Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Forecast-May 2020
Southeast NC in May, when fishing really gets cranked up! Many different species of fish start to show up and it’s when I feel like summer fishing has really started. And we all really need that right now in our lives!!!
As the weather stabilizes and the temps go up in May I see more days where I can get out in the ocean and look for those high speed, and good eating Atlantic bonito in earlier May (even early April this year) and spanish mackerel all May long. These fish are a lot of fun to see busting the surface of the water and even more fun to see on the end of your line! Casting small spoons or using fly gear in weights seven to nine can make for a great challenge on this light tackle. Look for these fish to be hanging around near shore artificial reefs, ledges and inlets. Trolling Clark spoons or small deep driver lures can be the key to success some days for the bonito, spanish mackerel and even king mackerel. When using the Clark spoons, I would recommend the pink flash or regular silver spoons in sizes #0, #1 and #2; the pink flash series has really helped me put more fish in the boat. You might come over a few false albacore and bluefish mixed in with the bonito and spanish from time to time; sometimes too many bluefish are mixed in!
Redfish and May go hand and hand, this month is a favorite for casting artificial lures to Reds. Redfish really start to settle down in their summer spots by early/mid May. Casting Berkley gulp shrimp in three inch size on light jig heads is one of my go to lures for May redfish. My go to colors are sugar spice glow, new penny, rootbeer gold/chart tail or natural. Another Redfish lure I like is the Berkley Powerbait Grass pig for fishing shallow waters of one to three foot. I rig the Grass pig lures on TroKar 1/8oz swimbait hooks. Catching redfish on top water lures is so much fun; casting plugs like MirrOlure’s top pup or top dog jr. You can also cast popping or rattling corks in these shallow areas with a Berkley Gulp three inch shrimp which will catch the Redfish in shallow waters. If you would rather go the bait route; try some fresh cut Mullet or Menhaden on a light Carolina rig. Try fishing fresh cut bait around docks in the ICW or along creek mouths when the tide is moving.
By early/mid May the cobia start to show up around southeast NC; one of my favorites! I forecast that the cobia will be here a little early this season. I look for cobia around inlets, shoals and bait schools; near shore/offshore reefs and ledges are all good places to look. When the water is clear it will be easier to see those brown logs in the water. I throw big jigs like (Berkley Fusion 19 bucktails) or live bait to the Cobia. Color really does not seem to matter, but go bright; I always put a Gulp five inch grub on a bucktail for Cobia. If I’m casting live bait to Cobia I use a TroKar TK5 AP 8/0 or 9/0 circle hook with at least three feet of sixty pound fluorocarbon leader. When I’m not sight casting for Cobia we are fishing around inlets, shoals and near shore artificial reefs. I float fish, bottom fish and kite fish in these areas with live menhaden, pinfish or mullet as bait. Sometimes a great bonus fish when fishing for Cobia that would be a nice bull Redfish. You can chum if you like, but the sharks and rays will come and they will come in numbers!
With the warmer weather the Flounder will finally start showing up in better numbers, there are still a lot of smaller ones inshore, but the bigger ones will really start showing up in May! Most of the Flounder fishing I’m doing is just off the beach (wrecks/ledges) and around the inlets. I’ve caught Flounder on both live and artificial baits in May, what I have seen is more numbers on live bait, but more keepers on artificial baits. Mud minnows on light Carolina rigs with #one L42 Eagle Claw hooks will catch the numbers of Flounder. Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five & six inch sizes will get the most keeper Flounder. I rig these Jerkshad on 1/4oz, 3/8oz (inshore) and 1/2oz, 3/4oz & 1oz (ocean) jig heads with longer hook shanks in jig head colors red, white or gray. Also Berkley Fusion bucktails with a five inch Gulp grab is a killer rig for ocean flounder as well, I use a 1.5 ounce bucktail for this. *Keep in mind Flounder season is August 16th to September 30th 2020, no possession of flounder until those dates; all catch & release until then.
Tackle run down: New PENN Clash II & SpinFisher VI Spinning reels 2000, 2500, 3000, 3500 sizes. Rods: PENN Allegiance II and Fenwick HMG Inshore series rods 7’ Medium class 8 to 15 pound test rods. Line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen pound braid. Cobia Reels PENN Fathom II 20LWcasting or Slammer III or SpinFisher VI spinning 5500 or 6500 spinning reels, with a PENN Rampage Jigging rod 50 to 100 pound class. Tackle Bags/storage I prefer the Plano Guide series tackle bags in 3700XL and 3600 sizes with Plano EDGE tackle trays inside.
Thanks for reading, stay safe, fish smart and #FishThroughIt !
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
