Winter Fishing Frenzy in North Carolina's Atlantic Ocean

Hey y'all, this is Artificial Lure with your Atlantic Ocean, North Carolina fishing report for Monday, January 12th, 2026. We're in that cool winter pattern right now—light north winds keepin' things steady at around 45-50°F offshore, clear skies mixin' with some clouds, and water temps hoverin' 52-55°F. Sunrise hit at 7:09 AM, sunset's 5:35 PM, givin' us a solid 10-hour window.

Tides at Cape Lookout and Hatteras are prime: low at 11:55 AM around 4.7 ft fallin' to 6:34 PM at 0.6 ft, then high overnight. Fish the fallin' tide hard—trout and reds love that outgoing push.

Action's hot on slot reds, speckled trout, and black drum, per the latest Wilmington reports. Folks are pullin' limits of 18-25" reds, keeper trout to 3 lbs, and fat black drum up to 5 lbs near inlets. Striped bass are holdin' in Roanoke areas too, with good numbers schooled up. Offshore, blues and a few stripers mixin' in.

Best lures? Go with **chartreuse or green pumpkin soft plastics** like Zman Turbo Crawz or V&M Chopstick wacky-rigged on 1/4-oz jigheads for shallows. Bladed jigs in black/blue or vibrating jigs with shad trailers crushin' 'em around structure. Artificials rule, but live shrimp or mud minnows on Carolina rigs snag flounder and reds if bait's runnin'.

Hit these hot spots: **Cape Lookout rocks** for drum and trout on the drop, and **Wrightsville Beach inlets** for reds pushin' evening tides.

Rig light, 15-20 lb fluoro, and stay safe out there.

Thanks for tunin' in, y'all—subscribe for daily updates! This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease.ai.

Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI