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Wilmington NC Fishing Report: Redfish, Trout, Sea Bass, and Bonita Biting
Published 1 year ago
Description
Good morning anglers this is Artificial Lure with your Wilmington NC area fishing report for April 19th 2025. We’ve got a classic spring morning shaping up with the sun rising at around 6:33 am and setting at 7:45 pm. The weather today brings mild temps climbing into the mid 60s with a light southwest breeze. Expect clear skies early with a few clouds drifting in by afternoon. Tides are running strong as we’re working around a waxing moon. You’ll see an incoming tide through the morning peaking late morning and a good strong outgoing tide into the afternoon perfect for moving bait and active fish.
Inshore fishing has picked up nicely with water temps now hovering above 60 degrees. Red drum are tailing in the marshes and creeks especially around high tide. They’ve been chewing well on gold spoons and soft plastic paddle tails in natural colors. If you like live bait, you can’t go wrong with mud minnows or live shrimp under a popping cork. Speckled trout are popping up more frequently along deep bends in the creeks and around oyster beds. Try a MirrOlure or a DOA shrimp early before the sun gets high. There’s also a few sheepshead starting to show, especially tight to docks and bridge pilings. Fiddler crabs are your best shot if you want to tangle with them.
Over near the mouth of the river and the jetties, black drum and the occasional flounder have been biting cut shrimp and small chunks of menhaden. Stripers are also possible further upriver, especially on jerkbaits or swimming plugs.
Moving out to the nearshore reefs and just beyond, there’s been a steady bite of black sea bass in the 15 to 25 mile range most keepers biting squid strips or cut bait fished on the bottom. Offshore action is a bit slow with the last cold snap but anglers are picking at blackfin tuna and scattered wahoo when the weather lines up. Closer to shore, we’re waiting on the main push of Atlantic bonita and Spanish mackerel but you might see a few early fish show up any day now. Trolling small Clark spoons or casting metal jigs around nearshore structure is worth a shot.
Hot spots today include the Wrightsville Beach jetty for redfish and trout, the docks and oyster beds of Bradley Creek for inshore action, and the AR 425 and AR 362 reefs for a mixed bag of sea bass and maybe an early mackerel.
If you’re coming down, remember to bring a variety of soft plastics, a couple of topwater plugs for early, and don’t forget your favorite popping cork setup. Live bait is always a strong bet if you can get it.
That’s your Wilmington area update for today. Tight lines and good luck out there.
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
Inshore fishing has picked up nicely with water temps now hovering above 60 degrees. Red drum are tailing in the marshes and creeks especially around high tide. They’ve been chewing well on gold spoons and soft plastic paddle tails in natural colors. If you like live bait, you can’t go wrong with mud minnows or live shrimp under a popping cork. Speckled trout are popping up more frequently along deep bends in the creeks and around oyster beds. Try a MirrOlure or a DOA shrimp early before the sun gets high. There’s also a few sheepshead starting to show, especially tight to docks and bridge pilings. Fiddler crabs are your best shot if you want to tangle with them.
Over near the mouth of the river and the jetties, black drum and the occasional flounder have been biting cut shrimp and small chunks of menhaden. Stripers are also possible further upriver, especially on jerkbaits or swimming plugs.
Moving out to the nearshore reefs and just beyond, there’s been a steady bite of black sea bass in the 15 to 25 mile range most keepers biting squid strips or cut bait fished on the bottom. Offshore action is a bit slow with the last cold snap but anglers are picking at blackfin tuna and scattered wahoo when the weather lines up. Closer to shore, we’re waiting on the main push of Atlantic bonita and Spanish mackerel but you might see a few early fish show up any day now. Trolling small Clark spoons or casting metal jigs around nearshore structure is worth a shot.
Hot spots today include the Wrightsville Beach jetty for redfish and trout, the docks and oyster beds of Bradley Creek for inshore action, and the AR 425 and AR 362 reefs for a mixed bag of sea bass and maybe an early mackerel.
If you’re coming down, remember to bring a variety of soft plastics, a couple of topwater plugs for early, and don’t forget your favorite popping cork setup. Live bait is always a strong bet if you can get it.
That’s your Wilmington area update for today. Tight lines and good luck out there.
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.