UTERJanuary
Giant bluefin off Cape Lookout; sea bass on the wrecks
Live bait or ballyhoo east of the shoals for giants (NOAA HMS permit); squid on the nearshore wrecks.
Calabash to Cape Lookout
Wilmington & Crystal Coast fishing
What's biting in Wilmington & Crystal Coast in October: pompano, king mackerel and redfish at their peak, with tarpon, Spanish mackerel and sailfish around too. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows 51 fish here month by month, from Calabash to Harkers Island.
The Cape Lookout albie blitz
South-facing beaches between Cape Fear and Cape Lookout, the Cape Fear River, marsh creeks and ICW behind Masonboro, Topsail and Bogue banks, Core Sound and Harkers Island — with the Cape Lookout and Frying Pan shoals, hundreds of nearshore wrecks and ARs, and the Big Rock and the Gulf Stream 30–50 miles out.
CalabashSouthportWilmingtonWrightsville BeachTopsailSwansboroMorehead CityBeaufortHarkers Island
Updated
Now · October
The Cape Lookout albie blitz
Light spin or fly off Shackleford and the Barden Inlet hook; reds and trout fill the creeks.
Little tunny (bonito)RedfishSpotted seatroutKing mackerelSpotWeakfish (gray trout)
This month here
From the season calendar, best firstPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingAroundAroundAroundAroundAround
Pompano
Fall run on the beaches; sand fleas.
King mackerel
The fall run off Cape Lookout and Frying Pan.
Redfish
Best month: reds schooled on the flats and creeks, bulls in the surf at the Point.
Spotted seatrout
The fall run: trout in every creek; MirrOlures and soft plastics.
Sheepshead
Flounder
Big fish on the ocean reefs and in the inlets on the way out — release them outside the season.
Gag grouper
Black drum
Best month in the creeks and inlets; shrimp or clam.
Whiting
Fall sea mullet run; bloodworms or shrimp.
Bluefish
Weakfish (gray trout)
Fall gray trout on the inlet channels and the nearshore wrecks.
Vermilion snapper
Greater amberjack
Black sea bass
Sea bass move onto the nearshore reefs.
Wahoo
Fall wahoo off the Big Rock.
Blackfin tuna
Yellowfin tuna
Little tunny (bonito)
The Cape Lookout blitz: albies busting bait off Shackleford and the Barden Inlet hook — light spin or the fly.
Spot
The fall spot run fills the piers and the ICW; bloodworms on a two-hook rig.
Sand tiger shark
Scamp
Gray triggerfish
Red porgy (pinkie)
White grunt
Tarpon
Spanish mackerel
Sailfish
Blue marlin
Atlantic sharpnose shark
Summer flounder (fluke)
Big fluke slide off the reefs toward deeper water.
Atlantic croaker
Atlantic cutlassfish (ribbonfish)
Sandbar shark
Tiger shark
Atlantic spadefish
Red snapper
Swordfish
Almaco jack
Blueline tilefish
Golden tilefish
The water
The tide here
Semidiurnal, 3–5 ft
Two tides a day, four to five feet at the Cape Fear and Masonboro inlets and less in Bogue and Core sounds — the inlets rip on the outgoing.
Structure that matters
Channel edgePass / inletOyster barGrass flatDock / pilingsBridgeFishing pierBeach / surfArtificial reefWreckLedge / hard bottom
After a cold front
Trout and puppy drum crowd into the deep creek holes; a hard freeze can stun trout and the state may close the season. Offshore, the first winter fronts bring the giant bluefin onto the Cape Lookout shoals.
Month by month
What's happening, and what to throwFebruary
Bluefin hang on; trout in the deep creeks
Deep creek holes on the warmest afternoon; slow plastics.
March
Quiet inshore; the offshore bottom bite
Sea bass on the wrecks; first sheepshead at the inlet rocks.
April
Bonito, blues and spring albies off Lookout
Troll small spoons off Beaufort Inlet; puppy drum on the marsh points.
May
Cobia arrive; gaffers on the Gulf Stream
Sight-cast cobia off Bogue Banks; mahi on the weed lines off the Big Rock.
June
Big Rock month: blue marlin and pier kings
Blues on the Gulf Stream; live menhaden off the piers for kings.
July
Spanish on the beaches; fluke on the ARs
Troll Clark spoons along the beaches; bucktails on the ocean reefs.
August
Ribbonfish and tarpon; drum on the shoals
Big drum on the Lookout shoals; Gotcha plugs off the piers at dawn.
September
First albies at Lookout; short flounder window
Little tunny (bonito)RedfishFlounderSpanish mackerelSpotted seatroutAtlantic cutlassfish (ribbonfish)
Flounder harvest open only for a short early-September window — check NCDMF.
October · now
The Cape Lookout albie blitz
Light spin or fly off Shackleford and the Barden Inlet hook; reds and trout fill the creeks.
November
Albies through Thanksgiving; trout peak
MirrOlures and soft plastics in the creeks; kings off the shoals.
December
Trout in the creeks; bluefin show
Deep creek holes; watch the reports for the first giants off Lookout.
Fish guides for Wilmington & Crystal Coast
When, where and what to use, fish by fishAlmaco jackAtlantic bluefin tunaAtlantic bonitoAtlantic croakerAtlantic cutlassfish (ribbonfish)Atlantic sharpnose sharkAtlantic spadefishBlack drumBlack sea bassBlackfin tunaBlacktip sharkBlue marlinBluefishBlueline tilefishBonnethead sharkBull sharkCobiaFlounderGag grouperGolden tilefishGray triggerfishGreater amberjackJack crevalleKing mackerelLittle tunny (bonito)Mahi-mahi (dolphin)Mangrove snapperPompanoRed porgy (pinkie)Red snapperRedfishSailfishSand tiger sharkSandbar sharkScampSheepsheadSpanish mackerelSpinner sharkSpotSpotted seatroutSummer flounder (fluke)SwordfishTarponTiger sharkVermilion snapperWahooWeakfish (gray trout)White gruntWhite marlinWhitingYellowfin tuna
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