The lack of rain has made the system different than normal. Salt “wedge” is much farther up river than normal. Bait is heavier near New Bern than the mouth of the Neuse. Rockfishing bite has been great from the Ferry up river. Slot reds are scattered in the river & bluefish are prevenent. The Sound is starting to see migration reds and summer pattern expected soon. Covering water is the key.

The sea trout are 3/4 of the way out of the main creeks and headed for the Neuse River. D.O.A. Deadly Combo (popping cork), 3" D.O.A. Swim Baits and top water are all great choices. Vary your approach to cover Top, Mid and bottom. Work windy points from bank to mid channel. They are moving in and out to feed. Some bigger trout are hitting larger profiles and top water along with slot reds now moving into the system. The fishing has been FANTASTIC!

The spring weather has the trout fired up and moving. The “cold stun” event in the New Bern to Oriental, NC area doesn’t seem to have had devestating damagage to the population. One of the most productive early spring in years for the Neuse system. Fish have moved out of the back of creeks and are heading towards the main river. Target mid main creek areas where bait is visable on surface or sonar. Productive baits have been D.O.A. 3” white/chartreuse swimbait, Paul Brown & MRs Purple/yellow or natural colors if 2’ visibility or more. Pay attention to wind direction and the sun for best bank targets to help production efficiency. Focus on points and work from banks out to mid creek. Fish seem to be moving up to feed then back to the “ditch”. Puppy Drum & Striper catches are also a solid possibilty. Vary your reteieves and presentations if bites are slow. Some days they want it a certain way.

The Neuse River & Pamlico Sound are still producing Trophy Drum. This 48” monster came off a; DOA Cork & Cal Swim Bait white/chartreuse. Leader was 90 lbs braided wire to prevent blue fish from stealing your cork. Small schools are still roaming the river eating the plentiful shrimp, menhadden & mullet. Most fish are bewteen Bay River and the Ferry. As with past years, the blue fush schools usually have a trophy drum near by. All traditional methods are working but expectations should be limited based on the fresh water preventing huge numbers of fish to enter the river during the spawn. Look for a couple more weeks of the last class to stay until that NE cold front hits the sound & signals the drum to head back to the Atlantic. Captain Dave Hegel reports that cork bites are limited and still will use cut bait if he cant find baitfish on the surface. ☠️?☠️? #pamlicopiratefishingcharters

The 1st 2 weeks in May; have been as good a May as I can remember. There are Over Slots, Old Drum, Slots, Big Striper and big Trout from Kennel Beach to South River both sides of the Neuse. Don't be surprised if the Blue fish invade your area, there's 4 & 5 pound blues all over the river. Fun to catch but have wire leaders ready if using artificial bait. For Reds, focus on sandy banks with a flat near deeper water. Watch for menhaden and those reds will be there. Best bait options are a DOA Curl tail "gold Rush" color if sunny and Root beer if cloudy. Also, the DOA Bait Buster same colors if there is surface activity. Reel on pace to get to the surface, and "kill" the bait, they hit the fall. Smaller "slot" Lupton rigs with live or cut bait is also effective. Find structure or steep drops, you'll catch some fish!

Great fishing has begun! Water tempature has fluctuated as much as 10 degrees the last few weeks as well as some heavy rains. Adapting to the day is important. The migration of trout out of the creeks is well underway. Up river past New Bern, they are moving to the river, while down river, past the ferry, they are mid-creek moving toward the river. Sunny and warm days look for flats and dark mud spots. Cloudy days and early AM, slow down. Productive methods; corks and retrieving baits like DOA Deadly Combo or the DOA CAL Shad 3”. Colors in clear water use natural and dirty water dark baits. Puppy Drum and Slot Reds are showing up in the same areas. Blue fish are already in the river and bait is on essentially the move. #pamlicopiratefishingcharters