Fishing Report: Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Forecast-July 2024

July around Southeast NC is a good month for fishing but with the warm, some downright HOT days during this season you may need to fish a little differently in July. Go earlier or later in the day to find that cooler water. Even a light rain shower can make the fish get more active. Small changes can make for a better day of fishing or (catching)!

Redfish in July, well you can catch them but with the water really warming up you need to change the way you fish a little. If you want to target Reds in shallow waters, you really need to go early in the morning or late afternoon when the water is a bit cooler, cloudy days help too. Top-water lures like MirrOlure Top dog jr. and Top Pup’s are my choice in the shallows. During the mid parts of the day try to fish a little deeper with jigs & grubs or swimbaits like Berkley five-inch CullShad. *See here https://alnk.to/44Vxvaq Rigging the CullShad on 1/8oz or 1/4oz Eagle Claw swimbait hooks. The Reds like a little deeper water when the sun gets high in the sky (11am on). I really like Berkley Gulp baits, hey you can’t beat there great scent and Redfish love’em! Berkley’s three-inch shrimp is my go-to Redfish lure during the hot summer months, I like molting, sugar spice glow and pearl white colors. The new Chrome series Gulp look really nice too! *See here https://alnk.to/5ufSG4o I rig my Gulp baits on Fusion 1/4oz and 3/8oz jig heads in colors red or gray * https://alnk.to/hDqamLs with thirty- or forty-pound Berkley Pro Spec fluorocarbon leader material. *See here https://alnk.to/gKQnsJ5

The Spanish mackerel fishing can still be pretty good in July, here too going earlier in the morning can pay off! 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 like (Big Nic Spanish Candy lures) or using fly gear in weights seven to nine can make for a great challenge on light tackle. When casting lures High speed spinning reels are really getting my clients more bites! I prefer the Slammer IV 2500 HS *See here: https://alnk.to/4BFOrsT or a Authority 2500 HS *See here https://alnk.to/6109D5k Look for Spanish to be hanging around near shore artificial reefs, ledges, and inlets. Cast and reel Fast, but one tip I can give you; let the lure sink down just a little before you start to reel. You might come over a few false albacore and bluefish mixed in with the Spanish from time to time.

I really start to keep my eye out for the silver king (Tarpon); these big silver fish are making their way up from the south; they are a little early this year. I have already had two bites with one being landed. The long trip has made them hungry and hungry fish are easier to catch, ‘most of the time’! I look for Tarpon around local inlets, shoals and hard bottoms close to shore. Live or fresh dead baits like Menhaden or Mullet on the bottom and free lining are the best bet for getting a bite out of these beasts. I prefer TrokarTK5 AP circle hooks in the new bait saver series *See hear Trokar TK5 Bait Saver Circle – Eagle Claw   sizes 8/0 to 9/0. My leader material is always Berkley Pro Spec sixty- or 100-pound fluorocarbon; Tarpon have great eyesight! Tarpon are around from mid-June to mid-September most seasons around Southeast NC. If you hook in to one of these Tarpon hold on tight, they fight very hard!

I also enjoy shark fishing later in the summer and July the bigger sharks really start to show up. Sharks on light tackle are always a good pull and boy kids love to catch’em! I drift live and fresh dead bluefish, Spanish mackerel, mullet or menhaden in thirty to forty-five feet of water just offshore. I rig these baits with an 8/0 circle hook with the barb pushed down for easy release, 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’ll know when you get a bite! Most sharks are in the twenty-to-one-hundred-pound range.

The Flounder fishing is in full swing about everywhere by July and it has been a good Flounder season already, I know it is closed in NC! But SC is open, it really hurts to have to say that!! In July you can find Flounder around most inlets, in creeks (deeper water parts), main channels (ICW) and just off the beach. Using smaller lives baits like mud minnows, finger mullets and little menhaden should do the trick to getting them to bite for you. I rig these live baits on Carolina rigs, with #1 and 1/0 L42 Eagle Claw hooks; a forty-pound fluorocarbon leader will work fine for Flounder fishing. Casting and slowly retrieving this rig, drifting, or anchoring with this rig are all good ways to catch Flounder with a Carolina rig.

You can also go the artificial root as well to catch Flounder; (which I prefer). I tend to see bigger size flounder when using artificials. Try a Berkley Gulp five- or six-inch jerkshad, color wise go darker colors for stained or tannic waters. I use brighter colors for clearer, blue/green waters. Here too the new Gulp Chrome series in the Jerkshad or four-inch shrimp looks awesome! * https://alnk.to/5ufSG4o I rig the jerkshad and four-inch shrimp on 1/4 to ¾ ounce long shank Berkley Fusion jig heads * See here https://alnk.to/hDqamLs working the jig slowly across the bottom.

Tackle run down: PENN Battle III https://alnk.to/aWDe16H Slammer IV https://alnk.to/4MAHGzf or Authority https://alnk.to/fSgjdIK series spinning reels 2500, 3000 & 3500 sizes for the Redfish, Spanish and Flounder. Tarpon & Sharks: PENN Slammer IV or Authority 5500 & 6500 spinning reels or PENN 15LW, 20LW, 25NLD Fathom casting reels. https://alnk.to/gKQ67P2 Rods PENN Battalion II or the Fenwick HMG Inshore series; 7’ medium and med/heavy for the Redfish, and Flounder. Tarpon & Shark Rods: PENN Rampage https://alnk.to/4BFWHOm or Carnage III Jigging https://alnk.to/eOLTB9w series 50 to 100 class casting and spinning. Line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen, twenty (ocean flounder) pound braid and Berkley Pro Spec Chrome mono in twenty and thirty pound for the Tarpon & Sharks; it is great line! *See here https://alnk.to/7BeJdIC Leader material Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon 30 to 40 pound for inshore and 60 to 100-pound Tarpon/shark fishing. *See here https://alnk.to/gKQnsJ5 Tackle storage Plano Z-series or Guide series tackle bags with Plano EDGE stowaway boxes.

I hope you have a great Fourth of July, be safe on the water and good July fishing to you!

Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139

Posted in Fishing Reports on July 1st, 2024

Fishing Report: Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing forecast-May 2024

Southeast NC fishing in May, when the fishing really gets cranked up! Many different species of fish start to show up and it is when I feel like summer fishing is really getting started. Spring has been pretty good fishing so far, now if we can just get the weather to cooperate a little more!

As the weather stabilizes and the temps go up in May I see more days where I can get out in the ocean. I love to look for those high speed, good eating and so much fun to catch Atlantic bonito in earlier May and Spanish mackerel all month 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 spoons (Big Nic Spanish Candy lures) in sizes 1/2oz up to the new 1.5oz (Capt. Jot edition) on high-speed spinning reels really gets the bites! I have really become a fan of casting a high-speed low-profile bait-caster reels when casting to Bonito and Spanish. I use a PENN Fathom high-speed 300 reel. See here in this link: https://www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=pl&ti=8129&pw=363697&mi=20821&pt=3&pri=2258   You can also use fly gear in weights seven to nine, this can make for a great challenge on fly tackle. Look for these fish to be hanging around near shore artificial reefs, ledges, and inlets. 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! *We have already seen a good number of small King mackerel mixed in this year. Check your fish carefully for undersize Kings!!

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. I prefer inshore water temps of 70 degrees or higher for the shallow water bite to start. Casting Berkley Gulp shrimp in three-inch size or new Gulp paddle-shad on light jig heads is my go-to lures for May redfish. My go to colors are pearl white, sugar spice glow, new penny, sangria, and black/gold. Another Redfish lure I like is the new Berkley Powerbait CullShad in 5” in colors Cold beer, silver flash and Dark night (stained waters) fishing shallow waters of one to five foot.  See here in this link: https://www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=pl&ti=8125&pw=363697&mi=20825&pt=3&pri=10753   I rig the CullShad on Eagle Claw 1/8oz & 1/4oz 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 on a 1/16oz jig head which will catch the Redfish in shallow waters. If you would rather go the bait route; try some fresh cut or live Mullet or Menhaden on a light Carolina rig. Using Eagle Claw L42 1/0 hooks to make up a Carolina rig. Try fishing fresh cut bait around docks on the ICW or along creek mouths when the tide is moving, in five to ten feet of water.

By mid-May the cobia start to show up around southeast NC; one of my favorites! I forecast that the cobia will be here 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 the bucktail for Cobia. If I am casting live bait to Cobia, I use a TroKar TK5 AP 8/0 or 9/0 bait saver series circle hook with at least three feet of sixty-pound Pro Spec fluorocarbon leader. When I am 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 or later in the season a Tarpon (And yes, the Tarpon will be early again this season)! 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 am doing is just off the beach (wrecks/ledges) and around the inlets. I have caught Flounder on both live and artificial baits in May, what I have seen is more keeper size fish on artificial baits. Mud minnows or smaller finger mullet on light Carolina rigs with #1 L42 Eagle Claw hooks will catch the numbers of Flounder. Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five- & six-inch sizes are my goto for Flounder fishing. I am really liking the new Key Lime chrome and Purple Chrome colors.  See here in this link: https://www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=pl&ti=8125&pw=363697&mi=20825&pt=3&pri=10774   I rig these Gulp baits 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. I really like the Berkley Fusion Jig heads, great hooks with the best lure keeper I’ve have seen for all types pf soft plastic lures. Also, Berkley Fusion bucktails with a five-inch Gulp grub or four-inch shrimp is a killer rig for ocean flounder as well; I use a 1.5-ounce bucktail for this. *Keep in mind NC has a keeper Flounder season, know the dates before you keep’em!

Tackle run down: Reels New PENN Slammer IV series & Battle III series Spinning reels 2000, 2500, 3000, 4000 sizes. Slammer IV & Authority spinning reels in the High-Speed series 2500 or Fathom 300 high-speed low-profile bait-casters for Bonito & Spanish mackerel casting. Rods: Fenwick HMG Inshore series rods 7’ Medium class 8-to-17-pound test rods for Redfish, Inshore flounder, Bonito etc. Ocean Flounder 7’ Med/Hvy class 12-to-25-pound test. Line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen pound braid. Cobia Reels PENN Fathom II 20LW casting, Slammer IV or SpinFisher VI spinning 5500 or 6500 spinning reels, with a PENN Rampage or Carnage III Jigging rods 50-to-100-pound class. Tackle Bags/storage I prefer the Plano Guide series (3700) size and Z-series (3600 or 3700) size tackle bags with Plano EDGE tackle trays inside.

Thanks for reading, Get outside and good fishing to you!

Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com

Posted in Fishing Reports on May 1st, 2024