Pamlico/Neuse River – November 2024
Donald, of Custom Marine Fabrication, reports that the speckled trout action has been showing a little better after cold fronts that have moved through. Anglers have seen these fish moving towards the creeks, as they do during their fall run, and the action should only pick up as water temperatures continue to cool down.
Some roaming schools of bluefish, including the larger ones, are moving around in the river.
They can’t be kept, but flounder are all over the place.
Red drum have been making their way into the sounds as they head towards the ocean.
As water temperatures have cooled, the topwater action for striped bass has picked up.
Brad, of Gunny B Outdoors, reports that speckled trout have already begun to push into the creeks, and they are best targeted with artificials such as topwater plugs, soft plastics, and suspending twitch baits.
Anglers can also find some striped bass in the same areas as the trout. Most of the stripers are striking at topwater plugs and soft plastic jerk shads. With stripers being a catch-and-release fishery, switching your baits to inline hooks for quicker and safer releases is recommended.
Most of the bigger schools of drum can be found out towards the sound. Covering a lot of water with swim baits or popping cork setups has been key to locating any of the groups of fish still in the area.
Ned Brodeur, of Oriental, NC, caught this 40″ red drum fishing at Maw Point between the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound using cut mullet.
Dave, of Pamlico Pirate Charters, reports that the better action has been upriver in the Neuse, as the upriver areas have held more of the bait. Riding around looking for birds either attacking baits or sitting above bait are strong signs for picking areas to start your efforts.
Anglers targeting trout are mostly focusing on the creek mouth areas, and they’re doing best to get where the bait is—down in deeper holes and off the points.
These trout areas are also producing some red drum.
Bluefish have been all over the place. The blues will stay thick in the area, as long as the bait sticks around.
Kent, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that it is now all about the speckled trout in the area. This early in the action, anglers are having success with a variety of lures, including topwater plugs, Z-Man soft plastics on light-weight jig heads or under popping corks, and MirrOlure plugs. The best target areas are mostly in the creek mouths and areas of the river right outside the creek mouths. As conditions continue to cool down, start looking mid-way back in the creeks.
Anglers fishing down around the sound will find the occasional puppy drum mixed in the action. However, most of these fish have been pushed out towards the beaches.
Grey, of Hyde Guides, reports that the best action is coming from targeting speckled trout. These fish are starting to move into late fall patterns, where they are staging up in deeper holes throughout the backs of bays and around points in the creeks. A lot of smaller “spike” fish are around, but there are enough keepers mixed in to make limits. The sizes of the trout should change, as larger fish will likely become more common with the cooler water temperatures. A popping cork setup with a shrimp imitation bait has been the top producer.
Anglers are seeing a couple of “surprise” big red drum mixed in with the trout.
Red drum overall, though, have been hit-or-miss.
Gray trout fishing is unbelievable good. These fish are seemingly everywhere, but the more common locations where they are holding are staged up on the banks, around oyster beds, and at the offshore wrecks.
Dustin Mitchell, of Jacksonville, landed this bull red drum in the Pamlico River using an oval popping cork with a 4″ paddle tail soft plastic. He was fishing with Capt. Brad Smith of Gunny B Outdoors.
Zach, of UFO Fishing Charters, reports that anglers were glad to see some cold snaps to help kick off the trout season. Anglers are starting to see a lot of success in all the typical fall areas, especially in the creeks. The majority of the fish are a little deeper and can best be found in 6-8’ holes throughout the creeks.
Some slot-sized drum are still around. A lot of these fish have moved out into the sound, but reds can be found staged up on shallower banks as they work their way out of the area. The redfish being caught locally (not moving out) are hanging out in the deeper holes towards the backs of the creeks.
Quite a bit of nice-sized baitfish (4-5” range) are in the area. Anglers should be focusing on an area where you find bait to begin their fishing efforts. Sometimes this is at the backs of bays or the backs of creeks, and seeing bait means you should target that area. Continue this mentality as the bait slowly becomes more scarce moving deeper into fall.
Anglers fishing baits on the bottom have started to add some black drum to the mix.
Some sheepshead can be found around structure in the sound, though most of these fish have pushed out towards the inlets.
