Pamlico July 28, 2011
Jamie Orr, of Greenville, NC, with a speckled trout he hooked on a soft plastic bait while fishing the Pungo River with Capt. Richard Andrews of Tar-Pam Guide Service.
Richard, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, reports that anglers are still connecting with flounder and some scattered speckled trout in the Pamlico and Pungo Rivers. Finding the bait is key to finding the fish, so areas with finger mullet or other bait showing on the surface near shorelines, rocks, docks, or other structure are the most likely spots to try. White Gulp shrimp and pogies on 1/8 and 1/4 oz. jigheads are some of the best artificials for the flatfish, but anglers can also hook up on live baits like finger mullet.
Tarpon are feeding in the Pamlico River and out in the sound. Large cut and dead baits fished on the bottom are the way to go for the “silver kings.” Heavy spinning rods spooled with monofilament and long wind-on leaders make the best tackle—the wind-ons allow anglers to control the fish when they’re closer to the boat, and the stretch of the mono helps absorb the shock when the giant fish jump. A 3’ leader terminating with a fixed 2-3 oz egg sinker (similar to an Owen Lupton rig) and a 9/0 or 10/0 beak hook should be attached to the wind-on. The J-hooks hold chunk baits very well and also help with the hookup ratio when anglers get a bite.
Richie, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that the citation-class red drum have shown up around Swan Quarter. Anglers are catching them while fishing large cut baits around drop-offs, oyster rocks, and other bottom irregularities.
A few tarpon have been caught in the Pamlico River, and they’ll respond to the same tactics as the big reds.
Flounder are feeding around Swan Quarter as well, and anglers have been catching them (many 18-19”) on Gulp baits and live finger mullet. The best action has been along shoreline structure early and late in the day, and then near drop-offs and other deeper areas during the heat of the midday hours.
Dave, of Knee Deep Custom Charters, reports that there’s been a scattered puppy drum, speckled trout, and flounder bite along the shorelines and docks of the Neuse River lately. The fish are spread out, so anglers need to cover some ground in order to find the action. A variety of soft plastic baits and live and cut baits are tempting bites from all three (with cut baits producing better results on the reds lately).
Kamden Winter, of Trenton, NC, caught this healthy flounder on shrimp while fishing from a dock at Atlantic Beach with his brother Seth and grandfather Daryl Radford.
Tarpon have shown up in the Pamlico Sound and in the rivers, but the Pamlico River has been producing more action than the Neuse recently. Large dead and cut baits are the best tarpon-tempters.
Plenty of large menhaden and hard crabs are on the move in the Neuse, so it shouldn’t be long until the preponderance of bait brings the large red drum into the river from the Pamlico Sound.
Striped bass are still schooled up around New Bern, but the hard SW winds and heat have slowed the bite a bit lately. Cooler temperatures and moderating breezes should produce solid topwater fishing for the stripers in the early mornings.
