Summer has really been showing its face around here lately and with the warm air comes more bait and more means more fish to catch! I’ve seen a big change in water temps in the last few weeks, the waters around Wrightsville Beach are hanging around 65` inshore most days; it will not be long before we are swimming! The warm water has really brought out the bait fish, which is always a good thing for fishing! The water will only get better as May temps start to really hit summer time!
The Bluefish are really starting showing just off the beaches from twenty feet to forty feet of water; you should have no problem catching them. I’ve had the best luck with deeper spoons on number one planners, yes I’m seeing a few on the top line but the best has been deeper. Clark-spoons in sizes 00 and 0 are doing the trick in colors silver, gold and pink flash. I’m using thirty and forty pound clear Berkley Big Game mono for all my trolling leaders. Tip: keep your trolling and casting speed up; faster moving baits seem to get more bites, I troll around five knots or six mph. There is a few Bonita and False Albacore around too and more should start to show soon!
When the Bonita and Albacore are on top feeding; cast Sea Rock and Sea striker jig-spoons. The colors that seem to work the best are pink/purple, white, green and blue. I use a forty pound Fluorocarbon leader; about twenty to thirty inches long. I really like Berkley’s Pro Spec tinted (gunsmoke) fluorocarbon leader material for clear water conditions. A good light seven foot rod is very important for casting to these fish: the reason for this is the further you can cast equals more chance’s you will hook up. When there are a lot of boats chasing the Bonita, they get wearer of boats. If you can cast farther; you will cover more area and you will catch more fish!
The Cobia should be here most any day and you know I’m always looking for them! I look this time of year for Cobia around inlets, shoals and bait schools; near shore/offshore reefs and ledges are also a good place to look too. With the wind and rain we’ve had lately it will be a little harder to see those brown logs in the stained water, but that does not mean they are not around and hungry. I like throwing big jigs, swim baits 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, blues and mullet as bait. If you hook one of these beast, take your time fighting them, they don’t tire out easily; a green Cobia can really tear up a boat and/or you!
The Redfish have slowed a little bit over the last week due to the waters warming up, but we are still catching them; going earlier in the morning seems to help the bite some. Fishing top-water baits like MirrOlure’s Top Dog Jr or Top Pup also Sebile’s Ghost Walker are catching me some really nice Reds in shallow water. When I’m fishing in deeper water for Reds like around docks, creek mouths and deeper grass lines; I’m casting Berkley Gulp products like the four inch Ripple Mullet or the three inch Gulp shrimp. The colors I prefer in the Ripple Mullet are rootbeer gold/chart tail, goby magic chart tail, new penny and pearl white; in the three inch shrimp new penny, sugar spice glow and natural colors.
Rig these baits on a red, black, brown or gray jig head with a thirty to forty pound mono or fluorocarbon leader. I have had some good luck lately with spinner baits for the Redfish and the trick that seems to work for me is a Ripple Mullet in the color rootbeer gold/chart tail as the grub on the spinner bait. Remember reel that spinner bait; just fast enough to keep it off the bottom.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Reds, Blues, Bonita: PENN Battle spinning in sizes 2000, 3000 & 4000 sizes Penn Conquer 2000. Cobia Fishing reels: PENN Battle 5000, 6000 & 7000, PENN Fathom 25N. Line: Spiderwire Ultra-cast Cobia Line: 30 pound Berkley Big Game Mono. Rods: Reds, Blues, Bonits: PENN Legion Medium and Medium heavy. Cobia Rods: Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series in 50-100 class spinning and casting. Leader material: Cobia; Berkley Big Game mono & Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Reds, Blues Bonita: Berkley Pro Spec Fluorocarbon.
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Thanks for reading this report, if you have any questions just let me know!
Good Luck Fishing,
Captain Jot Owens
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
PENN Tackle Elite Staff
www.captainjot.com