Here it is September…fall is coming soon, meaning cooler days, cooler nights and great fishing around Wrightsville Beach! School has started, so there is a lot less boat traffic and less fishing pressure on the water! So it’s time for fall fishing to start! During September there are a lot of different kinds of fish to target, here are a few of my favorites September targets. Flounder, everybody likes to catch these flat fish of the bottom and, yes, September is one of the best mouths to target these good-eating fish. It has been a very good season for flounder already and with September here I can only imagine it’s going to get better! This season I’ve had great luck with artificial baits as well as live bait for flounder. Try mud minnows, small menhaden or small finger mullet as live baits for flounder in September; all these baits are readily available this time of year. Rigging the live bait on Carolina rigs with Eagle Claw #42 1/0 hooks is a good choice of rigs for flounder. If you prefer to go the artificial route for flounder, try some of these Berkley Gulp baits, they are sure to catch you some nice flounders! Berkley Gulp five- and six-inch Jerkshad are one of my “go-to” baits for flounder around the Wrightsville area. Another bait that is great for flounder is the Berkley Gulp Ripple Mullet. I prefer to rig these baits on 1/4-, 3/8-, and 1/2-ounce jig heads in colors red, gray or brown. It’s always a good idea to use some fluorocarbon leader in 30- to 40-pound test when casting for flounder. I look for flounder in the early fall around the inlets, in the creeks and up and down the ICW. I also will find some very nice flounder just offshore of Wrightsville on live/hard bottom as well on artificial reefs.
The bull red drum really show up well in September and I enjoy targetting these hard-pulling fish. I look for these bulls around inlets, shoals, up and down the beach, just off the surf. Try rigging live and fresh cut menhaden or mullet as bait on Carolina rigs with 7/0 to 10/0 circle hooks and 60- to 80-pound mono or fluorocarbon leaders for the bulls. Try to use heavy enough tackle to get these bulls in quickly, as it’s very easy to work them to death if you fight them too long! Spanish mackerel fishing in September can be some of the best of all year; look for Spanish in 20 to 40 feet of water just off the beach. Keep your eyes peeled for baitfish; this is where you will find the Spanish mackerel. Clark-spoons in sizes 00 and 0 are doing the trick in colors silver, gold and pink flash behind number one planners. When the Spanish are hitting on top, while trolling try a Blue Water Candy Spanish Daisy chain in colors pink, blue and silver. The great thing about this rig is you can pull it with lighter tackle outfits. Another new lure that is working well for the Spanish when I’m casting to them is the River2Sea Sea Rock lure. These little casting jigs are just the right weight and size to get those fast-moving Spanish to bite! All the Sea Rock colors seem to work well. I prefer the two smallest sizes of Sea Rock in the No. 7 and No. 14. The hook that comes on these lures is great…finally a good hook on a lure right out of the package! Tarpon fishing this season has been hot, with lots of fish being hooked and caught off many of the local piers and just off the beach in boats. Tarpon fishing around Wrightsville should remain good until late September. I fish for tarpon on the bottom or free-lining, using live and fresh dead baits like spots, bluefish and menhaden. I rig these baits on fish-finder rigs, with three to five feet of 80- to 100-pound mono leaders. Circle hooks are the best bet for good hook-ups and landings for tarpon in hook sizes 7/0 to 10/0, depending what hook series/maker you like. Hey, give the Silver King a try sometime. You never know, the fish gods might hook you up with a tarpon! Here’s the tackle run down for this month: For reels, Penn Battle Spinning reels 3000 & 4000 sizes for the Spanish mackerel and flounder and Penn Battle 6000 & 7000 and 320LD Penn casting reels for the tarpon and bull reds. For rods, Fenwick HMG & HMX 6’6” & 7’ medium and med/heavy for the Spanish and flounder and Ugly Stik Tiger Lite Jigging series for the tarpon and bull reds. For line, Spiderwire Ultra-cast in 10- and 15-pound test for the smaller guys and Berkley Big Game mono in 30- and 40-pound test for the tarpon and bulls. Thanks for reading Coastal Angler Magazine!
Capt. Jot Owens, Penn Reels Elite Staff • Ranger Boats Pro Staffwww.captainjot.com • 910-233-4139