Reds, flounder active after first ‘mullet blow’

DOA, Gulp! shirmp make quick work of redfish and speckled trout; mullet, mud minnows work well for flounder.

Red drum and flounder are providing most of the action for anglers at southeastern coastal North Carolina, especially near Southport, Wilmington guide Jeff Wolfe said Friday (Sept. 16) while fishing the Elizabeth River with two clients.

“The water is alive with baits, especially finger mullets, right now,” Wolfe said. “We’re using live finger mullets under float rigs to catch reds.”

Most of the red drum are slot sized (18 to 27 inches), but a few are weighing 25 to 30 pounds.

Wolfe was in the Elizabeth River to avoid the wind, which was blowing 30 mph and expected to continue to howl for the next three days after passage of a Canadian cold front. It was the first “mullet blow” of the season, which traditionally kicks off great fall fishing up and down the Tar Heel coast.

“The good news is it’ll cool down the water into the 70s – it’s been in the mid-80s – and that’ll mean fish will be on the move even more,” Wolfe said. “We’re fishing the little creeks (in the marshes off the river) between Oak Island to the mainland.”

Wolfe’s anglers also are landing flounder and sheepshead.

“We’re picking up a few (spotted sea) trout, too, and that should get better and better into October,” Wolfe said.

Speckled trout and reds are hitting top-water lures such as Rapala Skitterwalks, Top Dogs and Top Pups, along with 1/4-ounce lead-head jigs with soft-plastic DOA shrimp and minnow imitators.

Flounder are taking mud minnows and finger mullet, although mullet is preferred because of small croakers and pinfish attacking mud minnows.

“I’d rather fish the Gulp (shrimp and minnows than live baits) because you can cover more ground, and flounder will bite them readily,” Wolfe said.

The Gulp! Jerkshad and new DOA fire tail Shrimp also are good artificial flatfish lures.

“The fire tails come in chartreuse, root beer and white-chartreuse, and they’re terrific flounder lures,” Wolfe said. “I guess (the fish) just aren’t used to seeing them or maybe it’s the fire-tail color. Whatever it is, they’re working good right now.”

A client of Wolfe’s recently won the Cape Fear Homebuilders flounder tournament using a DOA fire tail Shrimp and caught a 4 1/2-pounder.

“Here’s an odd thing, though – one of my clients, Tim Paschall of Hillsborough, landed a 3 1/2-pound flounder after casting a Rapala (pink-white) Skitterwalk, a topwater lure, into 4 inches of water (for a red drum),” Wolfe said. “I guess it just shows anything can happen down here.”

Wolfe can be reached at 910.619.9580.

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