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Wilmington Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Wilmington: the tidal lower Cape Fear River at North Carolina's port city, with a NOAA tide station on the downtown waterfront.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 8:09 PM
Air / High
70 / 70 F
Wind
NE 9 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8658120, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Wilmington lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 9 mph, steady pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 70. Tides: high 7:48 AM and 8:09 PM, low 1:55 AM and 2:23 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 78 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:46 AM-11:46 AM and 10:14 PM-12:14 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Tomorrow: Similar at 72 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

North Carolina requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $32.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a North Carolina licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing striped bass here? Check the size and bag limits with NCWRC before you keep anything. The season dates for North Carolina, read off the agency, are on the North Carolina seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8658120 (Wilmington, Cape Fear River). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW1:55 AM0.6 ft
HIGH7:48 AM4.8 ft
LOW2:23 PM0.6 ft
HIGH8:09 PM4.8 ft
Sat
LOW2:41 AM0.4 ft
HIGH8:34 AM5.0 ft
LOW3:17 PM0.5 ft
HIGH8:53 PM4.8 ft

Wilmington tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp70 F
High / Low70 / 41 F
WindNE 9-15 mph
Pressure1021.7 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:23 / 18:27
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~78 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Wilmington this week

The best day on Wilmington this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 5 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:46 AM-11:46 AM and 10:14 PM-12:14 AM
Minor period
4:08 AM-5:08 AM
Sun
07:23 to 18:27
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 10 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Wilmington: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

When to come: the Wilmington calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Striped bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 78 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~78 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Wilmington today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 13 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

North Carolina requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

North Carolina fishing license for the waters you fish (coastal, joint or inland). Striped bass: unlawful to possess in the Central Southern Management Area, which includes the Cape Fear River stock (NCDMF, effective Sept. 2, 2026). Check NCDMF proclamations for seasonal closures before keeping fish.

Access

Public riverfront in downtown Wilmington; check the City of Wilmington and NCWRC for current boat ramps.

About this water

Port city on the tidal lower Cape Fear River, New Hanover County, NC. NOAA tide station 8658120 (Wilmington).

Fishing Wilmington: the full guide

Tides on the riverfront

NOAA's Wilmington station (8658120) on the Cape Fear River publishes tide predictions and measured water levels for the downtown waterfront, and the tide panel on this page uses it. Plan bank and dock fishing around the tide, and expect conditions to change after heavy rain upriver.

Striped bass are protected

NCDMF counts the Cape Fear River's striped bass in its Central Southern Management Area stocks, and its recreational limits (effective Sept. 2, 2026) make striped bass unlawful to possess in that area. NCDMF also reports that a tagging model showed a consistent decline in Cape Fear striped bass abundance from 2012 to 2018, so any striper caught here must go back.

Which license

North Carolina licenses fishing separately in coastal, joint and inland waters, and the Cape Fear system crosses those boundaries. Check NCDMF and NCWRC for which license covers the reach you plan to fish before you go upriver.

Common questions

Can I keep striped bass in the Cape Fear at Wilmington?

No. NCDMF lists striped bass as unlawful to possess in the Central Southern Management Area, which includes the Cape Fear River stock.

Where do this page's tide times come from?

From NOAA station 8658120 on the Cape Fear River at Wilmington, which also measures the live water level.

Is fishing good at Wilmington right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Carolina Beach14 miCape Fear River40 miMyrtle Beach65 miNeuse River74 miMorehead City78 miMurrells Inlet78 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8658120 β€” Wilmington, Cape Fear River
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 34.2300, -77.9500 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.