Carolina Beach Fishing Charters

Seahawk Inshore Fishing Report 6/7/11

Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Southport, and Bald Head Island Inshore and Backwater Fishing is Good!!!

The inshore and backwater fishing around the Cape Fear area has been good over the past couple of weeks. There have been a couple of tough days mixed in, but we have still managed a few fish on those days. The weather has been great for fishing the beautiful waters of the lower Cape Fear. We are catching redfish, flounder, sheephead, black drum, bluefish, croakers and a few other species. This pattern should continue over the summer months.

The redfishing has been a good with lots of double digit days recently. The redfish are schooled up on the flats and spread out along the marshes and creeks of the lower Cape Fear. The reds are hitting topwater plugs, DOA soft plastics, Gulp Alive baits and minnows on float rigs and carolina rigs. Most of the reds have in the 23″ to 25″ range with a few upper and over slot fish, along with a few under slots mixed in. These fish are so strong in the warm waters and an absolute blast to catch on light tackle. They have been really aggressive on topwater plugs, sometimes chasing these baits halfway back to the boat. This redfishing pattern should continue over the summer months.

The flounder fishing is picking up and should be getting better over the next couple of weeks. We are catching flounder on mud minnows, peanut pogies, DOA soft plastics and Gulp Alive baits. Flounder love Gulp baits and we have been picking up a few flounder when throwing artificials for redfish.

The sheephead are around bridges, docks, and other structure and are hitting fiddler crabs, sand fleas, and mussel clusters. I will sometimes get the mussel clusters off of floating docks and chum the sheephead to a piling, then drop a fiddler crab to the fish. We have to lock down the drags and get the fish out of the pilings. We have had several big sheephead break us off recently. Fishing for sheephead is challenging and lots of fun, and they are great to eat. There is also a chance of picking up a few black drum while fishing for the sheeps.

Both small and large bluefish are in the area and hiting all types of baits. We have been sightcasting to some large blues ( 8 to 10lbs) that are mixed in with some of the schools of redfish in the Masonboro Sound area. These fish are hard to stay hooked up to, but are a blast to catch when you do.

For small kids, we have been catching lots of croakers and other panfish to keep then busy. We can catch these fish along with the bigger fish such as redfish, black drum, and flounder. Watching small children catch fish is a blast and I had a nine year old catch a 8lb tripletail this week with the help of his dad. I can make inshore fishing very simple, similiar to fishing in a pond or lake for kids and inexperienced anglers.

Thanks for reading the report and check out some of photos from the past couple of weeks. These are just a few of the good catches we have had recently.

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

Ed and James with a 8.5lb tripletail they tag teamed fishing a mud minnow on a float rig. I saw the fish around a crab trap bouy and 9yr old James with the help of his dad did a great job getting this fish to the boat. The first thing that James said to me when he got on the boat was ” I live to fish”. I knew then it was going to be a good day

Ed and James had a great father and son trip fishing the beautiful backwaters of the lower Cape Fear.

Kevin and John doubled up on reds casting topwater plugs in the Masonboro Sound area.

The kids have been having a blast catching reds, flounder and other species using the simple methods of fishing live baits and shrimp on float rigs and bottom rigs

The flounder fishing is picking up. These flounder were caught on Gulp Alive shrimp

Jeff with a red he picked up casting a DOA paddletail jig

Jim with a red that inhaled a Zara Spook topwater plug

James with a redfish he caught fishing a mud minnow on a carolina rig in the creeks of the lower Cape Fear

Tim and Mike with a good catch of sheephead and redfish. Enough fish to feed the 20 or so family members they had at the beach house.

Sarah with a red she caught fishing a mud minnow around some dock pilings

Matt with a large bluefish that inhaled a Rapala Skitterwalk topwater plug on the flats of the Masonboro Sound area. Large blues like this one have been mixed in with the schools of reds and tailing in a foot or two of water.

Kristin with a red she picked up fishing a mud minnow along a creek bank.

Seahawk Inshore Fishing Report 5/16/11

Flounder, Redfish, Black Drum, Sheephead, and Big Blues in the inshore and backwaters of Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach, and Southport!!!

The inshore fishing has been good with catches of redfish, flounder, black drum, sheephead, and bluefish. We have had some great days to be on the water recently and the fish have responded well. Some of the best fishing of the year can occur in late May and June and I am looking forward to some good fishing opportunities for the next month or so.

The redfish are spread out among the marshes of the lower Cape Fear and Masonboro Sound, with many double digit days over the past couple of weeks. Most of the reds have been caught fishing mud minnows, peanut pogies, and shrimp on carolina rigs and float rigs. Fishing these baits around oyster rocks and marsh points is simple and fun for fisherman of all skill levels. The reds have been really aggressive on topwater plugs, and watching these fish chase topwater has been a blast. If they miss the plug, we’ll cast a DOA soft plastic or Gulp Alive Shrimp to them and it works almost everytime. We have also been able to do some sightfishing to small schools of reds that are roaming the marsh edges on calm days. We have also caught some reds fishing docks along the intracoastal waterway. Look for the redfishing to get better as we get into late May and June.

The sheephead fishing is starting to pick up and putting a few of these tasty fish in the cooler is always a possibility this time of year. Fishing live fiddler crabs on carolina rigs around pilings is the the way to go for some nice sheeps. These fish are challenging to get out of the pilings and are great to eat. We are also picking up some black drum while fishing the same structure for sheephead and redfish.

The flounder are starting to show up in decent numbers will be getting better over the next couple of weeks. Fishing peanut pogies on carolina rigs around the inlets, drop offs, docks, deep holes, and other structure is the best way to put some tasty flatfish in the boat. We can also pick up flounder casting Gulp Alive shrimp around some of these same areas. Flounder love Gulp Baits and we usually pick up a few flounder while throwing these baits for redfish.

There are always some large bluefish (8 to 12 pounders) roaming the inshore waters this time of year and hooking up with a big chopper blue is a lot of fun. I have run into some small pods of 15 to 20 fish feeding with their tails and fins out of the water and are crushing anything you throw at them. The problem is getting them to the boat after they make a couple of jumps and throw the plug or break you off.

I am looking forward to some good fishing opportunities for the next couple of weeks with a variety of fish to pursue in the Cape Fear area. Thanks for reading the report and I should have a good one for the first of June. Check out some of 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
North Carolina Inshore Fishing Blog
910-619-9580

4/28/11 Mike with a red that hit a Gulp Alive Shrimp

4/28/11 Caleb with a red that hit a spinnerbait with a DOA paddletail jig

4/29/11 Ed, Morgan, and Jason (aka Vinnie) with a few of the reds they caught fishing mud minnows on carolina rigs

4/29/11 Ed with a flounder he picked up fishing a mud minnow on a carolina rig

4/30/11 Margie and Horton had a great husband and wife fishing trip throwing DOA soft plastics and Gulp Alive Shrimp in the backwaters of the lower Cape Fear

5/1/11 Angel with a red she caught float fishing a shrimp along the marsh edge

5/1/11 Derek with a black tip shark that hit a mud minnow on a float rig

5/2/11 Declan with a red he caught fishing a mud minnow around some dock pilings

5/3/11 Mike and Joe with a catch of sheephead and a few of the reds they caught fishing fiddler crabs and mud minnows

5/4/11 Michael with a upper slot red he caught fishing a peanut pogie on a carolina rig

5/5/11 Jeff with a red he caught fishing a mud minnow on a carolina rig

5/7/11 Kim with a nice sheephead that hit a fiddler crab around some dock pilings

5/7/11 Adam with a black drum that hit a piece of shrimp on a carolina rig

Adam and Kim with their catch from 5/7/11

5/13/11 Victor and Cameron had a great father and son fishing trip throwing Gulp Alive Shrimp, DOA soft plastics, and topwater plugs along the marsh edge

5/13/11 Dave with a blue he caught on a topwater plug sightcasting to a school that was tailing on the flats of Masonboro Sound

5/14/11 Christian with multi-spot 32 inch red that inhaled a topwater plug on the flats of Masonboro Sound. This was a good day with large blues and redfish working the same areas.

5/15/11 Jeffrey with a over slot red he picked up sightcasting to a school on the flats of the lower Cape Fear. Caught on a Gulp Alive shrimp

5/16/11 Ira with a flounder he caught fishing a mud minnow around a oyster bed

5/16/11 Robbie with a red he picked up fishing a live mud minnow on a carolina rig