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Wilmington Fishing Report: Trout, Reds, and Nearshore Action for the Coastal Carolina Weekend
Published 4 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your coastal Carolina fishing report around Wilmington.
We’ve got a classic cool, clear December pattern this morning. National Weather Service Wilmington is calling for north to northeast winds around 10 to 15 knots nearshore with higher gusts outside, cool temps in the 40s early pushing into the 50s, and seas running 2 to 3 feet. Skies are on the clearer side, so bundle up, but it’s fishable.
NOAA tide predictions for the lower Cape Fear show a pre-dawn **low** just after 1:30 a.m., a strong **high** around 7:45–8:00 a.m., another **low** early afternoon, and an evening **high** right around dark. Those big morning and late-day swings are going to turn on the feed, especially along the inlets and creek mouths. Tides4Fishing and Tideschart both flag today as a **good solunar day**, with major bite windows at first light and again late afternoon into dusk.
Sunrise is right about 7:05 a.m., sunset close to 5:00 p.m., so your prime windows line up nicely with that early high and the evening push.
Inshore, folks have been doing well on **speckled trout, slot red drum, and a few flounder** hanging on deeper drops. Recent reports around Wrightsville Beach and Masonboro have trout in the 14–20 inch range with some nicer keepers mixed in. Redfish are schooling tight in the creeks off the Intracoastal and along the edges of the marsh behind Carolina Beach.
Best inshore offerings:
- **Lures**: 1/8–1/4 oz jigheads with 3–4" soft plastics in opening night, new penny, and natural shrimp tones; MirrOlure MirrOdines and 52M plugs for trout on the higher water; gold spoons or paddletails for reds on the flats.
- **Bait**: Live shrimp is king when you can get it; mud minnows and small finger mullet on Carolina rigs or popping corks are producing steady bites.
Nearshore, on the close reefs and hardbottom within 5–10 miles, boats this week have reported **gray trout, sea bass, a few sheepshead, and scattered false albacore** when the water cleans up. Cut squid and shrimp on double-drop bottom rigs are putting a bend in rods, with bucktail jigs tipped with fish strips also doing work.
Couple of local hot spots to circle:
- **Masonboro Inlet and the jetties**: Work the falling and first push of the rising tide with soft plastics for trout and reds; slide out to the rocks for sheepshead and black drum using fiddler crabs or shrimp tight to structure.
- **Carolina Beach Inlet and Snow’s Cut**: Fish the deeper bends and eddies on moving water with jigs and live bait; trout stack on the drops, and reds roam the current seams.
Back in the Cape Fear River, concentrate on deeper ledges and old pilings with mud minnows or shrimp on a fish-finder rig; expect a mix of reds, black drum, and an occasional striper.
Overall, fish activity is high around the stronger tide changes. Keep your moves timed with that water, slow your presentation in the cold, and you’ll put some Wilmington groceries in the box.
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe.
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.
We’ve got a classic cool, clear December pattern this morning. National Weather Service Wilmington is calling for north to northeast winds around 10 to 15 knots nearshore with higher gusts outside, cool temps in the 40s early pushing into the 50s, and seas running 2 to 3 feet. Skies are on the clearer side, so bundle up, but it’s fishable.
NOAA tide predictions for the lower Cape Fear show a pre-dawn **low** just after 1:30 a.m., a strong **high** around 7:45–8:00 a.m., another **low** early afternoon, and an evening **high** right around dark. Those big morning and late-day swings are going to turn on the feed, especially along the inlets and creek mouths. Tides4Fishing and Tideschart both flag today as a **good solunar day**, with major bite windows at first light and again late afternoon into dusk.
Sunrise is right about 7:05 a.m., sunset close to 5:00 p.m., so your prime windows line up nicely with that early high and the evening push.
Inshore, folks have been doing well on **speckled trout, slot red drum, and a few flounder** hanging on deeper drops. Recent reports around Wrightsville Beach and Masonboro have trout in the 14–20 inch range with some nicer keepers mixed in. Redfish are schooling tight in the creeks off the Intracoastal and along the edges of the marsh behind Carolina Beach.
Best inshore offerings:
- **Lures**: 1/8–1/4 oz jigheads with 3–4" soft plastics in opening night, new penny, and natural shrimp tones; MirrOlure MirrOdines and 52M plugs for trout on the higher water; gold spoons or paddletails for reds on the flats.
- **Bait**: Live shrimp is king when you can get it; mud minnows and small finger mullet on Carolina rigs or popping corks are producing steady bites.
Nearshore, on the close reefs and hardbottom within 5–10 miles, boats this week have reported **gray trout, sea bass, a few sheepshead, and scattered false albacore** when the water cleans up. Cut squid and shrimp on double-drop bottom rigs are putting a bend in rods, with bucktail jigs tipped with fish strips also doing work.
Couple of local hot spots to circle:
- **Masonboro Inlet and the jetties**: Work the falling and first push of the rising tide with soft plastics for trout and reds; slide out to the rocks for sheepshead and black drum using fiddler crabs or shrimp tight to structure.
- **Carolina Beach Inlet and Snow’s Cut**: Fish the deeper bends and eddies on moving water with jigs and live bait; trout stack on the drops, and reds roam the current seams.
Back in the Cape Fear River, concentrate on deeper ledges and old pilings with mud minnows or shrimp on a fish-finder rig; expect a mix of reds, black drum, and an occasional striper.
Overall, fish activity is high around the stronger tide changes. Keep your moves timed with that water, slow your presentation in the cold, and you’ll put some Wilmington groceries in the box.
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe.
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.