[dropcap]C[/dropcap]an you believe it’s already July? I know I can’t! The good news is July is a great month for fishing around Wrightsville Beach area waters. Here are some of the fish I target during the hot month of July and how I catch them.
The flounder fishing is in full swing about everywhere by July and, hey, everybody loves to catch flounder, right? In July you can find flounder around most inlets, in creeks, main channels (ICW) and just off the beach. Using smaller live baits like mud minnows, finger mullets and little menhaden should do the trick to put dinner in the boat for you. I rig these live baits on Carolina rigs, with #1 and 1/0 L42 Eagle Claw hooks; a 40-pound test mono leader will work fine for flounder fishing. Casting and slowly retrieving, drafting or anchoring with this rig are all good ways to catch flounder with a Carolina rig. You can also go the artificial route to catch flounder; I really enjoy using lures for flounder fishing. Try a Berkley Gulp five- or six-inch jerkshad in colors Pearl White or Chart Pepper Neon. I rig the jerkshad on 3/8- to 1/2-ounce jig heads. Remember, it is always a good idea to use a good landing net for flounder fishing. I sug- gest you try an EGO floating net, so you’ll never worry about losing your net again!
Redfish in July…well, you can catch them, but with the water really warming up you need to change the way you fish a bit. If you want to target reds in shallow waters, you really need to go early in the morning or in the late af- ternoon when the water is a bit cooler. During the middle parts of the day, try to fish a little deeper with jigs and grubs, because the reds pre- fer a little deeper water when the sun gets high in the sky. I really like Berkley Gulp baits, because you can’t beat their great scent…redfish love ’em! Berkley’s three-inch shrimp is my “go to” redfish lure dur- ing the hot summer months, I like them in Molting, Sugar Spice Glow and White col- ors. I rig my Gulp baits on 1/16-, 1/8- and 1/4-ounce jig heads in colors Red, Gray and Brown with 30- or 40-pound Berkley Pro Spec fluorocarbon leader material.
I really start to keep my eye out for the silver king (tarpon) by early July. These big silver fish are making their way up from Florida. The long trip has made them hun- gry…and hungry fish are easier to catch (most of the time!) I look for tarpon around local inlets, shoals and hard bottoms close to shore. Live or fresh dead baits like men- haden or mullet on the bottom are the best bet for getting a bite out of these beasts. I prefer circle hooks in sizes 7/0 to 10/0 and my leader material is always Berkley Big Game 60- or 80-pound fluorocarbon, because tarpon have great eye sight! Tarpon are around Wrightsville Beach from early July to mid-September most years. If you hook in to one of these tarpon, hold on tight, they fight very hard!
Tackle run down: PENN Battle & Conflict Spinning reels in 2500, 3000 and 4000 sizes for the redfish and flounder, and for tarpon, PENN Spinfisher 6500 and 7500 and PENN 20 Fathom casting reels. For rods for the redfish and flounder, PENN Regi- ment 6’6” and 7’ medium and med/heavy, and for the tarpon, PENN Rampage Jigging series. Line is Spiderwire Ultra-cast in 10- and 15-pound and, for the tarpon, Berkley Big Game mono in 30- and 40-pound.
I hope you have a great Fourth of July. Thanks for reading Coastal Angler Magazine!