ProFishNC Charters Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach & Topsail Beach Fishing Report for May 21st – 27th
All I can say is… WOW! The Fish have really shown up in Numbers this year (Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish, King Mackerel & Cobia)!!! The Spanish Mackerel Bite has been nothing short of EPIC for this, the third week of May! We had many days with Limits of Spanish, Filling Coolers & Dulling Fillet Knives ;).
The Spanish Mackerel Fishing has been nothing short of EPIC!…. This week we’ve been Sight-Fishing these FAST Feeding Mackerel with Lite Tackle by chasing the schools of fish feeding at the surface and casting spoons and casting-jigs into the topwater explosions of Mackerel! I do like trolling; however, there’s something about “hunting” the fish and placing that perfect cast into the school; ultimately, having 30+ yards of line peel of the spool!
We really had an epic past 7 days of sight-fishing and trolling! We even managed a surprise King Mackerel on SUPER LIGHT Tackle casting a diamond jig into a school of baitfish 3 miles off the beach!
Note: The Spanish Mackerel “Bite” has moved south over the past couple of days; therefore, for optimal success this upcoming week Fish Carolina Beach and look for the Spanish Mackerel from the beach out to 50’ of water (Look for the Bait & Birds)…
The Cobia have moved in to our waters over the past couple of weeks and now we are seeing a SPIKE in Cobia “Hookups”. Yesterday and ran right by a Big Sea Turtle that was harboring a 30+ lb cobia in its shadow! Unfortunately, I was running 30+kts making my way back inshore from the 10 Mile Boxcars and they both made a dive down to the depths… The Large Sea Turtles provide a virtual Floating Ecosystem with baitfish, sharks, and cobia all enjoying the shade they provide.
Upping your odds for landing a North Carolina Cobia:
In our area, the best bet for landing “The Man in the Brown Suit (a/k/a Cobia), Fish the Migrating Baitballs working our shoreline this time of year by dripping LIVE Blue Crabs in the middle of the baitball allowing it to fall beneath the baitfish in hopes there is a Cobia lurking below. You can also use this technique with Live Bluefish, Menhaden or by dropping large Jigs tipped with an eel Gulp, stip-bait or large whole squid. The Second Option… Be the FIRST out to the sea-buoys and wreck markers in the am before sun-rise and look for the Cobia underneath. After you scout the buoys at first light, go to your nearest Jetty or Near-Shore Wreck and both fish live baits on the bottom and top (hint, hint… Float a Live Blue Crab 😉
Side Note: In this part of the NC Coastline (the Onslow Bay Area) I look at Cobia Fishing like I do Kenai River Alaska, King Salmon Fishing… If you put in the TIME to “Soak Baits”, its only a matter of time until you Get that Monster Fish!
The Inshore “Bite” for Fishing Wrightsville Beach, Topsail Beach and Carolina Beach I rate as only Fair this week… We had a Full Moon Cycle that really laid down the inshore bite (not to mention an unseasonably cold couple nights and Memorial Day weekend Boat Traffic). Despite the oppressing factors, we did manage double-digit days catching Red Drum in the shallows and backwaters.
The Inlet “Bite” for Fishing Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Beach: I rate as Great this week and was Constant Action!… Fishing Wrightsville Beach (Masonboro Inlet) we had numerous “Fill the Cooler Days” with Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel (most days we managed 50+ Bluefish mixed with Spanish Mackerel). Talk about Constant Action in the protected Inlet Waters (I have had to sharpen my fillet knife every day this past week… that’s a good thing!).
Near-Shore Bite out to 18 miles:
There have been a few Mahi Mahi caught this week in the 18 mile range… EPIC Spanish Mackerel & Bluefish Bite (as described above)… Bottom Fishing: The Black Seabass, Grunts (a/k/a Silver Snapper), Sharks and everything in-between have been on FIRE as well (We do have small King Mackerel Inshore; however, the larger King’s will be on the beaches once that water hits 72… we are between 70 & 71 degrees currently (as of 9pm 5/29/13)… ☺
Gear I use for Spanish Fishing:
7ft graphite rods
Shimano Spheros, Penn & Okuma Reels
PowerPro Braided line
1&1/2 oz crippled herring, diamond jigs & Miriah Jigs for casting… trolling I use YoZuri Deep Divers and Clark Spoons
YoZuri 30lb Pink Fluorocarbon
The Fishing will only get Better as the water temps warm!!!
Give us a call and Lets Go Fishing!
Tight-Lines,
Capt. Trevor Smith
(910) 547-0000
http://www.FishingChartersNC.com
CaptainTrevor@ProFishNC.com