The trout bite continues to be excellent with not only numbers of fish, but quality as well. 17mr’s in a variety of colors and the new 37mr are producing the majority of my fish, but I’m also picking up a few on Yozuri 3ds minnows. Here are a few pics of recent trips, some from the boat and others from the kayak.
I've heard this has been a stronger year for specks, but do they normally bite through the winter? I'm trying to make a few annual trips and I have a void between November through February
Yes, they bite year round. Tactics and location change with the seasons though. Winter months are my favorite because they stack up in the backs of the creeks and when you find one there’s usually several more close by.
Caught well over 30 in about 2 hours yesterday. At one point I made it to 16 casts in a row putting an 18-22 inch trout in the yak and on cast 17 I had one come off. I really hope we avoid a freeze event and are able to enjoy these fish this spring and next fall.
The biggest tip I can offer is “don’t”. By that I mean you don’t need to do very much at all. Especially right now with the cooler water temps. Every fish I’ve caught over the last two weeks has came after a long (5-10 second) pause. The majority of which hit on the initial drop of the bait. Meaning I cast, close the bail and wait for a 10 count before giving a very subtle twitch. More often than not they hit before I ever even twitch it.
When you do twitch, I only twitch once and I prefer to twitch down or to the side (twitching down is hard in a yak) over twitching up.
When the water temps are higher I take a much more aggressive approach but right now slow and subtle is key.
I’m not asking for a specific spot but what part of the state are you fishing? Neuse River? Wilmington? Pungo? Looking to make a trip next week and just trying to figure out what part of the coast I want to go to.
Hey folks. Thanks for the trout info. Good stuff. Headed to Morehead City area Thursday. Any luck in the Haystacks or the creek mouths north and west of there?
Will a weightless Gulp bait work like a shrimp or mullet with the long 5-10 count pauses? I've made only a few coldwater salt trips but I think I need to make time given the good reports all the time. Most people seem to be reporting that they are using hard baits.
Yes Gulp works as does ProCure.
Harold's 3 lber fell for a Gulp Shrimp that day.
You will get a lot more spikes using Gulp than you will using hard plastic lures, IMHO...... ICM
Couple of guys were using Gulp the other day as I paddled by them. They reported having been there a few hours and had a few fish for their efforts. I eased past them and started fishing, and catching on every cast with hard baits. They seemed dumbfounded and asked what I was using so I shared. I changed colors 6 times just to prove it was the bait and presentation and not the color. Soft plastics will definitely work, but hard baits are king right now.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
NC Angler Forums
649K posts
29.7K members
Since 2004
A forum community dedicated to North Carolina anglers and sporting enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about safety, licenses, tips, tricks, rivers, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!