Pamlico – May 8, 2014
Michelle Lilly with a healthy speckled trout she hooked in a creek off the Neuse River while fishing with her husband, Capt. Gary Dubiel of Spec Fever Guide Service.
Gary, of Spec Fever Charters, reports that there’s been some solid speckled trout action in just about all the creeks off the lower Neuse River recently. They’re biting topwater plugs in the early morning hours, and then D.O.A. soft plastics rigged weedless or suspended under popping corks once the sun gets high. Some flounder and puppy drum are mixed in with the specks, and anglers are also seeing the arrival of bluefish in the Neuse.
Upriver, striped bass action is improving around New Bern and will only get better by the day as more and more fish return from their inland spawning run. Like the specks, they’ll bite topwater plugs when the light’s low, with soft plastics a better choice through the midday hours.
Dave, of Knee Deep Custom Charters, reports that speckled trout and puppy drum are on the feed in the creeks off the lower Neuse River. The fish are on the move a bit. They’re feeding along the bank some days and well away from the shoreline on others, so anglers may have to do a bit of prospecting to find the hottest area on a given day. The fish are responding well to both soft plastics and hard baits like the new Unfair Lures.
Striped bass action around New Bern has been excellent lately as well, and anglers are hooking big numbers on topwater plugs like Storm Chug Bugs and Unfair Dawg Walkers. Stumpy shorelines, bridges, and other hard structure are where to look for the stripers.
Gracie Davis (age 10) and Capt. Richard Andrews, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, with a 22 lb., 38″ striped bass Gracie caught while fishing the Roanoke River near Weldon.
Mitch, of FishIBX.com, reports that anglers are seeing the hottest striped bass bite in years on the Roanoke River. The fish should begin spawning over the coming days which means anglers stand a shot at some large fish amidst the numerous schoolies. A wide variety of techniques are fooling the fish, and anglers have been hooking big numbers on soft plastics, topwater plugs, flies, and live baits.
The topwater action is particularly hot in the lower Roanoke.
Good numbers of larger stripers are feeding in the Pamlico River, and more are arriving daily as they return from spawning upriver. Topwater plugs or subsurface soft plastics will attract attention from the larger fish.
There’s also been some mixed bag action with healthy speckled trout and flounder on the Pamlico, with soft plastics producing most of the action.
Richard, of Tar-Pam Guide Service, reports that the Roanoke River striped bass action is some of the best that anglers can remember. Casting Z-Man soft plastics on jigs has produced triple-digit numbers of fish on some recent days, and some big fish are in the mix (up to 22 lbs. last week).
There’s also been a solid speckled trout bite in the Pamlico River recently (with some likely citation fish in the mix but no way to weigh them in until the season opens June 16). Soft plastics are also fooling the specks.
Isaiah, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that local anglers are finding some solid speckled trout and flounder action from Goose Creek to Bath. Most of the fish are in the creeks, and anglers are hooking them on soft plastic baits, with Z-Man plastics pinned to jigheads particularly hot right now. The specks have been running large and must still be released until June 16th, but many of the flatfish have been keepers.
Not many anglers have been targeting striped bass lately, but the spring topwater action should be turning on around Washington over the coming weeks.
