Pamlico July 5, 2012
Dillon Avant with a striped bas that bit a topwater plug in the Pamlico River while he was fishign with Capt. Richard Andrews of Tar-Pam Guide Service.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that the speckled trout action in the Neuse River remains strong, with anglers catching good numbers of fish on D.O.A. soft plastics and Gulp baits fished under popping corks. The river shorelines have been producing most of the action.
Black drum are feeding around docks, rocks, and other structure along the river shorelines, and cut shrimp on bottom rigs will tempt them to bite.
Slot-sized drum are scarce, but the large schools of smaller pups are still around in force, a good sign for the fall and coming seasons. The same tactics that are tempting the trout are effective on the pups, and a few flounder are falling for soft baits in the same areas.
Tarpon have begun to show up in the Neuse River, with sightings from the mouth on up to New Bern. Anglers can look for the fish in 14-20’ of water around contour changes, especially where schools of menhaden are working.
Striped bass action is still good around New Bern, but the hot weather has made it primarily a morning bite. The fish are still taking topwater plugs well around shoreline structure during the first hour of daylight. Switching to soft plastics and targeting deeper structure like bridge pilings and ledges is producing another 1-2 hours of action before the bite seems to shut off around mid-morning.
Dave, of Knee Deep Custom Charters, reports that anglers are still seeing plenty of trout in the lower Neuse River and they keep getting larger; however, it’s important to keep only what anglers plan to eat and release the rest in order to ensure the fishery continues to improve. Plenty of shrimp are moving through the river, and twitching a D.O.A. shrimp on the bottom has proven very effective on the specks and some flounder recently. North winds are producing the best water quality in the river and the best fishing.
Black drum are feeding around bridges, docks, and other structure, where shrimp and fiddler crabs will tempt them to bite.
Cara Gray and Sean LaChance, of Carolina Beach, with bluefish they hooked while trolling Clarkspoons around Cape Lookout with Capt. Joey Johnson.
Good numbers of puppy drum are still feeding along the river shorelines, but most are on the small side. Anglers are hoping the large yearling fish move in along with the big drum over the coming month.
Tarpon have shown up in the Neuse, and anglers are starting to see increasing numbers when the wind lays down enough to go looking for them.
Richie, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers are still hooking some speckled trout around the mouth of Bath Creek and out towards the sound. Soft plastics and suspending hard baits are producing most of the action.
The big citation-class red drum are moving into the sound and the mouth of the river, and anglers have released a few over the past week. Large cut baits are the way to go for the “old drum.”
Tarpon are showing up in the same areas and will fall for the same baits as the big reds.
Richard, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, reports that there’s been a decent striped bass bite around the cool-water discharge from the PCS plant. The fish are very fragile in the summertime due to hot water and low oxygen content, though, so anglers must be very careful in catching and releasing the fish to ensure their survival. Landing the fish quickly, using circle hooks, and not keeping them out of the water for extended photo sessions will all help the stripers’ post-release odds of survival.
The lower Pamlico River is producing plenty of action with flounder and puppy drum, but most of the fish are undersized. Live mud minnows or soft plastic baits will tempt bites from the pups and flatfish.
More flounder and speckled trout are feeding out in the sound, where live mud minnows, finger mullet, and soft plastic baits like Z-Man Minnowz will tempt them to bite.
