Pamlico/Neuse – November 14, 2019
Donald, of Custom Marine Fabrication, reports that anglers are enjoying a great speckled trout bite in the area. Gulp soft plastics fished under popping corks and on lighter 1/8 oz. jig heads have been a local favorite. Suspending MirrOlures are also getting strikes, and as the water cools, these lures become extremely popular as they can sit in the mid-water column bite zone.
Puppy drum are along the river and creek shorelines, and they’re hitting soft plastics fished on the bottom, as well as Carolina-rigged live bait.
A few striped bass are being caught around shoreline structure near New Bern. The falling water temperatures should see the fish school up more, allowing anglers to better target these groups of fish.
Ronnie Boykin, of Wilson, NC, with 49″ bull red caught off the Neuse River with a Z-Man 7″ jerk shad on a popping cork. He was fishing with Bob Rehnlund.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that speckled trout fishing is great, with anglers finding quick limits of a nice 20” class of fish. Soft plastics on jig heads and under popping corks has been most productive, with anglers targeting small ledges and deeper grass banks.
Some red drum are mixed in these same areas, and they’re hitting the same soft plastic offerings.
Though it’s a bit late in the season, citation-class red drum are still in the area. At this point, anglers are landing them as by-catch while fishing for trout.
Flounder are hitting soft plastics worked along the bottom in deeper holes.
Medium-sized bluefish (up to 4 lbs.) are hitting topwater plugs from the creek mouths out into the main river.
Striped bass are mixed in the creeks and up towards New Bern. This bite should pick up as the fish school up more as water temperatures cool.
John Partlowe, from Nashville, NC, with a 8 lb. trout that fell for a MirrOlure MR17 on the Pamlico River.
James, of Neuse River Adventures, reports that speckled trout has been the hot bite over the last few weeks. Anglers are finding limits of trout while fishing Z-Man soft plastics along the main river shorelines up into the creeks. These cold fronts may see the fish move quickly into a late-fall pattern, where the fish push towards and into creeks as water temperatures drop.
Striped bass are scattered in the area, and fishing structured areas has anglers catching a good class of fish (up to 24”).
Jennings, of North State Guide Service, reports that speckled trout fishing has been good in creeks off the river. D.O.A. soft plastics have been a great search bait as anglers cast the grass banks and channels looking for these groups of fish. As the month wears on, look for the fish to school up more in the creeks and push further up in search of the darker, muddy bottoms.
Slot-sized red drum are in these same creeks, and they’re feeding on Carolina rigs with cut bait.
Striped bass fishing is picking up around New Bern, with anglers reporting action around the bridges with D.O.A. soft plastics and heavier 1/2 oz. jig heads.
Stephen, of Neuse River Bait and Tackle, reports that speckled trout (up to 5.8 lbs.) fishing continues to be great in creeks and shorelines of the Neuse and Bay rivers. Anglers are reporting success with soft plastics fished under Four Horsemen popping corks. MirrOlure MR-17s/ MR-27s are getting strikes as well, and as the water temperatures cool, these suspending lures will only get more productive. Color-wise, anglers are reporting the similar tune that a bit of flash has been best. Over the next few weeks, these fronts should put the fish into their cold water pattern. This means that fishing lighter jig heads, slow-falling artificial shrimp, MirrOlures, and live baits will be the most productive.
Puppy drum are holding in the same areas as the trout, from the structured shorelines to the creek mouths. Soft plastics have been most productive when worked along in the lower water column.
A few stray citation-class drum are still around, with anglers in for a nice surprise when fishing for trout with soft plastics under corks.
Richie, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that similar to recent weeks, speckled trout has been the top target of Pamlico River anglers. These fish are staged up in the deeper holes along the shorelines from the main river into the creeks. Soft plastics under popping corks, as well as MirrOlures, are getting the most action, as these baits allow anglers to work the mid-water column where most trout strike.
A few red drum are mixed in, with the majority of the drum hitting the soft plastics fished for trout.
Mitchell, of FishIBX, reports that speckled trout fishing has been very good, with anglers finding limits of fish while using soft plastics under corks on the deeper banks. Bright colors (such as electric chicken) have been popular in the past few weeks, and topwater anglers are getting strikes with Spook Jr. plugs in the early mornings and on overcast days.
Flounder are being hooked by anglers fishing soft plastics on 1/4 oz. jig heads.
Striped bass are being caught with both topwater plugs and soft plastics near areas of structure. As the cool weather gets more consistent, the striped bass will school up more and feed more aggressively.
