Wow we have had some really nice weather around Wrightsville Beach and surrounding beaches! The forth of July weekend was some of the best weather I've seen around here this time of year. And with those cooler temps the fishing was great! It was starting to get a little to hot for June, but with the cooler weather the inshore and near shore waters have cooled just a bit and has helped the fishing. Let's go over that in this weeks fishing report.
Flounder fishing has really picked up in the last week. There is a mix of size in the Flounders we are catching. Some keepers some not, but the bite is really on for catching them. Live bait has been the key for catching higher numbers of Flounder, but you can catch them on artificial bait too. Mud minnows and small finger mullet have been the best live baits lately. Rigging the live bait on carolina rigs with EC 042 1/0 hooks is a good choice of rigs for Flounder.
If you prefer to use artificial baits; scented and none scented grubs as well as spinner baits will do the job. Berkley Gulp 3" pogy in pearl white and smelt colors. Rig the grubs on a red or black jig head for best results. Saltwater Assassin spinner baits with space monkey, copperhead, and chicken on a chain colored grubs have caught us some nice Flounder lately too.
One of my favorites when the water and air gets hot is the good'ole Sheephead! These fish are fun to catch and there really good to eat! It's not hard to catch Sheephead, you just have got to put your time in and give it a try! Rigging is easy for Sheephead; we use a short carolina rig with forty pound mono or fluorocarbon leader about eight to ten inches long. The hook is a number one or 1/0 live bait nose hook; small, sharp and strong, very important for Sheephead! Look for Sheephead around pilings, bulkheads and large oyster rocks that stay covered up by water most of the tide. For bait, we catch fiddler crabs on mud banks on the ICW. Drop it down and check your bait in one minute, if it's gone and you did not feel a bite; there is a Sheephead down there! Good luck!
We have seen some nice schools of Tarpon pushing up the beaches in the last two weeks. We jumped a nice eighty pound plus off on Tuesday morning, only got one jump but it cleared the water by five feet. Tarpon fishing in North Carolina can be very fun but it can be a challenge to get one to bite! We fish for Tarpon on the bottom or free lining, using live and fresh dead baits like; spots, bluefish and Menhaden. We are rigging these baits on fish finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80 to 100 pound mono 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 have also had a fair share of Tarpon on my kite rig with live baits like greenies, bluefish and menhaden. Nothing like seeing a Tarpon hit kite baits!
Shark fishing has been very good lately, with sharks of all sizes biting. We have caught a few over 100 pounds in the last two weeks and have seen some even bigger. Shark fishing will be good until early October. Best baits for the near shore sharks are, fresh and live Menhaden. When we use bait to catch the sharks we use spinning reels, with 300+ yards of thirty and fifty pound Spider wire Ultracast braid. Rigging the baits; eight feet of 80 pound mono leader; some will wind on to the reel. Connected the 80 pound mono to a fifty pound swivel, then to Two to three foot of #9 SS wire and an 8/0 or 9/0 off set J hook. If you prefer Fly fishing, I like Striped bass flies in Menhaden patterns with 4/0 and 5/0 hook sizes. We use ten to twelve weight set ups; have lots of extra flies with you!
Redfishing is still going good on most days. The best fishing has been earlier in the day or later in the day (lower light). We are catching the reds on top water lures and rattling corks (SWA kwik-croks) with live bait in shallow water (one to three foot). When we fish docks and channels (deeper waters); we are using live bait, fresh cut bait and scented grubs. Scented grubs like Berkley Gulp and Powerbait have been working well for the Reds.
Keep your eye out for a great new Berkley Gulp product called the Ripple Mullet. Finally a Gulp bait with great scent and ACTION!! You're not going to believe it till you see them! And yes they work; trust me!
Fishing Gear we use:
Reels Penn Conquer and Sargus spinning in sizes 2000 and 4000. Spiderwire Ultra-cast braid in 10 and 15#. Rods: Ugly stick lite 6'6" and 7' Med & Med-Heavy and the All Star ASR spinning rod ASR844S and ASR845S. Cobia, Shark and Tarpon: Spinning setup Penn Conquer 7000 with an Ugly Stick Tiger lite Jigging rod 6' 6" and Penn 320LD Reel and a Tiger lite jigging rod. Line for Cobia, Shark and Tarpon: Berkley Big Game 30# mono and 50# Spiderwire Stealth High-Vis Yellow.
Thanks for reading this report, if you would like to go fishing drop me a line. I'm very busy this time of year but if you would like to go fishing please feel free to call any time to check my availability and don't forget to take a kid fishing!
Good Luck,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Reels Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
