The month of December has arrived and the inshore fishing continues its strength from the past several weeks. Water temperatures have remained steady, reading in the mid 60s, and with limited cold air funneling in, the fishing has remained very good. As this report is being written, some cooler weather is forecast to arrive in our area in the coming days, but it doesn’t appear to be anything that will have a significant impact, and in fact, the weather on the other end appears to be warming up once again. How long the decent fishing remains intact is anyone’s guess, but there aren’t a lot of anglers out there complaining that they’re having to shed jackets and long-sleeve shirts as the days warm up.
As has been the main topic for several weeks now, the speckled trout has been the most abundant species that inshore anglers are pursuing and having luck catching. A lot of small, undersized fish continue to inundate fishermen but those with enough patience to weed through them are finding a few keepers. When encountering a plethora of small fish, some anglers will elect to move locations, which can sometimes lead to less quantity of fish but more quality of fish. Soft artificial baits continue to work with the main locations being channels and creeks with current flow. The inlets are producing some quality fish as well, and areas around the jetties at Masonboro Inlet are good spots to try when water conditions allow. Higher water seems to be producing a little better but that’s not to say that low water won’t also produce fish.
Red drum are also fairly abundant, although as water temperatures cool, finding them can prove to be a little more difficult. The area docks and creeks are holding fish as are the Masonboro Inlet jetties. Pretty much, where you find trout, there’s a good possibility that a redfish will be in the same general vicinity. The same artificial baits will work as will cut bait and live bait, such as mud minnows and finger mullet, if you can still find them. A few flounder are still being reported by anglers, mainly as bycatch while fishing for the other two species.
Surf and pier angles are also getting in on the action, with speckled trout starting to appear in the ocean more as the waters cool. Soft artificial baits and hard baits, such as MirrOlures, are both producing fish when ocean conditions allow. Those fishing with fresh shrimp and sand fleas are finding some good action from large Virginia mullet and blowfish as well as a few black drum.
Off the beach, as expected, the king mackerel have moved off the beach and are being found around the 20-mile range. A few fish were found in the 15-mile range over the past week, but the majority of fish have relocated in water temperatures above 68 degrees, which for the last report was found just inshore of 23 Mile Rock.
