Crisp Fall Temps, Massive Tides Ignite Drum, Trout, Flounder Frenzy Along NC Coast

Artificial Lure here with your Sunday, October 19, 2025, Atlantic Coast North Carolina fishing report. We’re waking up to crisp, mostly clear skies and fall temperatures in the upper 40s at sunrise, heading for a high in the upper 50s to low 60s. Winds are light out of the northwest, making for settled seas and good launching conditions for both surf and boat anglers.

Tides are running high—today’s tidal coefficient hits 83, which means strong flows and prime tidal movement, especially around Oak Island and Cape Hatteras. Expect the first low tide at 12:48 pm, sandwiched between early morning and evening highs just before 7 am and just before 7 pm. Sunrise is right at 7:20 am with sunset falling early at 6:33 pm. These big swings bring out the predators. According to SolunarForecast, your absolute peak fishing windows fall late morning (10:10 am–12:10 pm and up to 1 pm)—so plan to be set up and casting during those major periods.

Out on the surf and nearshore, the fall bite is hot. The past week has delivered strong runs of **red drum**, speckled trout, and flounder. Early mornings and evenings are best for the reds, especially around creek mouths and sloughs off Oak Island, Holden Beach, and Bald Head’s shoals. The trout are stacked around deep holes and oyster beds in the Cape Fear River and behind Wrightsville Beach, with anglers reporting quick limits on soft plastics like Z-Man paddletails in root beer and opening night colors.

Offshore reports just in say king mackerel are blitzing live bait in 40-70 foot depths off Frying Pan Shoals and further out past Hatteras—slow troll live menhaden or cigar minnows on stinger rigs for your best shot. A few boats are pulling in decent numbers of mahi and scattered wahoo. Nearshore hardbottoms, drop slow-pitch jigs for big black sea bass and the occasional grouper. Don’t overlook the fall Spanish mackerel run still hanging on warm eddy lines; early morning Clark spoons or Got-Cha plugs work wonders there.

Back inside the creeks, flounder action continues with bucktail jigs tipped with mud minnows. Reports from Wilmington’s inlets say the best flounder have been caught drifting live finger mullet along channel edges. If you’re headed to one of the area piers—like Johnnie Mercer’s or Oceanana—shrimp on a Carolina rig remains the classic go-to for mixed bags of spot, croaker, and the chance at a late-season pompano.

For surf bait, cut mullet is pulling in the bulk of reds, while fresh shrimp or sand fleas are the ticket for whiting and black drum. Artificial lures are scoring, especially topwaters right at dawn for trout and reds—work them slow and steady over flooded grass and oyster beds at first light.

Your hot spots today:
- **Oak Island surf** near the pier and Yaupon Beach for trout and reds
- **Frying Pan Shoals** for king mackerel and scattered mahi
- **Wrightsville Beach jetties** for flounder and specks
- **Cape Hatteras inlet edges** after the tide falls for drum and blues

Remember—this time of year, water temps drop fast overnight, but the bite fires up on the warm afternoons. The best advice: move to find the fish, switch up lures and baits, and keep an eye on that tide. The locals are seeing more red drum and speckled trout caught this week than the last—expect two to three keeper reds per trip if you hit the tides right, and plenty of trout when the bite’s on.

Thanks for tuning in, and make sure you subscribe for the daily scoop on North Carolina’s saltwater scene. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Artificial lower. Here with your Sunday October nineteenth, twenty twenty
five Atlantic Coast North Carolina fishing report. We're waking up
to crisp, mostly clear skies, and fall temperatures in the
upper forties at sunrise, heading for a high in the
upper fifties to low sixties. Winds are light out of
the northwest, making for settled seas and good launching conditions
for both surf and boat anglers. Tides are running high.

(00:22):
Today's tidle coefficient hits eighty three, which means strong flows
in prime tidal movement, especially around Oak Island and Cape Hatteras.
Expect the first low tide at twelve forty eight pm
Sandwich between early morning and evening highs just before seven
am and just before seven pm. Sunrise is right seven
twenty am, with sunset falling early at six thirty three pm.

(00:44):
These big swings bring out the predators. According to Soulin
or Forecast, your absolute peak fishing windows fall late morning
ten ten am, twelve ten pm and up to one pm,
so plan to be set up and casting during those
major periods out on the surf in near the fall
bite is hot. The past week has delivered strong runs
of red drum, speckled trout and flounder. Early mornings and

(01:07):
evenings are best for the reds, especially around creek mouths
and sloughs off Oak Island, Holden Beach, and bald Head Shoals.
The trouter stacked around deep holes and oyster beds in
the Cape Fear River and behind Wrightsville Beach, with anglers
reporting quick limits on soft plastics like z man paddle
tails and roopier and open night colors. Offshore reports just
in say king mackerel or blitzing live bait and forty

(01:29):
to seventy foot depths off frying Pan shoals and further
out past Hatteras. Slow troll live man hayden or cigar
menins on stinger rigs for your best shot. A few
boats are pulling in decent numbers of mahi and scattered
wahoo near shore. Hard bottoms, drop slow pitch jigs for
big black sea bass and the occasional grouper. Don't overlook

(01:49):
the fall Spanish mackerel run still hanging on warm eddie lines.
Early morning clark spoons or Gotcha plugs work wonders there.
Back inside the creeks. Flounder action can continues with bucktail
jags tipped with mud minnows. Reports from Wilmington's inlets say
the best flounder have been caught drifting live finger mullet
along channel edges if you're headed to one of the

(02:11):
area peers like Johnny Mercy's or Oceanana. Shrimp on a
Carolina rig remains the classic go to for mixed bags
of spot croaker and the chance at late season popinow
for surf bait. Cut mullet is pulling in the bulk
of reds, while fresh shrimp or sand fleas of the
ticket for whiting and black drum. Artificial lures are scoring,
especially top waters right at dawn for trout and reds.

(02:34):
Work them slow and steady over flooded grass and oyster
beds at first light right Oak Island surf near the
Pure and yop On Beach for trout and reds. Frying
pan shoals for king mackerel and scattered mahi. Wrightsville Beach
jetties for flounder and specks. Number four cape patteras inlet
edges after the tide falls for drummond blues. Remember this

(02:57):
time of year. Water taps drop fast, oh, but the
bite fires up on the warm afternoons. The best advice
move to find the fish, switch up lures and baits,
and keep an eye on that tide. The locals are
seeing more red drum and speckled trout caught this week
than the last. Expect two to three keeper reds per
trip if you hit the tides right, and plenty of

(03:17):
trout when the bite's on. Thanks for tuning in and
make sure you subscribe for the daily scoop on North
Carolina saltwater scene. This has been a quiet please production.
For more check out Quiet please dot ai