We have been catching good numbers of redfish the past couple of weeks. We are catching the reds on scented artificials and mud minnows fished around oyster and shell points close to shallow muddy bottoms. Most of the reds in these areas have been smaller fish with a few slot fish mixed in. The larger reds are schooled up on the flats and have been tough to catch due to the cold water temps and windy conditions. The reds on the flats will turn on with the air and water temps coming up over the next few days. The sightcasting should be good on the calm days. The reds should start showing up around docks also.

The speckled trout bite in the Cape Fear River will be getting better as the the water warms and the fish get more active and move up from their winter hideouts. The black drum should start showing up around docks and rocky bottoms in the waterway and the river. The whiting are also biting in the lower Cape Fear River.

Hopefully for the next report I will have some catches of speckled trout and black drum along with the redfish. Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks.

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

C. Wolfe with a nice red he caught blindcasting on a shell point on 3/8/09

Gene from Blacksburg, Va with a red he caught out of a school sunning on some muddy bottom on 2/27/09

Mike from Burlington, N.C.with a red he caught out of a large school on 2/26/09

Christian with a Febuary redfish caught on a live mud minnow on a jighead

Going redfishing at sunrise on 2/27/09

The redfishing has been good over the past couple of weeks. Due to the cold weather and water temps, we are finding the reds laying up and sunning over shallow, dark, and soft muddy bottoms on the leeward side of grass banks and islands. This is where the water is the warmest. I am mostly having to pole up to these reds and cast artificials and mud minnows on light jig heads. The fish in these areas are very skiddish, due to clear water conditions and stealth is a must. The schools range from ten fish to one hundred fifty and are all slot sized fish. We are also catching a mixed size of reds along the oyster rocks and shell beds. These fish are easier to catch because we can stay in deeper water and use the trolling motor to cast around the points. These redfishing methods should continue over next few weeks.

There are also a few speckled trout being caught around Bald Head Island and the whiting are starting to show up along the shipping channel in the lower Cape Fear river.

The inshore fishing should gradually start to pick up around the first of March with some better numbers of speckled trout showing up in the river.

I will have another inshore fishing report the first week of March. Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks.

Thanks,
Jeff WolfeSeahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
Fish Carolina Beach Blog
910-619-9580

Mona from Durham, N.C. with a nce redfish she caught with a perfect cast into a school on 2/7/09

A Febuary redfish caught sightcasting on the flats

Lynn from Fayetteville, N.C with a red he caught sightcasting on the flats on 2/14/09

Randy also Fayetteville with a red he caught out of a school we found laying over some muddy bottom in a creek

Bryan a good friend of my son and a teammate on the Ashley High School baseball team with a red he caught on a live mud minnow on a light jighead

Dennis Barbour owner of Island Tackle and Hardware with a redfish he caught sightcasting on a flat the first week of Febuary

Christian with a nice red he caught out of a large school sunning over some dark muddy bottom on 2/21/09