Wrightsville Beach – September 1, 2016
Matt, of Tex’s Tackle, reports that red drum, black drum, sheepshead, flounder, bluefish, and ladyfish are rewarding inshore anglers. There has been good fishing for red and black drum around docks. Live mullet, mud minnows, or fiddler crabs have all been working well. Jigheads with a Gulp shrimp and jerk shads are getting bites, too, and there are also a few drum being caught shallow on topwaters and scented soft plastics.
Anglers are still consistently catching flounder, undersized and keepers, on live bait and a variety of artificials. The fish have been holding around creek mouths, docks, and deep grass banks.
As predicted, the speckeled trout fishing has improved lately. The fish have responded best to live minnows and shrimp both fished under corks and free-lined. The best bite has been back in the creeks, but some fish are reported near the inlets.
There are still flounder to be caught at the ledges and wrecks just off the beach. More anglers are starting to focus on the big drum in these areas, though. Drifting and bouncing a bucktail tipped with Gulp or live bait can catch the drum and flounder.
Plenty of sharks, spanish mackerel, and a few false albacore are being landed. A few cobia are still being seen in these areas, mostly undersized. A handful of tarpon remain in area waters along with greater amberjack.
Carolina rig.
Craig Creighton (age 11), of Lovettsville, VA, with his first black drum. The fish was caught on a shrimp under a dock at Wrightsville Beach.
Surf anglers are reporting a few bluefish on cut bait and lures. Sea mullet, pompano, croaker, and pinfish are in the mix for bottom fishermen. Fresh shrimp, Fishbites, bloodworms, and sand fleas are accounting for most of the action.
A few spanish mackerel are being reported on casting jigs early and late in the day. Some flounder and red drum are being caught on live bait and Gulp shrimp. Anglers fishing large cut bait have been catching sharks and skates.
June Marie Spencer-Francis, of Wilmington, with a 17 and an 18.5 flounder caught at Richs Inlet on live finger mullet.
Spanish mackerel fishing remains steady with anglers reporting decent catches of fish up and down the beach. The fish are hanging around any structure that is holding bait. There has been a decent bite outside the inlets on a falling tide. Most anglers are fooling the fish with a #0 Clarkspoon trolled behind a #1 planer or trolling weight. Yo-Zuri deep divers and Spanish Daisies are working as well. Surface feeding fish are responding well to Gotcha Jigfish and Shore Lures casted on light tackle.
King mackerel fishing is getting better nearshore and out to 25 miles. Most of the kings remain on the smaller side, but there have been some fish reaching up into the 20 and 30 lb. range. Any sort of structure that holds bait would be a good spot to check for a king. The most effective tactics have been fishing either dead cigar minnows or live pogies. Many of these fish are caught in and around suspended and bottom bait marks. Jigging up some of these baitfish on a sabiki and using them can be very efficient as well.
Gregg Jones, of Wilmington, with a 28.5 red drum caught on a live mullet behind Lea Island.
The bottom fishing is producing good catches of seabass, snapper, and grouper. The gag grouper bite has been steady starting in the 70’ range. Scamp grouper have also been caught in the 80-90′ range, mixed in with the gags. Most of these fish are falling for bottom rigs baited with frozen minnows or squid, and live bait is always a good option when targeting grouper. Anglers are also catching triggerfish, beeliners, and porgies when dropping squid to the bottom on smaller hooks.
Sam Schneider (age 12), of Wilmington, caught this king mackerel on a live pogie near 10 Mile Rock. He was fishing with his dad, Rob Schnieder.
Blackfin tuna fishing has picked up in the Gulf Stream, with some boats reporting excellent catches. In addition, more wahoo have been hitting the docks lately. Wire rigged ballyhoo under Jr Ilanders and Blue Water Candy Seawitches and Jags have been the most productive for the wahoos, with the majority of the bites coming on baits run behind a #6 or #8 planer.
There are still some sailfish being caught as well, and most of these bites are coming on ballyhoo.
Jamie, of Seagate Charters, reports that red drum are biting in the creeks and docks around Figure Eight and Wrightsville. The fish are also being found around nearshore hard bottom areas in the ocean. They’re are biting live finger mullet and cut menhaden.
Flounder fishing continues to produce well around Wrightsville. The flatfish can be found in many areas from the creeks out to the nearshore artificial reefs. Live finger mullet on Carolina rigs are how most of the bites are coming.
Meghan Mathews with a 16 lb. mahi caught while trolling offshore of 23 Mile Rock. She was fishing with Capt. Mike Jackson of Live Line Charters.
Rick, of Living Waters Guide Service, reports that the offshore fishing has been excellent. Blackfin tuna, wahoo, and sailfish have been the targets, along with the occasional mahi. A variety of Fathom and Blue Water Candy lures have been fooling these fish, and the wahoo have been taking a particular liking to offerings behind a planer.
Bottom fishing has been good for scamp grouper, grunts, beeliners, pinkies, triggerfish, and sea bass. The best bite has been in the 130-180’ range. Gag grouper, grunts, and sea bass are preferring it up the hill a little bit in 80-110’.
Linda Mudaro with a 30 red drum caught (and released) on a live finger mullet near the Masonboro jetty.
Donnie, of Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, reports that the bluefish and spanish mackerel have been biting early in the mornings. Anglers are having success hooking fish on Gotcha plugs in the white/white color, and the spanish have been ranging in size from 12” up.
Anglers dropping bottom rigs are connecting with croakers and black drum while using cut shrimp. Most of the black drum have been undersized, but a few have been 14”+.
The water temperature is holding in the mid 80’s.
Ashley Robins, of Wilmington, with a jack crevalle caught on dead shrimp in the lower Cape Fear River.
