Pamlico September 27, 2012
Kam Miller (age 13), of Clinton, NC, and Capt. Ray Massengill, of Down East Guide Service, with a red drum that bit a cut bait in the Neuse River near Oriental.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that there are still some large “old” drum feeding in the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound near Oriental. It appears there will be another spawn on the next full moon, so anglers still have a little while to chase the big fish. Both fishing large cut baits on the bottom and casting soft plastics under popping corks to actively feeding fish have been effective on the big reds over the past week.
Light-tackle action for speckled trout, puppy drum, and flounder is also going strong along the river shorelines and in the local creeks. Casting topwater plugs is producing plenty of action with the specks and reds in the early morning hours, and anglers can connect with all three species by working soft plastics under popping corks all day long.
Striped bass are still on the feed around New Bern, and their keeper season opens up at the beginning of October. Anglers can find the fish feeding around shoreline irregularities like stump fields and points, deeper structure like bridges and ledges, and around schooling bait in open water. The stripers will readily strike topwater plugs in the early morning hours or fall for soft plastics on jigheads when the sun gets high.
John Turner caught and released this 50" red drum after it struck a cut bait in the Pamlico Sound while he was fishing with Capt. Richard Andrews of Tar-Pam Guide Service.
Dave, of Knee Deep Custom Charters, reports that the speckled trout bite is turning on for the fall, and anglers are seeing a decent number of keepers these days. The topwater bite has been excellent recently, and anglers are tempting the fish to bite D.O.A. shrimp and CAL-series soft plastics when they’re not biting on top. Good numbers of puppy drum and flounder are in the same areas, so anglers stand a decent chance at a slam while fishing the lower Neuse River right now.
Richard, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, reports that anglers are still connecting with some giant red drum in the Pamlico Sound, and there should be some fish in the area through the first week in October. Large cut baits fished on the bottom are tempting the big reds to bite.
Speckled trout action is still going strong and will only get better as the water cools off over the fall. Z-Man soft plastics, Yo-Zuri and MirrOlure suspending hard baits, and topwater plugs will all tempt bites from the specks.
There are still good numbers of puppy drum and keeper flounder feeding alongside the specks in the Pamlico River, and anglers are hoping they stick around through the fall.
Peter Overgaard, of Oriental, NC, with a 51" red drum he caught and released in the Neuse River off Oriental while he was fishing with Capt. Craig Price. A chunk of mullet fooled the big red.
October 1 marks the beginning of the keeper striped bass season, and there should be excellent action with the stripers in the Pamlico River near Washington and the Pungo River near Belhaven. Topwater plugs like Chug Bugs and Zara Spooks are the most exciting way to connect with the stripers, but anglers can also hook up on subsurface hard baits and soft plastics.
Richie, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that there’s a solid striped bass bite going on right now that should continue through the start of their season October 1. Topwater plugs are what most successful anglers have been casting lately, but anglers can also hook up on bucktails, soft plastics, jerkbaits, and other soft plastic lures.
The speckled trout bite is going strong from Bath down to Swan Quarter, and good numbers of keeper flounder are mixed in. Gulp baits are fooling both, and anglers are also starting to hook good numbers of fish on suspending hard baits like MirrOdines.
