Topsail Winter 2013-2014
Eric Thompson, of Hampstead, with a citation speckled trout he hooked on a red-headed MirrOlure near New Topsail Inlet while fishing with J.R. Thompson on the “Idol Hour.”
Chris, of East Coast Sports, reports that anglers are connecting with some fat speckled trout in the Topsail Island surf right now. They’re feeding in the sloughs between sandbars up and down the island and anglers can cast MirrOlures or jighead/soft plastic combos to the fish to hook up. Barring any extremely cold weather, the surf trout bite should hold up through at least Christmas.
Smaller specks are feeding inshore in the sound, and anglers are hooking some larger fish in the creeks and bays off the New River. As the water temperatures fall heading into the New Year, look for the trout to move into the backs of area creeks, where they can often be caught all year round. Working small baits very slowly offers anglers the best odds at tempting the lethargic winter specks to strike.
Black drum and smaller red drum will also be feeding far up the creeks over the winter, and both have a tough time resisting fresh shrimp fished still on the bottom when anglers can find the concentrations of fish.
Justin Cleary (age 7) and Davin King (age 9), of Sanford, NC, with 24 and 25.5″ red drum that bit cut bluefish in the surf at the south end of Topsail.
Larger reds are still feeding on the flats and in some of the creeks and responding well to scented soft plastic baits and suspending lures like MirrOlure MR17’s.
Anglers should also see some schools of slot and over-slot red drum feeding on the shoals around Topsail Inlet over the winter. Anglers can often spot the fish on calm, clear days and cast MirrOlures, soft plastics, or gold spoons at the schools to hook up.
Out in the ocean, commercial fishermen are connecting with king mackerel in the 25-30 mile range, and the kings should be feeding inside the break all winter as long as water temperatures stay above the mid-60’s. Trolling dead cigar minnows or Drone spoons around concentrations of bait anglers spy on the sounder is the way to connect with the winter kings.
Not many boats have been to the blue water lately, but anglers should have shots at wahoo along the break for much of the winter, along with some blackfin tuna. Both skirted ballyhoo and baitless trolling lures will fool the wahoo and blackfins.
Amanda Poole, of Wilmington, with a red drum she hooked on a chunk of mullet while camping on Lea Island.
It appears black sea bass season will remain open this winter, and anglers can find the tasty fish feeding as close to shore as Divers Rock and other spots in the 3-5 mile range. Larger fish should be a bit further off the beachfront and providing reliable action through January. Bottom rigs baited with squid and cut baits or small vertical jigs will attract attention from the sea bass.
Allen, of Breadman Ventures, reports that anglers are hooking big numbers of speckled trout and red drum in the backwaters off the New River and ICW (with some 24”+ specks and upper to over-slot reds in the mix). The fish are feeding in shallow water on the flats and in the creeks, and working MR17 MirrOlures and TTF soft plastic baits quickly above the bottom has been fooling both the reds and the specks. Scents like Pro-Cure Super Gel seem to be making the plastics even more effective.
Richard, of Seaview Pier, reports that anglers are hooking some sea mullet and bluefish on bottom rigs baited with shrimp and cut baits. The sea mullet action should continue for a while as long as the water temperatures don’t fall too low.
Cheryl, of Jolly Roger Pier, reports that anglers are hooking some bluefish and a few speckled trout while working soft and hard artificials from the pier.
