Here we are in the middle of October and the fishing is showing no signs of slowing down — in fact, it is getting better as the month progresses. Obviously the fishing of this intensity won’t be able to sustain itself as we creep toward the month of November and the water temperatures start their seasonal decline, but while the fishing is this good, we won’t talk about that too much just yet. Water temperatures are still reading in the mid-to-upper 70s, no doubt influenced by some of the warm and record high temperatures our area has experienced the past week. How long this excellent fishing continues is unknown, so get out there while it’s hot!
Inshore, the fishing has been steady for several species of fish. Red drum, flounder and a few speckled trout are all being found in Wrightsville Beach waters on both live and artificial baits. A Carolina rigged finger mullet is a hard bait to beat this time of year but soft artificials and early morning topwater baits are also working. Finger mullet are plentiful in creeks and along the shoreline, so catching a day’s worth of bait in a castnet is relatively easy. Areas around docks and creek mouths are all producing the three aforementioned species while the inlets are also producing flounder and some trout. The better trout fishing and larger flounder are coming from areas in the Cape Fear River but should soon start getting much better in our area as the water temperature cools.
Surf anglers are having luck on flounder around the jetties, and Virginia mullet, red drum, bluefish, pomano and a few spots in the surf line. One lucky angler even managed a 50-pound cobia from the surf while fishing for flounder in Masonboro Inlet last week. Fresh shrimp works well for the mullet and pompano but the larger fish have been caught by anglers using sand fleas. Live minnows and cut bait is a good choice when targeting drum, bluefish and flounder.
Speaking of cobia, they continue prowling close to the beach, and several fish in the 50-60 pound range have been caught by live bait anglers on Johnnie Mercer’s Pier the past week. Some king mackerel were also caught earlier this week. Rounding out the pier reports, bluefish and Spanish mackerel have been hooked on Got-Cha Plugs. Bottom fishermen using shrimp are catching spots and Virginia mullet.
Off the beach, anglers trolling live bait are reporting plenty of king mackerel averaging 20 pounds and cobia from just off the beach out to around 10 miles. Spanish mackerel fishing has also been good by those trolling Clark Spoons in around 30 feet of water. A few decent-sized gray trout and some nice-sized flounder have been caught around nearshore structure and artificial reefs.
Offshore in the Gulf Stream, the wahoo bite continues to be hot with reports of dolphin and billfish also being caught.
