53.3 F
Wrightsville Beach
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Hook, line and sinker

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As this report is being compiled, the fishing of the past week is the furthest from most anglers’ minds, even though the fishing was pretty good. All eyes are on the upcoming weekend and any possible impacts from Hurricane Matthew, which may or may not visit our area sometime on Friday or Saturday. The National Weather Service had just posted some information over the weekend that the water temperatures in our area, now reading around 83 degrees, are 4-6 degrees above normal — not a good recipe for a weather event. Mother Nature has a plan and unfortunately, this is a price we pay for living in such a saltwater-rich environment. As this report goes to press, there will be more answers than questions, and we can only hope the forecast is much better than what is being presented as I write this.

As far as fishing goes, the king mackerel bite close to the beach was pretty good for the U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament held out of Oak Island/Southport over the weekend. Other than some nasty storms rolling through early Friday, the weather and ocean conditions were quite nice for the 464 boats that tried their luck to catch a fish that placed in the money. The top fish weighed just over 40 pounds with numerous other fish in the upper 30s. Overall, the fishing was good with menhaden being scattered but plentiful for the fishermen. For the full tournament results, visit www.usopenkmt.com

The large red drum continue to be caught around the inlets and near-shore reefs, as well as the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Unfortunately, the weekend weather may run them off for the season, but we’ll just have to wait and see if that happens. The speckled trout are also showing in good numbers in the river as well as areas around Surf City. The trout fishing should really start improving toward the middle to end of October, with areas around Wrightsville Beach also starting to see some good numbers of fish.

Surf anglers fishing the deeper holes and sloughs along the beach and from the piers are still reporting some good results from Virginia mullet and pompano, with shrimp and sand fleas being good baits to use. Red drum and flounder are also in the mix, biting on cut bait and live minnows, but there are some small fish of both species being reported, so measure carefully if keeping any for dinner.

Elsewhere, it’s going to be a wait-and-see game. The Fall Brawl King Mackerel Tournament, held out of Ocean Isle Fishing Center, which was scheduled for this upcoming weekend, has already been moved to Oct. 21-23 due to possible impacts from Matthew. Hopefully everyone’s plan is in effect, goes smoothly and safely and we can talk more fishing next week. 

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