Pamlico May 23, 2013
Brad Whitaker, of Grand Slam Marketing and TFO Rods, with a striped bass that fell for a topwater plug near New Bern while he was fishing with Capt. Gary Dubiel of Spec Fever Guide Service.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that the puppy drum action has improved quite a bit along the shorelines of the Neuse River, particularly from Oriental down towards the sound.
The stumpy shorelines of Broad and Goose creeks have also been productive with the pups recently. Most are just under or just over the 18” lower end of the slot limit, and they’re biting enthusiastically. Anglers are hooking big numbers of the spunky little reds on D.O.A. soft plastics on jigheads or the Deadly Combo popping cork.
Speckled trout are still feeding in the area but are on the move, and anglers need to be prepared to cover plenty of water to locate some hungry fish. The fish should spawn on the next full moon and become a bit more predictable. For now, both the creeks and shorelines offer decent odds of trout action. The most productive baits lately have been D.O.A. soft plastics on leadhead jigs.
A few flounder have been mixed in with the trout and pups, and they’re taking an interest in the same baits.
Upriver, the water has been extremely dirty at New Bern due to recent rains, but anglers are still managing to tempt some striped bass to bite topwater plugs in the early morning hours. The dirty water also means the fish are missing the lures quite a bit, but persistent anglers are still putting hooks to a few. The shoreline stump fields, larger docks, and bridge pilings in the area are producing the best action with the stripers.
Dave, of Knee Deep Custom Charters, reports that anglers are finding some solid speckled trout fishing in the Neuse River from Minnesott Beach down towards the sound. The fish are entering a spawning pattern and feeding along the river shorelines, particularly near creek mouths and points. They’ve been biting topwater plugs in the mornings and leadhead/soft plastic combos all day long.
There’s also been a good puppy drum bite along the shorelines, with many anglers hooking up on cut baits and live mud minnows. Artificials are also producing on the pups.
Both the trout and puppies have been a bit unpredictable lately, so anglers should be prepared to do a little searching in order to find some active fish.
Charlie Moore, of Winterville, NC, with a 5.25 lb. speckled trout that attacked a Z-Man paddletail grub while fishing near Chocowinity with Randy Hodges.
Richard, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, reports that there’s been some excellent puppy drum action on the Pamlico River, with many fish well into the slot limit. They’re biting along grassy shorelines and taking an interest in soft plastics and live baits under popping corks. A few speckled trout and flounder are feeding in the same areas and also taking an interest in the soft baits.
Mitch, of Fish IBX Charters, reports that there’s been some excellent striped bass action (and some big fish) on the Neuse River near New Bern. Anglers are hooking good numbers of stripers while working topwater plugs in the early morning hours along stumpy shorelines and around other structure.
When the topwater bite slows, anglers can switch to soft plastic swimbaits and jigs, and then target deeper structure to continue hooking up (which is producing some of the larger fish).
Speckled trout are feeding in many of the same areas as the stripers, and they will take an interest in soft plastics fished on jigheads or beneath popping corks.
Red drum are cruising in the marshy bays and along shorelines downriver from New Bern (with many undersized to lower slot but a few larger fish in the mix). They’ll take an interest in topwater plugs, spinnerbaits, and soft plastics fished on light jigheads or under popping corks.
Richie, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that fishing’s been a bit slow overall lately, but downriver anglers are finding some good action with speckled trout, flounder, and puppy drum around Swan Quarter and Rose Bay. Topwater plugs, Gulp baits, and popping cork rigs are producing most of the action with all three species.
Striped bass are still feeding around structure like bridge pilings near Washington, though not too many people have been fishing for them lately. Anglers are hooking a few on topwater plugs in the early morning hours, then switching to bucktails and wobblehead lures and fishing deeper as the sun climbs.
