Pamlico/Neuse – May 23, 2019
Donald, of Custom Marine Fabrication, reports that anglers have been very pleased with the numbers of speckled trout being caught around creek mouths and river shorelines near Oriental. Soft plastics under a popping cork has been the most productive rig all spring and has allowed anglers to cover the shorelines quickly while scouting out the smaller schools.
Topwater plugs have been working early and late in the day, but the bite has been short-lived.
Red drum are being seen in better numbers now that the water temperatures are rising. Many of the drum are in the lower Neuse with all the bait pushing in from the sound, and the next few weeks will see better numbers along the banks as they follow the bait pods upriver.
A couple citation-sized red drum have been caught, but this bite is not consistent early in the season.
Keeper flounder are feeding along the deeper grass banks, and they’re hitting Gulp and Z-Man soft plastics.
Michael Cummings, of Tarboro, NC, holding two 20+” trout. He caught the specks using a MirrOlure 17MR in the Pungo River.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that anglers have been finding great speckled trout fishing on the lower Neuse. Some of the trout are being caught on topwater plugs, but popping corks have produced the majority of the bites. Look around creek mouths and deeper grass points as the fish stage up along the river shoreline.
Puppy drum are along the same structured shoreline areas, and they’re hitting soft plastics and topwater baits.
A few “old” drum have made an early showing in the river, a great sign for the weeks to come.
James, of Neuse River Adventures, reports that speckled trout are pushing out of the creeks to feed on all the bait moving into the area. These fish have taken hold along the shoreline, and anglers are having success while casting soft plastics on both popping corks and light jig heads along the banks.
Topwater plugs are catching fish in the mornings, but stiff winds have made working the plugs difficult anytime past the first hour of the day. Looking for small ledges has helped anglers locate the trout.
Red drum are being found in the lower Neuse by fishing soft plastics and Carolina-rigged cut baits.
Flounder numbers have been getting better in recent days, and the amount of keepers has been looking good to begin the season. Bouncing soft plastics along the bottom has been catching many of the fish, but Carolina-rigged live baits will catch some of larger females.
Jennings, of North State Guide Service, reports that anglers have been hooking a nice class of speckled trout on the lower Neuse. The fish have made their push out of the creeks and are staged on the river shorelines and edges of the sound. Soft plastics under a popping cork has been producing most of the fish, but anglers out on the water early are enjoying a great topwater bite.
Keeper flounder are showing in good numbers along the deeper grass banks and points in the river. Casting 4” Gulp shrimp on a jig head has been a favorite tactic.
A few slot-sized red drum are mixed in along these same banks, and they’re also taking soft plastics.
Fishing with fresh shrimp on a bottom rig around structure has produced black drum, gray trout, and some large sheepshead.
Jordan Hill, of Vanceboro, NC, with a keeper trout caught in the lower Neuse on a Z-Man soft plastic. He was fishing with Capt. Ashley King, of Keep Castin’ Charters out of New Bern.
Stephen, of Neuse River Bait and Tackle, reports that good numbers of slot red drum (to 21”) are being caught in the creeks on the lower Neuse River.
A few citation-sized drum (to 48”) have already been hooked around shoals in the same area, but this fishery really doesn’t kick off until summer.
Flounder are being landed on soft plastics fished on a 1/4 oz. jig head worked along the bottom near grass banks.
Black drum and sheepshead are feeding on live fiddler crabs fished tight against pilings.
Anglers have been catching great numbers of speckled trout, with some reporting upwards of 150 fish in a day. A majority of these trout are shorts, but the keeper ratio has gotten better over the last few weeks. A few citation-sized fish (to 6.5 lbs.) are mixed in.
D.O.A. and Z-Man paddle tail soft plastics have been popular with anglers when paired on a jig head or under a popping cork. Topwater plugs are catching fish, too, but with the strong winds, the bite has been better in the morning.
Bluefish are in some of the same deeper channels as the trout.
Richie, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers are finding good numbers of speckled trout (to 23”) with soft plastics and Carolina-rigged live baits.
A few puppy drum have been mixed in, and anglers are reporting both species hitting topwater baits in the mornings.
Flounder are being caught on soft plastics around deeper banks and wind-blown points.
Mitchell, of FishIBX, reports that striped bass had a strong season on the Roanoke River, with anglers finding triple digit numbers of fish on many days. Soft plastic paddle tails and Rat-L-Traps are both great baits when searching the structured shoreline for fish.
Speckled trout are being caught around creek mouths in the lower Pamlico. Soft plastics under popping corks is the best method this time of year.
Red drum are also holding along these grass banks, and anglers have had the most success with soft plastics on 1/8 and 1/4 oz. jig heads.
A few small flounder are mixed in along the shoreline.
