Wrightsville Beach October 25, 2007
Chris, of Tex’s Tackle, reports that inshore anglers are catching plenty of bluefish, red drum, flounder, and some speckled trout.
The reds and flounder are feeding in the creeks, around structure in the ICW, and in the inlets. Live finger mullet or other baits fished on Carolina rigs and Gulp baits will tempt strikes from the flounder and drum.
Outside of the river, anglers are finding the best speckled trout fishing in the area backwaters behind Masonboro Island.
There are still plenty of king mackerel feeding along the beaches. Most are in the teens, but boats are catching decent numbers of fish in the 20’s along with a few 30+ lb. monsters. Slow trolling live pogies is the best way to draw bites from the kings.
Spanish mackerel are also running the beaches and chasing bait in the inlets, but they’ll be heading offshore soon. While they’re still here, anglers can hook up with the spanish by free-lining small live baits or trolling with Clarkspoons.
Bottom fishermen are finding good action with grouper in the 30-40 mile spots, and there are some large gags feeding on structure closer to the beaches. Live baits or frozen cigar minnows and sardines will draw bites from the groupers, and anglers can also hook up with them on jigs.
The Gulf Stream action is solid and getting better. Boats trolling the blue water are catching good numbers of wahoo and sailfish, with some blackfin tuna showing up as well. Rigged ballyhoo will fool all the blue water predators into striking.
Jim, of Plan 9 Charters, reports that red drum and flounder are feeding around private boat docks off the ICW, especially near Figure Eight. Live finger mullet or other baits fished on Carolina rigs will attract attention from both species.
Speckled trout, along with more drum and flounder, are holding in creek mouths near the ICW. The trout will also bite finger mullet or live shrimp, shrimp-imitating lures, and topwater plugs.
The king mackerel bite is still good from the beaches out to offshore structure. Spots 5-10 miles offshore are a good place to begin looking for the kings. Slow trolling live pogies is the most effective strategy, but boats can also hook up while trolling dead baits.
Some spanish are still feeding on the beach, but the action hasn’t been phenomenal.
Rick, of Living Waters Guide Service, reports that kings are feeding well from nearshore spots out past structure in the 10 mile area. Some cobia are starting to show up alongside the kings, and anglers can hook both by slow trolling live baits.
Gray trout are schooled up at nearshore structure areas like John’s Creek and the Marriott reef. They’ll take baits fished on the bottom or jigging lures (such as Stingsilvers) worked vertically near the structure.
The wahoo bite has been excellent in the Gulf Stream recently, and boats are also seeing some sailfish.
Ryan, of Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, reports that anglers are landing good numbers of spot on bloodworms pinned to bottom rigs. Bottom fishermen are also landing some pompano, whiting, and bluefish.
Larger pompano (2+ lbs.) are falling for Gotcha plugs. The plugs are also fooling bluefish and a few spanish mackerel.
King mackerel fishing has been excellent over the past week, with double digit numbers of kings landed several days in a row. Large live baits are key to hooking up with the kings.
The water temperature is 77.4 degrees.
