Topsail/Sneads Ferry – October 2026
Nathan, of East Coast Sports, reports that anglers getting out to fish the surf and piers have seen a run of slot-sized red drum, with some over-slots mixed in.
Spanish mackerel and bluefish have been plentiful from both the surf and piers, and the pier anglers are starting to see more king mackerel activity.
Off the beach, trolling spoons for spanish mackerel and bluefish has been productive.
The nearshore king bite continues to be slow.
Offshore, scattered mahi are in the 30-mile range, and wahoo fishing is finally starting to pick up.
Inshore, red drum is now the main target, and the fish are scattered all over the ICW, up in creeks, and out to the inlets.
No real word on speckled trout yet.
Mike, of Native Son Guide Service, reports that mullet are all over the place, and red drum action has responded well. Dock fishing is producing, and anglers will also find reds around creek mouths, grass lines, and even a couple up in the creeks (though it’s still a bit early for the creeks).
The speckled trout aren’t quite ready to cooperate yet, with only a few scattered ones being caught by anglers topwater fishing early.
Off the beach, tons of glass minnows are around, and the spanish mackerel fishing has been excellent to match. Some bigger fish are now regularly appearing in the area.
King mackerel haven’t moved to the beaches yet, with most in the 50-60’ range.
Ray, of Spring Tide Guide Service, reports that red drum are still more schooled up in the bays than in the typical scattered summer patterns. The quality of the reds is really good, with the 22- 28”+ range being most common. The bait choice varies. Some days, the topwater plugs and artificials are best, where some days, cut bait gets it done.
The speckled trout front remains quiet, but that will change as temperatures cool off.
Spanish mackerel numbers are picking up off the beach, and the spanish are also pushing inside the inlet with a high tide.
The nearshore king mackerel action has yet to materialize.
Brynlee Bell (age 12), of Topsail, caught this 24”, 5.73 lb. flounder on a finger mullet. She was fishing from a dock in the Hampstead area.
Ricky, of Speckled Specialist Charters, reports that red drum fishing has been good, with Carolina rigged live mullet being the best bait option.
These live baits are also producing a couple speckled trout and flounder.
Trout fishing has been okay. Most of the trout are being found early in the morning (first hour or so of light) with topwater plugs such as Heddon Spook Jrs. After the early bite, flip over to live shrimp fished under slip corks to target trout in deeper areas (15-20’).
Black drum are around (3-4 lbs.) while targeting bridges and oyster reefs with shrimp.
Adam, of Carolina Flats Fishing, reports that a lot of big mullet are moving into the ICW, and this has been getting the bigger red drum more active. Anglers are catching most of the reds with live finger mullet or artificials (such as Gulp soft plastics) under popping corks.
Flounder will continue to be bycatch while targeting the red drum.
Off the beach, false albacore should arrive soon, and they usually first show around structure within a couple miles off the beach.
Jim, of Plan 9 Charters, reports that the spanish mackerel and false albacore fishing has been on a tear. Spanish mackerel are running from 14-22”, and false albacore mixing in is a nice surprise. Plenty of spanish are just outside the inlet in as shallow as 15-20’ of water. Anglers are catching them while sight-casting small metal or epoxy jigs.
Further off the beach, bottom fishing is good, with black sea bass, porgies, and gray snapper hitting cut baits in the 60-75’ range.
Patricia, of Willard, with a 31″ red drum caught in the Topsail Island area on a live mullet.
Taylor, of South End Adventures, reports that anglers are still finding lots of smaller spanish mackerel on the beach. The bigger spanish are out in the 45-50’ range and over hard bottom. The best way to locate these schools is to look for birds feeding on the bait being pushed up.
There’s been a showing of king mackerel in the 8-12 mile range, and scattered, smaller dolphin may be mixed in.
Bottom fishing anglers will find plenty of black sea bass, grunts, and throwback grouper.
Robin, of Jolly Roger Pier, reports that anglers are seeing tons of baitfish around and this has turned on the king mackerel bite. Multiple kings have been caught (to 32 lbs.).
Spanish mackerel fishing has been ramping up, with the sizes of fish getting bigger.
Anglers bottom fishing are seeing the best success at night. Catches include red drum (to 31”), Virginia mullet, pompano, bluefish, black drum, and some flounder.
Vinita, of Surf City Pier, reports that anglers casting Gotcha plugs are having a bunch of success catching good-sized spanish mackerel.
Some red drum (slots and the occasional over-slot) are showing up.
Bottom fishing in the evening is producing mixed bags of black drum, mullet, spots, and croakers.
Tyler, of Seaview Pier, reports that the mullet migration is starting up, and more bait means more fish (and better quality), especially when it comes to spanish mackerel and bluefish. Anglers will do best targeting both species with Gotcha plugs (in a variety of color patterns) or diamond jigs.
Bottom fishing has been picking up, with anglers finding a mixed bag of flounder, sea mullet, spot, sheepshead, speckled trout, black drum, and the occasional red drum.
