The inshore fishing has been good with catches of redfish, sheephead, black drum, flounder, spanish mackerel, and bluefish. This pattern should continue and get better as we get into late May and early June. We are waiting for the good speckled trout bite we normally have in May. Hopefully the specs will show up with with the arrival of the small menhaden and shrimp in the Cape Fear river.

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

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 flounder are starting to make their move into the inlets and backwaters. There are also some black drum, and whiting around. The sheephead, bluefish, and spanish mackerel are not far behind.

The redfish are biting well on the flats, in the creeks, around docks and rock piles. Double digit days have been common and a trip on April 10th produced 25 to 30 reds, mostly upper slot fish and a 15″ flounder all on artificials. There are also some good sightfishing opportunities for schools of reds when the wind and tides cooperate. 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 marsh points, docks, and rock piles.

The whiting are biting in the lower Cape Fear river and we have been catching decent numbers of these tasty fish. The speckled trout fishing has been off and should be picking up over the next couple of weeks. Within the next week or so we will have a good variety of fish to pursue 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 lately.

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

The flounder are starting to show up and are always a nice surprise when throwing artificials for reds and trout.

These are a couple we have caught in the past couple of weeks.

A late March 2010 redfish that was caught on a rockpile with a popping float and a gulp shrimp.

John with a nice red he caught on a jig on 3/26/10

Kevin with a upper slot red he caught on 3/26/10

John with a lower slot red he caught on a jig on 4/2/10

4/3/10 Carlson, Martha, and Brandon with four of the fifteen reds they caught along with some clams, blue crabs, and stone crab claws.

4/4/10 Keith, Margie, Carter, Philip, and Madison had a great trip catching reds and black drum around docks on live minnows

Rodney and Callum with three of the sixteen reds they caught on 4/4/10

Jeffrey with one of the 25 or so we caught on 4/11/10