Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Forecast-February 2023
February in Southeast NC can be one of the tougher months to get out and fish, the weather windows are much smaller and the temp can be downright cold. So far this year winter has really been a rollercoaster of weather. Fishing can be great during February especially when we have mild runs of weather. Here are some of the species I target around Southeast NC during February.
Cape Fear River Striped Bass are one of my favorites for winter fishing in our area. I look for the Stripers on drop offs, around pilings and creek mouths. Working baits like Berkley Gulp five- or six-inch jerkshads or Berkley Powerbait grass pigs in five inch should get you a bite or two from a Striped Bass. I prefer white or chart pepper neon for the jerkshad and swamp gas or crazy chrome violet in the grass pig. I rig my jerkshad and grass pigs on swimbait 7/0 TroKar TK-170 hooks, in 1/4oz or 3/8oz weight. Mid water crank baits work too, try lures that dive from three to eight feet deep for best results. If the Stripers are sitting shallow a MirrOlure 17MR can get a bite or two as well. If the crank bait starts to hit the bottom let it float up a bit or trust me, you will lose it to structure! Water temps are cold this time of year in the river, I prefer anything above 44 degrees but have caught them as low as 39*. Don’t forget that the Cape Fear River Striped Bass fishery is a closed fishery and is catch & release only; you must release all Striped Bass. Keep your eyes out for tagged Stripers there are a lot of tagged fish out there.
There is one fish that can be caught very easily during the winter months; if you find them! The Redfish bite can be some of the best of the year for catching numbers of fish; the deal breaker for this fishery is you have got to have good weather, calm seas, and bright sunny skies for the ocean schools. I find the winter ocean Reds around the inlets, sand bars, up and down the beaches in the surf line. I use Berkley Gulp paddleshad in colors black gold or black silver also, the Berkley Gulp three- & four-inch Shrimp work well too both rigged on 3/8oz jig heads. A MirrOlure Catch 2000Jr or 2000 lures work well for winter Redfish in the ocean too.
On warmer light wind days, you can also find some nice schools of Reds in shallow water flats and oyster rocks. The Reds will sun on these dark colored bottom areas for a little extra warm up; this is also where you’ll see some bait fish doing the same thing (warming up). Work lures like Gulp Shrimp in three inch size on light jig heads 1/16oz or 1/8oz slowly in front of the Redfish school. Try not to cast right through the school, all this will do is spook the Reds and will make it very hard to catch them. If the Reds are hungry, they break away from the school and eat your bait! I really like the color Sangria or Scooby Gulp shrimp for this presentation.
There is one fish that a lot of anglers over look during the winter months, the Black Drum. What I love about these fish is you can catch them in good numbers this time of year and there pretty darn good to eat! On top of all that they can be easy to catch; all you need is a little fresh (as you can get) shrimp. I use a light Carolina rig with an Eagle claw L42 #1 or #2 hook. Light meaning using as light as a sinker that you can get away with so as not to spook the drum. Fish around docks, oyster rock flats and inlets for these Black Drum; often you will catch Redfish and Sheepshead (smaller) mixed in as well.
What a rollercoaster of weather this winter so far, like most winters in Southeast NC. You can find a good winter Speckled trout bite, but it takes the right weather pattern for good results. Here are some ways I like to target Speckled trout into later winter months. A lure that always comes to mind for winter Speckled trout is the MirrOlure in the 52M, 52MR and TT series. MirrOlure color codes I prefer are: 11, 21, 26, 51, 704, CFPR, CH, EC, HP AND Capt. Jot Custom color #1, #2, or #3 (only found at Tex’s Tackle shop). Most any local tackle shop can help you with these color codes (a lot easier than spelling them all out here). As far as colors go, I try to use light colors in clearer waters and darker colors in stained/river or dirty waters.
Working MirrOlures slowly in deeper water breaks and drop offs can produces some very nice trout. If the water gets a bit dirty due to winds or rain/ice/snow, give Berkley Gulp 3” shrimp, fire tail shrimp, Berkley Powerbait Pro Twitchtail minnow or a Cash Out a try. Rig the Gulp shrimp or twitchtail on lighter jig heads 1/16oz, 1/8oz or 1/4oz; here too for the trout so you can work them just a bit slower due to the cooler water temps. Don’t rule out a nice Gray trout mixed in during the winter while speckled trout fishing. Look for the bigger trout to be sitting close to the current, but just off and out of it. Remember these fish are not going to burn calories they don’t have too swimming against the current. Also do not count out the beaches (surf fishing) for trout during the winter!
Tackle run down: PENN Battle III DX, Clash II or the new Authority Spinning reels sizes 2500, 3000, 3500 for the Redfish, Speckled trout, and Striped Bass. Fenwick HMG Inshore 7’ medium rods 8-to-15-pound class and line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten or fifteen; Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon leader for leaders; 20 pound for trout and 30 for all other species. Tackle Bags and Organization, I prefer the new Plano Z-series and Guide Series tackle bags. I use Plano Edge Stowaway boxes for organization of my tackle in these tackle bags.
Thanks for reading, stay warm or cool and good fishing to you!
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
