Fish the beachfront off Onslow County’s shoreline and do battle with big schools of wintering red drum.
The bone-chilling conditions of February offer some of the best light-tackle angling of the year in the surf of Onslow Bay. Between the shores of Topsail Beach and Bogue Inlet to the north, huge schools of red drum pack into the surf in just a few feet of water to escape the wrath of porpoises. Fishermen tossing scented soft plastics will quickly be rewarded by strikes from these famished beasts in the gin-clear winter waters.
Seasonal weather continues to drive reds into their winter patterns, with February offering some of the harshest conditions anglers will endure all year. As temperatures plummet, reds congregate and seek refuge in super-shallow waters.
While thick populations of reds spend the winter in the skinny creeks of the marsh, the rest of the wintering population vacations in the surf zone, just feet away from the area’s sandy beaches.
While the move to the surf zone in the dead of winter is not totally understood, anglers new to the fishery will think their eyes are playing tricks on them when they see the huge congregations of fish. Reds move to the surf zone to reduce their exposure to marine mammals, especially porpoises. These “Flipper” lookalikes will consume up to five percent of their body weight per day, and since reds’ metabolism slows in the winter, they are more in danger of becoming part of that five percent. They survive predation by fleeing to extremely shallow water.
Even though these fish frequent the surf zone throughout the year, schools grow exponentially in the winter according to Capt. Ricky Kellum of Speckled Specialist Fishing Charters of Jacksonville. Even though Kellum’s claim of fame may be speckled trout, he hones in on huge schools of red drum when weather conditions permit.
“Drum frequent these areas every month of the year, but the schools just get a whole lot bigger over the winter and a lot more accessible,” he said.
Onslow County’s beaches face southeast, and the prevailing northerly and northwesterly winds of winter reduce swell and wave action along the shoreline.
“During winter, you have more days available to go with more offshore wind days,” said Kellum, who prefers westerly and northwesterly winds with no more than a 2-foot swell predicted.
“One-foot seas are about all you want in an incoming swell. You need to get right on the beach sometimes,” he said.
In addition to the weather forecast, he checks local weather buoys for current swell and wave action near the beach. Periods of placid conditions allow suspended sediments to settle and the water to clear up.
Calm water is critical for locating red drum in the surf zone. While Kellum will fish on any tide, he prefers a falling tide because it will usually be much calmer. He cruises the beachfront looking for pods of fish and will continue up or down the beach until he finds a big school.
“You like to have it calm enough to deploy your trolling motor and pick fish out of the school,” he said.
Locating fish is a visual task in winter, and clear water is critical. Capt. Walter Bateman of Coastal Carolina Guide Service looks for large, dark spots along the edges of the shoals during clear, calm conditions.
“The water is gin-clear over the winter months, and the fish are tough to miss when stacked up. The big schools will almost look purple when you see them,” he said.
The schools can be quite large. According to Bateman, they can be hold between several hundred to several thousand individuals packed into a condensed mass.
“Fish between 25 and 30 inches will be schooled up pretty tight, but they can be broken up into schools throughout the surf zone, too,” he said.
Red drum prefer certain areas over others. Kellum starts looking around area inlets, including Browns, Bear, and even Bogue Inlet near Emerald Isle.
“The north and south side of these inlets on the backside of shoals and the backside of rips up near the shore will hold these fish mostly,” said Kellum, who uses the presence of porpoises to his advantage.
“When you find the drum, the porpoises will be right out in the deeper water, waiting. The porpoises will give away the schools every time,” said Kellum, who will ride the beach looking for surfacing porpoises, especially under murky conditions.
“The New River Inlet is as good as any of them, but the water is not very clear, and porpoises will help you spot fish or at least know where to start blind-casting.”
While blind-casting is not preferred, fish will bite well under murky conditions if anglers can locate them.
Clear water or not, a red drum’s sight is not its most accute sense. They will feed using their olfactory senses, and scented lures are preferred. It’s no surprise that the Gulp! product line produces hook-ups, and Bateman and Kellum choose the 4-inch shrimp pattern in any color attached to a quarter-ounce jighead, but any of the other Gulp! patterns will work well under these conditions. When conditions become rough, Kellum will use a Carolina-rig with a 1-ounce egg sinker in front of a Gulp! shrimp.
Even though red drum are quite cold tolerant, their activity level will decline as water temperatures cool, and lures should be worked very slowly. Kellum will cast across the school and work the lure back through the fish making small jabs.
“When the fish picks up the lure, you have to let the fish take it off for a little while before you set the hook,” he said, explaining that the colder weather slows down the eating process, and the fish may need a little extra time to get the entire lure in their mouth before setting hook.
When the water gets real cold, frozen shrimp or cut mullet are good options. Conversely, periods of warm weather show up even in February, and warm trends invigorate red drum along the beachfront. Topwater baits are not out of the question for Bateman.
“When the fish are snapping good, topwater lures will work well,” he said, naming Rapala’s Skitterwalk and MirrOlure’s Top Dog as his favorites.
These salty shores harbor huge schools of reds in winter. Even though the beaches are usually deserted, huge schools of famished fish lie just a few feet from the shoreline. Anglers with the right weather and approach can experience heart-pounding battles from a worthy opponent.
DESTINATION INFORMATION
WHERE TO GO/HOW TO GET THERE — Inlets are good places to begin searching for reds, and all of the inlets between Lee Island just below Topsail, and Cape Carteret will hold wintering reds along the oceanfront. From south to north, they are: New River, Brown’s, Bear and Bogue. Inlets are accessible from several public ramps, within the region from Swansboro off NC 24 in the north and Snead’s Ferry to the south off NC 172 on the south. The area is accessible from US 70 to the north and I-40 to the southwest.
WHEN TO GO — While red drum are available in the surf zone year-round, big schools congregate as waters cool in early winter, and they don’t break up until weather patterns change in the spring as water temperatures climb. Prevailing winds out of the northwest and west offer calm conditions in the surf zone. Light seas between, a light offshore breeze and gin-clear water are preferred conditions for battling red drum.
TACKLE/TECHNIQUES — Wintering red drum will congregate behind the rips in the surf zone. Finding schools of fish is the hardest job. Once located, try and keep your boat a long cast away. Spinning gear in 6½- to 7-foot, medium-heavy outfits are preferred for the long casts necessary. Spool reels with 10- to 20-pound braided line with 18- to 24-inch leaders of 20-pound fluorocarbon. A strong trolling motor is a big help when you’re trying to slip up on a school. As far as lures are concerned, quarter-ounce jigheads with scented soft-plastic baits are preferred. Gulp! shrimp are the No. 1 soft plastics. After warming trends, reds will hit topwater baits such as Skitterwalks, Zara Spooks and Top Dogs. In extremely cold water, go with cut mullet or frozen shrimp on a Carolina rig.
FISHING INFO/CHARTERS — Capt. Walter Bateman, Coastal Carolina Guide Service, 910-262-1550, http://www.carolinaguide.com/; Capt. Ricky Kellum, Speckled Specialist Charters, 910-330-2745, http://www.speckledspecialist.com/; The Reel Outdoors, Emerald Isle, 252-354-6692; East Coast Sports, Surf City, 910-328-1887.
ACCOMMODATIONS — Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce, http://www.jacksonvilleonline.org/;
MAPS — Capt. Seagull’s Nautical Charts, 888-473-4855, http://www.captainsegullcharts.com/; Sealake Fishing; Guides, 800-411-0185, http://www.thegoodspots.com/; GMCO Chartbook of North Carolina, 888-420-6277, http://www.gmcomaps.com/; Visit North Carolina, http://www.visitnc.com/.
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