Wrightsville Beach August 15, 2013
Jackson Lantz (age 10), of Wilmington, with a 31″ gag grouper that bit a live menhaden near the Schoolhouse (AR-386) while he was fishing off Wrightsville Beach.
Hunter, of Tex’s Tackle, reports that anglers are hooking plenty of flounder in the local inlets and around inshore structure like docks. Live finger mullet, peanut menhaden, and Gulp baits are all effective flatfish-foolers.
Red drum are also in the inlets, around the docks, and feeding in flooded grass at the higher tidal stages. Anglers can fool the reds with all the same tactics that work on the flatfish, as well as offering soft plastics and even topwater plugs.
Anglers fishing the Cape Fear River are connecting with more reds and flounder along with some speckled trout (a few over 5 lbs.). Live baits and topwater plugs seem to be the best bets in the river.
Surf fishing has been decent around Wrightsville, with a few flounder and red drum biting anglers’ baits and lures. Some bluefish and spanish mackerel are taking an interest in metal lures that shorebound anglers are casting near the inlets.
The spanish bite has been decent for boaters trolling 2-4 miles off the beaches. Clarkspoons pulled behind small planers and trolling weights are responsible for most of the fish.
Anglers are hooking king mackerel from right along the beachfront (and the piers) on offshore all the way to Frying Pan Tower. Live baits are the best bet for the kings, but anglers can also troll dead cigar minnows with success. A few dolphin have been mixed in with the kings from the 10 mile range on out.
Flounder are feeding along the bottom at structure within five miles of shore, where anglers can hook them on live baits or while bouncing Gulp-tipped bucktails.
Further out, bottom fishermen have been hooking gag grouper at structure from the 20 mile range on out, along with smaller bottom feeders like grunts and sea bass. Live and dead baits are the best bets for the gags, with squid and cut baits effective on the smaller fish. Red and scamp grouper are looking for meals at structure in the 100’ range and deeper, and they will fall for the same baits as the gags.
Bennett Lincoln with a 32 lb. king mackerel he caught on his first offshore fishing trip. The king bit a live menhaden 25 miles off Wrightsville Beach while he was fishing with Capt. Mike Jackson of Live Line Charters.
African pompano are feeding around Frying Pan Tower, where anglers can fool them on live baits.
Gulf Stream trollers are hooking wahoo, dolphin, and a few blackfin tuna on skirted lures and ballyhoo. A few white marlin and sailfish are also around and taking an interest in trollers’ baits.
Jigging and bottom fishing along the break is producing plenty of action with amberjacks and some large grouper.
Rick, of Living Waters Guide Service, reports that Gulf Stream trolling is still producing solid summer numbers of wahoo, with most fish falling for skirted ballyhoo. Some dolphin and blackfin tuna are in the mix as well.
Bottom fishing at deep structure along the break is filling up boxes with large grouper and a variety of smaller bottom dwellers like grunts, porgies, triggerfish, and more.
Anglers targeting bottom structure in the 70-80’ depths are hooking gag grouper, sea bass, grunts, and more. Live and cut baits are fooling most of the bottom feeders.
Some large king mackerel (a few 30+ lbs.) are feeding in the same areas and pouncing on slow-trolled menhaden.
Jamie, of Seagate Charters, reports that anglers have been hooking some king mackerel along the beaches on live baits (like menhaden) and while trolling dead ballyhoo and cigar minnows.
Spanish mackerel have been schooling up around Masonboro Inlet in sufficient numbers for anglers to cast metal jigs to. Surface activity and working birds can clue anglers into where the mackerel are feeding.
Some small schools of false albacore are mixed up with the spanish and also biting casting jigs.
Flounder fishing at nearshore structure like the Liberty Ship has been fairly solid lately. Most of the fish are falling for live finger mullet.
Inshore, there’s still a decent red drum bite around docks and other structure in the ICW. Live and cut baits are attracting attention from the reds.
Gary Hall, of Castle Hayne, NC, with a 30″ red drum he caught and released after it struck a live bait in Masonboro Inlet while he was fishing with Robert Pink.
Anglers are also seeing decent speckled trout action in the early morning hours around Wrightsville. Topwater plugs, soft plastics, and live baits under floats are top choices for the specks.
Trevor, of ProFishNC Charters, reports that anglers targeting bottom structure 2-5 miles off the beaches are finding action with flounder, gray trout, and some legal black sea bass. Bucktail jigs tipped with Gulp baits and live finger mullet on Carolina rigs are attracting attention from all three bottom dwellers.
There’s still some flounder action going on inshore, but it’s not what it was a month ago.
Red drum are feeding around inshore structure like docks, where they’ll bite live baits or soft plastics like Gulps.
Jim, of Plan 9 Charters, reports that anglers are seeing some excellent spanish mackerel action in the 15-20’ depths, especially to the north. Trolled Clarkspoons are fooling the majority of the fish.
Targeting bottom structure within a few miles of the shoreline is producing plenty of action with flounder, sea bass, and gray trout, both on bucktail jigs and live mud minnows and finger mullet.
Some king mackerel have been feeding alongside the spanish, and there’s been a solid king bite along with some dolphin in the 25-30 mile range. Live baits and dead cigar minnows and ballyhoo will all fool the kings.
Ryan, of Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, reports that anglers are hooking some spanish mackerel and bluefish while working Gotcha plugs from the pier.
Some red drum and flounder are biting live baits under the pier.
A few reds are also falling for shrimp, which are fooling some sea mullet as well.
The water is 79 degrees.
