Early Summer Red Drum and Speckled Trout Bite Heating Up Along Cape Fear

This is Artificial Lure with your Wilmington fishing report. We’ve got a classic early‑summer setup along the Cape Fear and the beaches. Light southwest wind this morning, building sea breeze in the afternoon, air temps riding from the low 70s into the mid‑80s. Skies are partly cloudy, with a small chance of a pop‑up storm late day. According to the National Weather Service marine outlook, seas are running around 2–3 feet nearshore with a light chop—very manageable for small boats if you’re out early. Sunrise is right around 6 a.m., with sunset close to 8:20 p.m., so you’ve got solid low‑light windows at both ends of the day. Those first and last two hours of light have been the money bite. Tides around Masonboro Inlet today are showing an early morning low followed by a strong incoming through late morning, then a high mid‑afternoon and a falling tide into the evening. Local tide charts out of Wrightsville Beach report a pretty good range right now, which is pushing current nicely along the jetties and creek mouths. Fish the start of the incoming on the flats and the first of the falling tide on the edges and docks. Inshore, red drum and speckled trout have been the stars. Local tackle shops in Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach are reporting slot reds caught in the creeks off the Intracoastal and around the docks in Hewletts and Bradley creeks. Most folks are picking up a handful of reds per trip, with some boats hitting into the teens when they get on a school. Specks have been mixed in, especially early, with a few 18–22 inch fish showing up on topwater baits. Best inshore offerings: – For reds: soft‑plastic paddletails in natural baitfish colors on 1/8–1/4 oz jigheads, live or cut mullet, and live shrimp under popping corks. – For trout: walk‑the‑dog topwaters at first light in bone or chrome, then soft plastics and live shrimp once the sun gets up. Flounder numbers are picking up around the inlets and near‑shore structure. Area reports from Wrightsville and Carolina Beach say anglers are catching a mix of shorts and keepers, a few per trip when they commit to bouncing bottom. Target them on the falling tide around inshore ledges, bridge pilings, and the rock jetties. Best baits have been 3–4 inch Gulp swimming mullet, mud minnows, and finger mullet on Carolina rigs or jigheads. Nearshore, along the 3–10 mile range, boats have been finding Spanish mackerel and some decent bluefish. Local captains out of Wrightsville Beach Marina report limits or near‑limits of Spanish on most morning runs when the water’s clean. Troll small Clark spoons and mackerel trees behind planers or #1–#2 trolling weights at 5–6 knots, or cast metal jigs into breaking fish when they push bait to the surface. A couple of hot spots to circle on your map: – Masonboro Inlet and the adjacent jetties: good mix of reds, trout, flounder, and Spanish right outside when the tide is moving. – The creeks off the ICW between Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach: especially Bradley and Hewletts creeks for reds and trout, working grass lines, oyster beds, and dock rows on the moving tide. If you’re staying inside, remember that stealth matters. Pole or troll on low power, make long casts, and match your leader size to the clarity of the water—lighter fluorocarbon gets more bites when it’s clear. That’s the rundown for the Wilmington area—plenty of species, stable weather, and good moving water. 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