Fresh Topsail Island Fishing Reports

Weather is always a challenge, especially in the spring season when it feels like summer and winter are fighting it out. This is why it's good to have a little flexibility in your schedule. Had a half-day charter for Alex's birthday, joined by his father-in-law, and two brothers in law. The first day was just too rough, so we rescheduled and got out there. With the inlet crossing a little gnarly due to tides and winds, we had to make an extended boat ride down to Masonboro Inlet where we had the protection of a jetty and deeper water. It was still a bit of a rodeo going out, but once we hit open water it was a lot more manageable. The wind was not supposed to come up until later in the day, but as usual, the forecast was off and it was already gusting over 10 knots when we came out of the inlet. With whitecaps forming and waves close together, I made the quick decision to keep the trip close to shore... which is fine, because the Spanish mackerel are running strong. The bite wasn't fast, but it was steady and we put plenty of good fish in the boat. All of the fish were legal size or better, which was a nice change from the last trip where we had to release so many shorts. The bluefish and lizard fish put in a brief showing as well, and kept things lively. We finished the day in fairly rough conditions, and I think everyone was ready to come back in. 15 Spanish and a blue will make for plenty of fish tacos as this crew finishes out their vacation week!

The redfish bite is warming up and we are still seeing plenty of spanish mackerel and bonito out in the ocean! Book your trip today for this beautiful spring weather and beat the crowd on the water.

WIth the warmer weather has gotten the fish really fired up offshore! We've been seeing a lot of Spanish mackerel and bonito right off the beach with more showing up everything day. The king markerel bite has been really good offshore with the fish really holding on wrecks and other structures. Grouper season will open up may 1st! so it's time to get some fish boxes full of them and many other bottom fish to go along with it. When weather has allowed and we've been able to get to the Gulfstream. We've been seeing nice size Schools off mahi. Wahoo and tuna are really starting to push through too! It's prime time to get out to the Gulfstream and get on some really nice fish when weather will allow!

Slring Atlantic Bonito is on fire right now! All fish have been caught throwing casting jigs at schools pushing bait to the surface. These fish are grade A eating and one of the most fun fish to catch on light tackle.

Started off our 2023 season with a 3 hr fun trip. Terry and his son booked at the last minute, and said they just wanted to get out and have a nice day. The Spanish mackerel bite is really early this year, but it was getting pretty good, along with our short run of Atlantic bonito, so I figured we ought to be able to get into something. I ran a couple of Clark spoons out just as we cleared the inlet, and it wasn't long before the first Spanish of the day was skipping in the wake. Unfortunately, he was a little too small, but at least it was action to start the morning. The water was really churned up from a passing cold front, and the bottom layer showed up like a cloud on the depth finder. That's not ideal, but we still managed to hook a handful of Spanish... although they were mostly shorts and had to be released. As usual, there were a number of "remote releases" too. I was sweating it a little bit, because 3 hours isn't always a lot of time to run to new locations to hunt the bigger fish, and I hated to send these guys home empty-handed. I pushed off toward a different piece of structure, and at last it happened. Both rods went over hard. Fish were taking line, and that's not something you see with Spanish mackerel. I knew we'd found some Atlantic bonito! The fight was pretty epic, with Terry and son both working pretty hard to manage these hard-fighting fish. After the small Spanish, they were both surprised at the strength and tenacity the bonito demonstrated. To their credit, though, both fish came to the boat and into the box. The morning continued with a few more small Spanish, and then one last bonito (smaller than the first two) before the bite completely shut down. The wind had freshened and we were starting to see a good bit of chop, so it was good timing when we agreed that time was up and we needed to get back to the dock. Overall, it was an excellent day with a couple of guys who had **hidden content**itudes and went home with some of the best-tasting nearshore fish our area has to offer. The Atlantic bonito are only here for a month or so every spring, so I was glad to get them onto some.

With the warner waters finally moving in towards the coast. The Spanish mackerel have really showed up a few miles off the beach! We've been seeing nice size School of Bonita mixed in with them as well. With these longer warmer days its getting prime time to get a boatload of them! Kings mackerel are really schooled up offshore still but moving towards the beach with every passing day. The Gulfstream is really starting to fill up with mahi, wahoo, and tuna all pushing north. Definitely getting prime time to get offshore and get on some fish!