Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Forecast-March 2024
March is a month of watching the weather forecast and like the weather the fishing can be the same too. So far pretty warm weather, but in March that can change quickly!! Same with the fishing; One day slow fishing the next they are jumping in the boat! Here are the species I like to target during March around Southeast NC area waters.
In March the Redfish finally start to move around a little more than they have all winter. Not that they do not move around in the winter; they just start to show up in place’s they like during warmer times of the year. This is the time of the year you need to get out and find where the Redfish are going and are showing up. In the cooler months I have seen crustacean patterns work better for Redfish; since these baits are a little easier to catch, than say baits like fish patterns. A good handful of our local shrimp has wintered over because of the mild winter weather, also some of the little baitfish stayed too. All of this will make for a better March fishing scenario for sure!
On warmer days the crustaceans and baitfish will move a little more; these are the days you need to be looking for Redfish in March. Working scented baits like Berkley Gulp in patterns two- and three-inch shrimp will get the Redfish to bite. These baits do not have paddle tails so you need to work them very slow, which is still very important because the water still be cool in March. Find those banks where the sun can warm up shallows just a little more than other places. Look for dark bottom banks and places with less current these are the areas where the water will be warmer and the Redfish will be more likely to be feeding. Remember to keep your eyes peeled in the shallow water areas for Reds, March can be a very good sight fishing month; just make sure you work the baits a little slower with a fluorocarbon leader (twenty pound) for those clear spring waters.
March can be another mouth when Cape Fear River Striped Bass fishing will pick up. The Striper size is very mixed during early spring. In March the Stripers will start to move in to shallower waters, I look for the Stripers in three to eight feet of water during early spring. This is when you need to also shallow up your presentation, go lighter with you tackle. I prefer Berkley PowerBait five-inch Cullshad, Gulp jerkshad in six inch and Berkley Powerbait grass pig lures in five inch; I use colors pearl & chart pepper neon (Gulp), Crazy chrome Violet and Swamp gas “new penny”. Using swimbait hooks size 6/0 or 7/0 in ¼ or 3/8 ounce should put a Striper on the end of your line. I prefer Trokar TK 170 swimbait hooks. You can also cast mid-water crank baits that dive three to eight feet, do not let the lure drag the bottom to much or you will lose your lure to a stump or log! Look for Cape Fear River Stripers around mud-flat edges, bulk-heads, creeks, and shallow reed-grass edges on sunny warmer days. CFR Stripers are closed to keep; catch and release only.
Do not count out a nice Speckled trout during the month of March! But what is a trout going to hit in March? This is when you need to know where to start; what lures to try? One of my favorites is the good’ole MirrOlure; it has been around a long time and it is still catching fish, but if it is cold so work them SLOW! The patterns I prefer are the 17MR, 18MR, 52M and 52MR. Colors; MirrOlure makes a lot of different colors but here are some of my go too colors in clearer area waters. MirrOlure color codes: 11, 21, 26, 51, 704, CFPR, CH, EC, HP AND Capt. Jot Custom color #1, #2 & #3 (only found at Tex’s Tackle shop). Any local tackle shop can help you with these color codes. Best depths to use these lures; 17MR use these lures in two to six feet of water. 18MR, 52M & 52MR use these lures in four to fifth-teen plus feet of water.
There is another kind of fishing I like to try in March but there is no saltwater involved. I like to hit the upper Northeast Cape Fear River and Sutton Lake the do a little Large-mouth bass fishing. If you want to try something different try some bass fishing, they are a lot of fun to catch on lighter tackle. Most of the time I use heavy sink worms from Berkley Powerbait MaxScent in colors black, cinnamon purple, purple and green pumpkin candy red. I rig these sinko style worms with a 6/0 Eagle Claw wide bend worm hook with no weight. Work these worms very slowly off banks and stump beds. If you like to fly fish, try slow sinking small minnow patterns along the grass flats in Sutton Lake on cloudy or foggy days.
Tackle run down: PENN Battle III, 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.
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Thanks for reading, Happy Spring, stay warm or cool and good fishing to you!
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
