Fishing the inshore and backwaters remains solid with catches of redfish, flounder, sheephead, black drum, ladyfish, bluefish, and a few speckled trout. We are in the dog days of summer, but we have managed to catch fish on some of the toughest days of the summer. The heat really has not been that bad in the Cape Fear area. The ocean breeze has kept the temperatures comfortable when on the water fishing even during the afternoon hours.

The redfish bite has been good to excellent on the flats and in the creeks. There are some large schools working the flats and there are some good sightfishing opportunities when conditions are right. There are also some smaller schools in the creeks and we are fishing these protected areas when on the wind picks up. Gulp baits, DOA soft plastics, live minnows and shrimp are the way to tempt bites from these drag screaming, hard fighting fish. We are also picking up a few flounder when fishing live baits and artificials for redfish.

Sheephead fishing has slowed a bit, but the fish we are catching have been large fish up to ten pounds. The sheephead are feeding around bridge pilings, docks, and other inshore structure. We are also picking a few black drum while fishing for the sheeps. Fiddler crabs and sand fleas are tough for both of the striped fish to pass up.

Flounder fishing has been good in the inlets, creeks, and bays of the lower Cape Fear. Live mullet, mud minnows and Gulp Baits are producing most of the action for these tasty fish.

Bluefish and ladyfish are chasing bait on the surface in the Cape Fear area and topwater plugs are producing some exciting action for both.

Thanks for checking out the report and I should have a good one for the next couple of weeks. Check out some of the photos from the past few weeks. These are just a few of the good catches we have had lately.

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

Adam and Thomas with a good catch of flounder, redfish, a speckled trout and a sheephead

Chris, Scott, and Josh with their catch of sheephead and flounder

A few of the sheephead we have caught lately in the seven to ten pound range

Dave with a nice black drum that fell for a fiddler crab fished around some dock pilings

Hanna with a nice redfish she caught float fishing around the marsh edge

Some recent redfish catches

The kids are having a blast catching reds, flounder and other species fishing shrimp, live minnows and artificials in the backwaters of the Cape Fear area

The inshore fishing has been a little up and down lately, but has shown some good signs of improving over the past few days. We have had lots of breezy southwest winds which have made it difficult to fish some of the open waters. On the windier days we are still managing to find fish in the protected creeks of the lower Cape Fear area. We are catching redfish, flounder, sheephead, bluefish and a few speckled trout.

The redfishing has been good on some days and tougher on others. Most of the reds seem to be holding in the cooler deeper waters of the main creek channels. We have caught good double digit numbers when we find them and most are slot sized fish. There are also some smaller schools working the shallows and the sightfishing has been good when conditions are right. Live minnows on float rigs and carolina rigs have been the most productive baits. The topwater bite has been good in the early morning hours, with Gulp baits and DOA soft plastics working well in the afternoon.

The flounder fishing has been solid in the lower Cape Fear area lately. Live minnows and Gulp baits are putting a few of these tasty fish in the boat. Sheephead are feeding around bridge pilings and other structure in the ICW and Cape Fear River. There are also a few speckled trout and bluefish being caught while we are fishing for reds and flounder. We are also catching good numbers of panfish to keep the young kids busy.

Check out the photos from the past few weeks. These are just a few of the good catches we have had lately. Thanks for reading the report and I should have a good one for the next couple of weeks.

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

Ladies first: The ladies seem to be wearing out the guys lately. These are a few of the ladies catches over the past few weeks.

The flounder fishing is picking up in the lower Cape Fear. These are a few of the flounder landed of the past few weeks.

Sheephead fishing has been good and these are a few of the nice sheeps we have caught over the past few weeks

The kids are having a blast catching reds, flounder, sharks and othe species fishing the beautiful backwaters of the lower Cape Fear

Kevin with a inshore slam, trout on topwater, flounder and redfish on Gulp Shrimp

Ed with a early morning topwater redfish.

Mark with speckled trout that hit a DOA paddle tail jig. There are a few more trout starting to show up.

John and Ryan had a good father and son fishing trip catching reds, flounder, and sheephead.