Carolina Beach August 1, 2013
Scott Haas with 23″ and 24″ flounder that fell for bucktails tipped with live mud minnows along some grass banks near Buzzards Bay.
Britt, of Island Tackle and Hardware, reports that anglers are catching good numbers of flounder in Snow’s Cut, the Cape Fear River, and in the ICW. Many have been undersized, but anglers are also bringing some healthy 5-7 lb. fish to the scales. Live finger mullet are fooling most of the flatfish.
Drum are feeding in the ICW, especially where anglers can find cleaner water, and they will also respond to live finger mullet, cut baits, or a variety of other lures.
Anglers are also finding some speckled trout in the cleaner water and hooking them on live baits and soft plastics.
Sheepshead are looking for meals around bridge and dock pilings and other heavy structure inshore. They’re biting sand fleas.
Surf casters are reporting plenty of action with ladyfish, smaller flounder, and croaker. Shrimp and cut baits are producing most of the action in the breakers.
The spanish mackerel bite has been decent recently, but the fish are feeding a bit further offshore than usual (around 3 miles). Trolling Clarkspoons and other flashy lures will tempt bites from the spaniards.
Some king mackerel are also looking for meals from the 3 mile range on out, and they’ll bite live baits or dead cigar minnows.
Matthew Coleman, Grant Dunlop, and Patrick Pasquariello with three of 24 red drum they hooked while casting live finger mullet near Carolina Beach Inlet.
Dolphin and some sailfish have been reported from the Gulf Stream recently, and they will pounce on rigged ballyhoo.
Jeff, of Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that the water in the lower Cape Fear River continues to clear up following the massive rainfall early in the month, and fishing’s getting better along with it. Anglers are finding action with red drum in the bays off the main river. Some small schools of reds are working the bays at lower tides, when anglers may spot the fish and sight cast to them. Blind-casting along marsh banks has been producing more fish when the water’s higher. The reds will bite topwater plugs, soft plastic baits, or live finger mullet and shrimp.
Speckled trout action has also been solid, with most of the specks in the creeks and around structure in the lower river. They’ve been biting topwater plugs as well, and soft plastics or live finger mullet and mud minnows have also been effective over the past week.
Some ladyfish, bluefish, and jack crevalle are also feeding in the lower river, and they generally make their presence known with splashy surface bites. Anglers can cast virtually any small lure around the topwater activity with success.
Sheepshead are hanging around rocks and pilings in the lower river. The striped fish have a tough time turning down live fiddler crabs and shrimp, which are also producing some black drum.
Robert, of Carolina Explorer, reports that there’s been a solid spanish mackerel bite in the ocean off Carolina Beach Inlet recently, with most of the fish falling for trolled Clarkspoons. Anglers may also be able to cast metal jigs at groups of fish feeding on the surface with success.
Kevin Taylor with a 32 lb. remainder of a king mackerel that bit a live bait off the end of Carolina Beach Pier and was then itself the victim of a shark attack.
Several king mackerel have been landed from the piers over the week, so there are some kings feeding nearshore as well.
Inshore, there’s been an improving bite in the Cape Fear River as the dirty, fresh water is flushing out after the rainfall early in the month. Anglers are seeing better numbers of red drum feeding in the lower river now and hooking them on topwater plugs, soft plastics, and live and cut baits.
Some scattered speckled trout and flounder are feeding off the lower Cape Fear as well, and anglers are hooking both on live baits and soft plastics.
Robin, of Carolina Beach Pier, reports that anglers caught good numbers of king mackerel while live-baiting from the end of the pier last week (to 30+ lbs.).
A few bluefish are falling for bottom rigs and Gotcha plugs.
Anglers are also hooking some sea mullet, spadefish, and spot on bottom rigs baited with shrimp.
Dallas, of Kure Beach Pier, reports that anglers are hooking some croaker and sea mullet on bottom rigs baited with shrimp and bloodworms.
Some flounder are biting small live baits under the pier.
Live-baiters landed several king mackerel from the end of the pier last week.
