Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Forecast-May 2019
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.
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 bonito in earlier May (even later 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 six to eight 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 spoon in sizes #00, #0 and #1; 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 them. Reds really start to settle down in their summer spots by early 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 and natural. Another redfish bait I like is the Berkley powerbait 3.5” ripple shad rig on a jig head just like the gulp shrimp. 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 too 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 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 also a good place to look too. 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) and live bait to the Cobia. Color really does not seem to matter; but “go bright”! When I’m not sight casting for them, 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 and mullet as bait. Sometimes a great bonus fish when fishing for Cobia is 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 red, white or gray color.
Tackle run down: PENN Battle II & SpinFisher VI Spinning reels 2000, 2500, 3000, 3500 sizes. Rods: PENN Battalion and Allegiance II 7’ Medium class 8 to 15 pound test rods. Line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen pound braid. Cobia Reels PENN Fathom 20LW or 25LW casting 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 use Plano Z series 3700 and 3600 with Plano Rustrictor anti-rust stowaway boxes.
Thanks for reading and good summer fishing to you!
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
