Pamlico – October 22, 2015
Dave, of Knee Deep Custom Charters, reports that anglers are seeing up-and-down fishing in the Neuse River region at present, with some good days and some slow.
Speckled trout are still feeding along the shorelines of the lower river, with much of the action around creekmouths and in the creeks as the fish move into their cool-season habitat. Anglers can tempt the specks to bite topwater plugs like Storm Chug Bugs and Arashi Top Walkers early in the day, transitioning to subsurface offerings like D.O.A. CAL soft plastics and Rapala Twtichin’ Raps when the sun gets high. Slow presentations with plenty of pauses seem to be the best bet for the underwater presentations.
Striped bass are feeding around New Bern and further upriver and also biting topwater plugs early in the day around stumpy shorelines and in the creeks. Later in the day, targeting deper ledges and bridge pilings with D.O.A. CAL lures on jigheads and weedless hooks is a better option.
Some puppy drum are mixed in with the specks and stripers and biting the same offerings.
Bruce Perkins with his first red drum, a citation-class fish he hooked on a chunk of mullet while fishing the Neuse River near Oriental with Peter Overgaard.
Mitch, of FishIBX.com, reports that anglers are seeing the speckled trout bite turn on in the eastern Neuse and Pamlico rivers. Most of the action has been low in the water column, with little topwater success recently. Bouncing Yeeha swimbaits and Z-Man soft plastics near the bottom has been producing the best results with the specks (which are averaging around 13” but with solid 20-22”+ fish mixed in). Anglers are also hooking some slot and over-slot red drum on the same baits, but popping cork rigs have been more effective on the reds.
Striped bass are feeding a bit further up the river systems, with anglers seeing double-digit numbers of fish biting topwater plugs early in the morning hours. The striper action should hold up for the remainder of fall.
Stanley Young with a speckled trout he landed on a D.O.A. soft plastic bait while fishing the lower Neuse River with Capt. Dave Stewart of Knee Deep Charters.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that anglers are connecting with good numbers of speckled trout and puppy drum while casting soft plastics and suspending plugs along the shorelines of the Neuse River.
There’s also been some good striped bass action around New Bern. The stripers are falling for topwater lures in the early morning hours, with soft plastics jigged around deeper structure like ledges producing results later in the day.
Capt. Mitchell Blake, of FishIBX.com, with a speckled trout he landed on a Yeeha Swimbait in the Pamlico River in mid-October.
Richard, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, reports that anglers are seeing some excellent white perch action in the creeks off the Pamlico and Tar rivers. A variety of small jigs, plugs, and other artificials cast on ultra-light tackle are fooling the perch and a diverse bycatch including puppy drum, flounder, largemouth bass, crappie, sunfish, and more.
Isaiah, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers are finding excellent action with striped bass and white perch in the Pamlico River near Washington. The train trestle and Chocowinity Bay have been particular hotspots recently. The perch are falling for 1/8 oz. Beetle Spins and Rat-L-Traps, with the stripers taking an interest in larger Rat-L-Traps and Rattlin’ Rogue plugs.
Speckled trout fishing is improving, and anglers are starting to see some larger fish. The best action with the specks has been around Broad and Goose creeks and up around Bath, and anglers are fooling the fish on suspending lures like MirrOlure MR17’s and Gulp jerkshads pinned to jigheads.
