Weekend Forecast: Kings, Trout and Flounder Bite on the NC Coast

Artificial Lure here with your North Carolina coastal fishing report for Saturday, August 23, 2025. Sunrise hit the water at 6:32 AM and sunset slides in at 7:45 PM, so you’ve got a solid window for casting lines. Tides are cooperative today: high at 7:15 AM and again at 7:43 PM, with low tides at 1:27 AM and 1:17 PM, putting prime inshore action around those moving water periods—especially dawn and dusk, my personal favorites for reds and trout. Atlantic Beach and Cape Lookout tide swings will keep the fish shifting from shallow flats to deeper channels as the heat builds. Weather today feels classic late-August: highs in the mid to upper 80s, muggy but with a steady onshore breeze. Keep an eye on those afternoon thunderheads rolling in—if it looks iffy, head for shelter fast. Action has been excellent this week. Offshore, king mackerel are tearing up bait balls near the surface; anglers targeting weed lines 30 miles out from Morehead City and Wrightsville Beach are boating mahi-mahi and wahoo, with bottom fishermen hauling up black sea bass, grouper, and snapper off the reefs. Spanish mackerel remain plentiful closer in, especially around Ocean Isle, and barracuda have been showing up for those willing to throw live menhaden. Inshore charters are landing ribbonfish, sharks, black drum, pigfish, croakers, rays, bluefish, puffers, and solid whiting. Flounder and speckled trout are making regular appearances in marsh cuts and dropoffs. Speaking of flounder, the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission just boosted the recreational quota by 25% for the upcoming fall season, so mark your calendars for September 1–14—they’ll be fair game, and early reports suggest a strong stock in the sounds and back channels. Creeks between Topsail and the South Carolina line are holding trout, with plenty of “gator” specs—five-pounders have shown up in the bites and marshes. Bait and tackle matter, and the bite’s been consistent on a mix of live and artificial. Local guides swear by live shrimp under a cork for trout (when you can get them) and mullet strips or mud minnows for flounder. When bait is tough to find, you can’t beat the Betts Halo Shad soft plastics—green tiger and chartreuse colors in 1/4- to 1/2-ounce sizes are producing strong for specs, reds, and flounder alike. If trout start getting picky, swap over to a small paddle tail swimbait or straight-tailed worm on a dropshot rig. Offshore, shiny spoons and blue/white skirted rigs are a lock for mackerel and mahi. For black sea bass and grouper, squid strips and cut cigar minnows dropped over hard bottom will get bit all day. Hot spots to hit this weekend: - Morehead City ship channel and inlet for Spanish and king mackerel, plus nearshore trolling. - The marshes near Topsail and south toward Ocean Isle for speckled trout, red drum, and flounder on a falling tide. - Offshore reefs like AR-315 or the Cape Lookout “Rock Pile”—snapper, grouper, and black sea bass. - The estuary dropoffs and oyster bars behin This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.