For the longest time, this page was our sole source for fishing reports. Over time, we started using Facebook and Instagram more and posting less frequently to our website. We got rid of our Facebook page, and I haven’t missed it one bit. I still reluctantly use Instagram, but I’ve decided I’m going to start posting reports to this page again as frequently as we are fishing.
Mid-December Report:
Fishing on the Inner Banks in the late fall is one of the most underrated times of the year. Right now we have 3 solid options for good fishing.
Option 1: Speckled Trout on the Pamlico/Pungo
The first option is our local speckled trout fishing in the creeks off the Pamlico and Pungo Rivers. There has been some decent action up the Pamlico near Washington, although it is not as consistent or as good as it was last year at this time. The best of it has been around the Belhaven area. Pungo and Pantego Creeks have both been productive as well as the upper reaches of the Pungo around the Leechville area. Colder water temps dipping down into the high 40’s with these colder nights have pushed these fish into a defined winter pattern. The fish tend to be deeper after cold nights and will migrate into shallower water as water temps warm into the low to mid 50’s midday on warm, sunny days. Slow presentations with suspending twitch baits is almost required to get a bite. Mirrolure MR-17’s, Yozuri 3DS baits, and other similar baits have been producing most of the fish. There are many fish in the 15-20″ range, with some nicer ones mixed in from time to time. We did have a guest catch a 23.5″ fish on clouser minnow and an 8 weight fly rod on a recent trip.
Option 2: Winter Stripers on the Lower Roanoke/Albemarle Sound
The second option is our winter striper fishing, which primarily occurs on the lower Roanoke River and Albemarle Sound. Since 2010, this has been our goto winter fishery and what keeps us in business throughout the year. Although not as epic as it used to be, it’s still very good. We normally don’t start this up until after the holidays, with January and February being the highlight of it. With a dry fall and low flows from the Roanoke recently, we anticipate our best fishing to be out in the sound. If the river starts to crank up, then many of those fish will move into the river for the winter. On better days, anglers can expect 50-100 or more fish. On slower days, we many only catch 15-30 fish. We primarily use soft plastic paddle tails and jerk baits on 1/4-1/2 ounce jig heads when in the river in 10-30 feet of water and larger 4-5″ swimbaits when out in the sound in shallower 2-10′ water. They also can be caught really well on the fly in certain situations when the fish are really schooled up. 8 weight fly rods with intermediate and sinking lines (depending on depth) are the best tools. Some days we find those fish schooling and feeding on bait balls under birds. If they stay up and organized long enough, it makes for some exciting fishing and high catch numbers.
Option 3: Winter Sightfishing for Redfish
The third option, which has quickly become my favorite, is the winter sight fishing for redfish. This is something new that we started last year and have been slowly dialing it in and exploring just how good and consistent it is. By mid-November every year when the air temps start to cool off at night and we have a few frosts, our water clears up substantially and remains clear all winter into the early spring, barring no huge inputs of rain. We also have a resident population of redfish that live in our estuary throughout the year. To take advantage of this, I have modified my 18′ flat bottom skiff, which in the past I’ve only used way up the river for shad and spring stripers, with a poling platform, a push pole, and a 2-person sight fishing tower mounted to the front deck of the boat. It’s a pretty awesome setup that enables us to slip up on fish in super shallow water and my anglers to really see what’s there. Your line of sight is about 12′ above the water, so it’s tough not to see any redfish that is cruising out ahead of the boat. Sometimes we see just single fish cruising or sitting and other times we might see schools of 100 or more fish all together. We have seen as many as 400-500 fish in a trip and caught as many as 40, but on a typical trip, we see about 150 and our goal is to catch 10. Sometimes we exceed that goal and sometimes we fall short. Everyday is a little different, as conditions play a huge role in our success. We need relatively clear skies and low winds for optimal success, although we have had some really good days in less that ideal light and wind conditions. A perfectly clear, sunny, calm, and cool high pressure day in the winter is perfect for this fishery. Most of our fish are in the 12-30″ range, with the most common size in the 22-25″ range this year.
