North Carolina May Fishing Blowout - Bonito, Spanish Macks, Reds & More Biting!

Hey there, anglers! Artificial Lure here with your North Carolina fishing report for this beautiful Friday morning, May 16, 2025. Folks, the summer season is really kicking into high gear now! The Outer Banks just opened to visitors today, so expect those spots to get busy fast. Water temps have been hovering between 58 and 68 degrees, and that's bringing in all kinds of action. Nearshore fishing has been absolutely on fire lately! The Atlantic bonito bite continues strong in mid-May waters, and they're a blast to catch - fast, tasty, and they'll give your gear a workout. Spanish mackerel are showing up all month long, busting the surface and providing some real excitement. For these speedsters, I've been having great success with Big Nic Spanish Candy lures in sizes from 1/2oz up to the 1.5oz. High-speed spinning reels are getting more bites, but I've personally fallen in love with using high-speed low-profile bait-caster reels when casting to bonito and Spanish. Keep your eyes peeled because we're seeing some small king mackerel mixed in this year too - check those fish carefully for undersize kings! In the surf, black drum and big whiting are hitting well on shrimp and sand fleas. Some scattered red drum are taking cut bait. The ICW and river areas are producing sheepshead around hard structure, plus some speckled trout and red drum. Those reds have broken out of their winter schools early this year and spread throughout the area. For trout, try MirrOlure MR-17s that match the menhaden that are starting to show up. Topwater plugs are working too. For those reds, focus around the spoil islands and put your baits in ambush points like creeks and channels with out-flowing water as the tide falls. Carolina-rigged live pogies have been the ticket. Offshore action is delivering blackfin and yellowfin tuna, some wahoo, and the dolphin bite is strong. The folks at TW's Bait and Tackle in Nags Head have been reporting excellent yellowfin catches. Hot spots to check out? The nearshore reefs around Wrightsville Beach are producing great action, and the spoil islands near Carolina Beach are holding good numbers of red drum. Also worth noting - chopper blues are back! First ones since 2018 were caught this week, with an 11-pounder weighed in at Cape Lookout. For you grouper hunters, remember that shallow water grouper season opened on May 1 and runs through December 31. That's your report for today, May 16. Y'all get out there and wet a line - the fish are biting! This is Artificial Lure signing off until next time! This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.