[dropcap]C[/dropcap]an you believe it’s already June? I can’t! The waters around Wrightsville Beach really start to warm up in June, so we usually see water temps in the 75- 80 degrees range in the ocean and up to just over 85 degrees inshore by late June. In June, most of my favorite local fish are biting pretty well and you can target more than one species in a day…if one is not biting you can go fish for another! Here is a rundown of what fishing is going on around Wrightsville Beach in June.
Everybody’s favorite, the flounder, is really getting its act together by June. You can find flounder just about anywhere when June rolls in. Just knowing where to look to find the keepers is the key! In the Wrightsville area, I look for keeper flounder around deeper channel drop-offs, in waters that are 5-15 feet deep. The local inlets, Carolina Beach, Masonboro, Mason’s and Rich’s, are always a good place to find some keeper-size flounders. Last, but certainly not least, are the artificial reefs, ledges and hard/live bottoms from one to ten miles off the beach…these areas always hold very nice flounder in June.
Once you have found some flounder you need to know how to catch ’em. If you want to go the artifi- cial route, try bigger baits… this will greatly help you catch more keeper-sized flounder. I prefer Berkley Gulp five- and six-inch Jerkshad in Pearl White, Chart Pepper Neon and New Penny colors. Another great flounder bait is the Berkley Gulp four-inch shrimp pattern. This bait is great for casting up and down in- shore drop-offs in creek channels. I rig these baits on jig heads in 1/8 & 1/4-ounce sizes for inshore and 3/8 and 1/2-ounce sizes for ocean fishing…in colors red, gray and white.
If you would like to go with live bait for the floun- ders, try mud minnows, small mullets or small men- haden as live bait. Rig these live baits on Carolina rigs with an Eagle Claw L 042 1/0 hook and 10 to 14 inches of 30- to 40-pound fluorocarbon as leader. I prefer egg sinkers as my weight. The secret to how much weight you use is “as much as you need to stay on the bottom but the least you can get away with.” You need to be on the bottom for flounder but going lighter will always get you more bites!
Redfish are in their summer trend by June and the trick to summer reds is go early before the sun is high in the sky and hot. Topwater lures and rattling corks in the shallow waters early mornings and late afternoons will produce redfish. Working grubs like Berkley Gulp later in the day in deeper waters will also produce reds for you. Slow-rolling spinner baits with a Berkley Gulp Ripple Mullet in three-inch size in the Root-Beer Gold/Chart tail color as the trailer has produced me some nice reds when the water heats up. Sometimes it can be just like colder mouths, you have to slow down your presentation a little when the water gets hot. That gives the redfish a little more time to catch up with your bait when the water temp is over 80 degrees.
Last but never least, cobia fishing is in full swing by early June and should be good until early July. I look for cobia around inlets, shoals and bait schools; nearshore/off- shore reefs and ledges are also good places to look, too. With the water being clear most of the time in June it should easier to see those brown logs in the water. I like to throw big jigs, swim baits and live bait to the cobia. Color really does not seem to mat- ter, but “go bright!” When I’m not sight-casting for them, we are fishing around inlets, shoals and nearshore artificial reefs. I float fish, bottom fish and kite fish in these areas with live menhaden, blues and mullet as bait. You can chum if you like, but the sharks will come and they will come in numbers!
Tackle run down: For reels, PENN Battle & Conflict Spinning reels in 2500, 3000 & 4000 sizes for the redfish and flounder. For cobia, PENN Battle & Conflict 6000 & 7000 and PENN 20LW Fathom casting reels. For rods, PENN Legion and Regiment 6’6” & 7’ medium and medium/heavy for the redfish and flounder. For cobia rods PENN Rampage Jigging series 50 to 100 class casting and spinning. Line is Spiderwire Ultra-cast in 10- and 15-pound test for the flounder and reds, and Berkley Big Game mono in 20- and 30-pound test for the cobia.
I hope summer fishing is good to you. Thanks for reading Coastal Angler!