Fantastic Fishing Off the North Carolina Coast This Sunny October Day

Today, October 17th, is shaping up to be a great day for fishing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina. The weather is sunny and clear, with an air temperature of around 74 degrees and a gentle breeze from the west-northwest at about 9 mph.

Sunrise was at 7:14 AM, and sunset will be at 6:24 PM, giving you plenty of daylight to get out on the water. Tides are favorable, with high tides at 2:24 AM and 3:24 PM, and low tides at 8:52 AM and 9:24 PM.

Yesterday saw some excellent fishing action. Anglers caught a variety of species, including bluefish, Spanish mackerel, triggerfish, small cobia, sea mullet, spot, and even some speckled trout. The ocean water temperature is around 75 degrees, which is ideal for many of these species.

For bluefish and Spanish mackerel, using small spoons like Big Nic Spanish candies on light spinning tackle has been effective. If you're targeting speckled trout, hard baits like MirrOlures, particularly the 17MR and 22MR series, have been producing good results. Live bait such as smaller mullets, mud minnows, and live shrimp also work well for trout, especially when floated with a cork in shallow waters or rigged on light Carolina rigs in deeper waters.

Red drum are also starting to pick up, especially inside the inlets and around oyster rocks. Using fresh cut or live menhaden or mullet on Carolina rigs with circle hooks is a good strategy for catching these.

Hot spots include the inshore and nearshore waters around Atlantic Beach and Wrightsville Beach. The inlets, jetties, and artificial reefs in these areas are teeming with fish. For those looking to target bigger red drum, the hard bottoms and inlets are where you want to be.

Overall, it's a perfect day to get out and enjoy the fall fishing in North Carolina's Atlantic waters.