striking at small metal casting jigs.
Mixed in this nearshore bite are Atlantic bonito and some nice-sized bluefish.
Bottom fishing has been decent over structure in the 70’+ depth range. Large black sea bass and vermilion snapper are both hitting cut baits, with jigs or bucktails producing some of the larger fish.
Robin, of Jolly Roger Pier, reports that casting action has really picked up for anglers throwing Gotcha plugs at surface-feeding schools of nice-sized spanish mackerel and bluefish.
Bottom fishing action is also getting better, with more species showing up along the beaches (along with the slowly warming water temperatures). Catches of sea mullet, trout, black drum, pompano, and a few puffers have all made their way over the rails for anglers fishing shrimp or bait strips.
Garret McCoy, of Wilmington, caught this bonito while casting a Blue Water Candy Thingama jig. He was fishing with Capt. Daniel Batts of Surf City Charters.
Vinita, of Surf City Pier, reports that bottom fishing action is picking up, with catches of gray trout, spot, sea mullet, and some blowfish.
Drum action has been a welcome bonus to the fishing action, with catches of nice-sized reds (to 26”) and black drum (to 7 lbs.) being landed.
Spanish mackerel fishing is just about to kick off. There have already been a few fish being caught, mostly on the nice weather days allowing these fish to push within casting range.
Tyler, of Seaview Pier, reports that bottom fishing efforts are producing a nice mix of jumbo sea mullet, croakers, spot, trout, sheepshead, and pufferfish.
Anglers have been weighing in some black drum (to 6+ lbs.) while fishing with fresh dead shrimp.
The casting action has yet to fire off, but bluefish are around, and with spanish mackerel just off the beaches, it could be any day that these schools move in close.
