Southport/Oak Island – March 2026
Angie, of Dutchman Creek Bait and Tackle, reports that the top target right now for anglers who can catch a weather window are the black sea bass. Most of the bigger fish are being found in the 15‑20 mile range on cut bait.
Inside, anglers have been seeing a few sheepshead hooked using frozen sand fleas around structure.
Moving into March, the whiting begin to show up in the area, with anglers having success catching them both from the surf and around the inlets.
The area could also start seeing some bluefish around this same time and in both of the same areas.
Red drum and speckled trout are currently being caught, and will continue throughout March to be caught, by those fishing back in the shallows.
Josh, of Oak Island Sporting Goods, reports that surf anglers are waiting for the first whiting to start arriving by the end of March, with cut shrimp being the best bet for them.
Inshore anglers are having a little success fishing cut shrimp for red drum and black drum.
The speckled trout bite has been slow, but since they are closed until July, most anglers are avoiding them for now anyways.
Off the beach, bottom fishing for black sea bass is about the only reliable bite with consistency.
Hunter, of Dockside Fishing Charters, reports that the super‑clear water conditions and super‑cold water have made the red drum in the area very finicky. The upper‑slot fish are pushed mostly shallow, with smaller “rat” reds scattered more.
Dock fishing in general has been the best bet for inshore anglers. Putting a piece of shrimp on the bottom opens the opportunity to catch any mix of red drum, black drum, and sheepshead. You don’t have to worry about any “trash” species this time of year, and baits should be left to soak for 10‑15 minutes max before moving to the next dock.
Anglers can still find some speckled trout around despite the tough winter they had. The lack of a keeper season should lessen pressure on the fish, but fishing shrimp (live shrimp especially) around deeper oyster beds will find some trout bites.
Casey Pardue, of Fisherman’s Post, landed this wahoo trolling a blue-skirted ballyhoo near the Nipple.
Zane, of Falling Tide Fishing Adventures, reports that the best inshore bite will be to focus on red drum action right through the entire month of March. With water temperatures way down after this especially cold winter, keep working the backs of creeks. The reds will get more active as temperatures tick up. Expect some decent action on artificials, and if the bite is tough, cut bait can help.
The next arrival that anglers are looking out for are schools of gray trout starting to move into the inlet. For this, look for deeper structure to drop metal jigs on.
Sheepshead will also move in around this same time.
Steve, of Oak Island Fishing Charters, reports that anglers fishing inside have had some success, albeit only slowly improving success, catching red drum and black drum, but the water temperatures picking up in March should really help the action overall. For the time being, dead shrimp is the best‑producing bait, and the best areas to target are around oysters and pilings.
Some speckled trout have been caught despite the cold stun event, with most of the trout staged up in current breaks and over ledges in the creeks.
If a nice weather window opens up, anglers can also pop out of the inlet and find some great black sea bass fishing over nearshore structure.
Josh Palm, of Boiling Spring Lakes, landed this 33 lb. king mackerel 25 miles offshore of Bald Head Island on a Blue Water Candy dead bait rig.
Wally, of Oak Island Fishing Charters, reports that with water and air temperatures still cold, anglers finding a weather window have been running off the beach to catch limits of black sea bass. Keepers can be found as close in as 60’ of water, with cut bait being the top tactic for putting fish in the box.
Ryan, of Fugitive Charters, reports that bottom fishing trips are a bright spot in our area as it comes out of an extremely cold winter, as bottom fishing provides a year‑round opportunity to put some meat in the cooler. The black sea bass bite is good right now, and that action continues moving through the month of March.
Pushing out deeper will not only produce the larger sea bass, but also grunts, vermilion snapper, and triggerfish.
Nearshore, with temperatures still so low, it’s a fair guess that most species will be at least a week or two behind across the board, but whiting moving in around the inlets will be some of the first signs of new spring life.
Brian, of Ocean Crest Pier, reports that anglers who found those small breaks of warmer weather over the winter were able to pick off some random, scattered catches, including a 3.6 lb. black drum last month.
For now, croakers make up most of the action as the pier awaits the arrival of whiting in March.
Steve, of Oak Island Pier, reports that there isn’t much happening currently, so the whiting arriving in March, with cut shrimp on a bottom rig being the top setup for the whiting, will be the first sign that conditions are changing.
