July 2026 Ocean Isle Beach Fishing Report

Summer Fishing Is in Full Swing Around Ocean Isle Beach

July is about as summer as it gets in southern Brunswick County.

The biggest story this month was the heat. Heat indexes regularly reached 100–110 degrees, and that affected both how I approached my charters and where I spent different parts of the day.

Early mornings were generally pleasant and provided the best conditions for fishing the backwaters. As temperatures climbed later in the day, I often preferred moving toward the ocean. The breeze along the beaches made conditions considerably more comfortable, and the Spanish Mackerel and Shark bites remained productive even during the hotter part of the afternoon.

The summer bait supply was also in good shape. Finger mullet were plentiful inshore, while schools of bait along the beaches helped keep Spanish Mackerel, Sharks, Cobia, Barracuda, and other predators around our nearshore waters.

Despite the extreme heat, there was really no shortage of fishing opportunities in July.

July Water and Weather Conditions

July was exceptionally hot and dry around Ocean Isle Beach.

The drought became significant enough that a wildfire burned roughly 350 acres near some of the marsh areas where I regularly fish before it was contained. That gives you a pretty good idea of just how dry conditions had become.

One unusual thing I noticed this summer was a lack of alligators in some of the backwater marshes where I normally see them. I don't know why, and I'm not claiming the drought caused it, but I've wondered whether the lack of freshwater runoff and potentially higher salinity farther back into the marsh could have played a role. Whatever the reason, I've seen noticeably fewer alligators this year.

Inshore water around southern Brunswick County remained its usual stained color despite the lack of rain. The ocean was a different story, and favorable water conditions along the beaches contributed to some outstanding Spanish Mackerel fishing.

Spanish Mackerel

Spanish Mackerel were one of my most dependable targets throughout July.

I stayed on them all month and regularly caught limits (12 inch minimum size and 15 per person bag limit in NC) while fishing just off the beaches of Ocean Isle Beach and Holden Beach. We didn't need to make long runs offshore, the fish were consistently in 20-24 feet of water.

My primary setup was a #1 Planer or #2 Planer followed by approximately 30 feet of 30-pound fluorocarbon leader and a size 00 Clarkspoon or Spoon-Squid (which is a Clarkspoon with a built in swivel) in Silver/Pink, Silver/Chartreuse, or Gold colors were my primary spoon colors.

The #2 planer produced the majority of our Spanish this month.

When the fish are feeding aggressively, Spanish Mackerel fishing provides fast action and is one of my favorite summer options for families and anglers who simply want to stay busy catching fish.

Black Sea Bass, Cobia and the Last of the Spadefish

Black Sea Bass remained plentiful on the nearshore reefs throughout July. Catching Sea Bass wasn't difficult, but finding legal-sized fish on some of the closer reefs was considerably more challenging.

I fish for Sea Bass with chicken rigs tied with 50–100 lb mono and 4/0 circle hooks. They're not particularly picky eaters, so I'll use everything from shrimp and cut bait to squid depending on what I have available.

I'll also use live finger mullet, especially when I'm fishing an area where Flounder are likely to be mixed in. A live finger mullet dropped to the bottom gives you a good chance of hooking a quality Flounder around the same nearshore structure.

Cobia were also around. We caught a few during the month, although I wasn't specifically targeting them on most trips.

July also produced the tail end of our Spadefish fishing. Spadefish had provided a lot of fun around the nearshore reefs during May and June, with a few fish hanging around into July before that bite began winding down.

An Unusual Number of Barracuda

One of the more interesting things I've noticed in 2026 has been the number of Barracuda hanging around our local wrecks.

I've seen more Barracuda this year than I can remember seeing in quite a while, and we actually targeted them specifically a couple of times.

Barracuda will often hover around wrecks where they're relatively easy to spot. When I find one, I'll rig a very lively baitfish — usually a pinfish — on a weightless rig with a short section of 100-pound mono leader and toss the bait a few feet in front of the fish.

Watching a Barracuda react to and eat a live bait at close range makes for a completely different kind of nearshore fishing.

I didn't spend much time targeting King Mackerel in July. Although Kings are certainly available during the summer, I generally concentrate more heavily on them during the fall when they move closer to shore and we start seeing more of the big smoker Kings.

Shark Fishing remained excellent throughout July and continued to be one of the most dependable family fishing trips of the summer.

Most of my Shark trips took place in approximately 20–30 feet of water immediately outside Shallotte Inlet. Bluefish were my primary Shark bait, and the action remained steady throughout the month.

When sea conditions were too rough to comfortably fish outside Shallotte Inlet, I could often move just inside Little River Inlet and continue targeting Sharks in more protected water.

I've noticed an interesting change in the mix of Sharks we've caught this summer. We seem to be seeing somewhat fewer Hammerheads than in recent years while catching a surprising number of Lemon Sharks. But we were still catching Hammerheads in the typical 40-60 inch range on about every trip.

I don't know that there's any larger significance to my boat seeing more Lemons and fewer Hammerheads this year, as it may simply be normal year-to-year variation or coincidence.

Regardless of species, July Shark fishing provided plenty of bent rods and was especially popular with families and younger anglers.

Flounder

Flounder were everywhere in July.

They were one of the most plentiful inshore species this month and could be found around creek mouths, grass edges, docks, oyster areas, channel edges, and other locations where bait was concentrated.

I did notice that the average size of the Flounder I caught this July seemed somewhat smaller than what I saw last year. I don't attach any particular significance to that observation from a fisheries standpoint. It's simply what I happened to see on my boat this summer, and another year could look completely different.

For numbers of Flounder, one of my favorite artificial setups is a Z-Man GOAT in Green Pumpkin on a 1/4-ounce Z-Man Redfish Eye jighead.

When I'm specifically looking for a larger bite, I like a Z-Man DieZel MinnowZ in Smelt color on a 1/4-ounce Texas Eye jighead. The larger profile gives me a good search bait that appeals to both bigger Flounder and Redfish.

One thing I use on virtually all of my inshore soft plastics is Pro-Cure Flounder Pounder scent. Don't let the name fool you — I use it for Redfish, Trout, Flounder, and just about anything else I'm targeting with a soft plastic.

For anglers who prefer live bait, a finger mullet on a Carolina rig is hard to beat for summer Flounder.

Redfish

Redfish remained available throughout July, but they were much more scattered than they can be during other times of the year.

Most of the inshore Reds we caught were underslot fish or toward the smaller end of the slot, and finding them often required covering water rather than sitting in one area waiting for a school to move through.

We did catch several overslot Redfish while bottom fishing nearshore, although these weren't the big trophy-class Bull Reds that we'll begin targeting later in the fall.

The extreme heat may have contributed to the scattered daytime bite. My suspicion is that some Redfish may have been doing more of their feeding at night during the hottest part of summer, although that's simply my observation and theory rather than something I can prove.

When targeting Reds with artificials, one of my favorites is the Z-Man DieZel MinnowZ in Smelt color on a 1/4-ounce Texas Eye jighead.

I also like the Strike King Redfish Magic when I want the added flash and vibration of a spinnerbait.

Finger mullet were plentiful during July, and anglers who prefer natural bait can catch plenty of Reds with a live or cut finger mullet on a Carolina rig.

Speckled Trout

Speckled Trout fishing was sporadic in July, but there was an important pattern to it: when we found one Trout, there were usually more nearby.

I had my best success around higher stages of the tide along grasslines, particularly wind-blown grasslines where bait was being pushed toward the edge.

One of my favorite Trout setups is a Z-Man Swimmin Trout Trick in Electric Chicken color on a Z-Man Trout Eye jighead in 3/16 oz size.

I also like the Z-Man PrawnStarZ Shrimp in Laguna Shrimp color, either fished by itself or under a popping cork.

For a spinnerbait presentation, the Strike King Speckled Trout Magic is another lure I keep in the rotation.

Live bait anglers can do extremely well fishing a live shrimp under a slip float along grass banks. It's a simple setup, but it's deadly when Trout are feeding along the edge. If the wind is blowing, always fish the grasslines along the wind-blown bank.

Sheepshead fishing was excellent in July.

I concentrated primarily on docks rather than bridges. There aren't many bridge pilings in southern Brunswick County that don't receive heavy fishing pressure every day, while docks give me considerably more structure to work with.

Fiddler crabs were my bait of choice.

July also happened to be the month I added Garmin Livescope forward-facing sonar to the Salty Dawg. I'm still learning everything the system is capable of, but it has already proven itself while fishing docks.

Instead of simply looking at a dock and fishing the places where I think Sheepshead should be holding, I can use the sonar to locate fish relating to individual sections of structure before dropping a bait to them. It has already made targeting Sheepshead around docks more efficient, and I expect I'll find even more uses for it as I gain experience with the technology.

Black Drum remained a dependable part of the summer inshore mix as well, particularly around docks and other hard structure.

Scattered fish were a big part of the July inshore pattern, particularly with Redfish. When fish aren't concentrated, I want a lure that allows me to cover water efficiently until I locate them. In the early morning hours, I like to do that with a topwater lure like a Whopper Plopper in Bone color. I don't fish nearly as many hard baits during the middle of summer as I do once fall arrives, but a topwater bait early in the morning can still help you locate active fish and draw some explosive strikes.

July is one of the busiest family vacation months around Ocean Isle Beach, and the kids fishing remained as dependable as ever.

These trips aren't about chasing one trophy fish. They're about keeping kids involved and giving them plenty of opportunities to catch something.

Whiting, Black Drum, Croakers, juvenile Sharks, and a variety of other smaller inshore species provided steady action throughout July.

For younger anglers, catching several different species during the same trip can be every bit as exciting as catching one big fish — and sometimes considerably more fun. Learn more about my Kids Fishing Charter.