I’m so very happy it is April! After the winter we’ve had, I’m so ready for warmer and longer days, good fishing and no more cold weather! April can be a very good month to catch fish around the Wrightsville Beach, but you may have to hunt them down to find the fish. Here are my go-to fish during the month of April.
I know I talk about the redfish (red drum) a lot…but, hey, they are one of my favorites to catch! In April we are going to see the redfish really start to move around and one thing I’ve found is if their moving around, they are looking for food. If they are looking for food, then they are probably going to bite your hook! In April I rely on artificial baits or fresh cut bait to catch spring reds. You can not go wrong with Berkley Gulp three-inch Shrimp in colors Molting, Sugar Spice Glow and New Penny. Rigging these Gulp baits on light jig heads (1/8-ounce and 1/4-ounce sizes) in reds and gray colors should get the reds to bite for you. If you would rather use cut bait, rig it on a light Carolina rig with a L42 No. 1 size hook. Look for the reds on the edges of oyster rocks, mash grass edges, ICW docks and creek mouths.
There is one fish that a lot of anglers overlook in April and that is the black drum. What I love about these fish is you can catch them in good numbers this time of year and they are great to eat! On top of all that, they are also easy to catch; use a light two- hook bottom rig with No. 2 or No. 3 size Eagle Claw bait holder hooks. I make my own rigs with 30-pound fluorocarbon leader by making two overhand knots to put the hooks on. I prefer as fresh as I can get shrimp for black drum fishing. Fish these rigs around docks, oyster rocks and inlets for black drum; you might even get a redfish mixed in as well. I will sometimes catch two black drum at the same time on the same rig; now, that’s what I call good fishing!
Another fish that really starts to show up around the inlets of Southeast North Carolina is the good ol’ bluefish and during April you can catch some bigger bluefish too. These blues will hit Berkley Gulp seven-inch Jerkshads in colors Pearl and Pearl/ Chart Pepper; hard baits like big poppers and spoons like Sebile’s Ondu spoon will also get these choppers to bite. Don’t forget the steel leaders for these fish or they will get a free lure from you every time! Try light single strand wire in sizes #2, #3 or #4 to keep your lures on the end of your line and not in a bluefish’s pocket!
Towards mid-April the bonita should show up just offshore of Wrightsville. Trolling Clark spoons and small deep driver lures can be the key to success some days for the bonita. When using the Clark spoons, I would recommend the pink flash spoon in sizes #00, #0 and #1; the pink flash series has really helped me put more fish in the boat. A bird rig on top with a Clark spoon about five to six feet behind it or a Bluewater Candy Spanish Daisy Chain (in blue, silver, pink) have worked very well for me on top, too. Look for birds working…marking bait on your fish finder is the way to find the feeding fish. When the fish are not on top, I’ve caught some nice blues and a few bonita by casting a spoon out and letting it sink down before reeling it in. I’ve found that some times these fish are deeper and you can get them by getting down to deeper water.
Cape Fear River striped bass can bite very well in April too, but the fish move around a lot more during April, so you’ll find them at one spot one day and the next day they have moved on. In April, the stripers will start to move into a little bit shallower waters, I look for the stripers in three to ten feet of water in the early spring. This is when you need to also shallow up your presentation and go lighter with your tackle. I prefer Berkley Gulp Jerkshad and Berkley Havoc Grass Pig lures; I use colors Pearl, Chart Pepper Neon and New Penny (Swamp Gas). Using swim bait hooks size 5/0 in 1/8- to 1/4-ounce weights made by Moaner hooks should put a striper on the end of your line! Look for Cape Fear River stripers around mud-flat edges, bulk-heads and shallow reed-grass edges on sunny warmer days.
Tackle run down: PENN Battle & Conflict Spinning reels in 2500, 3000 and 4000 sizes. For rods: PENN Legion rods 6’6” & 7’ medium and med/heavy action. Line is Spiderwire Ultra-cast in 10- to 15-pound test.