Carolina Beach May 9, 2013
Ken Briscoe, of Lenoir, NC, with a 26″ red drum that bit a cut bait during the rising tide in the Fort Fisher surf.
Kyle, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that anglers are starting to see more flounder in the area (with some fish to 4 lbs. weighed in lately). Live mud minnows, menhaden, and other small baits are top choices for the flatfish, but anglers are also hooking up while working Gulps and other soft plastics.
Plenty of red drum are feeding in the lower Cape Fear River, and anglers are hooking them on topwater plugs, soft plastics, and a variety of live and cut baits. The bays and creeks off the main river are some of the most productive places to look for the reds.
The speckled trout bite is also turning on in the river, with fish feeding around oyster rocks and grass islands. Live shrimp are tops for the trout, but when anglers can’t find them, soft plastics and suspending hard lures like MirrOlure MR17’s will produce bites.
Some large bluefish have shown up in the surf and around the ocean piers, and anglers are hooking them on cut baits and metal casting lures.
Sea mullet are also feeding in the surf, where double-drop bottom rigs baited with shrimp are tough for them to resist.
Greg Grimshaw and Toby Wells, of Pinehurst, NC, with a pair of red drum that struck fresh shrimp in the lower Cape Fear River while they were fishing with Capt. Robert Schoonmaker of Carolina Explorer.
Offshore, trollers are still connecting with solid numbers of wahoo and blackfin tuna. Ballyhoo paired with skirted lures are the best bets for both.
Robert, of Carolina Explorer, reports that anglers are still finding plenty of action with red and black drum in the creeks and backwaters off the lower Cape Fear River. Most are falling for fresh shrimp, cut mullet, and live mud minnows, but anglers have also been hooking up on Gulp baits on jigheads and weedless hooks. The fish are still a bit lethargic, so slow presentations maintaining contact with the bottom are anglers’ best bets.
Flounder are feeding in many of the same areas and taking an interest in mud minnows and Gulps.
Speckled trout are also looking for meals in the lower Cape Fear, with action in the creeks and around oyster beds and grass islands. Jigheads with paddle and split-tail soft plastics are fooling most of the specks.
The sea mullet bite in the lower river is slowing down, with plenty of small croaker and other bait stealers mixed in with the mullet.
Bluefish are starting to bite in the inlets and nearshore in the ocean, but anglers haven’t had much good weather to fish in or outside of the inlets lately.
Capt. Andre Nel, of Feel Good Fishing Charters, with a 15.4 lb. bluefish that bit a smaller bluefish near Wrightsville Beach.
Jeff, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are hooking good numbers of red drum on most days, although the recent inconsistent weather has slowed the bite a bit. Warmer temperatures on the way should improve the fishing. Many of the reds are still in the creeks, with a few feeding on the flats. As the water warms up, the fish should school up and begin working the flats more consistently. Topwater plugs, Gulps and other soft plastics, and live mud minnows and shrimp have all been effective on the reds recently, and the topwater bite will only get better in the coming weeks.
Black drum, speckled trout, and some flounder are feeding in the same areas as the reds. The black drum are mostly falling for shrimp, while live baits and soft plastics are tempting bites from the specks and flatfish.
Sheepshead and increasing numbers of bluefish should also become more numerous inshore as the water continues to warm.
Ron, of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that anglers are hooking some sea mullet and a few sheepshead while bottom-fishing with shrimp.
Anthony, of Kure Beach Pier, reports that bluefish and sea mullet have made up the majority of the catch lately. A few puppy drum and small flounder have also been in the mix.
Bottom rigs baited with shrimp and cut baits are producing most of the action from the pier.
