This week temperatures crept toward the 80-degree mark, motivating anglers to finally exit their shadowed refuge, and if they didn’t try just a little fishing, they visited the closest body of water in an attempt to find anyone else who did. With Friday, March 20 marking spring’s official arrival at 6:45 p.m., you could say the fishing season has also officially started – although we have just a few more weeks to go before things really start get rolling.
The warm air temperatures also warmed the water, now reading in the lower to mid 50s, a big step up from what the past few weeks have given us. Unfortunately, a more seasonable climate has once again returned for our area but there’s nothing to say next week won’t gift us a day or two again. Although it could also be for the worse, because we’re not out of the woods yet for possible freezing temperatures, but that possibility wanes with every passing day.
For those anglers that got out to enjoy the warm temperatures and abundant sunshine, the inshore scene was reported to be relatively active with many schools of red drum encountered as well as reports of jumping mullet, small minnows and even a few crabs seen enjoying the 80-degree days. Now this might not mean much to most, but it doesn’t take long for things to start clicking when the fish and fishermen start to come out of hibernation. Reports of multiple catches of red drum on both soft artificial baits and natural baits such as cut bait and shrimp are a good indicator the fishing is slowly starting to ramp up. While anglers didn’t say the action was fast and furious, those that haven’t been fishing in a while will take what they can get and by March standards, I’d say the fishing is pretty decent.
Some reports of speckled trout have started filtering in here and there as well and while most anglers keep that information to themselves, the lower Cape Fear River, namely around the bays and islands around Snows Cut, would be good places to wet a line. Better fishing is being had to our north, starting around Topsail Island and getting better as you approach the area of New River. Top water baits are already producing for anglers that know where the fish are holding and plenty of red drum, some of which are over slot, are also being found. Soft baits and natural baits are both working.
Offshore, although the weather on land was excellent, there was wind that didn’t rest well with the anglers wanting to head off the beach. With the narrow window of opportunity to fish, if the lack of offshore reports is any indication, there weren’t many if any that headed offshore. Last week there were reports of some decent bottom fishing in the 20-30 mile range but that was about it. Weekend conditions appear as though they’ll be fishable right now, so hopefully we’ll see some reports coming from the blue water next week.
