Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Forecast-September 2021
September is the month of change, summer starts to wind down and fall starts to show it’s self. I personally really like to fish in September, warm days, a little less humidity, much less boat traffic and best of all; great fishing! Here are some of the “goto” fish I like to target during September. PS: the mullet run has started; Bait moving equals fish feeding!!!
September this year is a little different because it’s Flounder season (September 1st to September 14th), here is how I target flounder in September. Working live or artificial lures slower so the flounder have time to see and react to the target (bait) is my favorite way to fish for flounder. Live bait is good for catching higher numbers of Flounder, but not always as many bigger size flounder come to the boat on live bait in my opinion. Mud minnows (larger) and smaller finger mullet will be the best live baits for Flounder in September, both are hardy baitfish in hot weather. Small menhaden work too but die very easy especially in the warm waters of early September, but may work better later in the month with a bit cooler waters.
Rigging the live bait on carolina rigs with Eagle Claw L42 1/0 or 2/0 hooks is a good choice of rigs for Flounder. If you prefer to use artificial baits which I do and I tend to see bigger size flounders more often on artificial lures. Scented and none scented grubs like the Berkley Grass pig (5”) or Champ swimmer (4.6”) are good choices in colors, chartreuse, green back and swamp gas (new penny). Berkley Gulp Jerkshad in five and six inch in colors of fire tiger, pearl white and chart pepper neon are all good colors. Darker colors like new penny in heavy stained/dirty waters work better to get more bites. I rig these lures on jig heads in 1/4oz, 3/8oz and 1/2oz weights in colors red, gray or white with thirty- or forty-pound fluorocarbon leader material for inshore flounder fishing.
When I’m Ocean fishing for flounder I step up the weight and size of my lures a bit. Berkley Gulp six inch jerk shad and five inch Gulp grubs in colors fire tiger, chart pepper neon, pearl white and salmon red. I rig these on larger jig heads or Bucktails these are my goto’s for ocean flounder fishing. I prefer ¾ oz to 1.5oz jig heads or 1.5oz to 2oz Berkley Fusion Bucktail’s when targeting ocean flounder. Using forty- or fifty-pound Berkley Pro spec fluorocarbon leader material for ocean flounder fishing. The Fluorocarbon leaders help with all the sharp bottom structures and getting those nice flounder to the boat!
Look for the bigger flounder around deeper water docks with good current, bait fish and lots of structure inshore. The inlets, offshore reef and ledges are all good places to find hot weather flounder. What do all these places have in common; deeper water, current and structure. Don’t forget look for the clearest water possible and when fishing very stained/dirty water slow down your presentation of the bait or lure. And again, don’t forget NC keeper Flounder season is September 1st to September 14tth 2021!
When the water starts to cool down (a little) the Redfishing (Red Drum) will heat up. I look for the Reds to be in the creeks, along the ICW docks and oyster rocks. Carolina rigs with live bait or fresh cut bait is a good bet to catch a Redfish. If you want to go the artificial root, try Berkley Gulp three or four inch shrimp in color sugar spice glow or molting rigged on a 1/8oz or 1/4oz Berkley Fusion jig head should get’em to bite. Early mornings or late afternoons the top water bite should be good; cast MirrOlure Top Dog Jr’s and Top Pup’s for the best bite. Look for the top-water reds to be along marsh grass lines and shallow oyster rocks. You can also use rattling or popping corks in the same areas you use top-water plugs, just rig them with eight to fourteen inches of forty pound fluorocarbon, 1/0 hook L42 Eagle Claw and a live figure mullet.
The bigger Reds are starting to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets. 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 carolina rigs with TroKar TK5 8/0 or 9/0 AP circle hooks and eighty-pound clear Berkley Big game mono leaders. Don’t forget to keep your drag tight when using circle hook so the hook will do its job. One tip I can give you when fishing for Bull (Old) 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.
Spanish mackerel and false albacore fishing can be great during September. The Spanish run the biggest (in size) all year during the fall. You can cast or troll for them and the fly fishing can be great as well. The Spanish/albacore will be around the inlets, up & down the beaches and near shore artificial reefs. Look for jumping Spanish and diving birds; that is where you will find the Spanish mackerel. Casting small spoons or jigs like Big Nic’s Spanish Candy on light spinning tackle will put some Spanish in the boat for you. If you would rather troll, give a Blue Water Candy Daisy Chain a try on top and a #1 planner down deep with a Clark spoon. If you would like to give fly fishing a try, use a five to eight weight set up with floating line with a small minnow pattern fly or epoxy minnow pattern; my favorite!
Shark fishing will be good until late September. I see lots of different kinds of Sharks in September; Black tip, black nose, Spinner, Hammerhead and Tiger. Best baits for the near shore sharks are fresh/live Bluefish, Mullet and Menhaden. I use spinning or conventional reels for Shark fishing with 300+ yards of fifty and sixty-five pound Spider wire Ultra-cast braid. Rigging the baits; eight feet of 80 pound mono leader; some of this leader will wind on to the reel. Connected to the 80-pound mono with a fifty pound plus swivel, then two to three feet of #9 SS wire and a TroKar 8/0 or 9/0 AP circle hook. (I push down the barb for easy release) If you prefer Fly fishing, I like Striped bass flies in Menhaden patterns with 4/0 and 5/0 hook sizes. We use ten to twelve plus weight set ups; have lots of extra flies with you!
Fishing Tackle I use: PENN Clash II, PENN Battle III DX or Slammer IV series reels 2500, 3000 or 3500 Flounder, Redfish (puppy drum) and casting to Spanish mackerel. If you enjoy using a low-profile bait caster. Check out the PENN Fathom 200 size, I love this reel for pitching for Flounder! Big Drum and Sharks PENN Slammer III or Slammer IV 5500 or 6500 series spinning reels or conventional Fathom II 20LW reels. Rods PENN Battalion II or Fenwick HMG Inshore series 8 to 15 pound 7’ class for puppy drum (Redfish) and Spanish mackerel. Big Drum and Sharks PENN Rampage jigging spinning or casting 30-to-80-pound class. Lines Light tackle Redfish (puppy drum) and Spanish/albacore Spiderwire Ultra-cast 10-to-15-pound, Big Drum and Sharks 30-pound Berkley Pro Spec Chrome mono on conventional reels or Spiderwire braid 50 to 65 pound on spinning reels. Tackle Storage I prefer to use are Plano Guide series tackle bags in 3600 or 3700 with Plano EDGE Tackle Tray/boxes inside for waterproof protection.
Good September fishing to you and thanks for reading!
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
