Pamlico/Neuse – May 2023
Donald, of Custom Marine Fabrication, reports that speckled trout are still around in pretty good numbers, but with water temperatures rising, these fish are most likely going to be moving out of the creeks and down towards the sound.
Red drum are on the opposite path, moving in from the sound and staging up along the shorelines to feed on the arriving bait. Most of these slot-sized fish are hitting a variety of artificial baits, both soft plastics and plugs.
Schools of bluefish are moving into the river, and they are hanging out mostly in the deeper areas.
The resident striped bass action has been steady for anglers targeting their typical haunts of deeper structures up around New Bern.
Chandler Eberly, of Garner, NC, with a speckled trout caught on a swimbait in the Pamlico River.
Joe, of Caps Fishing Charters, reports that springtime anglers are still finding their core targets of red drum, speckled trout, and striped bass. With these fish on the move, anglers are having success working baits a bit quicker. Paddle tail baits (such as Z-Man MinnowZ or DieZel MinnowZ) are great options now that the quicker moving baits are getting strikes. Look for all three species both in the fronts of creeks and working their way out into the main river. Once in the river, target fish on breaks or points along the shoreline, as well as anywhere that creates a place to concentrate the movement of bait.
There are a good number of bluefish starting to push into the river.
Brad, of Gunny B Outdoors, reports that both the speckled trout and red drum have been on the move. Using search baits (such as topwater plugs or soft plastic paddle tails) allows anglers to scout new areas quickly to locate the pockets of fish. Day to day weather changes are all it takes to swing these smaller groups into a completely different area, but overall the target areas should be anywhere from the creek mouths to out along points on the main river shorelines.
Moving into the later part of spring, anglers will find popping cork setups attracting strikes when rigged with either artificial or live baits.
Dana, of Reel2Reel Fishing, reports that anglers are still finding a lot of trout action, even with the water temperatures warming up. These trout are definitely starting to get on the move but haven’t fully left the creeks just yet. Anglers should look to areas showing a bait presence as the number one reason to start their casting efforts.
The red drum are starting to show up from the sounds, with some slot-sized fish being caught. Most of the reds are down near the mouth of the rivers where they meet the sound, as these schools are just now migrating into the area.
Striped bass are still mostly upriver finishing their spawn, though anglers fishing topwater plugs in the early mornings are finding scattered action.
Moving deeper into May, anglers will do best by fishing areas closer to the sound. Between the trout migrating out and the red drum moving in, this zone produces a good opportunity to target both species in their seasonal transitions.
Kent, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that speckled trout have really been on the move as they push out of their creeks and start heading towards the sound. Anglers have been targeting these fish from anywhere about mid-way back in a creek and out to the main river. Look for areas that will congregate the bait, such as points and heavy shoreline structure.
Red drum have been on basically the opposite pattern as they move into the river from the sounds. Down near the sound has been best, but anglers have landed some reds up around Washington while targeting the same shoreline points and structure, with the shallower (under 5’) depths being most productive.
Anglers fishing down by Swan Quarter have already landed a few bull red drum. Though this bite is far from anything you can strictly target, it is still nice to see these fish mixed around.
There has been a huge influx of bluefish. These 20-24” class of blues are almost a nuisance, tearing up baits in the creeks and rivers.
Spanish mackerel are also being seen in the sound and down around Swan Quarter.
Xander Blake, of Chocowinity, NC, with a shad caught on a grub and spoon. He was fishing on the Roanoke River with Capt. Mitchell Blake of FishIBX.
Mitchell, of FishIBX, reports that striped bass action on the Roanoke River remains red hot as anglers fish through the peak of the spring spawn bite. With warmer water temperatures have come more strikes at topwater plugs to add to the already great sub-surface action on paddle tails and a variety of hard baits.
Anglers fishing the Pamlico have seen the trout moving out of the creeks and heading towards the sound. With fish scattered out, the bite can be hit or miss.
Red drum are moving their way into the rivers, with better numbers to show up as more bait moves into the area. Anglers can find these slot-sized reds on the same shoreline areas they would for trout, targeting points or structure that will gather bait.
Hugh, of Pungo Charters, reports that speckled trout fishing has been going strong, with many of these fish now pushed out of the creeks and into open water. Anglers have had success fishing topwater plugs, and cloudy conditions allow this topwater bite to run further into the day. Eventually the sun pushes these fish down, and at this point, popping cork setups and soft plastic baits will entice most bites.
Grey, of Hyde Guide, reports that anglers have been finding great action while targeting gray trout over the sound-side wrecks. These fish are also mixed in with black drum and sheepshead. Some bottom-rigged shrimp is all that’s needed for fishing these 7-15’ deep structured areas.
There has been a ton of nice-sized bluefish (3-5 lbs.) pushing into the sound.
