October 2026 Ocean Isle Beach Fishing Report

Spanish Mackerel

Spanish Mackerel are on fire as we head into October.

On the morning of September 22, we caught more than 20 keeper Spanish in the first hour. We eventually stopped fishing for them because we'd had enough and headed into the marsh to chase Redfish.

I've been finding the Spanish in roughly 15–25 feet of water just off the islands.

My current trolling setup is a #1 Planer or #2 Planer, followed by approximately 20–30 feet of 25–30-pound fluorocarbon leader and a size 00 Clarkspoon. Silver/Pink and Silver/Chartreuse are two of my favorite colors.

King Mackerel

I haven't started specifically targeting King Mackerel on a regular basis yet, although we've already caught a few accidentally while Spanish fishing.

I expect Kings to move right up along the beaches as conditions come together, and October can produce some of our best King Mackerel fishing of the year.

When I'm specifically targeting Kings, I like live bait on Kingfish Live-Bait Rig. I'll also fish a Blue Water Candy dead-bait rig with a cigar minnow.

Kings are more of a specialty target for me. I don't normally decide to go King fishing unless the customer specifically wants to target them. If you want Kings, though, by all means — let's go. Just book a Nearshore Fishing Charter with me and let me know that you want to target smoker King Mackerel this Fall.

Nearshore Reefs and Bottom Fishing

The nearby reefs continue to hold plenty of fish, although most of the Black Sea Bass I've been catching close to shore have been undersized. For better Sea Bass, I've generally needed to venture 15 miles or more offshore.

We're catching a decent number of Triggerfish on the nearby reefs, and I'm also expecting Bull Reds to visit some of this structure during October.

Farther out — generally at least 10 miles on good structure and hard bottom — we've also been encountering some decent Gag Grouper and Red Snapper.

Big Barracuda Are Worth a Cast

We've been seeing a decent number of large Barracuda lately. I don't specifically go looking for them. I wait until I see one around the boat and then give it something difficult to refuse.

Most people aren't particularly interested in eating Barracuda, but don't overlook them as a sport fish. A four-foot-plus Barracuda running — and sometimes jumping — beside the boat can turn into the fish somebody remembers most from the entire trip.

I always keep a rod rigged with a weightless Kingfish Live-Bait Rig with wire and two #4 4X-strong treble hooks. I tie the braid directly to the swivel at the end of the wire. Don't add unnecessary tackle — the goal is to keep the bait swimming as naturally as possible.

The key is making the cast at least 10 feet in front of the Barracuda, directly in its line of sight, with a very lively bait. Pitch it too close and the fish will often turn away; use a sluggish bait and it may not trigger the chase. Get the presentation right and you're in for a great fight and an awesome fish picture. The Barracuda pictured here was caught earlier this week.

Sharks are still here in good numbers as we head into October. Most of what we're catching right now are Atlantic Sharpnose Sharks and Hammerhead Sharks.

The huge amount of bait in the area is giving us plenty of places to find them. I'm still looking around the beaches, inlets, nearshore structure, and anywhere we find concentrations of menhaden and other baitfish.

Fresh bait is important, and Bluefish is still one of my favorites. If I need Bluefish for Shark bait, I'll usually catch my own. I troll much like I do for Spanish Mackerel, but move tighter to the beach and slow the boat to around 4 mph. When the Blues are around, it usually doesn't take long to catch enough fresh bait for the Shark rods.

Fresh mullet and menhaden also work well, so with the amount of bait around Ocean Isle Beach right now, finding something to put on a Shark hook hasn't been much of a problem.

I use the same heavy modified Carolina-style Shark rig I've relied on for years. Rather than go through the entire setup here, I've put together a separate step-by-step guide showing exactly how I build my Shark fishing rig.

As October progresses, though, my relationship with the Sharks changes a little. Once the Bull Redfish arrive, I'll spend more time trying not to catch Sharks because we're often fishing some of the same areas with the same large natural baits.

Sometimes moving into extremely shallow water helps us get away from the Sharks while we're targeting Bull Reds, but there are no guarantees. If we're fishing live or dead pogies and big chunks of mullet around a concentration of bait, there's always a pretty good chance a Shark is going to find it too.

For anglers who specifically want to target Sharks, I still expect October to provide plenty of opportunities. For me, however, the focus will gradually shift from targeting them to dealing with them as bycatch while we're chasing Bull Reds.

Redfish

If we're staying inshore during October, Redfish are my primary target and Speckled Trout are generally second.

The Redfish bite has become more consistent, with more slot-sized fish in the mix than last month. I'm usually covering water and looking for fish around grass banks, creek mouths, oysters, docks, and areas where current is concentrating bait.

The amount of bait in the backwaters right now gives the Reds plenty to feed on. Mullet are everywhere, so I'm paying particular attention to areas where moving water is concentrating that bait. Creek mouths, points along grass banks, oyster edges, and other places where bait is being pushed through a smaller area are all worth fishing.

Tide also changes where I'll spend my time. On higher water, I'll work grass banks and flooded edges. As the water falls, creek mouths, drains, oyster edges, and other areas where bait is being pulled out of the marsh become more important.

I'm primarily covering water with artificials rather than sitting in one place waiting on fish. One of my favorite baits for October Reds is a larger-profile swimbait such as a Z-Man DieZel MinnowZ in Smelt color on a 1/4-ounce Texas Eye jighead.

I expect Redfish to remain one of our more dependable inshore options through October. With this much bait in the marsh, I'm going to keep covering water until I find the combination of bait, moving water, and structure the fish are using that day.

Speckled Trout

Speckled Trout have been somewhat scattered, but we're starting to see signs that the fall bite is developing. On September 23, 2026 we caught several Trout that were noticeably larger than the average fish we've been catching this summer. This 19-incher pictured here was one of the Trout caught that day.

Those fish came from around creek mouths and similar inshore areas. We caught some on live finger mullet fished on Carolina rigs and others on Z-Man DieZel MinnowZ in Smelt color. With finger mullet packed into the backwaters right now, it makes sense to match what the Trout are already feeding on.

As the water continues cooling through October, I expect the Trout fishing to become more consistent and the fish to become easier to pattern. I'll continue working grass banks while conditions are right, with creek mouths and eventually deeper holes becoming more important as temperatures fall.

Live shrimp under a slip float will remain one of my go-to natural bait presentations, while shrimp imitations such as the Z-Man PrawnStarZ Shrimp and the DOA Shrimp are among my favorite artificials for Speckled Trout in October in the Carolinas.

Flounder

North Carolina's two-week recreational Flounder season created exactly what you'd expect in Brunswick County: bumper boats.

We have a relatively small area to fish, and concentrating the state's Flounder harvest into such a short window creates a madhouse in some of the better areas. Obviously, quite a few Flounder were removed during the open season, but we're still catching them.

I'm fishing Flounder much the same way I did in September — around creek mouths, docks, grass edges, oysters, and other structure with moving water.

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

When I'm looking for a larger bite, I like the Z-Man DieZel MinnowZ in Smelt color on a 1/4-ounce Texas Eye jighead. I also continue using Pro-Cure Flounder Pounder scent on my soft plastics.

For anglers who prefer live bait, a finger mullet on a Carolina rig remains extremely effective. With the harvest season behind us, October Flounder are a catch-and-release fishery.

One unusual addition to this October is a short recreational Red Snapper season.

North Carolina's 2026 recreational Red Snapper season is scheduled for October 9, 10 and 11, with a limit of one Red Snapper per person per day and no minimum size.

I already have trips booked during that period because the season was announced so late, and I don't currently plan to give up Bull Red fishing specifically to target Red Snapper.

However, we are already catching Red Snapper on good bottom farther offshore. I'm catching them on public artificial reefs, typically using pinfish as bait, fishing in and around major pieces of structure.

I've put the complete dates, regulations, and updates in my 2026 NC Red Snapper Season guide.

I expect October to unfold in stages.

For approximately the first three weeks of October, I'm expecting Bull Red fishing to be one of the biggest stories around Ocean Isle Beach. Exactly how long that bite lasts will depend on bait, water temperature, and weather, but this is the window when I'll be looking for them every chance I get.

As that bite begins tapering off later in the month, I expect the Speckled Trout fishing to be heating up.

At roughly the same time, we should be moving into some of the best King Mackerel fishing of the year.

That makes late October an interesting transition. Bull Reds may be winding down, Kings should be going strong, and Trout should become increasingly concentrated as the water continues cooling.

By the time November arrives, I'll probably be spending more and more of my inshore trips targeting Trout. I may also return to Sheepshead for a few trips before they move offshore.