Coastal Carolina Fishing Report: Red Drum, Trout, and More on the Bite as Weather Cools

Artificial Lure here—fresh off the water with your Atlantic North Carolina coastal fishing report for Wednesday, November 5th, 2025. If you’re cooling your heels anywhere from Cape Hatteras down to Oak Island, let’s dive right in.

Sunrise crept up at 6:46 AM today, with sunset expected at 7:20 PM—lots of daylight for folks wanting to wet a line before or after work. Tidal activity’s been lively: high tide hit about 10:52 AM, rolling out to low tide by mid-evening. That’s created good current pushing bait into creek mouths and inlets, ideal for red drum and trout action, especially as we're just off a period of “very high” solunar activity earlier in the week based on the latest NC State Fisheries charts.

Weather’s brisk but settled—National Weather Service called for a dry cold front moving through overnight, with clearing skies and lighter winds this morning off Surf City to Cape Fear. This drop in temps has sparked a late-fall bite, especially on the outgoing tide. Water’s clearing up; fish are hungry and moving.

Recent catch reports from Duck, Nags Head, and Atlantic Beach say the usual suspects are showing up in force. Anglers along Jennette’s Pier and down at Triple S Pier have been hauling in **speckled trout**, **red drum (including those big multi-spot lottery winners)**, **black sea bass**, and the odd sheepshead with their “human-like” chompers—sand fleas and fiddler crabs are irresistible to those guys, as Nathan Martin reminded us in the local news.

If you’re after flounder, keep an eye on the evolving rules—starting December 1, recreational anglers will need to report catches of flounder, red drum, striped bass, spotted seatrout, and weakfish to the Division of Marine Fisheries. Good for the future of our fishery.

Best baits and lures today:
- For **trout and red drum**: 3.4-inch paddle tails in white or natural chartreuse are catching the majority, especially rigged on a quarter-ounce jighead. Epic’s Fin Kicker and Fin Swim are popular—tight action, great in the shallows and creek mouths.
- Live mud minnows and shrimp are prime for drum and flounder.
- For **sheepshead**, nothing beats fresh sand fleas or fiddler crab. Fish’em straight down at pier pilings or bridge abutments.
- Black sea bass are thick around deeper structure off the nearshore reefs; squid strips or soft plastics like the 4.5-inch D Bomb work well for these knuckleheads.

Hot Spots:
- **Bogue Inlet** and the marsh edges near Emerald Isle are putting out solid trout and drum numbers on the last hour of the outgoing tide.
- **Oregon Inlet and Jennette’s Pier** for black sea bass, sheepshead and sometimes those wayward stripers.
- The **waters west of Morehead City**, near the old railroad trestle, are lively midmorning; early birds working the rising tide are pulling bigger trout on topwater plugs.

Quick tip: Now’s the time to experiment with colors—mullet run is winding down, so those silvery profiles are dynamite. With cooling water, slow your retrieve and keep close to the bottom for flounder and sea bass.

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