I really can’t believe it’s already June, but it’s OK I love June fishing around Wrightsville Beach, NC! So many different kinds of fish and so little time, what to do??? Here are a few of my favorites to target during the great fishing month of June!
The Spanish mackerel will be biting good most days, but the best bite times will be earlier in the morning when the sun is lower in the sky; also the fish may run a little deeper in thirty to fifty feet of water during the earlier part of June. When you mark big balls of bait with your fish finder this is usually where you’ll find the most Spanish biting. Clark-spoons in sizes 00 and 0 will do the trick in colors silver, gold and pink flash behind number one planners. When the Spanish are hitting on top I use Blue Water Candy’s Spanish Daisy chains in colors pink, blue and silver; the great thing about this rig is you can pull it off lighter tackle outfits. Another lure that will work well for the Spanish when casting to them is Hogy Epoxy casting jigs, these little casting jigs are just the right weight and size to get those fast moving Spanish to bite! The colors that I like to use are purple, pink and blue; I prefer the two smallest sizes of the Hogy jig. Also the hook that comes on these lures is great, finally a good hook on a lure right out of the package!
I love to catch Cobia; here are the ways I target the big brown beasts. This time of year I look for Cobia around inlets, shoals and bait schools; near shore/offshore reefs and ledges are also a good place to look too. I throw big jigs, swim baits and live bait to the Cobia when I see them. Color really does not seem to matter, brighter the better; Blue Water Candy makes some very nice Cobia jigs, check them out at our local tackle shops! Tip your Cobia Jig with a six inch curly tail grub or six inch Jerkshad or four inch shrimp from Berkley Gulp; this will help get that Cobia to eat that jig! When I’m not sight casting for them, we are fishing around inlets, shoals and near shore artificial reefs. I float fish, bottom fish and kite fish in these areas with live menhaden, blues and mullet as bait.
The warmer weather has really brought out the Flounder and they are finally showing up in better numbers, there are still a lot of smaller ones inshore, but the bigger ones are showing every day! Most of the Flounder fishing I’m doing is just off the beach and around the inlets. I’ve caught Flounder on both live and artificial baits during June, over the years what I have seen is more numbers on live bait, but more keepers on artificial baits. Mud minnows on light Carolina rigs with #one L42 Eagle Claw hooks are catching the numbers of Flounder. Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five & six inch sizes are getting the most keeper Flounder. I rig these Jerkshad on 1/4oz, 3/8oz and 1/2oz jig heads with longer hook shanks in red or gray color.
The bigger Reds will start to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets during late May. You never know when you might hook one of these hard fighting fish. When I fish for bigger Reds, I use fresh cut or live menhaden and mullet. I use fish finder rigs with 7/0 or 8/0 circle hooks and eighty pound Berkley Big game mono leaders. Don’t forget to keep your drag tight when using circle hook so they will do there job. One tip I can give you when fishing for Bull Reds, is don’t use to light of tackle for these bigger Reds. If you fight them to long, there is a chance you can tire them out to much and kill them. Try a med/heavy rod and a reel with at least thirty pound mono or braid, this will help you get the fish in quicker; with a better chance of a good release. Check to see if the Red has a yellow tag in its back; there are a fair amount of tagged Big Reds out there.
Fishing Gear I use:
Reels: Reds, Blues and Flounder: PENN Battle II & Conflict spinning in sizes 2500, 3000 & 4000. Cobia fishing reels: PENN Battle 5000, 6000 & 7000, PENN Fathom 20LW (Great Cobia and Tarpon reel).
Line: Reds, Blues and Flounder: Spiderwire Ultra-cast 15# Cobia Line: 30# Berkley Big Game Mono.
Rods: PENN Regiment or Battalion Medium and Medium heavy 6’6” & 7’. Cobia Rods: PENN Rampage Jigging 50 to 100 class( great rod at a great price)!.
Leader material: Cobia;/Bull Reds Berkley Big Game mono & Pro Spec Fluorocarbon in eighty to one hundred pound. Redfish, Blues, Flounder: Berkley Pro-Spec Fluorocarbon leader in forty pound test.
*The PENN Fishing Tackle tent sale will be at Tex’s Tackle on June 5th, 6th and 7th. PENN company reps and Pro Staff members will be on site to help you with any fishing or tackle questions you may have. I’ll be on site all day on Sunday the 7th. I hope to see you there!
Thanks for reading this forecast, if you have any questions just let me know and thanks for reading Coastal Angler Magazine!
Good Fishing to you,
Captain Jot Owens
PENN Reels Elite Staff
Ranger Boats Pro Staff
www.captainjot.com
Call: 910-233-4139
Wow, another month has come and gone and June is on top of us and the fishing is getting better.
Top water Speckle Trout in the river is high on my list of things to fish for. I look for edges or drop-offs with a shell bottom and current as well as a good supply of bait for them to feed. With top water, MirrOmullet, Top Dogs, Zara Spooks with no rattles and Yo Zuri Banana Boat lures top my list for top water Trout. Live Shrimp is great but everything else loves them so you may want to use Mullet or small Bunker.
Flounder are moving in the inlets and are getting to where they like the creek mouths. Falling tides are when I like these areas and either live bait or Gulp works great. Cast up into the mouths of the creek and very slowly work back, with Gulp, set the hook as soon as you feel the bite, live bait, let them chew on it a while. In shallow flats, 3′ or less, I like to use a “Popping” cork and fix the leader with a small 1/4 oz. led head so it is about 6″ off the bottom. Work it slowly back with small “popping” movements of the cork.
Red Drum or Redfish are in the docks and on the flats. Around the docks, live bait and Gulp are my picks. Fish the live baits on a Carolina Rig and the Gulp I like to use a Worm hook and rig it weedless so it will not hang, fish tight drags on both. Topwaters are great and I use the same ones as I do for the Speckle Trout on the flats. Gold spoons are my “go to” baits for the flats and I like to rub a little Pro Cure Crab on the spoon. Gulp on a worm hook works well also, rigged weedless allows you to work over an oyster bottom. Again, Popping corks with live bait or Gulp will work very well for you. Live bait I do not work much but with Gulp, small popping movements. Some nice Blues will still be around and sometimes run with the Drum on the flats.
You will start finding Spanish in the waterways and Got-Cha’s work great for them. I like using the smaller ones with single hooks, gold on sunny days and silver on cloudy. Also small Darts and jigs will work. Use regular mono for Spanish as they will eat the knots of Fluorocarbon. Keep it simple and make long casts to them.
As always, be safe out there as when the weather warms people go out in droves; watch out for the other guy as they may not be looking for you.
Captain Lee Parsons (910)540-2464
www.gottaflyguideservice.com