Pamlico May 31, 2012
Jacob Alan Faulk, of New Bern, with his first saltwater catch, a 21.5" speckled trout that bit a live mud minnow in the Bay River in Pamlico County.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that the speckled trout bite in the Neuse River around Oriental is still going strong. Anglers are hooking big numbers of the specks while working the river shorelines with soft plastic baits on jigheads and Gulp and D.O.A. shrimp dangling under popping corks. Smaller Yo-Zuri and Rapala suspending hardbaits have been effective lately as well.
There are still big numbers of small fish in the mix, but the ratio of keepers gets better by the day. Anglers willing to put in some time shouldn’t have much trouble putting together a limit to take home.
Striped bass fishing around New Bern has slowed down somewhat, but anglers are still finding some fish. Casting topwater plugs around stump fields and other shoreline structure in the early mornings continues to be productive, and working soft plastics around the bridges and deeper ledges in the area is more effective when the sun’s up high.
A few flounder, bluefish, puppy drum, and black drum have been mixed in with the specks and stripers and providing happy surprises for anglers from Oriental to New Bern.
Dave, of Knee Deep Custom Charters, reports that speckled trout keep bending rods and bringing smiles to anglers fishing the Neuse River around Oriental. The fish have moved out of the creeks and are feeding along the river shorelines in the area, and the number of keeper fish compared to the throwbacks continues to improve.
A variety of soft plastic and hard plastic lures will tempt bites from the specks, but the D.O.A. Deadly Combo rig has been one of the most effective and most popular lately, along with being very easy to fish.
Kathy Goodman, of Richmond, VA, with a Roanoke River striped bass that bit a topwater plug below Weldon while she was fishing with Capt. Richard Andrews of Tar-Pam Guide Service.
Live mud minnows on light Carolina rigs or beneath floats are also tempting plenty of bites from the specks.
Local anglers are reporting some puppy drum in the same areas, so they may well ambush a bait that anglers are casting for trout.
Richie, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that there’s still a fairly consistent flounder bite around Bath and down towards the sound.
Some healthy speckled trout are also feeding around the Bath and Durham’s Creek areas (with fish to 4+ lbs. weighed in recently). Gulp baits on jigheads are fooling the flounder and specks.
Richard, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, reports that the rains have slowed up the striped bass bite a little, but anglers willing to work for the fish are still finding good numbers. The topwater action on the Pamlico River remains steady, with Chug Bugs and Zara Spook the hot plugs. When the fish don’t want to come up to the surface, soft plastic lures like Z-Man Minnowz on jigheads will tempt them to bite.
