Pamlico/Neuse – March 2022
Donald, of Custom Marine Fabrication, reports that anglers are catching some good-sized speckled trout in creeks up on the New Bern side of the ferry lines. This action only gets better as warming weather patterns get these fish moving out towards the creek mouths and into the river in the coming weeks.
There are a few red drum holed up in these same area creeks for anglers targeting trout.
Striped bass are also active in the area, as cooler waters don’t slow the striper action as much. Both the resident population around New Bern and fish holding in structured creek areas are hitting larger soft plastics or hard baits.
Capt. Brad Smith, of Gunny B Outdoors, with a striper he caught on a Down South shad bait on a 1/16 oz. jighead while fishing in the Neuse River.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that speckled trout fishing in the creeks has been good so far this year for anglers rigged with soft plastics under popping corks. Weather remains the biggest factor in early season fishing, with plenty of high winds and unstable temperatures. As these conditions stabilize, the local waters respond, and temperatures will move up fast to get these trout schools hungry and active.
Look for puppy drum and a few flounder to be mixed in moving into and through March.
Striped bass action has kicked off in areas upriver of New Bern. This action will remain strong as the stripers move into their spawning patterns into mid-March.
Many anglers look forward to the shad run that moves through the area around the end of the month.
James, of Neuse River Adventures, reports that March anglers are looking forward to the shad action kicking off on the Neuse and Trent river systems around New Bern. This annual run sees a mix of American and Hickory shad pushing up on their spawning run, and anglers will be targeting them with ultralight tackle and fly rod setups.
These same areas usually see striped bass mixed in the action on the same shad presentations, and this makes for fun outings on the water.
The New Bern area is holding a healthy population of winter trout. Anglers are having success while targeting deeper holes and nearby mud flats in creeks off the main river. Suspending lures and lightly weighted soft plastics are great for targeting these groups hanging in the water column.
Brad, of Gunny B Outdoors, reports that early spring conditions have most of the speckled trout action still up in the creeks. Target these schools in the lower water columns of deeper holes with soft plastics and MirrOlure MR-18s.
Local anglers are carefully watching water temperatures rise and waiting for the magic number in the lower 60s that gets the topwater action fired up.
Shad fishing is a huge fishery for the upper-Neuse region and is the main focus in March with the chance to have memorable triple-digit catch days. Anglers rigging baits with shad darts, spoons, and small grubs will find some success during this run.
Dana, of Reel2Reel Fishing, reports that as we move closer to spring, speckled trout in the area have begun to start staging up in the creeks like they are ready to move out. Anglers are finding groups of fish on the flats closer to the creek mouths, and the recent warmer weather patterns have helped kick off these movements.
Going into March, anglers will find action while switching to topwater plugs versus the go-to wintertime hard suspending lures. Soft plastics are also a great choice when fishing on the local river systems and will produce trout, as well as puppy drum and/or striped bass staged in the same areas.
Red drum will also be out in the sounds around areas of structure.
Striped bass will be mixed in the counts as they move through the area in their spawning pattern over the next few weeks.
Anglers looking forward to the annual shad run are starting to find schools showing in the upper Neuse while fishing shad darts.
With water temperatures up towards the 50s in the river and even higher in the creeks, anglers will find in general that picking up the pace on their bait retrieval will help with strike numbers.
Timmy Barber, of Williamston, caught this speckled trout on a MirrOlure MR-17 while fishing some Pamlico County creeks. He was fishing with Capt. Dana Tabarrini of Reel2ReelFishing.
Brent, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers are finding that speckled trout are starting to work their way out of the creeks they held in over the winter. The Pungo River area has been best with this early season action. The water temperatures have been working their way up with the recent weather patterns, and fish school movements are leaning towards signs of an early spring fishery.
Striped bass action has been pretty good on all the rivers. This is a result of them moving into the spawn run. Target deeper, structured areas with larger (4-5”) soft plastic paddle tails and hard lures.
Mitchell, of FishIBX, reports that striped bass have been biting well all winter and now the warming water temperatures will coax these fish to start their spawning run. Anglers have been seeing a great class of fish this year, rivaling any in the last few years. Artificial lures have provided the most flexibility, and the fishery has required that flexibility. On some days the stripers are feeding on top, and on other days the fish are only down low hitting a jig.
With brackish conditions, anglers have to be aware of the wide variety of what can strike, including some monster flatheads.
Shad season is just about to fire up in the river systems as these large schools push their way up onto the spawning grounds.
