Pamlico March 27, 2014
Stacy Strickland, from Goldsboro, NC, with a striped bass he hooked on a D.O.A. CAL jerkbait. He was fishing the Neuse River near New Bern with Capt. Gary Dubiel of Spec Fever Guide Service.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that anglers are still seeing some solid striped bass action in the Neuse River near New Bern. A few have been caught around the bridges, but deeper, rocky ledges have produced the best action recently. Working 4-5.5” D.O.A. soft plastics on jigheads has been the ticket to hookups in the deeper water.
Downriver, anglers are starting to connect with some speckled trout and puppy drum on similar soft plastics pinned to lighter jigheads. The creeks off the Neuse between New Bern and Oriental have been hosting the majority of the action with the drum and specks.
As March turns to April, the striper bite will slow down a bit as the fish move upriver to spawn. When they return, they’ll be feeding heavily, and anglers will see some of the best action of the year.
The trout and drum bite in the creeks should get better over the coming weeks as the water temperatures climb a bit.
Isaiah, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that there’s been some decent striped bass action around Washington and upriver in recent weeks. Due to the unseasonably cool weather, the bite’s been best in the afternoons, and anglers working soft plastic baits are fooling most of the fish. There’s also been some excellent action around Williamston in the Roanoke River lately.
As the water warms up over the coming weeks, many of the fish will be moving upriver to spawn. The traditional spring topwater bite should turn on when the hungry fish return.
Mark Wilder, of Greenville, NC, with a striped bass that bit a Z-Man PaddlerZ soft bait in the lower Roanoke River.
Not many anglers have been targeting them since the keeper season’s been closed, but there were some good reports of speckled trout action around Blounts Creek not long ago. Most of the fish were still far back in the connecting creeks, so it appears many of them made it through the freezing weather and the trout season still holds some promise for the year.
Richard, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, reports that the striped bass action in the lower Roanoke River is still going strong. Anglers are landing big numbers of the striped bass while working Z-Man soft plastics on leadhead jigs. As March turns to April, the action will move towards Weldon as the fish head upriver to spawn, and anglers fishing that area should see some incredible days of action while casting soft plastics, live baits, and topwater plugs.
Dave, of Knee Deep Custom Charters, reports that fishing pressure has been light due to the wintry weather over the past month, but anglers who are getting out are finding some excellent striped bass fishing in the Neuse River near New Bern. Most of the fish are falling for D.O.A. CAL and Airhead soft plastics around ledges and bridge structure in the area. The fish will soon be moving upriver to spawn, but when they return anglers should see the bite around the shoreline stump fields heat up and be able to target the fish with topwater lures and lightly-weighted, weedless plastics.
Speckled trout are feeding in the creeks off the Neuse (most on the small side, but it doesn’t much matter since the keeper season is closed until June). Soft plastics like D.O.A. Shrimp and CAL lures fished solo or under popping corks are producing most of the action.
Mitch, of FishIBX.com, reports that anglers are finding some wide open striped bass action on the Roanoke River. The bite is in full swing, and anglers are fooling the fish on soft plastics pinned to jigheads, multi-lure “Bama” style rigs, while casting flies, and more. Anglers can expect the action to stand strong for the coming weeks as the fish stage up before migrating upriver to spawn.
