Wilmington Fishing Report - Late Summer Bite, Flounder, Reds, Trout, and More

Good morning anglers, this is Artificial Lure with your Saturday, September 20, 2025, fishing report for Wilmington, North Carolina and the surrounding waters. We’re starting the morning off with perfect late-summer conditions. Sunrise came at 6:58 AM and we’ll have a sunset at 7:11 PM—that’s just over twelve hours of daylight to chase your target species. The weather forecast this morning predicts mild temps, a light breeze from the east, and humidity that’s a notch lower than last week—ideal for both the early risers and those hitting the afternoon bite. Tide action is running **high** today: the first low hit at 3:37 AM, the morning high at 9:17 AM just shy of 5 feet, then another minor low at 3:49 PM, followed by a strong evening high near 4.9 feet around 9:38 PM. According to tides4fishing, the tidal coefficient is a robust 88—currents will move bait and keep predators active, especially as we swing from the morning high into the falling tide early afternoon. Inshore, the **flounder** bite has been solid, especially near Masonboro Inlet and the Carolina Beach State Park creeks. Several locals pulled keeper flatfish on Gulp! 4” Swimming Mullet in glow or chartreuse and live mud minnows rigged on a Carolina rig right on the drop-offs near oyster beds. Red drum are also chewing—western banks of the Cape Fear River have given up slot reds on cut mullet and Z-Man paddle tails in new penny. Best action for reds has been around low tide up onto the first push of incoming. Speckled trout have begun to perk up with cooler water temps. The topwater bite was on at first light, with Mirrorlure Top Dogs and Rapala Skitter Walks accounting for blowups in the Wrightsville Beach marshes. Later in the morning, shift to soft plastics or MirrOdines suspending baits. If you find glass minnows stacked up, that’s where the trout are hanging. Off the beach, the Spanish mackerel are balling up bait along the shoals, best early, with silver Clarkspoons and casting jigs around birds. There’s been reports of king mackerel around the AR 425 artificial reef, with most fish hitting slow-trolled dead cigar minnows or Yo-Zuri Deep Divers. Nearshore, schools of bluefish are thick off the jetties hitting anything shiny. Freshwater bite in Greenfield Lake and the NE Cape Fear remains steady. Bass are sitting in the shade mid-day, but will chase spinnerbaits or small frogs thrown close to cover at dusk and dawn. Hot spots for today: - **Masonboro Inlet:** For flounder, slot reds, and a few surprise specks. - **Snow’s Cut:** Excellent for drum on the falling tide, and occasional trout lurking near the ledges. Top baits and lures of the week: For live bait, you can’t go wrong with mud minnows and finger mullet. Artificial wise, Gulp! Swimming Mullets, Z-Man Diezel Minnowz, and silver Clarkspoons are consistent producers. For trout, MirrOlure MirrOdines and Top Dog Jr. early are dynamite. Spanish macks prefer flashy metals and planers to get down when the sun’s high. The This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.