Fall 2023 Fishing Report
Fall fishing report 2023
Fall is here and while the water temperatures are cooling the fishing is heating up. Migratory species such as speckled trout, false albacore and bull reds have made their appearances over the last few weeks and while some of these species will trickle off some will continue to get better and better. It’s hard to beat this time of year in my opinion. The weather is much more comfortable than the blazing summer heat and fishing opportunities can be around any corner.
Speckled Trout have been coming in waves all along the coast of North Carolina and should not stop anytime soon. While we seemed to get an early push of fish that turned the fishing on these pushes eb and flow. So many times in early fall a marsh bank can hold a massive group of speckled trout one day and seemingly gone the next. Sometimes it’s tide driven, sometimes it water temperature driven but no bank around an inlet this time of year can be written off for long as the fish can move at a moments notice. As long as you can find good tidal movement, the presence of bait and the right depth your chances of getting some thumps from a trout are good. Look for creek mouths on a falling tide where trout may stack up waiting for bait to get pushed right into their ambush point or points with a medium to soft current creating an eddy where trout may also occupy. I still prefer early mornings for trout this time of year and generally the more overcast and dreary the weather the better chances of getting into trout in good numbers. For speckled trout around Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Topsail Island, Southport and Bald Head Island my favorite lures include a DOA Red Flake Shrimp 4” 1/2 oz, 1/8 jig head with a Zman trout trick in Mood Ring or Opening Night color and a Spook Jr in a wide variety of colors paired with a light action 7’ TFO spinning rod and 2500 reel with 10 lb power pro super slick braid. For any trout lure I’ll always have at least 18” of 15 lb fluorocarbon tied from the lure to the braid with a double uni or fg knot.
Red Drum have been very active as of late but their patterns have definitely somewhat diverted from their summer habits for the most part and their sizes this time of year range from puppy drum all the way up to Bull Drum in the 40 inch range. While Red Drum can be very easy to pattern this time of year they can also be tricky due to large fluctuations in weather, water temp and bait. While in some areas the red drum will start to school the chances that schools stay in the same spot are small, that said rarely are they that far away. One of the best parts of this time of year is that the water starts to clear up which makes sight fishing much easier and provides some great opportunities for fly fishing as well. Still look for reds belly crawling down banks busting on shrimp and other baits that are around like we would in the summer but never write the high tides off either as many times they are going to be following that bait all the way into the grass on many of the big high tides we have this time of year. My go to baits for Red Drum are 1/8 to 1/16 oz jig head with a gulp shrimp or a z man paddle tail, a ned rig paired with a creature bait and lastly a voodoo shrimp. All of these lures are paired with a ML TFO 7’ spinning rod with a 3000 reel spooled with 15lb power super slick. For fly patterns anything that looks like a shrimp should do just fine.
Lastly The False Albacore fishing has been pretty consistent. We had some great pushes of fish a few weeks ago that trickled off and then recently had some more good pushes of fish. Hopefully there is more to come through the month of November and we’ll keep our fingers crossed for some light wind days to get out there and chase them. Fishing for these fish is pretty straight forward, find the birds and hopefully the fish are under them busting. Once spotted get your casting jig in there as fast as you can and rip it across the surface at a steady pace and hope for the bite. This fish have a tendency to get fairly picky at times so I’ll usually have metal and epoxy casting jigs in various colors and sizes. If I could only chose a couple though it would be the Big Nic Spanish Candy 1/2 oz and the Hogy Epoxy Jig 3/8 oz. For my favorite colors I generally gravitate towards pink as well as silver. For rod selection for these speed demons I prefer a ML to M rod paired with a 3000 reel spooled with 15 lb power pro super slick braid. For fly patterns either a clauser or a surf candy should do the trick.
If you’d like to book a trip to target any of these species give me a shout!
Happy Fishing
Capt. Cam 910.547.9353
