By Skylar Walters
The fall season officially started last week on Sept. 22 and it hasn’t taken long for us to get the first taste of fall weather conditions. High temperatures in the lower 80s and cooler nighttime temperatures in the 60s with winds from the north and northeast are a good indicator that some changing conditions are on the way. Water temperatures have dipped into the lower 80s and will no doubt now start a slow decline as the month of October arrives on Saturday. The fish also know what season it is as evidenced by the arrival of some species normally only seen during the cooler months.
Inshore, the fishing remains steady with good catches of red drum, flounder and speckled trout. Baitfish, namely finger mullet, are plentiful and are helping the fish get fat rather quickly. Flounder have been reported caught up to 8 pounds with a lot of fish in the 3- to 5-pound range being the norm. Areas around Carolina Beach and the lower Cape Fear River are producing the larger fish but there have been a few coming from the Wrightsville Beach area as well. Red drum are plentiful just about everywhere, and are taking up residence around the docks, in the creeks and around the oyster beds. The speckled trout have been mainly caught in the river, but it should only be a week or so and we’ll start seeing them increase in numbers around Wrightsville.
Surf and pier anglers to our north have started reporting some good numbers of spots being caught and while they aren’t the larger “yellow bellies” so to speak, it’s an indicator that it won’t be long before they are in our local waters. Virginia mullet and pompano continue to be reported in good numbers with a few citation-sized fish of both species being a possibility. Flounder, red drum and bluefish are also being caught on a regular basis from the beach and piers.
Just off the beach, the false albacore (the nonedible kind) have arrived and will provide a fantastic fight and action on light tackle. Look for busting fish and lots of birds working near the inlets and near-shore wrecks and throw small spoons or Got-Cha Plugs.
Live baiters have been reporting king mackerel along the beach out to around 10 miles, and pier anglers have reported decking some kings the past week. Anglers have also reported some decent cobia action with several fish being caught around the wrecks.
Offshore in the Gulf Stream, the weather during the past week, despite the rain, has allowed boaters to head out in good conditions. The wahoo fishing has been very good with some boats managing to put more than several fish in the coolers. Blackfin tuna have also been reported in large numbers. Numerous anglers have also reported some good action from sailfish as well.
