Pamlico/Neuse River – April 2026
Donald, of Custom Marine Fabrication, reports that speckled trout are moving out of their back‑creek holes and pushing toward the creek mouths. It’s the first step in their long migration out of the creeks to head downriver to spawn later in the season. The back‑and‑forth warm and cold weather has the trout a bit confused, and this has fish scattered throughout the creeks from front to back.
The shad bite has been excellent for anglers breaking out the ultra‑light tackle, with big numbers of spawning fish jammed into the narrow stretches upriver. Small spoons, grubs, and shad darts are all productive choices when heading up that way.
Dave, of Pamlico Pirate Charters, reports that the recent clear, sunny days have helped warm the water, and with that shift, fish are no longer holding in their true winter holes.
One of the best fisheries to take advantage of right now is the shad bite, which has been excellent upriver. These “poor man’s tarpon” hit small jigs on ultralight tackle, typically a 1000‑size reel with 10 lb. test. Coming out of winter and putting 50‑70 fish in the boat makes for a pretty fun day.
Speckled trout will be spread out throughout the creeks as bait starts moving around. Anglers should begin their search at the creek mouths and then work their way back while covering water to locate where the trout have staged. Artificials are the best way to fish efficiently, even though the baits still need to be worked fairly slowly.
There’s also talk of the striped bass bite kicking off on the Roanoke River for anglers looking to head up and fish that spawning run.
Bailey Spear, of Emerald Isle, landed this trout in Pungo Creek on a 5″ golden bream soft plastic. He was fishing with Capt. Hugh Sutton of Pungo Charters.
Gary, of Spec Fever Guide Service, reports that water temperatures are on the rise and getting fish more active as we move into April. There’s still plenty of striped bass action around deeper structure in the Neuse and Trent rivers, with soft‑plastic paddletails producing well. In addition, the shoreline topwater bite should start picking up significantly in the coming weeks.
Speckled trout are beginning to move around in their wintering creeks, and soft plastics remain the best overall option for catching them, as well as any scattered red drum mixed in.
Josh, of Pamlico Point Guide Service, reports that water temperatures have warmed up fast, putting speckled trout and bait finally on the move. With these sunny days, readings have already touched 75 degrees at times, with most spots averaging around 67. The warmer water has the trout hitting topwater plugs and just about anything fished high in the water column.
Kent, of East Side Bait and Tackle, reports that speckled trout are still holding to their winter patterns in the backs of creeks. A good stretch of warm days will have fish on the move, but then a cold front will push them right back into their previous pattern. Anglers are finding the most success with MirrOlures, soft plastics, and other twitch baits. Topwaters will be a strong option again once the area sees a more consistent run of warm weather.
Hugh, of Pungo Charters, reports that warmer, sunnier days are helping increase the speckled trout action in the creeks. The fish haven’t made a full push away from their wintering holes yet, but water temperatures have been climbing quickly from their frigid lows, and anglers can start focusing on mid‑creek areas out toward the mouths. Soft plastics are likely the best first option.
Loralyn Moore, of Fairfield, landed this striper in the Roanoke River on a Z-Man StreakZ soft plastic. She was fishing with Capt. Grey Davis of Hyde Guides LLC.
Zach, of UFO Fishing Charters, reports that early‑season fishing is all about scouting and trying to figure out where the trout ended up. It appears that many of the fish wintering in anything less than 10-12’ took the hardest hit, while the deepest creeks of the Pamlico fared better. There’s hope that some trout pushed out into the main river during the cold, which may make them tougher to locate for now, but they should show up around the grass to spawn.
Water temperatures have made a solid recovery, with some spots climbing over 60 degrees, and there are already mullet starting to move around.
Red drum haven’t shown much yet, aside from a few smaller fish over in the Neuse.
Striped bass are around for anglers fishing well up the Tar River, particularly in the Grimesland area.
Grey, of Hyde Guide, reports that anglers have been doing well targeting striped bass in the Albemarle. These fish are moving into their spawning patterns.
For the Pamlico area, spring fishing is about targeting red drum (both puppy and larger) in the sound. These fish are moving in from out in the ocean and will be found anywhere from reefs in deeper water to points and flats along the shoreline. Cut baits can work great in many areas, with artificials (such as topwater plugs or soft plastics) only having success as water temperatures warm up.
If fishing out on the reefs, anglers may also find some gray trout and black drum mixed in.
Another fun spring addition is the arrival of the large bluefish.
