Sunday Chop: North Carolina Fishing Report for September 14, 2025

Artificial Lure checking in with your Atlantic coast North Carolina fishing report for Sunday, September 14th, 2025. Sunrise came at 6:49 AM and you’ll have daylight until 7:15 PM, so there’s plenty of good light for both early bites and evening topwater action. The weather is shaping up mild and fair this morning, with light southwest winds and a high in the upper 70s. Waters are settling after last week’s passing fronts—expect water temps in the low 80s close to shore, a little cooler inshore, and water clarity ranging from stained in the creeks to blue-green along the beaches. Today’s Cape Lookout tide is perfect for morning runs: you’ve got a low at 6:29 AM, building up through the morning, and a nice high peaking at 1:18 PM. After that, another low tide returns at 7:57 PM. Solunar activity is on the low side, but with these swings you can still expect a solid bite as the current shifts, especially for structure-oriented gamefish and anything hanging right off the bars—according to Tides4Fishing, that midday tide swing’s your best window. Inshore, live mullet and mud minnows have been unbeatable for red drum—there’s a steady class in the slot, mixed with a few overs. Topwater plugs like the Skitter Walk in bone or silver/black are getting explosive hits around marsh cuts and creek mouths, especially at daybreak and sundown. Soft plastics—Z-Man DieZel MinnowZ in rootbeer or electric chicken—are working well bounced along grassy drop-offs. Trout are still active, but most fish are schoolies between 13-17 inches. They’ll take a MirrOlure 17MR or soft jerkbaits fished slow on the drop. Surf anglers are catching good numbers of pompano, sea mullet, and bluefish—shrimp-tipped double rigs and Gulp! sand fleas are the ticket for pompano and sea mullet, while blues are smashing casting spoons and Got-Cha plugs during incoming tides. The Spanish mackerel bite just off the beaches has really fired up: look for birds working and throw flashy spoons or small Clarkspoons behind planers. Offshore, dolphin (mahi) are moving in closer to the 10-20 mile range, often in smaller packs. Anglers trolling ballyhoo or small squid chains in the bluewater are reporting scattered catches, and a few sailfish hookups this week as well. Bottom fishing has been steady for triggerfish, vermillion snapper, and the occasional grouper—squid, cut menhaden, and even fresh mullet strips are working well on two-hook rigs. A couple of hotspots worth mentioning: - **Masonboro Inlet jetties** have been a steady redfish producer at low tide transitions, both by boat and from the rocks. - **The Carolina Beach Pier surf zone** has turned out keeper flounder on finger mullet and sea mullet on sand fleas, especially for those working the deeper holes near the pilings. - If you’re running offshore, the **18 Mile Rock** has been hot for both mahi and king mackerel; keep a pitch rod ready for any cobia that roll up on the temperature breaks. If you’re targeting flounder, remember the This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.