Ocean Isle/Holden Beach – September 2025
Jeff, of Ocean Isle Fishing Center, reports that anglers are finding good schools of slot (21-26”) red drum on shallower banks off the ICW. Live bait, both mullet or shrimp, have been producing just about all of the action.
A bunch of flounder are stacked up on grass banks in the ICW and creeks. Live mullet has been their favorite bait.
A couple of bigger speckled trout (to 25”) are mixed in the action while working the same grass banks. Typically, the trout have popped up when around oyster beds or a creek mouth. As the area starts to see more mild weather and water temperatures cool off, the trout bite should really start to kick in.
Brant, of Ocean Isle Fishing Center, reports that anglers and fish alike are starting to sense the seasonal change, such as finger mullet and ribbonfish beginning to group up in anticipation of their migrations. Menhaden schools off the beachfront and offshore are getting thick and more plentiful. All of this means increased fishing opportunities in the coming weeks and months.
For the flounder season, utilizing some of the live mullet inshore will be a great idea.
Spanish mackerel have been getting more plentiful and active with the movement and gathering of all of the bait.
King mackerel are definitely getting ready to move in closer to the beach and join the action anytime.
Some of the most increased fishing action is going to be happening from the edge of the break out to the Gulf Stream, where wahoo fishing is picking up as it does at the end of summer. The wahoo start keying in on the bullet tuna that are migrating south. These are mostly 12-18” baitfish that are darker in color, hence the reason the larger, darker-profiled lures and skirts tend to be the most productive.
Giovanni Palmieri, of Sunset Beach, caught this sheepshead on a piece of blue crab off a dock in Sunset Beach.
Tim, of Tideline Charters, reports that red drum are still the main target inshore. The good-sized (5-8”) mullet are showing up, and the redfish are now responding better to mullet than menhaden. Water temperatures have cooled into the low 80s, but anglers should still be sure to keep lively, fresh baits on the hook. Most of the reds are found while targeting deeper drop-offs (2’+ relief) around oysters with some current in the creeks. Fish are also scattered along the ICW, and anglers wanting to fish the ICW should be sure to fish an area that is holding bait.
Speckled trout fishing has been best out around the jetties and in the deeper cuts nearby. By mid-September, anglers should see numbers start to really ramp up as the trout get into fall movements.
Off the beach, some larger spanish mackerel are showing up, and live bait fishing will be the favorite tactic for this better class of fish.
The bull red drum should move into nearshore waters soon. For now, some over-slot reds are on the jetties and ARs.
Tripp, of Capt’n Hook Outdoors, reports that the finger mullet have shown up all over as a result of the cooling temperatures. Shrimp, in larger sizes, are still plentiful in the creeks, and they make great baits, especially since the pinfish are less likely to attack the larger shrimp.
Anglers fishing around the inlets have been finding decent numbers of speckled trout in the 14-18” range, with the occasional 20”+ mixed in. Floating corks in 10-14’ depths with live shrimp or mullet (and pretty far off the rocks) has produced most of the bites.
Spanish mackerel fishing has picked up, with scattered sizes now available (from 12” to 5 lbs.). The larger fish are being caught with live bait out over the nearshore reefs.
Red drum anglers are having success picking fish off the ICW docks and finding them scattered along the shoreline. These fish are still spread out, and most are hitting cut mullet on the lower tides.
Black drum are mixed in around deeper oyster rocks (10-15’) and some of the ICW docks. They like the current in the summer, so be sure to target areas with movement.
Sheepshead fishing has been improving, with fish feeding better now that water temperatures have cooled down.
Flounder season should be really good, as it’s hard to cast a bank while targeting red drum and not find a flatfish.
Rivera Irizarry, of Charlottesville, VA, caught this 25″ trout from the surf at the south end of Holden Beach using a live mud minnow.
Philip, of Rod and Reel Shop, reports that the speckled trout action has started to kick off, and the trout only get more active when cold fronts provide for truly cooler mornings.
Red drum are scattered all over the area, and they’re mostly hitting live mullet.
Anglers targeting red drum have been wildly successful finding a bycatch of flounder. The keeper season should be a success for many, with live bait or soft plastics on the bottom being the best setups.
In the surf zone, bottom fishing has been best, with catches of spot, croakers, whiting, and the occasional pompano.
Jerry, of Ocean Isle Beach Fishing Pier, reports that anglers are catching black drum and sand sharks.
