Early Summer Speckled Trout and Reds: Your Wilmington Fishing Guide

Artificial Lure here with your Wilmington-area fishing report. We’ve got a classic early-summer setup on the Cape Fear this morning. Light southwest winds and warm, muggy air are settling in, with highs pushing into the mid to upper 80s and only a slight chance of a stray afternoon thundershower. Skies start partly cloudy, thickening a bit by late day. The breeze will pick up in the afternoon, so the calmest inshore conditions are early and late. Along the beach, water temps are hanging in the low to mid 70s, perfect for a mixed bag: speckled trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, and some slot reds nosing around the bars and inlets. Inshore water is a touch stained from recent tides and boat traffic, but still plenty fishable. The tide around Wrightsville and Carolina Beach is running a typical early-summer cycle: a predawn low, flooding through the morning, then dumping back out midafternoon into the evening. That means the best inshore bite has been the first couple hours of the incoming and the start of the outgoing, when the current is moving but not ripping. Sunrise comes early, with first light giving you that magic topwater window, and sunset still late enough to squeeze in a quick marsh run after work. Reports up and down the area have been solid. Local pier regulars have been seeing decent numbers of Spanish mackerel on the high tide, mostly schoolies with a few better fish mixed in. Gotcha plugs, small metal spoons, and light trolling rigs just off the beach have been producing plenty of bites. Blues are mixed in, especially when the wind bumps up. Inshore, the creeks off the Intracoastal around Wrightsville Beach and Masonboro have been giving up good speckled trout, with a few larger gators reported on early-morning trips. Soft plastics on 1/8-ounce jig heads in natural or glow colors, and MirrOlure-style suspending baits, have been the ticket. Live shrimp under a popping cork is still hard to beat if you can get them. Redfish action has picked up on the flats and around oyster points. Most fish are lower to mid slot with a few overs. Cut mullet and live finger mullet on Carolina rigs, or weedless gold spoons and paddle-tails, are doing work. On higher water, work the flooded grass edges; on the fall, target drains with bait flushing out. Flounder are showing more consistently around inlets, docks, and creek mouths. Live finger mullet and mud minnows on fish-finder rigs, as well as Gulp swimming mullet on jig heads bounced slowly along the bottom, have been putting fish in the box where regulations allow harvest. Off the beach, nearshore structure and ARs out to about 10–15 miles are holding king mackerel, cobia, and good numbers of bottom fish. Slow-trolled live baits are your best bet for kings and cobia, while squid, cut bait, and jigs will handle the sea bass and other bottom dwellers. For lures today, I’d have: - A small silver spoon or Gotcha plug for Spanish and blues - A walking topwater and a suspending hard bait for trout at first light - Gold spoons and 3–4 inch paddle-tail plastics in new penny or natural for reds - Gulp shrimp or swimming mullet on jig heads for flounder and mixed inshore action Best natural baits are live shrimp, mud minnows, and finger mullet. A couple of hot spots to consider: - The Masonboro Inlet area, working the jetties, bars, and nearby creeks for trout, reds, and flounder on the moving tide. - The Carolina Beach Inlet and the creeks behind Pleasure Island for reds and flounder on that first of the incoming and start of the outgoing. That’s your coastal rundown from Artificial Lure. 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