With giant red drum season coming to a close, we are eager to get going with our fall mixed bag fishing on the Pamlico for speckled trout, redfish, and striped bass.  The big drum are basically gone, so we’ve been at it for a week already and it’s been about as good as it can be.  There are tons of specs around up the rivers and in the creeks.   In addition to the specs, we have more slot sized (18-27″) reds around than I’ve ever seen.  We also have more stripers around than I’ve ever seen.  Recent conservation measures with the moratorium on striper harvest and the banning of gill nets upstream of the ferry channels have really helped.   Its pretty simple…..less harvest equals more fish in the river to catch. 

The specs and reds will be in the same pattern the rest of the fall and perhaps congregating more in the creeks around concentrations of bait as water temps continue to drop into the 60’s and eventually the 50’s.  Right now, the water temps have been hovering in the low to mid 70’s, which is a welcomed change to the water in the 80’s we had all summer.  That drop as weather cooled late is Sept. this year really fired off the fishing.  

The stripers, which seem to be fairly scattered still, will also start schooling up around bait concentrations.  We always see that fishing get better and better and we move into Nov. and Dec. as they get into huge schools often in open water around bait balls.  That can be some of the best fishing of the year. 

Oct. is my favorite month to fish, and I absolutely love the first cool down of the year.  It seems to invigorate me like nothing else.  The dog days of summer are gone, the leaves are starting to change, a hot cup of coffee is a treat on a cool morning, and above all, the fishing is absolutely awesome.  

If you are interested in getting out, I do have some openings left before the end of the year.  If none of these dates work for you, I can definitely get you out on the weekends with Capts. Scott, Joe, or Kent on the weekends or perhaps during the week, so don’t hesitate to inquire still if I’m already booked on the day you can go.

Remaining 2020 openings for fishing with me:   Nov. 1-2, 7, 16, 25  Dec. 1, 2, 7, 9-11, 14-18, 29-31   Book you next adventure now!

Pics from recent trips: