Wilmington Fishing Report: Summer Bite Heats Up on Cape Fear Coast

This is Artificial Lure with your Wilmington, North Carolina Fishing Report for June 18, 2025. We’re looking at classic summer conditions on the Cape Fear coast—sunrise at 6:00 AM, sunset wrapping up at 8:25 PM. Early morning saw a high tide around 1:08 AM with water rising again at 1:53 PM. Lows are falling at 7:27 AM and 7:49 PM, according to Tide Forecast. These mid-morning and afternoon moves are prime for working the creeks and marsh edges as the water funnels baitfish right up to hungry predators. Weather’s been typical for June—warm days, light winds, and just enough breeze to keep it pleasant. Water temps are climbing into the upper 60s and low 70s, perfect for getting a variety of species on the chew. Inshore, the red drum bite is heating up. Smaller reds in the 16-18” range are showing up in numbers, with keeper slot fish mixed in. Most success has been coming from fishing live or cut bait—menhaden, mullet, or shrimp—on Carolina rigs or jigheads, especially around oyster points and grass edges on the rising tide. Topwater plugs like the MirrOlure Top Dog Jr or Top Pup are killer in low light along the marsh, while soft plastics like a Gulp Shrimp or Powerbait Bonga Shrimp fished deeper produce once the sun climbs. If you find them pressured, slow down and work your presentation—cover some ground to locate a school that’s fired up. According to Capt. Jot Owens’ June report, slow-rolling swimbaits like the Berkley CullShad on swimbait hooks in 2–5 feet of water is another solid bet. Sheepshead are moving in strong on hard structure—think docks, pilings, and bridge supports. They’re running 3-5 pounds and can’t resist a live fiddler crab on a jig head. Black drum action is solid at the docks and creek mouths on fresh shrimp. Flounder are staging up in both the ICW and Cape Fear River. Fish the deeper creek bends or drop-offs with live mullet, mud minnows, or a well-worked soft plastic grub. Speckled trout are scattered but becoming more active, taking live shrimp under corks and soft plastics. Nearshore, Spanish mackerel are the main draw, especially for those trolling spoons or casting jigs like the Big Nic Spanish Candy into surface action. King mackerel have been spotty but expect them to improve as more warm water moves in. If you’re heading out further, grouper and mahi are biting well on the bottom and in the Gulf Stream. For hotspots, try the mouth of Bradley Creek for redfish and specks, or target the rocks at Masonboro Inlet for sheepshead and flounder. The Wrightsville Beach pier is seeing a mix of whiting, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel both on bottom rigs and casting jigs. That’ll do it for today, thanks for tuning in! Make sure to subscribe, and tight lines out there. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.