Wrightsville Beach August 24, 2006
Tex, at Tex’s Tackle, reports that inshore the fishing has been very good for red drum. Small schools are spread out in the creeks, inlets, and in the surf. Live bait or artificials have been getting the strikes.
Flounder are biting well on the nearshore reefs and inside the area inlets on live bait and Gulps.
Ladyfish have been in the area, and they will hit shrimp and topwaters. And the sheepshead are hanging around the docks and bridge pilings hitting crabs and sand fleas.
Outside the inlets, the spanish are biting fairly well early in the mornings. The bite is also better out a few miles in 50 foot of water. Kings are scattered from the beach out to 100 foot of water, with some big kings being caught this week right on the beach.
Sea bass and grouper are being caught as close as 20 miles.
The dolphin bite has slowed somewhat, but there are still good catches 20 to 30 miles out. There have been very few gulf stream reports, but there should be wahoo and some scattered dolphin biting right now.
Mike, at Corona Daze Charters, reports that the dolphin have been biting very well this week around 25 miles out. Cigar minnows have been enticing fish up to 25 pounds to strike.
Small kings (up to 15 pounds) have been biting in the same areas as the dolphin. You can also find them all the way to the beach.
Spanish mackerel and false albacore are around hitting trolled baits.
Bottom fishing for sea bass has been good in the 15 mile range, and grouper are as close as 18 miles out.
Jim, at Plan 9 Charters, reports that offshore fishing has been steady with a lot of big sharks and barracudas around. The dolphin fishing has slowed down. Kings are in the 10 to 15 mile range in good numbers, with the bigger fish running right on the beach now.
Grouper are in the 20 to 30 mile range.
Flounder and gray trout are holding on the nearshore hard bottoms and ledges hitting live baits and/or jigging spoons.
Spanish mackerel are biting well outside the inlet, but you better get there very early to enjoy the bite.
Inside, there have been good numbers of flounder and redfish just by working the docks in the waterway from Wrightsville Beach to Figure Eight Island.
James, at Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, reports that spots are hitting shrimp at night.
Shrimp are also producing red and black drum during the day. The black drum are averaging 2 pounds. Most of the reds, which are also biting cut mullet, are in the slot limit (only a few are measuring over the slot).
A mix of keeper and small flounder are biting shrimp and tiger minnows.
Blues are eating both plugs and cut bait.
There were four kings and four barracudas caught on live baits this week.
The water temperature is 83.6 degrees at the pier.
