Early Summer Bite: Red Drum, Trout, and Spanish Mackerel Off Wilmington

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your coastal fishing rundown for the Wilmington, North Carolina area. We’re sitting under a classic early-summer pattern: warm, muggy air, light southwest breeze this morning building to 10–15 knots by afternoon, and a small sea breeze chop on the beach. Air temps are running mid‑70s at first light, climbing into the mid‑80s by mid‑day. Skies are partly cloudy with a chance of a brief afternoon shower or rumble inland. Sunrise hit right around quarter after six, and you’ll have light on the water until about 8:30 this evening, so there’s a long window to work both ends of the day. Tides around the Cape Fear are on a moderate cycle. Inshore creeks and the river are seeing a solid push of water on the flood through mid‑morning, then a draining ebb through early afternoon. Around Wrightsville and Carolina Beach inlets, the strongest currents are lining up mid‑tide; that’s been the sweet spot for feeding fish along the jetties and the bars. Plan your moves around that moving water—slack has been as dead as it sounds. Fish activity’s been good if you pick your windows. Inshore, the red drum bite has stayed steady on the higher stages of the tide, especially along flooded grass edges and oyster points. Anglers are picking up mixed slots and a few over‑slots; a half‑dozen fish in a tide cycle is realistic if you stay mobile. Speckled trout are still chewing in the deeper creek mouths and along the Intracoastal ledges early and late, with a mix of schoolies and the occasional 20‑inch class fish. Flounder are nosing into the inlets and around docks; numbers aren’t crazy, but a couple of keepers per serious trip has been common. On the nearshore side, just off Wrightsville and Carolina Beach, folks have been seeing good numbers of Spanish mackerel and blues along the color changes and around the nearshore reefs. A decent king mackerel or two has been coming from the 5–10 mile range, and the bottom guys are picking up sea bass and grunts with a few grouper deeper. Best producers inshore have been **live shrimp** and **mud minnows** under a popping cork or on a Carolina rig for reds and trout. Cut mullet soaked on the edges of oysters has been key for the bigger reds. Artificial‑wise, work **3–4 inch paddletails** in natural colors on 1/8 to 1/4 ounce jigheads along dropoffs, and **MirrOlure‑style hard baits** at first light for trout. For flounder, a white or chartreuse Gulp swimming mullet on a jighead dragged slowly along the bottom has been putting fish in the box. Nearshore, **small metal spoons** and **Clark‑style spoons** pulled behind planers or mackerel trees have been hot for Spanish and blues. For kings, slow‑trolled live menhaden on stinger rigs around bait pods and livebottom has been the ticket. If you’re bottom fishing, squid strips and cut cigar minnows on basic two‑hook rigs are all you need. A couple of local hot spots to circle on your mental map: – **Masonboro Inlet and the adjacent jetties**: good mix of reds, trout, and flounder on the inshore side early, plus Spanish and blues just outside when the bait stacks up. – **Snow’s Cut and the Carolina Beach Inlet area**: steady red drum and flounder action around the bridge, docks, and dropoffs, with current breaks holding fish on the moving tides. Work the low‑light hours, respect the storms that build after lunch, and fish that moving water and you’ll put some bend in the rod today. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn