Summer Bite Continues Along the Caro

July is doing what July typically does along the Carolina coast—the fish are still here, but they’re more spread out than they were in the spring. That means patience, fresh bait, and making the most of every opportunity. Nearshore, we hooked a nice cobia this week, proving they’re still around for anglers willing to put in the time. Live bait and fresh-cut bait are producing far better than frozen this month and are the biggest keys to success. Big barracuda are stacked up on the nearshore reefs and wrecks. If you’re targeting them, scale down your wire leader and present a large live bait naturally. Many of these fish have seen plenty of lures, so a stealthy presentation makes all the difference. Spanish mackerel continue to blitz bait along the beaches, but with so much natural forage in the water, they’ve become a little more selective. You may not get as many bites as earlier in the season, but the quality has been excellent. Grey trout and red drum are still being caught, although they aren’t feeding as aggressively as they do during the spring and fall transitions. Working live bait around structure during moving water has been the most consistent approach. The sponey dog fish have slowed up when Shark fishing and will be replaced by much larger sharks luke big tiger sharks, hammer heads, bull sharks and black tips so not as many shark but overall kich bigger and more exciting. Overall, we’re catching fewer fish than we were a month ago, but the quality has remained outstanding. Summer fishing is all about adapting to the conditions, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. Book your trip now and let us put you on the fish—whether you’re chasing sharks, Spanish, cobia, barracuda, or whatever decides to bite next.