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Wilmington Fishing Report: Reds, Trout, and Drum Biting Strong in the Cape Fear River
Published 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
Artificial Lure here with your fresh Wilmington NC fishing report for Monday, November 10th, 2025.
Start with today’s tides: Wilmington is seeing a morning low tide around 8:21 AM and a solid high tide rolling in mid-afternoon at 2:39 PM. That swing means the current’s moving strong, which is prime for bait movement and better bite windows, especially around creek mouths and structure according to the data from Tides Chart Wilmington.
Sunrise hit at 6:39 AM and sunset will be around 5:05 PM, so there’s enough daylight to work the early and late bites. Weather’s brisk, with clear skies and a northwest breeze at about 10 knots, keeping things cool after a mild overnight. Water temps are seasonal, just cool enough that most species are moving deeper but still feeding well around transitions and ledges — especially where the creek water meets the Intracoastal.
Fish activity has picked up after last week’s cold snap. Local guides from Captain Experiences shared that anglers are boating good numbers of slot reds, especially along the docks and drop-offs in the Cape Fear and backwaters of Masonboro. The speckled trout bite is hot; four to six trout per angler isn’t rare right now, with a fair mix of keepers and juveniles. Flounder reports are waning, but a few nice fish were landed using live mud minnows near Snows Cut and Carolina Beach.
Fresh catches over the weekend included reds up to 27 inches, a mess of pan-sized trout, and occasional black drum in the deeper holes near the battleship. Most successful tactics: artificial lure fishing, especially paddle tails (Z-Man, Gulp Shrimp in New Penny or White), as well as mirrolures with a twitch-pause cadence. Early morning anglers are doing damage with topwaters — think Skitterwalks in bone or silver — at first light around grass edges and oyster beds.
Natural baits are producing too. Live finger mullet and mud minnows remain the best bet for flounder and reds. Shrimp is deadly under a popping cork for trout, especially with the strong outgoing tide after today’s high. If you’re bottom fishing the river, fresh cut mullet will put drum and stray reds in the box. The outgoing tide this week cleans up the water nicely, and fish are stacking in predictable ambush spots.
For hot spots:
- Masonboro Island’s north end is reliable for trout and reds, especially around marsh points at the start of incoming tide.
- The Cape Fear River near the battleship and under the Memorial Bridge is putting up steady black drum and schoolie stripers.
- Snows Cut is best early and late, especially as the tide shifts, with flounder and reds holding on drop-offs.
Best gear: medium-light spinning setups with 10-15 lb braid, fluorocarbon leader. Pack a handful of ¼ oz jigheads, a few hard baits, and don’t forget popping cork rigs. If you’re wading, neoprene boots and a wading jacket will help with that chill in the morning air.
Thanks for tuning into your Wilmington fishing report with Artificial Lure — subscribe to catch all the latest updates, tips, and local insights. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quiet please 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 content.
Start with today’s tides: Wilmington is seeing a morning low tide around 8:21 AM and a solid high tide rolling in mid-afternoon at 2:39 PM. That swing means the current’s moving strong, which is prime for bait movement and better bite windows, especially around creek mouths and structure according to the data from Tides Chart Wilmington.
Sunrise hit at 6:39 AM and sunset will be around 5:05 PM, so there’s enough daylight to work the early and late bites. Weather’s brisk, with clear skies and a northwest breeze at about 10 knots, keeping things cool after a mild overnight. Water temps are seasonal, just cool enough that most species are moving deeper but still feeding well around transitions and ledges — especially where the creek water meets the Intracoastal.
Fish activity has picked up after last week’s cold snap. Local guides from Captain Experiences shared that anglers are boating good numbers of slot reds, especially along the docks and drop-offs in the Cape Fear and backwaters of Masonboro. The speckled trout bite is hot; four to six trout per angler isn’t rare right now, with a fair mix of keepers and juveniles. Flounder reports are waning, but a few nice fish were landed using live mud minnows near Snows Cut and Carolina Beach.
Fresh catches over the weekend included reds up to 27 inches, a mess of pan-sized trout, and occasional black drum in the deeper holes near the battleship. Most successful tactics: artificial lure fishing, especially paddle tails (Z-Man, Gulp Shrimp in New Penny or White), as well as mirrolures with a twitch-pause cadence. Early morning anglers are doing damage with topwaters — think Skitterwalks in bone or silver — at first light around grass edges and oyster beds.
Natural baits are producing too. Live finger mullet and mud minnows remain the best bet for flounder and reds. Shrimp is deadly under a popping cork for trout, especially with the strong outgoing tide after today’s high. If you’re bottom fishing the river, fresh cut mullet will put drum and stray reds in the box. The outgoing tide this week cleans up the water nicely, and fish are stacking in predictable ambush spots.
For hot spots:
- Masonboro Island’s north end is reliable for trout and reds, especially around marsh points at the start of incoming tide.
- The Cape Fear River near the battleship and under the Memorial Bridge is putting up steady black drum and schoolie stripers.
- Snows Cut is best early and late, especially as the tide shifts, with flounder and reds holding on drop-offs.
Best gear: medium-light spinning setups with 10-15 lb braid, fluorocarbon leader. Pack a handful of ¼ oz jigheads, a few hard baits, and don’t forget popping cork rigs. If you’re wading, neoprene boots and a wading jacket will help with that chill in the morning air.
Thanks for tuning into your Wilmington fishing report with Artificial Lure — subscribe to catch all the latest updates, tips, and local insights. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quiet please 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 content.