North Carolina Coastal Fishing Report: Reds, Bluefish, and Spanish Mackerel Heating Up

Good morning yall this is Artificial Lure checking in with your Saturday April 19th fishing report for the North Carolina coast and waters just off the Atlantic. The sun cracked the horizon right around 635 am with sunset aiming for about 746 pm so we have a long day ahead to wet a line. Skies are clear early with a light breeze out of the southwest building through the afternoon. That breeze should keep the bugs down but also could add a little chop to the nearshore waters. Tidal movement is shaping up perfect for a productive day. Around Bald Head Island and up the Cape Fear coast low tide was early at 627 am then swinging to a healthy high at 1211 pm before dropping again just after six in the evening. Good water movement like that means fish are going to be feeding especially on the incoming and just as the current turns slack at high tide. That’s prime time for working those creek mouths and beachfront troughs with live and artificial offerings. If you’re fishing the beaches around Carolina Beach Wrightsville Beach or Bald Head that pattern holds true across the board this morning and midday too. On the catch scene this week folks have been pulling in some solid slot red drum around Masonboro and up toward Topsail Beach. Surf anglers are reporting bluefish blitzes in the mornings with some bigger ones mixed in. Plenty of sea mullet and whiting are in the suds—ideal if youre looking for a fish fry. In the nearshore waters the spanish mackerel bite is heating up especially when the glass minnows are pushed tight to the beach. Offshore the kings have started to show on the midrange reefs and a few early cobia have been spotted cruising the tidelines. Best bets for lures right now are silver spoons and Gotcha plugs for bluefish and spanish mackerel especially if you see birds working or bait schools popping on top. For red drum soft plastics in white or new penny colors have been steady. Cut mullet or live shrimp on a Carolina rig are also getting the drum and whiting fired up in the surf and inlets. If you’re after flounder try a bucktail tipped with Gulp along the pilings or jetties. Hot spots this weekend include the Fort Fisher rocks for drum and flounder and the Masonboro Inlet area for spanish and slot reds. Bait shops are still carrying fresh shrimp and finger mullet so stock up and follow the tides in and out for best results. That’s the scoop this morning from your local linesider Artificial Lure. Tight lines and see you on the water. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.