We are catching most of the reds in the early morning hours by dropping the trolling motor and working shelly bottom dropoffs along some of the deeper creeks in the lower Cape Fear area. The water is a little murky due to lots of wind so lures like spinnerbaits and spoons have been very effective. For those that are not comfortable throwing artificials we can catch redfish using the simple methods of fishing live baits on float rigs and bottom rigs. I have not been able to get on the flats and look for the large schools of reds that were there a week or so ago but I am sure they are still there. Hopefully the wind will cooperate and we can get on the flats and do some sightfishing.

We are also picking up some nice flounder and a few speckled trout while fishing for the reds.

Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks. These are just a few of the good catches we have had lately.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
NC Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

7/8/10 Griffin with a nice red he caught fishing a mud minnow on a carolina rig

7/8/10 Rob with a flounder that fell for a mud minnow on a float rig

7/12/10 Justin with a rare 11.6 lb tripletail that we tag teamed. I saw the fish around a crab trap bouy and casted a mud minnow on a float rig to him. He took the bait, I set the hook and got him away from the bouy, handed the rod to Justin and he finished the awesome battle.

7/13/10 The Price family with a few of the reds they caught, along with a speckled trout and a couple of sheephead

7/15/10 Scott with a lower slot red he caught on a redfish magic soft plastic

7/17/10 Nicole with a 5.2 flounder she caught fishing a mud minnow on a carolina rig

7/17/10 Brittany with a nice red she caught fishing a mud minnow on a carolina rig

7/20/10 Rob with a 4 lb spec ( larger than Jason’s) that fell for a spinnerbait rigged with a cockahoe minnow.

7/20/10 Jeff with a red that fell for a spinnerbait rigged with a Gulp Alive shrimp. Jeff and Rob had a double digit day on the reds along with a few flounder and a 4 lb spec.

7/21/10 Bob with a nice red he caught on spinnerbait rigged with a paddle tail jig

Bob, Brandon,and Ben had a good day catching reds ( approx. 14) on spinnerbaits and Gulp Alive shrimp. They also picked up a few flounder.

More flounder and speckled trout are mixed in with the reds and we are picking up a few while working soft plastics and live baits in the creeks and bays of the lower Cape Fear.

Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
NC Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

6/21/10 Clay with a nice red he caught using a live mud minnow on a carolina rig

6/24/10 Weston, Trevor, and Bryson had a good 12 or more reds plus a spec using live baits

6/25/10 Alex with a over slot red he caught on a redfish magic soft plastic jig

6/29/10 Alex with a drag screamer caught on a jig

6/30/10 Another Alex with nice spec caught on a jig

6/30/10 Christian with 33″ drag screaming redfish he caught on a topwater plug.

Gary and me went on a flounder tear using soft plastics on a recent Fisherman’s Post Guide Time trip

7/1/10 Austin with a nice red he caught on a live mud minnow

7/2/10 Sean with a nice red he caught float fishing a shrimp around the marsh edge

7/4/10 Larry, Douglas, and Jimmy with some of the reds and a flounder they caught using live baits. They also picked up a couple of sheephead.

7/5/10 Jeremy with a red and flounder he caught float fishing a live mud minnow around the marsh edge

7/5/10 Benjamin with a red he caught float fishing a live mud minnow around a shell point

Redfish are the number one target species for me in the backwaters lately. The reds are schooled up on the flats, around oyster rocks, and shellbeds These fish are super strong with the warm water temps and aggressively hitting topwater plugs, jigs and live baits. Many of the fish we have caught lately have been drag screaming over the slot fish with good numbers upper slot fish mixed in. We are also picking up a few flounder and speckled trout when targeted the reds. For those that are not comfortable using artificials, I can make simple by using live baits on float rigs and bottom rigs for reds, trout, and flounder.

The flounder bite has picked up around the inlets and Cape Fear River using live menhaden, finger mullet, and mud minnows on carolina rigs. We are also catching a few speckled trout using live baits,jigs, and artificial shrimp on popping corks.

The sheephead bite continues to be good using live fiddler crabs fished close to pilings and other structure around the Cape Fear area.

Click on this link to read the Guide Time article, Backwater Batting Order, in the recent Fisherman’s Post. I had a really good trip fishing for sheephead, redfish, and flounder with publisher Gary Hurley and editor/writer Max Gaspeny. Also check out the pictures from the past couple of weeks and the awesome short video Topwater Redfish with my son Christian. Thanks again for the video Luke.

Thanks for reading the report,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
NC Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

6/6/10 Bob and Richard with a couple of the reds they caught using live mud minnows on carolina rigs

8 yr old swim champ Scarlet with a black drum and flounder she caught on 6/7/10. YOU GO GIRL !!!

6/18/10 Jeff with a 29.5 red that fell for a redfish magic soft plastic on a shell point in the lower Cape Fear

6/8/10 Patrick with a nice red he caught fishing a live mud minnow on a carolina rig

6/8/10 James with a sheephead he caught on a live fiddler crab

6/8/10 Ed with a nice red he caught blindcasting a redfish magic jig

6/10/10 Luke had a great day bowfishing on the flats and oyster rocks for sheephead and rays

6/12/10 Missy with a nice red she caught float fishing a live mud minnow

6/12/10 Amy with a nice sheephead she caught using a live fiddler crab on a carolina rig

6/16/10 Ted and Claire had lots of fun collecting sand dollars, clams, and crabs on a seafood excursion.

6/17/10 Maury and John caught lots of lower slot reds, sheephead, croakers, and a speckled trout using live mud minnows and shrimp on bottom rigs.

Check out this video of my son Christian on 6/8/10.

The redfish are biting well on live bait and artificials. There are some large schools of reds are on the flats and the sightfishing is good when we get that combination of lower tides and light winds. We are also catching good numbers of reds blindcasting artificials along the creek banks and around oyster rocks in the lower Cape Fear. For those that are not comfortable throwing artificials, we can use the simple methods of using live baits on float rigs and bottom rigs.

Most of the flounder and speckled trout have been caught while fishing for the redfish. There are more specs and flounder showing up and we have targeted these fish along with redfish and sheephead lately. There are also some spanish mackerel and bluefish patrolling the inshore and nearshore waters of the Cape Fear area.

If you are looking for a fishing trip give me a call. Seasoned anglers looking for the explosion of a redfish or speckled trout on a topwater plug or for families and kids I can make it as simple as fishing in a farm pond.

Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks. These are just a few of the good catches we have had lately.

Thanks for reading the report,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
NC Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

5/21/10 Douglas and Larry with a good catch of sheephead along with a few flounder and redfish

5/30/10 Chris with a over slot red she caught fishing a live menhaden on a float rig.

5/27/10 A couple of 3lb specs caught on Billy Bay Halo Shrimp under a popping float

5/31/10 Christin with a nice red she caught using a live menhaden on a carolina rig

5/31/10 Morgan with a over slot red she caught on a live minnow

9 yr old Olivia with a bonnethead shark and a sheephead she caught on 5/31/10. She also caught a upper slot redfish. Way to go Olivia!!!

Jenna with a redfish she caught blindcasting a jig along a creek bank on 6/1/10

6/3/10 Nick with a redfish he caught out of a school on the flats

6/3/10 Bianca did a great job catching four nice reds her first time throwing artificials

6/4/10 Brad with a upper slot red caught on a redfish magic jig

6/4/10 Fred with a red he caught blindcasting a jig on a flat

6/5/10 Alton with a upper slot red he caught on a jig

6/5/10 Chris with the largest inshore red so far this year on my charters,a drag screaming 32 incher he caught on a redfish magic soft plastic.

The redfish are spread out among the marshes of the lower Cape Fear, with many double digit days over the past couple of weeks. Most of the reds have been caught by fishing live baits on carolina rigs and float rigs along oyster points and marsh edges. We have also caught good numbers of reds sightcasting and blindcasting jigs and topwater plugs. There are also a few reds arounds docks along the waterway.

The sheephead fishing has been good around bridge pilings and other structure in the Cape Fear area. The sheephead are falling for fiddler crabs fished on carolina rigs close to the srtructure. We have also picked up some nice black drum while fishing for the sheephead.

The flounder are staring to show up in decent numbers and fishing for these tasty fish should be getting better over the next couple of weeks. The spanish mackerel are scooled up close to the beach and there are some good sightfishing opportunities to these fish. Hopefully the winds will cooperate so we can get there and do some spanish fishing.

Thanks for checking out my report. Hopefully I will have a good one for the 1st of June. Check out the photos below from the past couple of weeks.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
NC Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

The redfishing has been good and double digit have been common. The reds are schooled up on the flats and we able to sightcast to these schools when the winds cooperate. We are also catching reds around docks, marsh points, oyster rocks, and in protected creeks of the lower Cape Fear on the windy days. The redfish are hitting soft plastic jigs, topwater plugs and live baits fished on float rigs and bottom rigs.

The sheephead are starting to show up and good sized, up to seven pounds. These fish are a lot of fun and very challenging to get out of the pilings. They are also great to eat.

The flounder are moving into the the inlets and backwaters. We are picking up a few while fishing artificials for redfish. We can also target flounder using live baits fished on carolina rigs. The spanish mackerel are along the beaches and are really nice fish. We can troll and sightcast to these fish when the conditions are right.

May is a great month to get out and do some inshore and nearshore fishing. Redfish, flounder, black drum, sheephead, spanish mackerel. They are all here so let’s get out there and catch’ em. Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks. These are just a few of the nice fish we have caught lately.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
NC Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

4/14/10 Tom with a nice redfish he caught on a Wave Tiki Shaddick scented soft plastic

Mechanic Bob with a redfish he caught on 4/14/10

4/17/10 Jeff with a upper slot red he caught on artificial

4/17/10 Eric with a nice sheephead he caught fishing a fiddler crab around some pilings

4/19/10 Charles with a red he caught on a Saltwater Assassin paddle tail jig

We had slick calm conditions on 4/20/10 and were able to sightcast to several large schools of reds on the flats

Bryan and Charles with a few of the sheephead and redfish they caught on 4/19/10

Charles and Charlotte had a good day catching reds on 4/27/10 fishing live mud minnows on float rigs

5/1/10 Tony with a upper slot redfish he caught fishing live baits on a float rig

Rob with one of the many reds he caught on 5/2/10 using artificials and live mud minnows

I made a few cast on 5/2/10 and picked up this three pound flounder on a Wave scented soft plastic jig

The redfish are biting well on the flats, in the creeks, around docks and rock piles. Double digit days have been common and a trip on April 10th produced 25 to 30 reds, mostly upper slot fish and a 15″ flounder all on artificials. There are also some good sightfishing opportunities for schools of reds when the wind and tides cooperate. For children and those that are not comfortable throwing artificials we can catch reds and other species by using the simple methods of fishing live baits on float rigs and bottom rigs around marsh points, docks, and rock piles.

The whiting are biting in the lower Cape Fear river and we have been catching decent numbers of these tasty fish. The speckled trout fishing has been off and should be picking up over the next couple of weeks. Within the next week or so we will have a good variety of fish to pursue in the Cape Fear area. Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks. These are just a few of the good catches we have had lately.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
NC Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

The flounder are starting to show up and are always a nice surprise when throwing artificials for reds and trout.

These are a couple we have caught in the past couple of weeks.

A late March 2010 redfish that was caught on a rockpile with a popping float and a gulp shrimp.

John with a nice red he caught on a jig on 3/26/10

Kevin with a upper slot red he caught on 3/26/10

John with a lower slot red he caught on a jig on 4/2/10

4/3/10 Carlson, Martha, and Brandon with four of the fifteen reds they caught along with some clams, blue crabs, and stone crab claws.

4/4/10 Keith, Margie, Carter, Philip, and Madison had a great trip catching reds and black drum around docks on live minnows

Rodney and Callum with three of the sixteen reds they caught on 4/4/10

Jeffrey with one of the 25 or so we caught on 4/11/10

We are still catching redfish in the creeks, bays, and around docks and rock piles. The reds are hitting soft plastic jigs and mud minnows fished on the bottom. There are some large schools of reds on the flats and the sightfishing is good when the wind and tides cooperate. The reds that are schooled up in the surf are making their move into the backwaters and spreading out. The redfishing should be really picking up all over the Cape Fear area in the next week or two.

I am really excited about the fishing opportunities coming up and look forward to the next report the first week of April. Check out the photos from the past couple of weeks.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
NC Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

Trevor, future pitcher for the Tarheels with a nice red he caught on 3/7/10

Christian with a red he caught around a dock on 3/7/10

Alex with a red he caught out of the backwaters on 3/6/10

Kevin with a over slot red he caught sightfishing in a small creek on 3/9/10

Kevin and Bob with three of the eighteen or so they caught on 3/9/10

Jeff with a speckled trout he caught on 3/13/10

Ed with a mid slot red he caught on 3/16/10

On Febuary 20th I had Capt. Jeff Cronk and Darryl Marsh from Carolina Fishing TV on board filming for their most recent episode. We fished the backwaters of the lower Cape Fear for redfish and had a decent day. We saw lots of fish and caught a dozen or so, not bad for late Feb. You can check it out at www.carolinafishingtv.com or on Fox this Sunday morning at 8:30 in eastern NC.

The next couple of weeks should provide some good fishing opportunities with warmer weather predicted starting next week. Black Drum and whiting should start showing up towards the end of March. Check out the pics from the past couple of weeks.

Thanks,
Jeff Wolfe
Seahawk Inshore Fishing Charters
NC Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580