Pamlico April 26, 2012
Tina Wood, from Kansas, caught this Pamlico River striped bass on a topwater plug while she was fishing with Capt. Richard Andrews of Tar-Pam Guide Service.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that the striped bass bite around New Bern remains excellent. Both the Neuse and Trent Rivers have been productive lately, with most of the action along shoreline structure.
Topwater plugs like Storm Chug Bugs and Rapala Skitterwalks are producing plenty of action with the stripers early and late in the day and, on overcast days, the fish have been biting topwaters all day long. When the sun’s high, casting soft plastics on jigheads will tempt the fish to strike.
Some speckled trout and bluefish are feeding in the same areas and on downriver to Oriental. Both soft plastic baits on jigheads and scented baits like Gulps beneath popping corks are tempting the trout and blues to bite.
Gray trout are mixed in with the specks and blues around Oriental, and they’ll respond to the same soft baits.
Dave, of Knee Deep Custom Charters, reports that anglers are catching plenty of striped bass on topwater plugs along the river shorelines around New Bern. The action has remained good for much of the morning on many recent days. When the topwater bite slows down, anglers can switch to soft plastics on jigs or Rockin’ Wobble heads to keep the action going. The open season for keeping stripers ends at the end of April, so anglers who want to take some home to eat have only a few days left to do so.
Some speckled trout have been feeding all the way upriver to New Bern, with more speck action down around Oriental and the lower Neuse. Some gray trout are mixed in with the specks, and both are taking an interest in Yo-Zuri and MirrOlure suspending plugs, along with D.O.A. soft plastics on light jigheads.
Bill Baker, of Manteo, with a 2 lb., 1 oz. pompano that bit a sand flea in the Ocracoke Island surf. Weighed in at Tradewinds Tackle.
Richie, of East Side Tackle, reports that the recent weather slowed the fishing a bit, but anglers are still connecting with some striped bass around Washington. Topwater plugs and bucktail/soft plastic combos are tough to beat for the stripers.
Speckled trout are still feeding around the mouths of the local creeks. Anglers can tempt the specks to bite suspending lures like MirrOlure MR17’s or Gulp baits and other soft plastics pinned to jigheads.
Donald, of Custom Marine, reports that anglers are still finding solid striped bass action around the bridges and stumpy shorelines near New Bern. Topwater plugs are proving very effective on the fish early and late in the day, and anglers are casting soft plastic baits with success when the fish don’t want to commit to the surface baits.
Speckled trout action remains strong in the local creeks, with MR17 MirrOlures doing most of the damage. Electric Chicken is the top color.
