Wrightsville Beach June 21, 2007
Chris, of Tex’s Tackle, reports that red drum are schooled up in area creeks, but the schools are scattered. Anglers who find a school of fish should be able to return and hook up with them day after day (if the weather conditions stay stable). The drum will hit Carolina-rigged live baits, and they will also fall for Gulp baits on jigheads.
Speckled trout fishing has slowed down and won’t heat up again until fall.
The flounder bite is improving inshore, and boats are finding excellent catches of flounder at the nearshore reefs. The structure in the 5 mile range has hosted the best flounder bite over the past week. A live bait on a Carolina rig will tempt the flounder to strike.
Spanish mackerel fishing is getting better on the beach, and surf anglers are starting to get in on the action by casting small lures from the sand. Boats can hook up with the spanish by trolling Clarkspoons, diving plugs, or small live baits.
Large schools of menhaden are moving along the beaches, and king mackerel (up to 30 lbs.) are feeding on them. Slow trolling menhaden will “match the hatch” and get slashing strikes from the kings.
Dolphin are feeding from 10 miles offshore on out, with the best fishing in the 25-30 mile range. Troll skirted ballyhoo to get attention from the dolphin.
Several sailfish have been caught from 23-35 miles offshore, and it’s time for the sails to move in closer.
Grouper fishing is hot, mostly for reds, out in the 30-35 mile range. Gags should be moving in closer and holding on structure 15-20 miles off the beach. Anglers are catching the grouper on the usual baits, as well as by butterfly jigging.
Jim, of Plan 9 Charters, reports excellent grouper fishing on the 30-35 mile spots. Most of the grouper are reds, with a few larger gags thrown in. Cigar minnows and northern mackerel are both excellent grouper baits.
Plenty of kings and dolphin are hanging around the same spots as the grouper, and they will fall for cigar minnows fished on the light line while boats are anchored up grouper fishing. Anglers can also troll cigar minnows, live baits, or ballyhoo for the kings and dolphin with good results.
Boats are picking up spanish mackerel and some kings in the 7-10 mile areas.
More kings are feeding on schools of menhaden running along the beaches. Catch menhaden and slow troll around the schools to hook up with the beach kings.
The nearshore reefs are holding a few spanish mackerel, and boats are pulling nice catches of flounder off them as well.
Good flounder action has taken place at John’s Creek and the Liberty Ship over the past week.
Mike, of Corona Daze Charters, reports excellent fishing for king mackerel and cobia around 23 Mile Rock and the area to the north of it. The dolphin bite has been hot slightly inshore of there—16-17 miles off the beach. The dolphin are averaging 10-15 lbs., with some approaching 30 lbs. mixed in.
The dolphin, kings, and cobia are all falling for live pogies. A double pogy rig with a pink skirt trolled in the propwash is a particularly hot bait.
Blacktip sharks have shown up, and the tasty sharks are also hitting trolled pogies.
Inshore, red drum and flounder fishing has been excellent. Both species are holding in the mouths of creeks off the ICW. Most of the drum are 30+”, and they’ll strike topwater plugs or Carolina-rigged pogies and tiger side minnows.
The creek mouth flounder show a preference for the tiger minnows or mud minnows.
Brent, of Current Adventure Charters, reports that dolphin are feeding 10-30 miles from shore. Boats are getting more action closer in, but the bigger fish are coming from further out.
The larger dolphin are 20-30 lbs. Ballyhoo and rigged squid trolled on daisy chains are getting lots of attention from the dolphin. While dolphin fishing, anglers are also picking up kings, amberjacks, and false albacore.
Inshore, anglers are hooking up with upper-slot to over-slot red drum by fishing creek mouth s off the ICW. Skimmer jigs tipped with natural or scented plastic baits will get strikes from the drum, as will D.O.A. and Gulp shrimp imitations.
Matt, of Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, reports that spanish mackerel and bluefish are biting Gotcha plugs, with some blues also hitting bottom rigs.
Sheepshead and black drum are feeding around the pilings and will hit shrimp pinned on bottom rigs.
Many king mackerel were caught over the past week, with the largest weighing 28.8 lbs. Live bluefish and cigar minnows have accounted for the king bites.
The water temperature is 77 degrees.
