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Wilmington Fishing Report: Early Fall Mixed Bag Action on Tap for September 26, 2025
Published 7 months, 1 week ago
Description
Artificial Lure here with your Wilmington, NC fishing report for Friday, September 26, 2025. Conditions are prime for hitting the water, so let’s dig in.
We’re right around the autumnal equinox, bringing just about equal day and night—sunrise at 7:02 AM, sunset at 7:02 PM, and a cool twelve hours of fishable daylight. The weather’s a classic early fall setup: mostly clear skies, comfortable temps in the mid-70s, and light winds around 6 mph, with gusts topping out at 9 mph. Water temps are sitting sweet at 72°F, so the bite’s on across inshore and nearshore waters. Humidity’s at 80%, which means morning fog is always possible but burns off quick as the sun gets up, based on Wilmington Beach weather observations.
Tides make a big difference today. The early risers will see low tide around 6:59 AM, right about when the sun peeks up, and a midday high at 1:15 PM near 4.8 feet. Evening anglers can look for another low at 7:52 PM. According to Tide-Forecast.com and Tides4Fishing, we’re dealing with moderate tidal coefficients—enough current to keep baits moving and fish active, especially around those tide turns.
Recent trips have been a mixed-bag delight, according to folks booking charters through Captain Experiences. Early fall patterns hold strong: plenty of **red drum** (redfish) cruising inshore flats and creek mouths, big numbers of **speckled trout** around grass edges and oyster bars, and pods of **flounder**—including some nice flat slabs—still holding on structure. Spanish mackerel blitzes are popping just off area beaches and inlets. Some anglers reported a couple of tarpon hookups around the river mouths—always a treat, even if most don’t get boatside!
Offshore, mahi and king mackerel are making a late run, especially around nearshore wrecks and ledges. Guides are still getting action from the occasional blacktip and spinner shark for those looking to put heavy tackle to use.
Best baits and lures? You can’t go wrong with live **menhaden** or mud minnows for red drum and flounder, but artificial enthusiasts are hooking up just as well. Top picks right now include Z-Man or Gulp! soft plastics in natural colors, 3–4” paddletails on 1/4 to 3/8 oz jigheads. MirrOlure suspending twitchbaits are producing trout in the creeks and docks at first light and sundown. Folks targeting mackerel are throwing shiny spoons or trolling Clarkspoons with a light wire leader, especially on an incoming tide off Johnnie Mercers Pier or the sandbars at Wrightsville Beach.
If you’re targeting sheepshead around pilings and bridges, drop fiddler crabs right tight to structure. For surf and pier action, fresh cut mullet and shrimp are drawing in whiting, black drum, and the occasional pompano.
Hot spots to check today:
- The flats behind Masonboro Island—always reliable for redfish and specks when the water’s moving.
- The mouth of the Cape Fear River—bait’s stacked deep, drawing everything from flounder to slot drum and prowling tarpon.
- Wrightsville Beach inlet and Johnnie Mercers Pier—mackerel, bluefish, and the odd monster trout early and late.
Best fishing periods today are forecast during the major lunar window from 10:28 AM to 12:28 PM (lunar transit) and again tonight between 10:59 PM and 12:59 AM (opposing transit), but action has been solid on moving tides all day. Bring a light jacket for those breezy dawn runs—fall is knocking at the door.
That’s your Wilmington wrap for Friday, September 26th, 2025. Thanks for tuning in! Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a beat on the local bite. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated c
We’re right around the autumnal equinox, bringing just about equal day and night—sunrise at 7:02 AM, sunset at 7:02 PM, and a cool twelve hours of fishable daylight. The weather’s a classic early fall setup: mostly clear skies, comfortable temps in the mid-70s, and light winds around 6 mph, with gusts topping out at 9 mph. Water temps are sitting sweet at 72°F, so the bite’s on across inshore and nearshore waters. Humidity’s at 80%, which means morning fog is always possible but burns off quick as the sun gets up, based on Wilmington Beach weather observations.
Tides make a big difference today. The early risers will see low tide around 6:59 AM, right about when the sun peeks up, and a midday high at 1:15 PM near 4.8 feet. Evening anglers can look for another low at 7:52 PM. According to Tide-Forecast.com and Tides4Fishing, we’re dealing with moderate tidal coefficients—enough current to keep baits moving and fish active, especially around those tide turns.
Recent trips have been a mixed-bag delight, according to folks booking charters through Captain Experiences. Early fall patterns hold strong: plenty of **red drum** (redfish) cruising inshore flats and creek mouths, big numbers of **speckled trout** around grass edges and oyster bars, and pods of **flounder**—including some nice flat slabs—still holding on structure. Spanish mackerel blitzes are popping just off area beaches and inlets. Some anglers reported a couple of tarpon hookups around the river mouths—always a treat, even if most don’t get boatside!
Offshore, mahi and king mackerel are making a late run, especially around nearshore wrecks and ledges. Guides are still getting action from the occasional blacktip and spinner shark for those looking to put heavy tackle to use.
Best baits and lures? You can’t go wrong with live **menhaden** or mud minnows for red drum and flounder, but artificial enthusiasts are hooking up just as well. Top picks right now include Z-Man or Gulp! soft plastics in natural colors, 3–4” paddletails on 1/4 to 3/8 oz jigheads. MirrOlure suspending twitchbaits are producing trout in the creeks and docks at first light and sundown. Folks targeting mackerel are throwing shiny spoons or trolling Clarkspoons with a light wire leader, especially on an incoming tide off Johnnie Mercers Pier or the sandbars at Wrightsville Beach.
If you’re targeting sheepshead around pilings and bridges, drop fiddler crabs right tight to structure. For surf and pier action, fresh cut mullet and shrimp are drawing in whiting, black drum, and the occasional pompano.
Hot spots to check today:
- The flats behind Masonboro Island—always reliable for redfish and specks when the water’s moving.
- The mouth of the Cape Fear River—bait’s stacked deep, drawing everything from flounder to slot drum and prowling tarpon.
- Wrightsville Beach inlet and Johnnie Mercers Pier—mackerel, bluefish, and the odd monster trout early and late.
Best fishing periods today are forecast during the major lunar window from 10:28 AM to 12:28 PM (lunar transit) and again tonight between 10:59 PM and 12:59 AM (opposing transit), but action has been solid on moving tides all day. Bring a light jacket for those breezy dawn runs—fall is knocking at the door.
That’s your Wilmington wrap for Friday, September 26th, 2025. Thanks for tuning in! Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a beat on the local bite. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated c