The pinnacle of Pamlico River fishing in the wintertime is our striped bass fishery and especially our topwater fishing. When fishing warmer days during a milder winter, topwater bites are possible all winter but only during the early morning, late afternoon, or on overcast days (really anytime the sun is not shining directly down over the water). This year, we have seen some excellent striper fishing beginning in the late fall. What makes this fishery so wonderful is not the number of fish but their size. Double digit catches of fish ranging from 22-30” have been very attainable. Many striper anglers will encounter lots of small fish in the 13-16 inch class, but the brutes up in the mid-20’s are the ones everyone is looking for. Catching stripers in that size class is a whole lot of fun on a medium light or light action spinning rod, and nothing rivals the explosion(s) you might see when one blows up on your topwater bait.
When targeting stripers in the Pamlico on topwater baits, anglers need to pay close attention to banks with heavy structure such as stump fields and old pilings and also water level. Water level dictates much of how the stripers behave on the Pamlico River. After a hard West or Northwest wind, the wind pushes the water downriver (like a fan on one end of a bathtub) and the water level can drop considerably. After a hard East or Northeast wind, just the opposite effect is true. The water (or wind tide) will rise considerably. Low water in general makes fishing this river very challenging but when the water is up, the stripers move to the banks and they can easily be caught on topwater walk-the-dog style baits such as the Zara-Spook or Skitterwalk and plugs such as the Storm Chug Bug. Fishing for stripers in deeper water and during low water conditions might be a discussion best saved for another newsletter.
I encourage every avid angler to pursue the Pamlico’s winter fishing opportunities. I winterize my boat by using it all the time. If you want to learn how these fish behave, there is no substitute for time spent on the water. Even a day in which the fishing is slow can educate the observant angler. There’s an old saying, “You can’t catch em on the couch”, so put on some warm clothes and head out to explore the winter fishing on the Inner Banks. You might be pleasantly surprised!