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"North Carolina Coastal Fishing Report: Reds, Trout, and Offshore Action Heating Up"
Artificial Lure here with your plain talk fishing report for April 16, 2025, from the salty waters off North Carolina’s Atlantic coast. Sunrise hit at 6:39 AM and sunset will wrap up the day at 7:44 PM, giving us a solid stretch of daylight to get lines wet. For the tide chasers, low at 4:26 AM and 4:00 PM, high at 10:21 AM and 10:19 PM. These moving waters mean your best bite windows are late morning and again just before sunset, especially around creek mouths and jetty points[9][6][4].
Weather’s on our side today: expect calm seas, light winds, and clear skies. Water temps are sliding up, which is waking up the fish and spreading bait throughout the marshes, inlets, and creek backs[4]. That means more opportunities, but also more spread-out action, so moving around to find fish is key.
Recent catches have stretched across the board. Inshore, red drum and black drum remain steady producers, with folks finding the reds shallow in creeks and marsh bays, especially during the last of the outgoing tide through the first hour of incoming. Dead shrimp or cut mullet on Carolina rigs are tough to beat for both species right now, with mud minnows a solid backup if you can find them. Tossing soft plastics—like Z-Man PaddlerZ or Gulp shrimp—near structure is starting to draw more strikes as the fish get active. Black drum are loving dead shrimp dropped around docks, oyster beds, and deep holes[1][2].
Speckled trout are starting to tick up, mostly smaller fish in the backs of creeks for now, but it should only get better over the next week. Use MirrOlure MR 27s in pink and chartreuse or try soft plastics on jig heads fished with a twitch-and-pause for best results. Flounder have been caught here and there, especially where there’s sand and current edges[1][4][7].
Surf and pier anglers are seeing decent numbers of sea mullet, a handful of pompano, some bluefish, and the odd striped bass. Sand fleas and fresh shrimp are the ticket for whiting (aka sea mullet) and pompano, while blues are chasing metal spoons and small plugs[4]. Offshore, when the weather lines up, the action’s been picking up for blackfin tuna, wahoo, and the first mahi-mahi of the season. Bottom fishing is steady for jumbo black sea bass starting in the 15 to 20 mile range, and the odd gray trout is popping up over nearshore structure[2][4].
If you’re looking for hot spots, give the Carolina Beach docks and deeper creek mouths a shot for reds and blacks, especially on higher tides. For a nearshore drop, check the artificial reefs off Atlantic Beach for early Atlantic bonito, black sea bass, and bluefish[1][2][4].
Best baits today: dead shrimp, cut mullet, live mud minnows, and sand fleas. Top artificial lures: white bucktail jigs, MirrOlure MR 27s, paddle tails in natural or flash colors, and DOA shrimp under a popping cork for inshore. Jigs and metal spoons for the surf and nearshore are catching blues and bonito[7][10].
Stay moving, fish the tides, and keep an eye on structure. The bite’s good and only getting better as spring marches on. Good luck out there and tight lines.
Weather’s on our side today: expect calm seas, light winds, and clear skies. Water temps are sliding up, which is waking up the fish and spreading bait throughout the marshes, inlets, and creek backs[4]. That means more opportunities, but also more spread-out action, so moving around to find fish is key.
Recent catches have stretched across the board. Inshore, red drum and black drum remain steady producers, with folks finding the reds shallow in creeks and marsh bays, especially during the last of the outgoing tide through the first hour of incoming. Dead shrimp or cut mullet on Carolina rigs are tough to beat for both species right now, with mud minnows a solid backup if you can find them. Tossing soft plastics—like Z-Man PaddlerZ or Gulp shrimp—near structure is starting to draw more strikes as the fish get active. Black drum are loving dead shrimp dropped around docks, oyster beds, and deep holes[1][2].
Speckled trout are starting to tick up, mostly smaller fish in the backs of creeks for now, but it should only get better over the next week. Use MirrOlure MR 27s in pink and chartreuse or try soft plastics on jig heads fished with a twitch-and-pause for best results. Flounder have been caught here and there, especially where there’s sand and current edges[1][4][7].
Surf and pier anglers are seeing decent numbers of sea mullet, a handful of pompano, some bluefish, and the odd striped bass. Sand fleas and fresh shrimp are the ticket for whiting (aka sea mullet) and pompano, while blues are chasing metal spoons and small plugs[4]. Offshore, when the weather lines up, the action’s been picking up for blackfin tuna, wahoo, and the first mahi-mahi of the season. Bottom fishing is steady for jumbo black sea bass starting in the 15 to 20 mile range, and the odd gray trout is popping up over nearshore structure[2][4].
If you’re looking for hot spots, give the Carolina Beach docks and deeper creek mouths a shot for reds and blacks, especially on higher tides. For a nearshore drop, check the artificial reefs off Atlantic Beach for early Atlantic bonito, black sea bass, and bluefish[1][2][4].
Best baits today: dead shrimp, cut mullet, live mud minnows, and sand fleas. Top artificial lures: white bucktail jigs, MirrOlure MR 27s, paddle tails in natural or flash colors, and DOA shrimp under a popping cork for inshore. Jigs and metal spoons for the surf and nearshore are catching blues and bonito[7][10].
Stay moving, fish the tides, and keep an eye on structure. The bite’s good and only getting better as spring marches on. Good luck out there and tight lines.
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By Quiet. PleaseArtificial Lure here with your plain talk fishing report for April 16, 2025, from the salty waters off North Carolina’s Atlantic coast. Sunrise hit at 6:39 AM and sunset will wrap up the day at 7:44 PM, giving us a solid stretch of daylight to get lines wet. For the tide chasers, low at 4:26 AM and 4:00 PM, high at 10:21 AM and 10:19 PM. These moving waters mean your best bite windows are late morning and again just before sunset, especially around creek mouths and jetty points[9][6][4].
Weather’s on our side today: expect calm seas, light winds, and clear skies. Water temps are sliding up, which is waking up the fish and spreading bait throughout the marshes, inlets, and creek backs[4]. That means more opportunities, but also more spread-out action, so moving around to find fish is key.
Recent catches have stretched across the board. Inshore, red drum and black drum remain steady producers, with folks finding the reds shallow in creeks and marsh bays, especially during the last of the outgoing tide through the first hour of incoming. Dead shrimp or cut mullet on Carolina rigs are tough to beat for both species right now, with mud minnows a solid backup if you can find them. Tossing soft plastics—like Z-Man PaddlerZ or Gulp shrimp—near structure is starting to draw more strikes as the fish get active. Black drum are loving dead shrimp dropped around docks, oyster beds, and deep holes[1][2].
Speckled trout are starting to tick up, mostly smaller fish in the backs of creeks for now, but it should only get better over the next week. Use MirrOlure MR 27s in pink and chartreuse or try soft plastics on jig heads fished with a twitch-and-pause for best results. Flounder have been caught here and there, especially where there’s sand and current edges[1][4][7].
Surf and pier anglers are seeing decent numbers of sea mullet, a handful of pompano, some bluefish, and the odd striped bass. Sand fleas and fresh shrimp are the ticket for whiting (aka sea mullet) and pompano, while blues are chasing metal spoons and small plugs[4]. Offshore, when the weather lines up, the action’s been picking up for blackfin tuna, wahoo, and the first mahi-mahi of the season. Bottom fishing is steady for jumbo black sea bass starting in the 15 to 20 mile range, and the odd gray trout is popping up over nearshore structure[2][4].
If you’re looking for hot spots, give the Carolina Beach docks and deeper creek mouths a shot for reds and blacks, especially on higher tides. For a nearshore drop, check the artificial reefs off Atlantic Beach for early Atlantic bonito, black sea bass, and bluefish[1][2][4].
Best baits today: dead shrimp, cut mullet, live mud minnows, and sand fleas. Top artificial lures: white bucktail jigs, MirrOlure MR 27s, paddle tails in natural or flash colors, and DOA shrimp under a popping cork for inshore. Jigs and metal spoons for the surf and nearshore are catching blues and bonito[7][10].
Stay moving, fish the tides, and keep an eye on structure. The bite’s good and only getting better as spring marches on. Good luck out there and tight lines.
Weather’s on our side today: expect calm seas, light winds, and clear skies. Water temps are sliding up, which is waking up the fish and spreading bait throughout the marshes, inlets, and creek backs[4]. That means more opportunities, but also more spread-out action, so moving around to find fish is key.
Recent catches have stretched across the board. Inshore, red drum and black drum remain steady producers, with folks finding the reds shallow in creeks and marsh bays, especially during the last of the outgoing tide through the first hour of incoming. Dead shrimp or cut mullet on Carolina rigs are tough to beat for both species right now, with mud minnows a solid backup if you can find them. Tossing soft plastics—like Z-Man PaddlerZ or Gulp shrimp—near structure is starting to draw more strikes as the fish get active. Black drum are loving dead shrimp dropped around docks, oyster beds, and deep holes[1][2].
Speckled trout are starting to tick up, mostly smaller fish in the backs of creeks for now, but it should only get better over the next week. Use MirrOlure MR 27s in pink and chartreuse or try soft plastics on jig heads fished with a twitch-and-pause for best results. Flounder have been caught here and there, especially where there’s sand and current edges[1][4][7].
Surf and pier anglers are seeing decent numbers of sea mullet, a handful of pompano, some bluefish, and the odd striped bass. Sand fleas and fresh shrimp are the ticket for whiting (aka sea mullet) and pompano, while blues are chasing metal spoons and small plugs[4]. Offshore, when the weather lines up, the action’s been picking up for blackfin tuna, wahoo, and the first mahi-mahi of the season. Bottom fishing is steady for jumbo black sea bass starting in the 15 to 20 mile range, and the odd gray trout is popping up over nearshore structure[2][4].
If you’re looking for hot spots, give the Carolina Beach docks and deeper creek mouths a shot for reds and blacks, especially on higher tides. For a nearshore drop, check the artificial reefs off Atlantic Beach for early Atlantic bonito, black sea bass, and bluefish[1][2][4].
Best baits today: dead shrimp, cut mullet, live mud minnows, and sand fleas. Top artificial lures: white bucktail jigs, MirrOlure MR 27s, paddle tails in natural or flash colors, and DOA shrimp under a popping cork for inshore. Jigs and metal spoons for the surf and nearshore are catching blues and bonito[7][10].
Stay moving, fish the tides, and keep an eye on structure. The bite’s good and only getting better as spring marches on. Good luck out there and tight lines.