The fishing has remained fairly good the past couple of weeks with a variety of fish reported from anglers. Inshore, pier and surf fishing are both producing. The water temperatures have finally dipped to just below the 70-degree mark and with no cold weather forecast for the next few days, those temperatures should remain rather steady. Off the beach, the fishing has also been good, with sea conditions allowing at least a few random trips out of the inlet. This week is not looking all that great for any ocean trips, but as quickly as the weather can turn sour, the forecast can also change for the better. The good news is that sunny skies and comfortable temperatures are looking to occur through the weekend.
Inshore, it has so far been a phenomenal season for speckled trout with the last few weeks producing lots of keeper fish. Some smaller fish have recently invaded the inshore waters, so it might be a bit more difficult to reach a limit of fish, but plenty of trout may be caught while trying. One way to entice the keeper fish to bite is to use larger baits, whether it be soft artificials or live bait. Finger mullet have been abundant and they are a prime bait to use for the larger trout. While you’re at it you may just hook into a keeper redfish or even a doormat flounder, which have also been prevalent around the Wrightsville Beach waters.
Plenty of areas are holding fish, with the channel and deeper creeks being good locations to throw a bait. One thing to constantly look for is water with a good current flow, because that’s what speckled trout like. And if it’s high water falling, the larger fish are waiting at the creek mouths or channel conversions for the baitfish to be flushed out where they will be waiting to ambush them. Live shrimp will work wonders on the trout, but with the fish eating just about anything that comes by them right now, I’d stick with the main suggestions until the fish start to get picky later in the season.
Surf anglers are finding some speckled trout along with some red drum, flounder and bluefish. All of these fish will readily attack the soft artificial baits as well as live baits and even spoons. Currently the surf is rather rough and confused but once conditions calm down the fishing and catching should resume right where it left off. Fresh cut shrimp is also producing lots of Virginia mullet along with some spots, croakers, a few pompano and some black drum. Pier anglers are also finding the same fish and in some cases, the spots have been a little more frequent and numerous.
Off the beach, the king mackerel were still being found in good numbers over the weekend around 10 miles out. More than likely, those fish will move off just a bit more after this latest cold front but once conditions subside, they should still be reachable by the weekend anglers on the calmer days.
