Everything is biting!
This reports comes to us from Capt. Chris Foster of Yeah Right Charters.
With the cooler weather finally in place along North Carolina’s southern coast, the fall fishing is in full swing. Literally everything is biting! Avid anglers of all species can find hard-fighting fish to tussle with. And they are also catching plenty of keeper-sized fish to take home for the fryer or grill. And that’s true throughout the entire Cape Fear area.
In the backwaters, redfish has been the go-to species for fun days on the water. The slot-sized redfish are biting cut baitfish on Carolina rigs fished around drop offs and grass beds. Speckled trout are mixed right in with the redfish. And flounder, all of which must be released, are biting in those same spots too.
We tip our baits with Pro-Cure Super Gel attractants. It really helps to get the bites, especially when the bite slows down.
Sheepshead are also biting in the creeks. And while every fisherman has his or her own method to hook these fish, we like to just use a simple “one-armed bandit,” a/k/a fiddler crab on a strong Owner hook and a modified Carolina rig. It gets the job done as well as any method we’ve tried.
King mackerel, grouper, and wahoo are biting too
On the nearshore scene, the spots have started to show up. Anglers are finding the schools in the basin between Bald Head Island and Southport’s waterfront. Fish the tides and the drop-offs, and you’ll find spots feeding.
In the river channel on the nearshore reefs, the king mackerel are still prevalent and feeding strong. One of the best setups right now is to anchor over structure on a reef, then deploy pogies on a king mackerel live bait rig from the back of the boat and into the current with a balloon. Now, start fishing on the bottom with pieces of cut pogy. The bottom rig will entice bull redfish into biting when they swim by.
Offshore, the grouper bite is hot. Anglers are catching good numbers of gag and scamp grouper. Some red groupers are also mixed in on the offshore rocks and ledges. You want to stay prepared for a king mackerel out here too, because a few are lingering around and willing to bite.
Anglers are catching plenty of wahoo in the Gulf Stream. The trick here is finding good weather to get that far offshore. The trip is worth it on calm days.
Tight Lines!
Capt. Chris Foster
(828) 545-2316
Did you know the Oak Island Pier reopened this past summer? Click here to read about it.
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