Mackerel and grouper start to heat up in the south

Southport/Sunset Beach

Dutchman Creek Bait & Tackle (910) 457-1221www.yeahrightcharters.com and www.oifishingcenter.com

Spanish mackerel are starting to show on the beaches (10 to 30 feet), and king mackerel are biting off piers and places such as the Horseshoe, Frying Pan Tower and 32 Mile rocks. Wahoo and dolphin are biting in the Gulf Stream, but yellowfins are scarce. Grouper are biting in the 90- to 110-foot range, along with big black sea bass and beeliners. Inshore, speckled trout are starting to pick up, with fish up to 8 pounds being caught around the Sunset bridge area, Little River jetties and the back of Shallotte Inlet. Sea mullet are biting strong in the Cape Fear River.

Oregon Inlet

Oregon Inlet Fishing Center (252) 441-6301, www.oregon-inlet.com

A great week for gaffer dolphin and nice yellowfin tuna out of Oregon Inlet. Scattered billfish have been present. Bluefish and flounder have been caught by the inshore boaters. Surf anglers have seen good fishing for trout, bluefish and sea mullet. The beach at Oregon Inlet is closed to traffic.

Buxton/Hatteras

Red Drum Tackle (252) 995-5414, www.reddrumtackle.com; Oden's Dock (252) 986-2555, www.odensdock.com; Hatteras Harbor Marina (800) 676-4939, www.hatterasharbor.com

Lots of big drum and blues were caught at The Point this weekend, but now the area is closed to traffic. Sea mullet, flounder and blues up and down the beach. Offshore boats are doing well on wahoo, dolphin, yellowfins and a few billfish. Bottom anglers have done well on a variety of species.

Ocracoke/Portsmouth

www.fishtradewinds.com Morris Marina (252) 225-4261, www.portsmouthisland.com

The south end of Ocracoke has been shut down to beach traffic. Surf anglers elsewhere have caught bluefish, sea mullet, puppy drum, flounder and some black drum. Anglers at Portsmouth have caught trout, sheephead, flounder, croaker, mullet, along with a few bigger red drum and some bluefish up to about 10 pounds.

Cape Lookout/Bogue Inlet

EJW Outdoors (252) 247-4725, www.ncwaterman.com

Spanish mackerel and Atlantic bonito have moved in. Lots of blues remain on the beach. Big sea mullet, gray trout and flounder are being caught on artificial reef AR-315. The Turning Basin has sea mullet and gray trout. Big black drum have been caught at the Fort Macon rock jetty. Offshore, yellowfin, wahoo and dolphin from the northeast side of the Big Rock to the southeast corner and on to the Swansboro Hole.

Topsail Island

East Coast Discount Tackle (910) 328-1887, www.eastcoastsports.com

Piers have nice chopper blues, sea mullet and Spanish mackerel. One king has been caught from a pier. Surf has bluefish and sea mullet. Inside has flounder, red drum and speckled trout. Offshore, bonitos are biting with kings about 20 miles out. Bottom species such as red grouper and sea bass are biting starting about 12 miles out.

Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach

Tex's Tackle (910) 791-1763; www.texstackle.com; Bug-Em Bait Co. (910) 452-9955

Lots of drum are in the Intracoastal Waterway, with flounder picking up in the inlets. Pompano are on the beach with tons of blues and some Spanish. Nearshore, Spanish and kings are thick starting 10 miles out. Farther out, grouper start at about 30 miles. Gulf Stream is giving up blackfins and wahoo. Yellowfins are scarce.

FRESHWATER

Falls Lake

Carolina Outdoor Sportsman (919) 676-6799; Bayleaf USA (919) 847-4639 www.wmi.org

Water level: normal 251.5, Wednesday 252.4, full pool 264.8. Most of the fishing action at Falls lately has been smaller buck bass guarding fry on the banks.

Kerr Lake

Buggs Island Bait & Tackle (434) 374-8934; www.kerrlake.com

Water level: normal 300, Wednesday 303.7, full pool 320. Bass are spawning, so the willows and bushes are popular with anglers using jigs and plastics. A few striped bass have been caught on live bait trolled near the steel bridge. A lot of stripers have headed up the rivers to spawn. Many of the crappies are done spawning and can be caught above brush piles suspended 8 to 15 feet below the surface.

Jordan Lake

Wilsonville General Store (919) 362-7101, www.carolinaoutdoors.net

Water level: normal 216, Wednesday 219.6, full pool 240. The water is up and back in the bushes, making bass fishing tough. A few have been caught by flipping jigs and tubes back in the timber. Crappie are scattered from the backs of creeks out to flats in 5 to 11 feet of water.

Lake Wheeler

park office (919) 662-5704

Call for the latest information.

Shearon Harris Lake

www.wmi.org

Bass fishing at Harris is still good, with some fish still on beds and buck bass shallow guarding fry. Buzzbaits have produced early, with wacky-rigged plastics doing well later in the day.

Roanoke River

Roanoke River Outfitters (252)-536-3119; N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission update www.ncwildlife.org

Striped bass continue to be caught, and active spawning is taking place. Anglers are reminded that the harvest season has closed and that single, barbless hooks are still the rule on the river.