Wrightsville Beach – October 2022
Tex, of Tex’s Tackle, reports that inshore fishing has been on fire, as the mullet run is in full swing in the region.
Anglers weighed a lot of really nice flounder through the keeper season, with fish caught on both live bait and Gulp or similar soft plastics.
Red drum action has been steady, with fish spread out and bait everywhere. Anglers fishing topwater plugs in the morning seem to be finding the best bite.
Those on the water both early and late are starting to catch some speckled trout, as the action only ramps up moving further into fall.
The local piers have seen a lot of catching as well. Plenty of spanish mackerel and bluefish are out on the beachfronts and feeding around bait balls. Anglers live bait fishing off the end have caught a few kings and had hookups with tarpon.
Nearshore anglers have spent the past month targeting flounder at the productive hard bottoms and reefs, and a few cobia have been caught around structure in the 5+ mile range.
Bottom fishing in the 10-30 mile range has been producing black sea bass, grouper, and throwback American red snapper. The deeper side of that range has been holding some of the more quality fish.
King mackerel are still pretty spread out, with anglers finding action anywhere from the beach out to 35 miles.
Offshore trolling (from 30 miles to the break) has produced a few mahi, wahoo, and some sailfish.
Andrew, of Intracoastal Angler, reports that flounder action throughout the keeper season was really good both nearshore and on the inside.
Red drum action has been solid out around the jetty, with the recent east winds really helping the bite.
Anglers targeting the bridges and other hard structures are still finding good-sized sheepshead.
There are some speckled trout starting to show up at their typical fall hangouts. This bite is still very focused to that first crack of dawn, and the better fishing has been in the deeper holes.
Nearshore anglers are catching spanish mackerel and are also now seeing some false albacore showing up.
King mackerel fishing has been decent, but any day now anglers look for these fish to start congregating closer to the beaches in numbers.
Luke, of Coastline Fishing Charters, reports that with fall fishing finally here, flounder action has been absolutely on fire both inshore and nearshore. A Carolina-rigged finger mullet is all that’s been needed to have a successful day of fishing. Inshore, look for these flatfish to be staged up on ledges and grass banks, where nearshore they will be holding on structured bottom.
Redfish action has been picking up as well. Topwater fishing has been the top producing tactic when working plugs around grass banks. Bait fishing is also producing strikes for anglers using live or cut bait around these same grass banks (or near docks).
Speckled trout fishing has been quite productive for this time of year. These trout are crushing topwater plugs in those low-light hours. A variety of soft plastics and Vudu shrimp are also having success.
Sheepshead fishing also remains great for anglers rigging live fiddler crabs or other crustaceans on Carolina rigs. Fishing super tight to these bridges and inshore hard structures are the key to catching solid numbers of the 5+ lb. fish.
Zane, of Falling Tide Fishing Adventures, reports that flounder fishing has been really good at the nearshore reefs.
Some large spanish mackerel (to 4+ lbs.) have started moving into the area, with bait now pouring out of the inlets.
Anglers fishing these live baits have also landed a few kings, as king numbers pick up with schools moving onto the beach in coming weeks.
A few bull red drum are being caught around the inlets and river mouths.
Inshore anglers are looking forward to fall speckled trout fishing. The water temperatures need to cool before things really fire off, but anglers are finding action while targeting current seams around structure. D.O.A. and similar soft plastics are great lures for scouting these moving water areas.
Rick, of Living Waters Guide Service, reports that trolling action out in the Gulf Stream has produced a nice mix of blackfin tuna (to 15 lbs.), sailfish, and some good-sized wahoo (to 65 lbs.).
The deep-water jigging trips are hooking chunky blackfin tuna and big jacks.
Bottom fishing out in the 150-400’ range remains strong for anglers both jigging and fishing natural baits.
The swordfish bite has been really good for anglers getting a nice window to run out to the 1500’+ range. Some trips are quickly finding multiple hookups on nice-sized fish (70-125+ lbs.).
Ben, of Southern Run Fishing Charters, reports that the fall king mackerel action is starting to pick up, as water temperatures on the beach are slowly starting to drop. Most of the more quality fish are holding out over structure in the 15-18 mile range, with some scattered fish already moved onto the beachfronts.
Grouper fishing is also slowly moving closer in, with some nice fish coming from structure in the 60-80’ range.
Anglers catching a good window to run offshore are finding the wahoo action picking up, alongside blackfin tuna and a few sailfish sprinkled in.
Jesse, of Johnnie Mercers Pier, reports that anglers have been catching good numbers of flounder (to 4 lbs.) with bottom rigged live bait.
There has been a bunch of finger mullet running around the pier, a sign that fall fishing is starting to kick off.
Spanish mackerel are showing up in good numbers to feed on all this bait, and a few kings are being caught. Going into October, look for the king bite to pick up as they start their yearly push in close to the beach.
Anglers fishing off the end are still seeing some tarpon moving by.
