The inshore fishing has been good on most days and has shown a good sign of improving for the next couple of weeks. The water is warming rapidly and the flounder are starting to make their move into the inlets and backwaters. We have had some really good days with redfish along with some days we have caught just a few. There are also some black drum, bluefish, and whiting around. The sheephead and spanish mackerel are not far behind.

The redfish bite has been up and down over the past couple of weeks. We had a good day on 4/25 that produced 25 to 30 reds on mud minnows, spinner baits, Gulp Alive Shrimp, and DOA soft plastics. Some days it just takes a little searching, but normally we are able to find the reds schooled up. Once they are found, we have been able to pull some good numbers out of these schools. Most of the reds have been middle to upper slot fish with a few small ones mixed in. The topwater redfish bite is starting to turn on and this is a good sign for those of us that love catching reds on topwater and other artificials. For children and those that are not comfortable throwing artificials, we can catch reds and other species by using the simple methods of fishing live baits on float rigs and bottom rigs around known productive areas.

Within the next week or so we should have a good variety of fish to pursue in the Cape Fear area. Thanks for reading the report and check out some of the photos from the past three weeks. Hopefully I’ll have a good report for the middle of May.

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

4/7/11 Bob with a over slot red he caught fishing a mud minnow pinned to a jighead

4/8/11 Jared with a whiting that hit a Fish Bite and a flounder that hit a mud minnow. He and his dad Kyle also picked up a few redfish and whiting

4/14/11 Mike and Lindsey with a few of the redfish they caught fishing mud minnows around some docks in the Masonboro Sound area.

4/15/11 Shelia, John, and Dan with a few of the reds and a black drum they caught fishing mud minnows and shrimp on carolina rigs.

4/17/11 Brett and his dad Robert had a good father and son backwater redfishing trip fishing Gulp Alive Shrimp, DOA soft plastics, and mud minnows

4/18/11 Tom and Tom Jr. also had a good father and son fishing trip in the beautiful backwaters of the lower Cape Fear

4/19/11 Jerry and Mike doubled up on reds fishing mud minnows on carolina rigs

4/20/11 77yr old Veatrice looking good with one of the reds she caught fishing mud minnows on carolina rigs around some docks

4/21/11 6yr old Noah and 8yr old Chloe with a couple of the fish they caught fishing shrimp on carolina rigs and two hook bottom rigs

4/22/11 Jenna with a nice red she picked up casting a spinnerbait with a DOA soft plastic paddletail jig

4/23/11 Zach with nice red he caught fishing a mud minnow on a carolina rig along a shell bank

We have had some fun fishing the inshore and backwaters of the Cape Fear area recently. The fishing is showing some good signs of picking up with catches of red drum, black drum, a few flounder, and whiting. The sheephead, bluefish, speckled trout, spanish mackerel, and other nearshore and inshore species are not far behind. We have lots of windy days over the past couple of weeks, but we have still managed to catch fish in protected areas.

The redfishing has been up and down over the past couple of weeks. We have had lots of good double digit days mixed in with days we have caught just a few. We are using different tactics for catching red drum depending on the envIronment we are targeting. For dock fishing, we are using carolina rigs baited with live mud minnows or shrimp. For backwater creeks and bays, we are using carolina rigs, jigheads, and float rigs baited with minnows and shrimp. We have also caught good numbers of reds by dropping the trolling motor and casting Gulp Shrimp and DOA soft plastics to known productive areas. There are some reds on the flats, but we haven’t had many days to find them due to the wind. Look for the sightfishing to be good when conditions are right. The reds have been mixed in size anywhere from 16″ to 29″ and weighing two to eight pounds. I am looking forward to a good spring redfishing season and the topwater bite that is ahead.

The black drum are starting to show up around docks, rockpiles and other structure. Carolina rigs and float rigs baited with shrimp and live fiddler crabs can put good numbers of these fish in the cooler. We have also picked up a few flounder recently fishing live minnows and Gulp Alive shrimp.

We should have some good fishing opportunities coming up in the weeks ahead with a variety of fish to catch in the Cape Fear area. Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks. These are just a few of the good catches we have had recently.

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

3/26/11 Scott with a upper slot red he caught casting a Gulp Alive shrimp along a creek bank

3/27/11 Jeff with a red he caught casting a DOA paddletail jig along a shell bank

4/1/11 Shen and Wen with a couple of the redfish they caught fishing carolina rigs baited with live mud minnows

4/2/11 Trevor, Christian, and Alex with a few of the reds and black drum they caught fishing cut shrimp on carolina rigs

4/3/11 Hunter with a nice flounder and redfish he caught casting Gulp Alive shrimp along a creek bank. Hunter and his dad Mark had a great father and son fishing trip with lots of redfish and two keeper flounder

4/4/11 Bruce and Joe with three of the reds and a black drum they caught fishing cut shrimp on carolina rigs. Another double digit day on the reds.

4/3/11 Omeed with a couple of the reds he caught fishing with my son Christian on the Ranger Banshee flats boat. Casting DOA soft plastics and Gulp Alive shrimp

4/3/11 Christian with a over slot red he caught casting a DOA paddletail jig along a creek bank. Another great day fishing the beautiful backwaters of the Lower Cape Fear