Swansboro/Emerald Isle – October 2026
Morgan, of The Reel Outdoors, reports that anglers getting out on the beachfront have been catching scattered red drum, sea mullet, bluefish, and pompano.
Spanish mackerel and bluefish are around in good numbers for anglers casting plugs from the piers, and plenty of both species are available for anglers right off the beach in boats.
Some king mackerel are starting to show up nearshore, with a couple smaller kings also landed on the local piers.
Offshore anglers are mostly bottom fishing for a mix of triggerfish and vermilion snapper.
Inshore, the red drum fishing has been steady, mostly as a result of all the bait moving around. Good numbers of flounder are still around, even though the season is closed.
It’s still a little warm for speckled trout, but trout action should be steadily improving as we move into October.
Rob, of Sandbar Safari Charters, reports that an abundance of shrimp is in the area, and these shrimp have been working great for targeting red and black drum in the marshes. Both species have been in the flooded bays and grass on higher tides, and then concentrating around creek mouths and channel edges at lower tides.
Speckled trout are starting to sprinkle into the sound, and anglers are catching them on live shrimp and a variety of soft plastics on jig heads.
Lots of mackerel action is happening nearshore, with both big kings and spanish in the mix. Live bait fishing has been working best for both species.
Autumn Bottino, from Fayetteville, caught this 30″ flounder by bouncing a 4″ chartreuse Gulp soft plastic on the bottom of a Swansboro marsh. She was fishing with Capt. Ryan Dolph of Reel Obsession Fishing Charters..
Matt, of Friendly City Fishing Charters, reports that red drum fishing has picked up with the slight cool down. As for bait, a piece of cut mullet is hard to beat.
A bunch of black drum are around, especially in the holes throughout the marsh areas. The strong black drum action is surely due to how much shrimp is in the marsh grass (a ton).
During the flounder season, anglers did best fishing artificials, such as Gulp shrimp, on jig heads. This combo is great for covering areas, which is often the better tactic when flounder fishing. A low rising tide was best, though the flounder often bit all the way through the rise and fall.
It’s time to start looking for speckled trout, especially if the cooler weather patterns continue, and begin those fishing efforts around current breaks that are closer to the inlets.
Jacob, of Southern Tides Fishing Charters, reports that flounder season was good, but it’s time to switch back over to red drum fishing. If back in the marsh, Carolina-rigged live mullet has been working best for the reds, whereas back in the creeks, live shrimp under corks is the way to go.
Fishing live shrimp around structure (such as docks or oysters) in the creeks can open up the opportunity to catch sheepshead, black drum, or even a speckled trout.
When using a bottom-rigged live mullet for red drum, flounder will likely be your most common bycatch species.
In October, the speckled trout bite will pick up. Earlier in the season, focus on fishing spots closer to the inlet where the water is not only cooler, but has the better clarity that they like.
Anna and Susan Blume, of Salisbury, doubled up on red drum on a flat near Emerald Isle using cut bait. They were fishing with Capt. Rob Koraly of Sandbar Safari Sportfishing.
Scott, of King Mackerel College, reports that closer to the beach, some good-sized spanish mackerel are showing up. For these bigger spanish, live bait is the best way to find hookups.
False albacore are also in the mix and make a great target for anglers sight-casting jigs into surface-feeding frenzies.
King mackerel fishing has been slow so far. Hopefully these fish will start to push in close as water temperatures continue to drop and more bait floods out of the inlets.
As we move into fall, look for the wahoo bite to pick up.
Some scattered mahi may be around, too, but for the most part this bite will be on its way out in October (if not early October).
Some big king mackerel will be scattered in the offshore trolling bite as well.
Mike, of Bogue Inlet Pier, reports that king mackerel fishing absolutely took off in September with the weather bringing down the water temperatures. The pier saw multiple kings landed, with the biggest going 27 lbs.
Throwing Gotcha plugs for spanish mackerel remains a strong option, with a better quality of fish (to 7 lbs.) becoming more common.
Some puppy drum (to 7 lbs.) have made their way into the surf and around the pier.
Other bottom fishing catches include croakers, bluefish, flounder (when the season was open), and some pompano.
