These fish do…………..sometimes. The stripers are spawning hard. While spawning activity has been witnessed for the past week and a half or so, I think the bulk of it is occurring now. When these fish get in their spawning mode, they can get weird. One day you’ll go out there and smoke em…….the next, you can’t hardly buy a bite. The good ole live bait is by far the best……..drifting through the suspending fish. We’ve had some really good trips live baiting this week. We also get lucky every once in a while and find a school of some scattered fish away from the spawning biomass that will eat some jigs. In some years, we can throw jigs, fly, or topwater baits into the spawning pods and they will eat. These fish haven’t been doing that much at all. For the fly guys, well, I’d leave those in the car. I think after these fish finish up their business, they will a little less picky and will eat just about anything you put in front of them. I think the best artificial bait fishing is yet to come and the fish are there to stay for at least a couple more weeks. You can probably safely put up your live bait tank after this week and catch all the fish you want.
Aside from a couple of trips in Weldon recently booked for next week, I will be finishing up this Saturday afternoon. We’ll start turning our attention to the Pamlico. The speckled trout bite has been consistent, with lots of 13-14 inch fish and some scattered keepers mixed in. There are some puppy drum around as well as some flounder starting to make a showing. Of course, the rockfishing is pretty good, too. We’ll be dialing in whatever is the best bite and really focusing on the flounder once they get thick.
Upcoming openings: May 19 (Pamlico or Roanoke), 25-27(Pamlico), 31(Pamlico), June 1-3(Pamlico), June 13(Pamlico), June 18(Pamlico) Let me know!
