The redfish bite has been really good with lots of some drag screaming over the slot fish being caught this past week. The reds are schooled up on the flats, and some smaller schools are working the shellbanks in the creeks of the lower Cape Fear. We are catching the reds on spinnerbaits, soft plastics, and topwater plugs for those that like to fish artificials. Live baits have been the ticket, especially late morning and afternoon. Looks like it is going to be an awesome fall for redfishing.

The speckled trout fishing is picking up and will be getting better. The specs are spread out in the Cape Fear river and falling for an assortment of artificials and of course live shrimp on float rigs and bottom rigs.

The flounder fishing has been good around the grass islands and docks in the Cape Fear area on live mullet and peanut pogies. We are also picking up some flounder throwing artificials for reds and trout in the creeks of the lower Cape Fear river. Look for the flounder fishing to get better as the fall fishing season approaches.

The sheephead bite has also been good around docks and other structure using fiddler crabs. Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks. I should have a good report for the middle of Sept..

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
Carolina Beach Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

8/18/10 Laden and Tate doubled up on upper slot redfish. We caught close to thirty on this day.

8/18/10 Lucas with lower slot red. This 3 yr.old did a great job on the boat and reeling in this red.

Zach with a tripletail we caught on 8/19/10

8/20/10 Wilson with a nice red he caught blindcasting a paddletail jig along a creek bank

8/21/10 Seth with a drag screaming 34 incher he caught sightcasting to a school on the flats

8/21/10 Richard with nice flounder he caught on a paddletail jig

8/23/10 Brett and Robert the father and son dynamic duo tagged teamed good numbers of reds on artificials and live baits

8/27/10 Alexis and Travis doubled up with a flounder and redfish using live mullet minnows

Alexis with a back to back flounder and redfish catch while Travis is hooked up with a redfish on the bow

Travis with the largest red of the day, caught float fishing a live mullet minnow

John and Marvin doubled up on over-slot reds blindcasting jigs along a creek bank. Marvin hooked up with his fish and the rest of the school followed his fish around, then John threw into the school and hooked up with his.

8/29/10 Travis and Lynn doubled up on reds fishing live mullet minnows on carolina rigs

Lynn with a nice sheephead she caught fishing a fiddler crab around some pilings

8/30/10 Chistopher with a over-slot red he caught fishing a live mullet minnow on a bottom rig

8/30/10 Michael and Brian doubled up on over-slot reds along a shelly creek bank

8/30/10 Matthew with yet another over-slot redfish on light tackle. What a blast!!!

The inshore fishing is still solid in the early morning hours for reds, specs, and flounder. There have been some tough days mixed in with the good ones, but that’s fishing for the month of August. September is right around the corner and is one of my best months, especially for speckled trout in the Cape Fear area.
We have had some fifty and sixty fish days fishing for specs in the month of Sept.with sixty-seven being my best day.

The red drum fishing is still solid in the creeks, and flats of the lower Cape Fear river and Masonboro Sound. Several large schools are working the shallows and the sighfishing has been excellent when the winds and tides cooperate. Smaller groups of reds are feeding on the edges of deeper water in the creeks and falling for live baits and artificials.

Better numbers of speckled trout are showing up and falling for the some of the same baits we are using for the reds. The trout fishing should start picking up as we get into late August and September.

Flounder fishing has been up and down, but we are picking up a few fish while throwing soft plastics and live baits for redfish and speckled trout.

We have had several shots at some nice tripletail and have only landed one of the six or so we have seen lately. We had a eight pounder on recently and he rubbed the line on some barnacles and broke off at the boat as I was getting ready to net him. I am really fascinated by these fish and love fishing for them. I always have my eyes peeled for tripletails and there is a good chance of being one of the few that ever get an opportunity to catch one of these mysterious fish. They are also one of the best tasting saltwater fish and have a flavor similar to grouper.

Congatulations to my son Christian, his fishing bud Luke, and little brother Stone for winning the redfish division, and taking second in the speckled trout category of the recent Cape Fear Builders Association fishing tourney. They brought home 525.00 for the 1st place redfish, and 150.00 gift certificate for the 2nd place spec. Not bad for a fun day of fishing.

Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks and get ready for some great fall fishing. Thanks for reading my report and good fishing to ya.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
NC Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

8/3/10 Christian with a 4.96 lb flounder he caught on a D0A jerkbait. Just shy of a citation

8/3/10 Christian and Blake doubled up sightcasting to a large school of redfish on the flats

8/4/10 Laurie and son Seth doubled on on reds with live baits

8/4/10 Seth with a upper slot red he caught on a live mud minnow. Seth also had a big tripletail on that broke our hearts and 20lb braided as I was getting ready to net him.

8/5/10 Uncle Bill with his first tripletail caught on soft plastic paddle tail jig

8/5/10 Owen with a nice red he caught float fishing a live mud minnow along the marsh edge

8/510 Liam with a upper slot red he caught fishing a live mud minnow on a carolina rig

8/6/10 Cameron and Vic with a couple of the reds they caught fishing live mud minnows on carolina rigs

8/8/10 The Seevers family had a great day catching red drum on live baits

8/12/10 Ralph with a nice flounder he caught fishing a live menhaden on a carolina rig

8/13/10 Cassidy and 8yr old Henry with a couple of the reds they caught float fishing mud minnows along a creek bank

8/14/10 Silvia and Jeff had a great trip on a recent cooperate outing catching redfish on live baits. Thanks for the e-mail guys, sounds like ya’ll put a hurtin on the rest of the fishing crowd

8/16/10 Keith and Rick doubled up sightcasting to a large school on the flats. Keith got his on spinning tackle and Rick got his on the flyrod.

8/16/10 Keith with a spec that fell for paddle tail jig to complete his Carolina inshore slam

The redfish bite has been really good in the creeks and bays of the lower Cape Fear area. The reds are schooled up on the flats and the sightfishing has been good when the winds are light. We are also catching good numbers of reds in the creeks with artificials and live baits. We have had lots of double digit days on the reds with a few speckled trout and flounder to complete several inshore slams recently.

The flounder and speckled trout bite has picked up through out the Cape Fear river on live baits and artificials. The sheephead are feeding around structure along with a few black drum.

Check out the smiling faces from the past couple of weeks. These are just a few of the good catches we have had lately.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
Carolina Beach Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

Jessica with a lower slot red she caught on 7/26/10

7/27/10 Jay with a over-slot red he caught sightcasting to a school on the flats

7/27/10 Paul with a nice black drum he picked up casting a Gulp Alive shrimp along a shell bank in the lower Cape Fear river

7/27/10 Paul with a nice flounder caught on a Gulp Alive shrimp

7/28/10 Jacob and Gabe had lots of fun catching bluefish, pigfish, spots, and croakers along with clams and blue crabs on a recent seafood trip.

7/29/10 Aaron had a good day his first time throwing lures for reds, specks, and flounder. He actually out fished his dad on this day. They both had a good day on the redfish.

7/29/10 Christian with one of the sheephead he caught on a fiddler crab. He also had a couple of big sheeps break him off. This kid can catch a fish anywhere.

7/30/10 Ryan with a nice red he caught casting a spinnerbait along a shelly creek bank. Ryan and his dad John found a school of reds blindcasting artificials and then we Power Poled down and wore them out on live baits.

7/30/10 John with a 29.5 inch drag screaming redfish he caught on a redfish magic paddletail jig.

7/30/10 Ashley, Sidney, and Taylor with reds they caught fishing mud minnows on carolina rigs.

Ryan, Ashley, and Taylor with a couple of the 25 or so they caught on mud minnows.

8/3/10 Dan with a nice spec he caught on a DOA paddletail jig

Chris, Dan, and Jim had a double inshore slam fishing artificials on 8/3/10

We are catching most of the reds in the early morning hours by dropping the trolling motor and working shelly bottom dropoffs along some of the deeper creeks in the lower Cape Fear area. The water is a little murky due to lots of wind so lures like spinnerbaits and spoons have been very effective. For those that are not comfortable throwing artificials we can catch redfish using the simple methods of fishing live baits on float rigs and bottom rigs. I have not been able to get on the flats and look for the large schools of reds that were there a week or so ago but I am sure they are still there. Hopefully the wind will cooperate and we can get on the flats and do some sightfishing.

We are also picking up some nice flounder and a few speckled trout while fishing for the reds.

Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks. These are just a few of the good catches we have had lately.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
Carolina Beach Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

7/8/10 Griffin with a nice red he caught fishing a mud minnow on a carolina rig

7/8/10 Rob with a flounder that fell for a mud minnow on a float rig

7/12/10 Justin with a rare 11.6 lb tripletail that we tag teamed. I saw the fish around a crab trap bouy and casted a mud minnow on a float rig to him. He took the bait, I set the hook and got him away from the bouy, handed the rod to Justin and he finished the awesome battle.

7/13/10 The Price family with a few of the reds they caught, along with a speckled trout and a couple of sheephead

7/15/10 Scott with a lower slot red he caught on a redfish magic soft plastic

7/17/10 Nicole with a 5.2 flounder she caught fishing a mud minnow on a carolina rig

7/17/10 Brittany with a nice red she caught fishing a mud minnow on a carolina rig

7/20/10 Rob with a 4 lb spec ( larger than Jason’s) that fell for a spinnerbait rigged with a cockahoe minnow.

7/20/10 Jeff with a red that fell for a spinnerbait rigged with a Gulp Alive shrimp. Jeff and Rob had a double digit day on the reds along with a few flounder and a 4 lb spec.

7/21/10 Bob with a nice red he caught on spinnerbait rigged with a paddle tail jig

Bob, Brandon,and Ben had a good day catching reds ( approx. 14) on spinnerbaits and Gulp Alive shrimp. They also picked up a few flounder.

More flounder and speckled trout are mixed in with the reds and we are picking up a few while working soft plastics and live baits in the creeks and bays of the lower Cape Fear.

Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
Carolina Beach Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

6/21/10 Clay with a nice red he caught using a live mud minnow on a carolina rig

6/24/10 Weston, Trevor, and Bryson had a good 12 or more reds plus a spec using live baits

6/25/10 Alex with a over slot red he caught on a redfish magic soft plastic jig

6/29/10 Alex with a drag screamer caught on a jig

6/30/10 Another Alex with nice spec caught on a jig

6/30/10 Christian with 33″ drag screaming redfish he caught on a topwater plug.

Gary and me went on a flounder tear using soft plastics on a recent Fisherman’s Post Guide Time trip

7/1/10 Austin with a nice red he caught on a live mud minnow

7/2/10 Sean with a nice red he caught float fishing a shrimp around the marsh edge

7/4/10 Larry, Douglas, and Jimmy with some of the reds and a flounder they caught using live baits. They also picked up a couple of sheephead.

7/5/10 Jeremy with a red and flounder he caught float fishing a live mud minnow around the marsh edge

7/5/10 Benjamin with a red he caught float fishing a live mud minnow around a shell point

Redfish are the number one target species for me in the backwaters lately. The reds are schooled up on the flats, around oyster rocks, and shellbeds These fish are super strong with the warm water temps and aggressively hitting topwater plugs, jigs and live baits. Many of the fish we have caught lately have been drag screaming over the slot fish with good numbers upper slot fish mixed in. We are also picking up a few flounder and speckled trout when targeted the reds. For those that are not comfortable using artificials, I can make simple by using live baits on float rigs and bottom rigs for reds, trout, and flounder.

The flounder bite has picked up around the inlets and Cape Fear River using live menhaden, finger mullet, and mud minnows on carolina rigs. We are also catching a few speckled trout using live baits,jigs, and artificial shrimp on popping corks.

The sheephead bite continues to be good using live fiddler crabs fished close to pilings and other structure around the Cape Fear area.

Click on this link to read the Guide Time article, Backwater Batting Order, in the recent Fisherman’s Post. I had a really good trip fishing for sheephead, redfish, and flounder with publisher Gary Hurley and editor/writer Max Gaspeny. Also check out the pictures from the past couple of weeks and the awesome short video Topwater Redfish with my son Christian. Thanks again for the video Luke.

Thanks for reading the report,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
Carolina Beach Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

6/6/10 Bob and Richard with a couple of the reds they caught using live mud minnows on carolina rigs

8 yr old swim champ Scarlet with a black drum and flounder she caught on 6/7/10. YOU GO GIRL !!!

6/18/10 Jeff with a 29.5 red that fell for a redfish magic soft plastic on a shell point in the lower Cape Fear

6/8/10 Patrick with a nice red he caught fishing a live mud minnow on a carolina rig

6/8/10 James with a sheephead he caught on a live fiddler crab

6/8/10 Ed with a nice red he caught blindcasting a redfish magic jig

6/10/10 Luke had a great day bowfishing on the flats and oyster rocks for sheephead and rays

6/12/10 Missy with a nice red she caught float fishing a live mud minnow

6/12/10 Amy with a nice sheephead she caught using a live fiddler crab on a carolina rig

6/16/10 Ted and Claire had lots of fun collecting sand dollars, clams, and crabs on a seafood excursion.

6/17/10 Maury and John caught lots of lower slot reds, sheephead, croakers, and a speckled trout using live mud minnows and shrimp on bottom rigs.

Check out this video of my son Christian on 6/8/10.

The redfish are biting well on live bait and artificials. There are some large schools of reds are on the flats and the sightfishing is good when we get that combination of lower tides and light winds. We are also catching good numbers of reds blindcasting artificials along the creek banks and around oyster rocks in the lower Cape Fear. For those that are not comfortable throwing artificials, we can use the simple methods of using live baits on float rigs and bottom rigs.

Most of the flounder and speckled trout have been caught while fishing for the redfish. There are more specs and flounder showing up and we have targeted these fish along with redfish and sheephead lately. There are also some spanish mackerel and bluefish patrolling the inshore and nearshore waters of the Cape Fear area.

If you are looking for a fishing trip give me a call. Seasoned anglers looking for the explosion of a redfish or speckled trout on a topwater plug or for families and kids I can make it as simple as fishing in a farm pond.

Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks. These are just a few of the good catches we have had lately.

Thanks for reading the report,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
Carolina Beach Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

5/21/10 Douglas and Larry with a good catch of sheephead along with a few flounder and redfish

5/30/10 Chris with a over slot red she caught fishing a live menhaden on a float rig.

5/27/10 A couple of 3lb specs caught on Billy Bay Halo Shrimp under a popping float

5/31/10 Christin with a nice red she caught using a live menhaden on a carolina rig

5/31/10 Morgan with a over slot red she caught on a live minnow

9 yr old Olivia with a bonnethead shark and a sheephead she caught on 5/31/10. She also caught a upper slot redfish. Way to go Olivia!!!

Jenna with a redfish she caught blindcasting a jig along a creek bank on 6/1/10

6/3/10 Nick with a redfish he caught out of a school on the flats

6/3/10 Bianca did a great job catching four nice reds her first time throwing artificials

6/4/10 Brad with a upper slot red caught on a redfish magic jig

6/4/10 Fred with a red he caught blindcasting a jig on a flat

6/5/10 Alton with a upper slot red he caught on a jig

6/5/10 Chris with the largest inshore red so far this year on my charters,a drag screaming 32 incher he caught on a redfish magic soft plastic.

The redfish are spread out among the marshes of the lower Cape Fear, with many double digit days over the past couple of weeks. Most of the reds have been caught by fishing live baits on carolina rigs and float rigs along oyster points and marsh edges. We have also caught good numbers of reds sightcasting and blindcasting jigs and topwater plugs. There are also a few reds arounds docks along the waterway.

The sheephead fishing has been good around bridge pilings and other structure in the Cape Fear area. The sheephead are falling for fiddler crabs fished on carolina rigs close to the srtructure. We have also picked up some nice black drum while fishing for the sheephead.

The flounder are staring to show up in decent numbers and fishing for these tasty fish should be getting better over the next couple of weeks. The spanish mackerel are scooled up close to the beach and there are some good sightfishing opportunities to these fish. Hopefully the winds will cooperate so we can get there and do some spanish fishing.

Thanks for checking out my report. Hopefully I will have a good one for the 1st of June. Check out the photos below from the past couple of weeks.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
Carolina Beach Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

The redfishing has been good and double digit have been common. The reds are schooled up on the flats and we able to sightcast to these schools when the winds cooperate. We are also catching reds around docks, marsh points, oyster rocks, and in protected creeks of the lower Cape Fear on the windy days. The redfish are hitting soft plastic jigs, topwater plugs and live baits fished on float rigs and bottom rigs.

The sheephead are starting to show up and good sized, up to seven pounds. These fish are a lot of fun and very challenging to get out of the pilings. They are also great to eat.

The flounder are moving into the the inlets and backwaters. We are picking up a few while fishing artificials for redfish. We can also target flounder using live baits fished on carolina rigs. The spanish mackerel are along the beaches and are really nice fish. We can troll and sightcast to these fish when the conditions are right.

May is a great month to get out and do some inshore and nearshore fishing. Redfish, flounder, black drum, sheephead, spanish mackerel. They are all here so let’s get out there and catch’ em. Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks. These are just a few of the nice fish we have caught lately.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
Carolina Beach Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

4/14/10 Tom with a nice redfish he caught on a Wave Tiki Shaddick scented soft plastic

Mechanic Bob with a redfish he caught on 4/14/10

4/17/10 Jeff with a upper slot red he caught on artificial

4/17/10 Eric with a nice sheephead he caught fishing a fiddler crab around some pilings

4/19/10 Charles with a red he caught on a Saltwater Assassin paddle tail jig

We had slick calm conditions on 4/20/10 and were able to sightcast to several large schools of reds on the flats

Bryan and Charles with a few of the sheephead and redfish they caught on 4/19/10

Charles and Charlotte had a good day catching reds on 4/27/10 fishing live mud minnows on float rigs

5/1/10 Tony with a upper slot redfish he caught fishing live baits on a float rig

Rob with one of the many reds he caught on 5/2/10 using artificials and live mud minnows

I made a few cast on 5/2/10 and picked up this three pound flounder on a Wave scented soft plastic jig