Wrightsville Beach July 14, 2005
Tex, at Tex’s Tackle, reports good catches of puppy drum in the creeks. Most are 19-25 inches, but some are as large as 32 inches. Flounder are getting a little bigger, but there’s still not too many. Ladyfish are hitting topwater plugs and grubs at night. Small blues are biting in the inlets and creeks.
Some very nice kings (up to 43 lbs.) have been caught just outside the inlets and on the piers with live bait. Tarpon have shown up at the shoals and along the beaches. Fish for spanish and blues along the beach on clark spoons and yo-zuri deep divers. Sailfish are reported from 7 miles on out, with some dolphin mixed in. Amberjacks are at the Schoolhouse. Small kings are 5 to 20 miles out.
Anglers in the Cape Fear Blue Marlin tournament had a rough time on Friday but much better weather on Saturday. The billfish turned on with lots of sailfish and white marlin releases. Dolphin and wahoo action was also good.
Russell, at Tidal Market, reports that fishing has been very slow this week due to the raw sewage floating around inshore and the rough seas off the beach. When things settle down, the flounder should remain steady if you pick through the smaller fish. Finger mullet still are very hard to find in the creeks. Nearshore the kings are on fire from the beach out to 15 miles. A few mahi are being caught as close as 7 miles, and sailfish should be around from 10 miles on out. The gulf stream is good for an occasional wahoo, plenty of dolphin, and a billfish here and there.
Lewis, at Bug-Em Bait Co., reports a few red drum finally moving out into the surf. Flounder fishing is more consistent, with a few more bigger fish showing up around the inlets. Good spanish fishing has been around Rich’s Inlet and Masonboro Inlet, with fish even moving inside at times.
Grouper fishing is picking up and has been very good 20+ miles out on good ledges. King mackerel are on fire, with small fish with an occasional teenager in the 5 to 15 mile areas. And big baits outside the inlets and along the beach have produced a few smokers. The mahi are scattered in the 10 to 15 mile areas. Sailfish should be in the WR4 and Schoolhouse areas. Gulf stream catches have been a little slow to come in, but it’s mostly small dolphin or billfish being caught right now.
Rick, at Johnnie Mercers Pier, reports a few king mackerel hookups with two fish landed. One weighed in at 34 pounds and the other a 26 pounder. A nice 3.5 lb. spanish was caught (with several other smaller ones) mostly right after sundown. Spots and sea mullets are biting in the dark on bottom rigs. The catch of the week was an estimated 70 lb. tarpon landed by Karen Barbour on July 10. The fish took two hours to land, and then was released to fight again.
Seth, at Intracoastal Angler, reports flounder and red drum fishing has picked up around inlets as well as a few of the area creeks. Live bait is producing best, but most will hit artificials now as well. A few trout have been reported, and they should be more active with more shrimp showing up. Dolphin are consistent 20 plus miles offshore, while the kings are everywhere. Sailfish should be moving closer inshore, and one was even spotted free jumping off Wrightsville Beach this week. The gulf stream has been very good for billfish this week, as well as a mix of dolphin and wahoo.
