Pamlico/Neuse – November 2023
Donald, of Custom Marine Fabrication, reports that speckled trout fishing is starting to pick up with these cooler weather patterns becoming more prominent. The trout haven’t quite schooled up thick yet, with most anglers having success fishing main river and creek mouth areas. The same riverbanks are producing scattered puppy and slot-sized red drum, and the reds are hitting most of the same artificials used for targeting trout. Bluefish action has been great, with plenty of nice-sized bluefish keeping anglers busy. Striped bass fishing has been decent for anglers fishing topwater plugs around some of the more structured areas.
Brad, of Gunny B Outdoors, reports that we’re starting to see a push of speckled trout into the river all the up towards New Bern. Most of these early season fish are in the 18-22” range and are staging up around creek mouths, flats, and shoreline points. A ton of bigger bluefish (to 6 lbs.) are in the river. The blues can be a lot of fun to target with topwater plugs and hard twitch-style baits. Anglers are still finding red drum up on the shoreline flats. Look for the flats that might have some structure, such as stumps or even a nice ledge nearby. As always, finding bait in these areas is the greatest tell-tale sign to fish an area. The hard twitch baits (such as MirrOlure MR17 or 18s) are great for quickly scouting a new spot. Fishing hard structures in the lower Neuse is producing black drum and sheepshead. Some fresh shrimp on a slip cork or bottom sweeper jig will get the job done.
Jess O’Connor, of Chapel Hill, caught this 32″ red drum in the Neuse River using a live shrimp on a popping cork. She was fishing with Capt. Daniel Griffee out of Chasin’ Tails Outdoors.
Dave, of Pamlico Pirate Fishing Charters, reports that specked trout action has started kicking off on the Neuse. With the true season still being early, these fish are being found staged up around the main river shorelines and pockets just inside the creek mouths. Anglers can also find some puppy drum tucked away in the same areas for targeting trout. Bluefish are everywhere right now, and they have been a bigger class of fish. Even though it’s near the end of the season, anglers fishing the lower Neuse have still been catching some trophy red drum. Most thought these fish had all migrated out for the year, and then there was a nice little push of fish that have hung around over the past couple weeks.
Kent, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers targeting the Pungo River and some of the bigger creeks are seeing signs of the speckled trout action kicking off. This early in the season, most of these trout are still staged up along the main shorelines and back about a quarter of the way into creeks. In general, the waters east of Bath have been the most productive areas. Lures and tactics have varied, with topwater plugs, popping corks, soft plastics on jig heads, and MirrOlures all having their successes. Anglers targeting slot-sized red drum are doing decent while fishing shorelines closer to the sound. Some big drum have still been found, though by this point most fish have headed out towards the oceanside beaches. Scattered striped bass are being caught, especially around structure.
Mitchell, of FishIBX, reports that anglers were pleased to see some nice trophy reds stick around this late into the season. With cooler nights, anglers are turning their attention to the speckled trout fishery. The trout bite is just about to fire off, and fishing topwater plugs can be a great way to work through new areas when trying to locate where the trout are staged up. These same topwater plugs will also get attention from any of the plentiful bluefish in the area. Slot-sized red drum are being caught in the same areas, and they’re taking baits fished under corks.
Grey, of Hyde Guides, reports that speckled trout fishing has been excellent as the Pamlico River area moves into the season. Anglers are catching their limits using the old tried and true popping cork setups rigged with shrimp. Some anglers are able to entice strikes with MirrOlures, but it seems that the jig bite hasn’t popped off just yet. Red drum fishing has been pretty good for anglers sight-casting the flats. The fish in these schools have ranged in size from lower-slot to over-slot fish. When the winds have allowed, fishing the inshore reefs has been red hot for gray trout. The small limit is easily reached by these 18-23” class of fish. Some black drum are at these same structured areas, with the catch numbers only getting better as temperatures cool.
Haylee Kinlaw, of Fuquay-Varina, NC, caught this 32″ red drum while fishing in Northwest Creek near New Bern. She was using a Z-Man soft plastic.
Zach, of UFO Fishing Charters, reports that these cooler nights have the action in the area trending towards great fall fishing. Speckled trout really starting to show up was the first sign that conditions are changing for the better. Anglers have been finding the trout staged up around creek mouths or in the shallower bays just inside some of these bigger creeks. Hard twitch baits are a local favorite for a good reason—they work. Target these trout in the 2-6’ depth range, and after stretches of colder weather, look to fish deeper waters. The big drum finally seemed to have moved on for the year, and the smaller slot or under-slot reds are scattered in the typical red drum areas. No one is really targeting them, but flounder are being caught by those getting baits anywhere near the bottom.
