Pamlico – October 27, 2016
Richard, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, reports that the speckled trout bite has been excellent in the lower portion of the Pamlico River. The specs are feeding on river shorelines and creek mouths as the fish move up river into their late fall habitats. Soft plastics like Z-Man jerk shad and Paddlerz on jig heads or weedless weighted hooks have been fooling plenty of fish throughout the day. Soft plastics under popping corks have also been effective on both trout and puppy drum.
Small stripers have been feeding heavily throughout the river, with the majority of them being caught downriver close to the Pamlico Sound. Rapala X-Raps and other suspending twitch baits have been fooling large numbers of stripers when fished over stump beds, ledges, and creek mouths. Popping corks and soft plastics have also been fooling a good number of stripers.
Plenty of puppy drum and specs are mixed in the same areas, and they can be caught on the same baits.
Russ Overton, of Apex, with a red drum caught last weekend in the lower Neuse River on a topwater.
Dave, of Knee Deep Custom Charters, reports that the speckled trout and striped bass fishing has been excellent in the cleaner water in the upper Neuse River. Stripers have been feeding best from New Bern out into the sound. Targeting docks and creek mouths in the early morning with DOA C.A.L. jerk baits and shad tails have been the most effective method for putting fish in the boat.
Topwater plugs like the Rapala Skitter V or Storm Arashi Top Walker have also been effective when fishing over stump beds near docks.
Trout, flounder, and puppy drum are moving into creek mouths as the water cools and the fish move into their fall cycles. DOA shrimp and various C.A.L. patterns have been working well when bounced along the bottom of creek mouths, grass points, banks, oyster beds, and underwater ledges. Suspending and sinking twitch baits have also been effective when fished slowly through all levels of the water column.
Louise Rose with an over-slot red drum caught on a live pogie on a slip cork. She was fishing with Capt. Jennings Rose of North State Guide Service out of Oriental.
Mitchell, of FishIBX, reports that the speckled trout and striped bass fishing in the lower Pamlico River has been excellent from Bath Creek all the way out to the sound. The creeks on the eastern side of the river have been holding the majority of the fish, while the creeks and banks on the western side of the sound have been holding decent numbers of fish.
Soft plastics like Gulp jerk shads pinned to weighted jig heads have been the best baits for both species. Anglers looking for the larger stripers should target creeks up river in the Washington area. The fish in this area aren’t as numerous, but the average fish is larger.
Large numbers of puppy drum have been feeding through the lower Pamlico River and Sound. Grass banks, oyster bars, mud flats, stump beds, and blowovers should be the main target for anglers looking to connect with a hungry red. Most anglers have been reporting under-slot fish, but there are plenty of slot-sized fish mixed in.
Soft plastics on jig heads and suspending twitch baits have been fooling both the reds and any trout that may be in the same area.
Anglers are also reporting scattered flounder throughout the Pamlico Sound, and they will take interest in the same baits.
Haley, of Neuse River Bait and Tackle, reports that Neuse River anglers have been connecting with citation-class speckled trout since the passing of Hurricane Matthew. Kershaw Creek and Greens Creek have produced the best number of these large specs, but anglers have also found them in the Bay River and its feeder creeks and many other creeks off of the lower Neuse River.
Softs plastics and shrimp imitations have been fooling the majority of the specs, but suspending twitch baits like the MirrOlure MR22 and MR17 have been putting plenty of fish in the boat as well.
Striped bass have been feeding heavily in the lower Neuse. The New Bern area has been the center of the action recently, with many anglers reporting an excellent topwater bite throughout the day. Bouncing Yee ha swimbaits near the bottom has been producing the best results with the stripers, as well as speckled trout and puppy drum.
