Pamlico April 28, 2011
Tristin Mims with his first striped bass, which fell for a soft plastic bait while he was fishing the Roanoke River at Weldon with Capt. Richard Andrews of Tar-Pam Guide Service.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that the puppy drum fishing is still solid in the creeks and along the shorelines of the lower Neuse River. Some larger speckled trout are moving out of the creeks and beginning to feed in summer patterns along the river shorelines as well. Soft plastics like D.O.A. CAL series jerkbaits and suspending lures like MirrOlure MR17’s are producing most of the action with the pups and trout.
Good numbers of smaller specks are still feeding in the creeks off the river towards New Bern.
Increasing numbers of flounder (and increasing numbers of keepers) are mixed in with the pups and specks, and they will fall for the same lures.
Towards New Bern, there are still plenty of stripers on the feed, and with the warmer weather, the mornings and evenings have been producing the most consistent fishing lately. Many of the fish are feeding around shallow wood structure like pilings and stumps, and anglers can connect with them on soft plastics, suspending hard baits, and diving lures. The warmer waters have the topwater bite turning on as well, and popping-style plugs will likely outperform walking lures on the stripers.
Richard, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, reports that the striped bass fishing in the Roanoke River at Weldon is in full swing. When the bite is on, anglers are seeing some 100+ fish days (mostly 19-22” fish with some 22-27” keepers and a few to 40 lbs.). Fluctuating water levels impact the bite and have the schools on the move, so anglers have to be prepared to change tactics from artificials to live bait if the bite is a little off.
The fishing should only improve over the coming weeks as the water reaches the stripers’ preferred spawning temperatures in the mid to upper-60’s.
Richie, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers are starting to see some decent flounder action around Bath (with many trips producing 4-5 keepers). A few trout are in the mix, too, and both are falling for white Gulp swimming mullet on leadheads.
Ronnie Williams, of Jacksonville, NC, with a large speckled trout he caught and released in a creek near Surf City after it struck a MirrOlure topwater plug.
Plenty of smaller striped bass (15-16”) are feeding in the main river and shouldn’t be too challenging to hook.
The Pungo River hasn’t turned on in a big way, yet, but plenty of bait is around. It should only be a short time before variety fishing for speckled trout, puppy drum, and flounder is in full swing.
Dave, of Minnesott Beach Bait and Tackle, reports that the winds have kept a lot of anglers off the water over the past weeks, but some good fishing is around for those who make it out. The speckled trout are starting to move out of the creeks and into the main river and, along with good numbers of puppy drum and smaller flounder, should provide some action around the creekmouths and river shorelines. Gulp baits will fool all three, and anglers can also target the pups with cut or live baits on circle hook rigs (to ensure the survival of released fish).
The larger, spawning striped bass should be moving back downriver towards New Bern right now, so anglers still have a chance to hook up with some stripers before the season closes on May 1. Fishing ledges and stumplines with paddletail grubs or wobblehead eels will get attention from the bass, and anglers may also be able to hook up while working Rat-L-Traps and topwater lures through the shallows on quiet mornings.
Donald, of Custom Marine Fabrication, reports that there’s been some solid blackfin and yellowfin tuna fishing offshore of Morehead City in recent weeks. Some dolphin are beginning to join the blue water action, and all are falling for trolled ballyhoo.
Closer to the beaches, anglers are finding some action with false albacore and Atlantic bonito while trolling and casting around nearshore structure.
Anglers are still seeing some striped bass in the Neuse around New Bern, and there’s been decent puppy drum and speckled trout fishing further downriver.
