Fishing continues to be good but not great, unless you are putting in the time and effort in extremely hot conditions to find out where the fish are. The air temperatures are sweltering with lows not reaching below 70 degrees for more than a month, and it doesn’t look to cool down anytime soon. Water temperatures are muggy with readings in the lower-to-mid 80s, which is not normally conducive to good fishing, but there are reports that despite conditions, the fishing is holding steady.
Inshore, the red drum fishing continues to be strong with lots of over slot fish being reported as well as some keepers. Edges of the marsh grass during high tide falling are good locations to try as the fish are waiting for the baitfish to come out of the grass. Creek mouths are also a good location to target and if they have some oyster beds in the vicinity there’s an even better chance of finding a drum or two. The jetties around Masonboro Inlet are holding a lot of fish with most of them being over slot, so if you’re keeping one for dinner, remember to measure carefully.
The flounder fishing also continues to be fairly strong both inshore and near shore, with both live baits and the larger soft artificial baits working well. The baitfish, namely finger mullet, have become very abundant and easy to catch with a cast net.
Near shore, anglers are finding some decent flounder fishing around the near-shore wrecks and reefs dropping live minnows and artificial baits. Jigging is the way most anglers are targeting the flounder, but just dropping live baits to the bottom also is working. While it’s typically not time for them, there are numerous reports of decent-sized gray trout being caught. Again, be sure to check regulations before bringing them home.
The 10- to 20-mile range has been producing some good fishing as well, with live baiters reporting some good action from king mackerel in the 10-mile range to both kings and amberjack around the 15-mile wrecks and reefs. An occasional dolphin is also a very real possibility as water temperatures are very warm for this time of year.
Bottom fishing in the 20- to 30-mile range has been good with the best fishing being in water depths of 100 feet or more. Grouper, snapper and triggerfish are the main targets with some large black bass also being caught. Buying a $20 box of cigar minnows isn’t needed this time of year as the smaller forage fish will quickly devour them and ask for more. Taking a couple of hours the day before your trip and catching some pinfish from a local dock should more than supply you and your crew with an abundance of bait for the day in addition to a box or two of squid.
