Wilmington NC Fishing Report: Reds, Drum, Spanish Mackerel Biting on Tidal Moves

Artificial Lure here with your Wilmington, North Carolina fishing report for Sunday, August 24, 2025. The weather this morning is warm and humid with light winds out of the southwest, typical of late August on the Cape Fear coast. We’re looking at a partly cloudy afternoon, temps climbing up toward the high 80s, and a good stretch of stable weather—ideal for a morning or evening bite. Tides today are running strong with a big swing, thanks to a high tidal coefficient. According to Tide-Forecast.com, your low tide rolls in at 2:56 AM and 3:00 PM, with high tides peaking at 9:04 AM and 9:25 PM. That means fish will be on the move—expect aggressive feeding just before and after the tide changes, especially near creek mouths and inlets. Sunrise is at 6:39 AM, and sunset drops at 7:47 PM. Prime time on the water is the first two hours after sunrise and last two before sunset—so plan to hit your spots early. Now to the fishing: it's been an excellent week for redfish, black drum, and Spanish mackerel up and down the Cape Fear region. According to the Wilmington NC Daily Fishing Report, anglers have been pulling solid reds and drum on popping corks and live shrimp near the marsh edges and docks, with drum up to 26 inches reported in the river. Spanish mackerel are blitzing just off the beachfront, especially around Carolina Beach and Wrightsville piers, taking flashy spoons and glass minnows. The bite’s active for speckled trout too, with anglers finding keeper fish at first light using MirrOlure 52MRs, Z-Man soft plastics, and live mullet. Flounder are being caught on the lower Cape Fear—target drop-offs with finger mullet, Gulp! Swimming Mullets, or bucktail jigs. Best bait this week: live shrimp and finger mullet for inshore action, with mud minnows a close third. If you prefer artificial, gold and chartreuse paddle tails or silver spoons are getting quick hits, especially with that tidal movement stirring things up. A few hot spots are lighting up right now: - Masonboro Inlet: Loads of Spanish, blues, and a few tarpon rolling just offshore. Toss white bucktails or Got-Cha plugs around the deeper channels. - The docks along Bradley Creek: Great drum numbers on moving tides, especially at dawn with topwater walk-the-dog style lures. - Snow’s Cut: A steady flounder bite at the deep-water bends and bridge pilings, especially on the dropping tide. Keep your eye on the changing tides and match your lure or bait to the water clarity. With these strong currents, fish are looking for ambush spots—focus on structure like oyster bars, grass edges, and pilings. Thanks for tuning in to today’s fishing report. Don’t forget to subscribe for your daily bite updates. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.