Coastal Carolina Fishing Report: Tuna, Mackerel & Bonito Bites

Good morning, this is Artificial Lure with your North Carolina Atlantic fishing report for Friday, May 30th, 2025. Sunrise was at 5:56 a.m. and sunset’s coming at 8:12 p.m., giving you plenty of daylight to chase those spring and early summer catches. The weather this morning’s been typical for late May—warming up nicely, a bit breezy along the coast, and mostly clear skies making for some great time on the water. According to the National Weather Service, expect a light southeast wind picking up through the day, with manageable seas for both inshore and offshore runs. Today’s tides along Atlantic Beach show a low at 3:07 a.m., high at 8:48 a.m., low again at 2:43 p.m., and a high at 9:20 p.m. That mid-morning high tide should spark some solid action in the nearshore waters, and the afternoon falling water is always a favorite window for surf and pier anglers. Let’s get to the bite. Offshore, anglers are putting blackfin tuna, mahi-mahi (dolphin), king mackerel, and a few wahoo in the box. Folks heading out to the Gulf Stream have hit nice numbers of blackfin and the occasional big wahoo, so if you see a solid weather window, it’s worth burning the gas. King mackerel are starting to push into the 30-40 mile range, and some smaller kings are already showing up closer in[Atlantic Ocean, North Carolina Fishing Report - Daily]. Nearshore, it’s Atlantic bonito mania. Trolling Clarkspoons behind #1 or #2 planers over hard structure at 4-5 mph is the top ticket, and some are doing well vertical jigging Big Nic Spanish Candies and diamond jigs. Spanish mackerel are running strong and bluefish in mixed sizes are joining the party; some big ten-pound-plus blues have already been landed around Wrightsville and Carolina Beach recently. According to Capt. Jot Owens, casting spoons in the ½ to 1.5 oz range with high-speed reels has drawn the most strikes—blue, silver, and pink have been hot colors. If you’re a fly angler, 7 to 9 weights will put you right in the thick of it[Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Report-May 2025]. For the surf and pier crowd, whiting, croaker, black drum, and more bluefish are making steady appearances. Fresh shrimp on bottom rigs is the go-to for drum and whiting, while cut bait is tempting those bigger blues and croakers. Inshore, black drum and red drum are moving out of the creeks—target them around docks and oyster rocks with Carolina-rigged live or fresh shrimp. Fiddler crabs are producing sheepshead, especially around structure[Southport/Oak Island – May 2025]. Hot spots today include Yaupon Reef for nearshore bonito, the stretch from Carolina Beach to Wrightsville for Spanish and king mackerel, and the surf around Oak Island for a bit of everything. That’s today’s update—thanks for tuning in! Don’t forget to subscribe for daily reports and updates so you never miss what’s biting. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.