"Wilmington Fishing Report: Productive Tides, Hot Spots, and Lure Tips for April 11, 2025"

Good morning anglers! Here’s your fishing report for Wilmington, NC, on April 11, 2025. Get ready to hit the water—it’s looking like a productive day ahead. The tide for today starts with a low tide at 3:37 AM at -0.05 feet, a high tide at 9:26 AM reaching 4.39 feet, followed by another low tide at 3:54 PM at -0.04 feet, and the evening high tide at 9:49 PM peaks at 4.91 feet. Sunrise is at 6:45 AM, and sunset wraps up the day at 7:40 PM. These tidal changes should create prime opportunities to target species during early morning and evening hours. The weather is perfect for fishing, with calm winds and mild temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. Overcast skies this morning will enhance your chances of hooking fish feeding near the surface in low-light conditions. Inshore fishing is heating up with red drum, black drum, and speckled trout becoming more active. Red drum are being caught around oyster beds, creek channels, and dock structures. Anglers are having success with dead shrimp on Carolina rigs and soft plastics like scented Gulp shrimp rigged on light jigheads. Look for red drum tailing during the high tide near the grass edges of the marsh. Black drum are also biting well around hard structures, like rocky jetties and docks, especially with fresh shrimp. The speckled trout bite is picking up, particularly in the backs of creeks and shallower bays, where slightly larger fish should start showing up soon. Try using suspending lures such as the MirrOlure 17MR or jerkbaits to entice these fish. Nearshore, the fishing has been solid for black sea bass in the 15- to 20-mile range, with good-sized catches reported. Fresh shrimp on two-hook bottom rigs has been the go-to for sea mullet in deeper river channels. For the hot spots around Wilmington, you can’t go wrong with the Cape Fear River and nearby creeks, especially during the two hours following high and low tides. Carolina Beach Inlet and Figure Eight Island are particularly productive for targeting red drum and black drum on soft plastics and live or cut baits. Additionally, Wrightsville Beach offers great opportunities for speckled trout and Atlantic bonito as waters warm further offshore. As for lures, topwater options like the Top Pup or Top Dog Jr. work wonders for red drum during calm, low-light conditions. When targeting deeper areas, switch to soft plastics like Z-Man shrimp or Fishbites Fight Club lures. Spanish mackerel are lurking offshore, so keep some trolling spoons or small diving plugs handy. Tight lines and good luck out there! Whether you’re hitting the back creeks or the nearshore wrecks, it’s shaping up to be another excellent day in Wilmington’s waters. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.