Pamlico/Neuse River – October 2026
Donald, of Custom Marine Fabrication, reports that red drum are the main focus. Anglers are seeing fish all throughout the river, and with a lot of bait up around New Bern, fishing further up seems to be a better bet. As the bait gets moving, so will the fish, and both will work their way down towards deeper water as the spawn continues. Popping cork setups are very popular, but anglers should also be digging a little deeper into their arsenal and showing the drum something they might not see all the time, such as topwater plugs or Rat-L-Traps.
Bluefish are in better numbers throughout the river.
Speckled trout (to 20”) are beginning to make a showing.
Tom, of Carolina Bay Outfitters, reports that red drum fishing is on fire throughout the river. Anglers are catching drum of all sizes, with the big bull reds, of course, getting most of the attention. Cut bait of any kind has been producing most of the action. Anything from fresh mullet, menhaden, spot, bluefish, or croakers is working.
Artificials are another great way for anglers to target the big reds, with popping cork setups rigged with larger Z-Man DieZel MinnowZ or D.O.A. Airheads being favorites. Spoons in the 3/8-1 oz. size have also been working great.
Plenty of keeper flounder were caught in season. For the flatfish, anglers were primarily fishing 3” soft plastics up against the banks.
Some speckled trout are showing up. Most of the trout are being caught with 3” D.O.A. paddle tail soft plastics.
A bunch of spanish mackerel are in the river. Sheepshead are in the river, too, and can be found in their typical hard structure areas.
Brad, of Gunny B Outdoors, reports that this season the larger flounder were caught more in the sound and not the river.
The ARs out in the sound are also holding black drum and sheepshead.
Most of the big red drum have been found in deeper (12’) areas. While both daytime and evenings are producing fish, the reds seem to be more scattered about during the days. For the day bite, the popping cork setup is still the best option, with Four Horseman or Blabbermouths being the top corks and then rigging baits on longer leaders.
Plenty of slot red drum are on the flats and around structure closer to the banks.
Striped bass are well upriver.
Jeremy Roberts, of Creedmoor, NC, caught this 45” red drum in the Neuse River near Oriental using cut bait.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that the red drum are truly all throughout the river. For the citation-class drum, artificials have been the best way to target them. Popping cork setups and breaking out the fly rods have both been working great. When running into one of those inevitable windy days, the tactic is pretty simple—find a calmer part of the river because the fish are everywhere.
Plenty of slot red drum are up on the shorelines.
Schools of smaller bluefish are starting to show up.
Gaston, of Kingfisher Charters, reports that flounder are everywhere in the Pamlico Sound, especially where the sound connects to rivers and creeks. In the short season, most of the flatfish were caught on Gulp shrimp bounced along the bottom.
Speckled trout are starting to show up around creek mouths and in the main river as they start their move back to normal fall patterns. Topwater plugs have generated some success in the early mornings, and then switch over to Gulp shrimp under popping corks to stay on the bite.
Kent, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that anglers enjoyed flounder success while bouncing soft plastics or dragging smaller live baits up along the shoreline.
The big drum anglers are predominantly using cut mullet to focus on fishing ledges and points out in the sound and back up into the river. The popping cork bite has been productive, too, with more success when getting away from boat traffic.
Not many anglers have started targeting the speckled trout yet, but some fish are just beginning to be caught.
Zach, of UFO Fishing Charters, reports that flounder season was a success, with grass banks, points, docks, and rocks being the most productive areas. The sizes varied, with fish anywhere from 10-25”.
The big drum bite is still going on in the river. The cooler water (into the lower 80s) has these fish starting to move back to the sound, and they will be feeding hard along the way. Traditional cut bait fishing is great, but plenty are being caught with popping cork setups.
Anglers are starting to find a bunch of smaller speckled trout (10” range) around. Hopefully that’s a sign that these fish are on the path of recovery.
Out on ARs in the sound, anglers can find gray trout, black drum, and sheepshead.
Grey, of Hyde Guide, reports that flounder season was strong, with good numbers and a good quality of fish (to 5+ lbs.). The key this year was big bait, big fish.
A few speckled trout are popping up.
Slot drum action has been steady, with some being caught while fishing artificials in the morning, and then bait being the better option once the sun is up.
Big drum fishing has been good, but numbers can vary day to day.
