October is shaping up to be a really good month on the inshore and backwaters of the lower Cape Fear. Inshore slams of redfish, flounder, and speckled trout, with some good catches of black drum have been common. I love this time of year and the fishing only gets better as we get into November and December. Most of the flounder will move out to their winter hideouts around mid November with a few staying inshore depending on water temps. Last winter was mild and we caught a few flounder throughout the winter months. The redfish and speckled trout fishing should be really good through December with redfish being here all winter long. The striped bass fishing will also be turning on in the upper Cape Fear River around Wilmington.

The redfish bite has been up and down but should be getting more consistent. Fishing live mullet on carolina rigs have produced most of the action lately. We are also catching reds by dropping the trolling motor,covering ground, and throwing Gulp Baits,and DOA soft plastics. We have had some good days on the reds (10 to 12 slot fish), and lots underslot fish which is a good sign of things to come.

The flounder fishing has been pretty good with larger fish laying in the backwaters. Again live mullet has been the ticket, with a few fish also being caught on Gulp Baits. We had a 7lb 1oz. fish caught on 10/17/12 with three other nice flounder, along with a good catch of slot sized reds and a black drum. The flounder will be here through mid November

The speckled trout bite has been good and should be getting better as we get into late October and through November and December. DOA fluke tails, Gulp Shrimp, Billy Bay Shrimp on popping floats and Mirrolures are just a few of the artificials that have worked well for me recently. Live shrimp on float rigs will also put good numbers of specs in the boat. We are also picking up a few gray trout while fishing for the specs.

We have also caught some good numbers of nice black drum recently fishing live and fresh shrimp on carolina rigs. These fish have been in the two to four pound range, a blast to catch on light tackle, and great to eat.

The whiting, gray trout, and spots should be showing up along the Cape Fear River channel around Southport and Bald Head Island and catching good numbers of these fish is a possibility thru November. Fishing two hook bottom rigs baited with fresh shrimp will produce a lot of action for kids and put great eating fish in the cooler.

Thanks for reading the report and I should have another good one for the first of November. 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

7lb 1oz flounder

Another large flounder weighing  5.6 lbs

The fall fishing is here in the Cape Fear area and seems to be getting better day by day.  Redfish, flounder, speckled trout, gray trout, sheephead, and black drum are all roaming the inshore and backwaters of the lower Cape Fear.  Inshore slams and double digit days of redfish and speckled have been the norm on most of my charters recently.  There is still a tough day here and there, but overall the fishing is good.  October and November are a couple of our peak months with a wide variety of fish to pursue and a minimal amount of boat traffic on the water.

The redfish bite has been up and down with the dirty water we had for a couple of weeks.  The water has really cleaned up and the reds seem to be feeding much better recently.  Live mullet minnows on carolina rigs and float rigs have been working best.  We are also locating reds by dropping the trolling motor, covering ground, and throwing DOA soft plastics and Gulp baits.  There are also some small schools of reds on the flats, and  there have been some sightfishing opportunities when the winds are light.  The redfish bite should continue to get better as we get into October and throughout the winter months.

The speckled trout fishing has really picked up recently and the specs are getting bigger.  Double digit days have been common and most have been caught on a variety of artificials.  DOA Jerkbaits and shrimp, Billy Bay Halo Shrimp on popping floats, topwater plugs, and mirrolures have all worked well on the specs.  Live shrimp on float rigs will always do the trick on hungry specs and normally catch fish when they will not hit artificials.  Look for the trout fishing to get better and continue thru December.

The flounder fishing is still good and should continue thru mid November.  Most of the flounder on my charters have been caught throwing Gulp Baits and Jerkshads in the creeks.  We have also picked up a few flounder on live mullet minnows, with a 5lb 11oz. fish caught this past week on a live mullet.  This is the time of year to catch larger flounder in the Cape Fear River and the creeks of the lower Cape Fear area.

October is a great time of year to catch sheephead and the fish are normally larger this time of year. Some of my best days sheephead fishing has been this time of year.  Fiddler crabs dropped on carolina rigs around dock pilings and other structure will put good numbers of these tasty fish in the cooler.  We also occasionally catch black and red drum while sheephead fishing.

The whiting bite will be picking up as we get into mid October and filling up coolers with whiting, spots, and a few gray trout is always a possibility thru mid November.  Two hook bottom rigs baited with fresh shrimp will do the trick on these tasty panfish.

I’m am excited and looking forward to what fall fishing has to offer, cooler temps, less boats, and hungry fish.  Thanks for reading the report and check out a few of the pics from the month of September.  I will be doing a report for mid October and it should be a good one.

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