Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Forecast-August 2023
August fishing in southeast NC can be pretty good but a few things to keep in mind. Most August’s we must watch the water temps, they can get high during August. Also, we sometimes get very heavy rain/thunderstorms which can dirty up the waters quickly and this dirty water can last a few hours to a few days. Here are my warm waters and stained waters August fishing tactics.
Flounder can be a tougher species to catch in dirty water, but keep in mind they still must eat too! Working live or artificial lures slower so the flounder have time to see and react to the target (bait). Live bait is good for catching higher numbers of Flounder, but no always as many larger size flounder with live bait. Mud minnows and small finger mullet will be the best live baits for Flounder in August. Small menhaden work too but die very easy in the warm waters of August.
Rigging the live bait on carolina rigs with Eagle Claw L42 sizes 1 or 1/0 hooks is a good choice of rigs for Flounder. If you prefer to use artificial baits which I do prefer and I see bigger size flounders more often on artificial lures. Scented and unscented grubs work well in clear or stained waters. Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five and six inch and colors of new penny, pearl white, fire tiger and chart pepper neon are all good too. Darker colors like new penny and fire tiger (bright but not bright?) in heavy stained/dirty waters work better to get more bites. Also try Berkley’s Powerbait Grass Pig lure in colors, chartreuse, crazy chrome violet, and swamp gas (new penny). I rig these lures on jig heads in 1/4oz, 3/8oz and 1/2oz weights in colors red, gray, or white. Another “set” of colors that is just hitting the tackle shows is the Chrome series of Gulp baits. I tested some of these baits last year and had good luck with inshore Flounder and Redfish. I prefer the all chrome, purple chrome, and red chrome. PS: word is there is some more chrome series colors coming out soon…stay tuned!!
Look for the bigger flounder around deeper water docks with good current, bait fish and lots of structure inshore. The inlets, offshore reef and ledges are all good places to find hot weather flounder. What do all these places have in common; deeper water, current and structure. Do not forget look for the clearest water possible and when fishing very stained/dirty water slow down your presentation of the bait. *Keeper North Carolina Flounder season for 2023 at the time of this report is September 15th to September 29th. Any Flounder caught outside of these dates must be released.
One fish that is always on my hot weather and stained waters list is the Sheephead. The Sheephead is a good challenge to catch and they fight hard, but they are also good to eat! All you need is some fiddler crabs or sand fleas for bait. A medium/heavy action spinning or casting rod with Spiderwire twenty- or thirty-pound braid for line will help you bring in that big Sheephead in. Tie on a short carolina rig with forty- or fifty-pound fluorocarbon leader and a small live bait J hook (sharp/strong)! Another rig I have been having success with is a NC treat jig rig for Sheephead fishing. Drop that fiddler crab down beside a piling on one of these rigs and when you feel that little bump; set the hook and hold on! PS: they are great eating in the two-to-eight-pound range in my opinion.
North Carolina is not really known highly for Tarpon fishing but I do see them pushing just off the southeast inlets and the lower Cape Fear River from time to time. If you want a good challenge, give Carolina Tarpon fishing a try this August. The best times are very early morning or late afternoon and into the night. I fish for Tarpon on the bottom or free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, mullet, and menhaden. I rig these baits on fish finder rigs, with one to three feet of 80-to-100-pound fluorocarbon leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook ups and landings for Tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 9/0 depending what hook series you like. I prefer TroKar AP TK5 9/0 circle hooks, super sharp and super strong! It is not easy to catch a NC Tarpon, but I promise if you do or even just jump one off its still really cool to see!
I also enjoy shark fishing later in the summer (late July to early September). Sharks on light tackle are always a good pull and boy the kids love to catch’em! Sharks do not really seem to care if the water is dirty either. I drift live and fresh dead bluefish, Spanish mackerel, mullet, or menhaden in twenty to forty feet of water offshore. I rig these baits with a 7/0 to 9/0 TroKar circle hook TK5 with one foot of ninety pound plus wire and six to eight feet of eighty-pound mono leader. You can free line the bait and /or put a small egg sinker on to keep the bait close to the bottom. You will know when you get a bite! Most sharks are in the ten-to-one-hundred-pound range.
Last but certainly not lest is Bull Redfish (big Red Drum). The Bull Reds will start showing up in good numbers around inlets and hard/live bottoms just off the beach to about ten miles out in early August. Live or fresh dead bait is the key to catching these brutes. Most fish will be twenty-eight to over forty inches in length, very fun to catch size! It is not hard to rig for the Bull reds; short carolina rigs with a 7/0 to 9/0 TroKar circle hook will do the trick. Live or fresh cut Menhaden or mullet as bait. Remember if your catching larger Drum, please use heavier tackle; these Drum will work so hard when the water is hot and it is easy to kill them using to light of tackle (fighting them to long). *Please take the time to revive Red drum especially bigger fish during warmer water months; it may take upwards of fifteen minutes to do so.
Tackle run down: PENN Slammer IV & (New series) Authority spinning reels 2500, 3000, 3500 sizes for the Sheephead and Flounder. Tarpon/Sharks/Bull Drum PENN Slammer IV & Authority 5500 & 6500 and PENN 20 Fathom II LW casting reels. Rods Fenwick HMG Inshore spinning 7’ medium and med/heavy for the Sheephead and Flounder. Tarpon/Shark/Bull Drum Rods: PENN Carnage III 40 to 80 Boat series. Line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen pound and Berkley Pro Spec Chrome mono in thirty pound for the Tarpon/sharks. Tackle Storage I prefer Plano Guide and Z-series tackle bags with EDGE Boxes inside.
Have a good August, stay cool and dry, thanks for reading! Good fishing to You!
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
