ProFishNC Charters Fishing Conditions Update for Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Topsail Beach, Figure Eight Island and Wilmington, NC Fishing on 4/8/2013
This time of year gets me excited as the yearly 10 months of EPIC North Carolina Fishing has now begun, the water Temp is warming up at a FAST Pace and is now up to 58 Degrees off of Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach & Topsail Beach which means its “FISH ON” :)! The Bluefish have now shown up in decent numbers following the schools of Menhaden (a favorite baitfish of many Inshore Fish) and are now catchable in good numbers off of the Wrightsville Beach Jetty, Carolina Beach Boat Basin and the surf off of Topsail Beach. The Bigger Bluefish (Locally termed “BigHead Blues” are working their way down the Intracoastal Waterway (yes, the “BigHeads” move down from the Northern Waters) and are beginning to feed heavily in our Backwater Creeks, Inlets and Channels. They are feeding on the newly arriving menhaden and they are VERY Hungry. IF you can net up some Menhaden, use them on a carolina rig with about 2 feet of 3o – 50 pound Mono Leader and wait for the bite… IF you have a “bite-through”, meaning the fish cut your Mono leader, switch to a low gauge wire (I like to use 20# wire) and tie directly to your swivel. Though large and aggressive, the “Bigheads” will not bight through your wire leader.
Large Flounder are now staging off of our nearshore ledges, artificial reefs and wrecks this time of year and can be a lot of fun to catch. We are catching the larger flounder 3 – 8 miles off of the beach (along with NUMEROUS Black Seabass & Dogfish Sharks) on 2oz Spro Jigheads tipped with a 4″ Soft Plastic (Scented with Shrimp ProCure). This fishery is Great Fun this time of year. The Flounder have also begun moving into our backwaters and creeks to feed on the early run of shrimp (shrimp will make two BIG pushes into our inland waters… once about Mid April and again in Mid October) which alway brings in the first GOOD showing of Flounder for the season.
Both Red and Black Drum are starting to Feed Hard as the waters warm. The Red Drum Fishing in Wrightsville Beach is really starting to pick up as the drum are now moving more on the tides in search of the baitfish! Live Bait is KEY; however, they are still feeding on shrimp (use “as fresh as you can find”) and have enticed many bites on on soft plastics (scented with ProCure) on a QUALITY jig-head. I prefer and highly recommend Blue Water Candy (BWC) jig-heads (Pink Color this time of year) in the 1/4 – 3/4 oz range (depending on the depth and current you are fishing). BWC has set the bar HIGH with the quality & sharpness of the hooks used in the design of their jig-heads (there is a direct correlation between the sharpness of you hook to your hook-up ratio). The Sheephead are feeding as well and can be caught fairly consistently right now on the South Wrightsville Beach Jetty. The Sheepshead are not as large as the “August Sheepshead” (which can be over 10 lbs); however, they are LOTS of fun on light tackle.
Topsail Beach, NC Fishing has been heating up as well! The Speckled Trout have been feeding on the Ocean Side of the marshes as they are too feeding on the migratory menhaden and shrimp this time of year. The Whiting (a/k/a SeaMullet) have been feeding in the surf on the outgoing tides (use fresh shrimp).
The Puffer Fish are in full feeding mode right now off of all of our local beaches, waterways and backwaters as well! Though fun to catch with the kids, be sure to watch out for the SHARP and POWERFUL beak the Puffer Fish have as they do tend to bite with force. 🙂
Tight Lines & Hope to See You on the Water!
Capt. Trev
http://www.FishingChartersNC.com
CaptainTrevor@ProFishNC.com
(910) 547-0000