Spring / Summer 2024 Fishing Report
Better late than never! Although spring is almost over here on the southeastern coast of North Carolina, fishing is far from it. Fishing has been quite good for the better part of three months, with currently no end in sight. Areas like Bald Head Island and Topsail Island have been better than they have been for the past couple of years, so hopefully the trend continues and fishing continues on this trajectory. I will go through the spring fishing as well as the beginning of the summer patterns for inshore and nearshore.
Spring started off great with some large schools of redfish, aka red drum, to target, as well as some speckled trout and about all the Spanish mackerel you could want. We also had a great run of Atlantic Bonito, which has since passed, unfortunately. Early spring redfish was the name of the game, with schools pushing roughly 500 fish out on the flats, ready to eat just about anything in sight. This made for some fantastic sightfishing on both fly and light tackle. Speckled trout were also plentiful in the early months of spring in areas like North Topsail Island, Bald Head Island, Southport, and Oak Island. Spanish showed up in great numbers in late April and May and provided some days where you caught about as many as you were willing to. Atlantic Bonito stuck around for a little over a month, with the larger fish being around for just a few weeks, but also provided some excellent fishing off the coast in the Wilmington area. Grey trout, aka weakfish, also made a great showing in good numbers in some select areas and provided some constant action. Overall, this spring has been exceptional, and we hope it will continue throughout the summer.
Inshore:
Summer is almost upon us, and as far as the patterns of fish go, they seem to be fully in their summer mode. Redfish, in particular, have broken up for the most part and have started to spread out within the marsh. You may still find a few schools here and there, but it’s becoming harder and harder to find schools of redfish. Casting top water plugs early in the morning has been producing good numbers of fish, and midday throwing paddle tails, spinner baits, spoons, and popping corks with shrimp artificials has also been providing some great action. Redfish have been getting shallow as well on the flats, providing some great fly fishing and sightfishing when the conditions allow. Speckled trout are still around in some areas, and when you can find them, they generally eat very well. I like to target them while the tide is moving, early in the morning or late in the afternoon. My preferred lure for this is a DOA shrimp or a Spook Jr. top water. Sheepshead have also shown up in great numbers and have been readily eating live fiddler crabs or mud crabs pinned to a sheepshead jig (bottom sweeper to 43:2 jaw breaker is what I like to use). Unfortunately, it seems that we will not be getting a flounder season this year, so BlackBird Guide Services will not be targeting flounder this year.
Nearshore:
The nearshore bite continues to be hot, with plenty of action to be had. Spanish are still present in the area and can be caught in good numbers when trolling clarkspoons or casting metal jigs. Grey trout are also still around, but the bite has not been quite like it was in the early spring. Sharks are here in full force and can readily be caught on live menhaden, pinfish, or small bluefish. Dead bait works quite well too for the sharks, and sometimes they prefer it, so I would always be ready with both. Fly fishing for sharks has also been quite good when the conditions allow, making for super fun targets on the long rod. Bluefish are still prevalent in the area and can be caught in the same way as Spanish Mackrel. I have been seeing the most bluefish close to inlets and also close to the beach in shallower water.
Get out there and enjoy yourselves on the water, and of course, if you are looking for a guided fishing trip in the Wilmington area, give BlackBird Guide Services a call so we can setup a personalized experience for you. BlackBird Guide Services specializes in fly and light tackle fishing charters and runs fishing trips out of Bald Head Island, Topsail Island, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, Southport, and Oak Island. We look forward to hearing from you!
