North Carolina’s saltwater roundup

Anglers will find plenty of old drum this month, but at some point, they’ll head offshore.

Numerous species are keeping anglers busy

North Carolina’s anglers were disappointed in the short duration of the 2025 recreational flounder season. But they caught plenty of flounder, including some that were bonafide trophies.

Scott Crossno caught one of those trophies. He was fishing in the Atlantic Beach area, using a live minnow when he caught a 13.04-pound doormat.

Another one of the biggest flounder weighed in along North Carolina’s southeast coast was a 10.84-pounder that was gigged by Jeremy Maia and weighed in at Chasin’ Tails Outdoors Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Beach.

Hook-and-line anglers caught the bulk of this season’s flounder, including Chuck Hughes, who pulled in a 9.5-pounder while fishing from shore at the AB Bridge access.

Scott Crossno caught this 13.04-pound doormat during NC’s 2-week flounder season.

Bennie Smith broke double digits with his 10.10-pound flounder he caught while fishing a backwater creek.

And Delacy Fields got in on the action, boating a 10.31-pound flounder. He weighed that fish at the same location he started the day buying bait and tackle, Chasin’ Tails Outdoors Bait and Tackle.

Old drum

Big flounder were featured on numerous social media sites throughout North Carolina’s 2-week season, but that’s not the only species keeping smiles on anglers’ faces.

Giant red drum have been showing off for catch-and-release anglers up and down the Old North State’s coast. And king mackerel weighing up to 88 pounds have been weighed in at Chasin’ Tails.

Sheepshead, puppy drum, Spanish mackerel and chopper bluefish have also been biting, and the speckled trout bite has really picked up since the water temperatures have begun cooling down.

The speckled trout bite comes on strong as the water temperatures continue to cool.

Up in the Nags Head area, Oceans East Bait and Tackle reports lots of action, both inshore and offshore. Limits of mahi, citation sheepshead, drum of all sizes, speckled trout, pompano in the surf, blue marlin and white marlin offshore have been just some of the highlights for anglers in the past few weeks.

Capt. Bobby Brewer of Baldheaded Bobby Guide Service in Oriental said anglers can expect some changes from the fish at some point this month.

Old drum in particular will leave the inshore and nearshore waters and head to the ocean this month. The only question is exactly when.

“In October, the fishing for old drum will be on like hotcakes for days in a row, then all of a sudden, we don’t see them any longer,” said Brewer (919-349-6112).

Speckled trout

Trout will also do a lot of moving this month, but they’ll stay in range for inshore anglers who are willing to spend the time looking for them. Like the old drum, speckled trout will be in certain areas for days, then all of a sudden, they’re no longer there. But unlike the drum, they don’t move too far.

“As October progresses, more and more trout will arrive, and they’ll migrate deeper into the creeks,” he said.

And when it comes to catching those trout, Brewer said it can change daily, or even hourly.

“Throughout October, the trout bite can become addicting,” he said. “Topwater works, popping cork works, hard bait works, jigging plastic works and live bait works.”

Chuck Hughes was fishing from the bank when he caught this 9.5-pound keeper flounder in early September.

But, Brewer said all those methods don’t work every day, and which method is working best can change throughout the day.

“In summary, you have no excuses,” he said. “If one method isn’t producing a bite, change to another.”

Brewer said another species that comes on strong this month is the false albacore.

“As we move into October, we’ll see more promising reports of the albie arrivals,” he said. “I start my albie trips on Oct. 9 and will end them at Thanksgiving.”

Brewer said to catch these fish, anglers using spinning rods can remove the popping cork from their drum rigs and tie on a Stingsilver from HR Tackle.

“For the fly fishing anglers, use the same rod you use for drum, but cut off your popper and tie on a white/silver clouser,” he said.

False albacore

Brewer also said anglers will see a difference in the size of the false albacore as the calendar turns to next month.

“In albie talk,” he said, “the footballs arrive first, and the buffalos show up in November.”

Footballs, he said, are the shorter, more football-shaped albies. These, he said, fight just as hard as an old drum. The buffalos are even bigger.

Overall, Brewer said the fishing this month will be very good, but anglers will need to be a little more active on some days to stay in feeding fish.

“Multiple species are on the move this month,” he said. “October is fish hunting season. One day you find them in an area, and the next day, they’re gone.”

This can make it tough for some anglers. For others, it’s all just a part of the game.

“If you like the hunt, it can be fun,” he said. “If you only like the catching, it can be frustrating.”

October is definitely a month of transition, but Brewer said towards the end of the month, and into November, all the fish movement will settle down, which will make it easier to pattern fish again.