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Seahawk Fishing Report for Summer 2018

June 20th, 2018

Summer is right around the corner and the temperatures and muggy conditions makes it feel as so.  With a whacky spring behind us, we have seen a stable warm weather pattern that has caused the water temps to warm quickly.  Our summer fishing consists of mainly redfish, but also many more species. Redfish, flounder, black drum, speckled trout, sheepshead, and many more types fish can be caught on any given day. To get an idea of how we target each species, take a look below!

Red Drum (Redfish)- Reds are by far the most favorable fish we catch due to the shear power and aggressiveness they show once getting hooked on the line. Most of the time we fish for them with Carolina rigs with live bait and float rigs as well.  When the conditions allow it, we can also target them on artificial lures and topwater plugs. If the wind is calm enough, we sometimes can sightcast these red drum which can be a blast. Just imagine watching the sunrise in the background while watching 20+ tails waving above the water! Most fish range from 18-27” (slot) but fish over 30” can be found throughout the summer. The keeping limit is 1 per person for red drum.

Black Drum & Sheepshead- The black drum are typically found in the cooler months but occasionally we can find them in deep water around rocky structures. We also may find them mixed in with sheepshead while fishing around docks and pilings. Dead shrimp seems to be the key to catching black drum if you can weed through all the croakers and pinfish. If you find a school, it’s worth it! You can keep 10 per person between 14-25”. Sheepshead are fish we specifically have to target because of the tactics. It is important to have the right hooks and leader because a sheepshead can break the line quickly around the structure it is close to. This is a good alternative when fishing for red drum and other species is slow. Sheepshead have to be 10” to the fork of the tail and you can keep 10 per person.

Flounder- Flounder are very popular fish in the Cape Fear area. Most fish are found along the river but later into the summer we seem to find them move towards the creeks. Using live minnows on a Carolina rig is the best way to entice a flounder.  The best part about fishing for reds is that a flounder is always a good possibility. Throwing artificial baits such as gulp or Z-man soft plastics are also great ways to catch numbers or flatfish. We can keep 4 per person at 15” or greater.

Speckled Trout- Specks are sporadic in the summer but can be found just about any way we fish. Whether its soft plastics, topwaters, or live bait, you will have a decent chance at picking up a couple. The best times to target speckled trout are either early in the morning or late in the evening when the water temperatures are a tad cooler. As of now the season on specks is closed but will open up June 15th of this year.

Sharks/Nearshore- Most people don’t think of shark fishing very often but occasionally we will get requests about targeting them. Depending on the day, it can happen very easily. This trip is mostly for people who aren’t interested in eating fish but just want to catch something big that can pull hard. If the conditions are favorable, we will fish along the beach for them. If not, we may stay inside the river and put live/dead baits on the bottom. Most of the sharks we catch are a few feet long but sometimes larger sharks such as black tips and bull sharks will inhale our baits. When this happens, you better hang on! Also, there are times when the ocean is calm early in the morning or late in the day and the best chance to catch fish is along the beaches. Spanish mackerel and bluefish tend to bite best during these hours and can provide a great time when sight casting to them. We use metal jigs and soft plastics to target these aggressive species.

Thanks for checking in and hopefully everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer. See you on the water!

God Bless,
Captains Jeff and Christian Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
Carolina Beach Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY NEW YEAR, AND A SHORT FISHING REPORT FROM THE SEAHAWK INSHORE FISHING CREW JEFF, AMY, AND CHRISTIAN WOLFE

December 26th, 2017
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our customers/friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Also a huge THANK YOU for your business and trusting us to show your family and friends a good time fishing on the Lower Cape Fear.  We cherish the friendships we have made and consider it a blessing to get to know so many good and beautiful people. Building relationships and getting to know people from the US, and in some instances other countries is what makes the job so rewarding.  What is really neat is watching your children and grandchildren grow, mature, and become young adults.   We are looking forward to 2018, seeing and fishing with our regular customers/friends and hopefully building relationships with new customers.  I think it is going to be a good year with some nice upgrades to our charter business.

The early winter fishing has been good and should continue for the next few months.  December, January, and February are great months to catch redfish, speckled trout, black drum, and striped bass on the Lower Cape Fear backwaters.  Some of our better days fishing have come at this time of year.  Less people on the water and less fishing pressure equal some awesome fishing opportunities in the winter months.  Redfish are schooled up on the flats and in the creeks and the sightfishing has been good when conditions are right.  Speckled Trout are spread out up and down the Cape Fear and are often mixed in with redfish and black drum.  Finding all three together can provide us with some incredible action in small holes around low tide.  Striped Bass, Redfish, and Speckled Trout can also be caught in the same areas on the Cape Fear River or Brunswick River near or around Downtown Wilmington.

Check out a few of the photos from the past couple of weeks.
Thanks,
Captains Jeff and Christian Wolfe