Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Forecast-October 2022
October is the month when ‘Fall’ fishing really gets in full swing around Southeast, North Carolina! So many great fishing opportunities during October; Big Redfish, Gator Specked trout, High Speed Spanish Mackerel and False Albacore. As the waters cool down from the fall air the Redfish really get active, and this is the time to catch some good numbers in shallow water. The mullets will be in full run by early October and the Redfish take full advantage of this! Casting top-water lures along marsh grass banks and oyster rocks in creeks and along the ICW will sure to put a Redfish on your line. Try these top-water lures; MirrOlures Top-pup or Top dog Jr. Remember work these lures with good side to side action (walking the dog) for a sure strike bite action! Also, you can cast live finger mullets on rattling or popping corks for these shallow water Redfish as well.
The bigger Reds start to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets during September, they usually run until later October. 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 or mullet. I use carolina rigs with 8/0 or 9/0 TroKar AP TK5 circle hooks and eighty-pound Berkley Big game mono leaders. Don’t forget to keep your drag tight when using circle hooks so they will do their 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 too 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.
Speckled trout are not too hard to catch but knowing what lures to use and when can really make a difference in how many you catch. I prefer to use grubs and hard baits in deeper waters (six to twenty feet) like MirrOlure 52m & 52MR’s or 18MR series. The grubs I prefer are Berkley Gulp 3” shrimp, the 3” Ripple mullet and Berkley Powerbait Pro Twitch Tail minnows. When I’m targeting Speckled trout in shallower waters (two to six feet) I prefer lures like the MirrOlure 17MR and 22MR (catch 2000 jr): on very calm mornings try a MirrOlure She pup top or Top pup top water lures. It’s so exhilarating to see a big fall Trout hit a top-water lure! If you would rather use live bait, try live mud minnows or live shrimp; rig the live bait on a light Carolina rig for deeper water or a float rig for shallow waters. Another important tip for Trout fishing I can give you. I always use Fluorocarbon leaders for trout fishing. Trout have great eyesight and the waters in southeast NC can get pretty clear in the Fall. I prefer Berkley Pro Spec twenty-pound test Fluorocarbon.
Spanish mackerel and False Albacore fishing can be great during October. The Spanish and False Albacore run the biggest all year during the fall. You can cast or troll for them and the fly fishing can be great as well. The Spanish and False Albacore will be around the inlets and near shore artificial reefs. Look for jumping/busting fish and diving birds; that is where you will find the Spanish and False Albacore. Casting small spoons or jigs (Big Nic’s Spanish Candy) on light spinning tackle will put some fish 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 six to nine weight set up with floating line with a small minnow pattern fly or epoxy minnow pattern work best.
Tackle run down: PENN Battle III DX, Slammer IV or the new Authority series Spinning reels in sizes 2000, 2500, & 3000 sizes for the Redfish, Speckled trout, Spanish and False Albacore. Bull Reds PENN Fathom II 20LW casting reels or Slammer IV 5500 or 6500 size spinning reels. Rods Fenwick HMG Inshore 7’ medium and med/heavy for the Redfish, Spanish and Albacore. Med/light 7’ or 7’6” for the Speckled trout. Bull Reds PENN Carnage III Jigging class rods in 50 to 100 class. Line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in ten and fifth-teen pound. Berkley Pro Spec fluorocarbon leader material in twenty pound. Bull Redfish line Thirty-pound Berkley Pro-Spec Chrome mono (I Like the bright orange line). Tackle storage I use Plano Guide series 3700 tackle bag for Lures and Plano Z-Series 3600 tackle bag for terminal tackle with EDGE boxes inside.
Thanks for reading, have a great Fall and good fishing to you!
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
