Top-Drawer Trout

Snead’s Ferry is the center of some of the best fall fishing for specks on the entire coast.

Trapped between Morehead City and Wilmington lies a quaint fishing village nestled against the stained waters of the New River estuary.

Rich in sea life, the waters surrounding Snead’s Ferry sustain a seafood industry that brings nearly 1,000 tons of fish and shellfish to the docks annually. The fertile waters feature an incredible forage base that fuels one of the best year-around speckled trout fisheries along the entire coast.

And the compact New River estuary receives relatively little attention from anglers around North Carolina. Speckled trout in these waters gobble up the bait and quickly reach colossal sizes. In fact, Rendell Kellum landed the state-record speckled trout from these waters more than 35 years ago. Kellum’s 11-pound, 10-ounce trout reigned supreme until John R. Kenyon Jr. of Wrightsville Beach landed a 12-pound, 4-ounce beast several years later.

The New River is the only river system in the nation where the headwaters and its mouth exist within the same county, meandering just about 40 miles along its way. But the last 18 miles, from the city of Jacksonville to New River Inlet, is where the speckled trout live and where Capt. Ricky Kellum, aka “The Speckled Specialist,” calls home.

A native of Jacksonville, Kellum began fishing these waters soon after he learned how to walk, getting his lessons from his father, Rendell — who held the state record so long ago. While many species interest the Kellum family, the speckled trout runs deep in its roots.

Kellum believes the next state-record speck will come from the waters around Snead’s Ferry.

“This area is hugely populated by baitfish, especially menhaden and shrimp, for most of the year, and specks take advantage of these conditions gorging themselves and growing to trophy size,” said Kellum, whose charters regularly land citation speckled trout and have, in fact, put two trout over 10 pounds from the Snead’s Ferry area.

Capt. Walter Bateman of Coastal Carolina Guide Service believes the man-made and natural structure found in the New River keeps the fish well-fed and plump as well.

“Big schools of small menhaden are prevalent in the spring and summer, and large shrimp hold around the bridge pilings, stumps, and old fallen trees,” he said. “There is a lot of structure that makes great habitat for trout.”

Fall is a prime time for inshore and offshore fisheries along the coast. The rich New River estuary is a nursery ground for croaker, menhaden, spot, pink and brown shrimp. Falling water temperatures and possibly a shorter photoperiod send out a biological signal to the prey populations holding refuge in the grass and oyster-laden nursery areas. On standby and preparing to migrate offshore, baitfish and shrimp collaborate in the main channels and prepare to leave. Trout and other predators are one step ahead, pouncing on these juicy morsels.

The lower section of river, from Jacksonville to the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), is wide, two to three miles in places. Fortunately for anglers, it has extensive, shallow shoals extending far from the shoreline, drastically reducing the areas that need to be searched out for schools of big fall specks.

Forage fish and shrimp hold along these shoals, hiding on the oyster-laden flats, grassy points, and submerged structure. As the tide drops outs, the current sweeps these tasty critters into the deeper waters where the trout await. Kellum targets these drop-offs.

“I prefer the drops in front of oyster bars on points or ledges with a quick 2- to 6-foot change in depth. Most trout will be holding on the edges of these bars, waiting for their meals to appear.”

Kellum has no problem declaring his love for oyster-laden points. He fishes several familiar points along the river reach between Jacksonville and Snead’s Ferry, such as Rhodes Point and Town Point.

When not camped out along these ledges and points, Kellum fishes other deepwater structure areas, especially where the current is swift. The NC 172 bridge is one of the best all-around trout spots in the fall.

“The bridge abutments gives the fleeing baitfish something to hide around, but the trout will stack up there heavy in the fall,” he said.

Bateman prefers the NC 172 and the US 17 Bypass bridges in the fall, but he’ll hit the wood along the shorelines starting in late summer. “There are lots of stumps and old fallen trees in the shallows that host the shrimp, and the trout will be close by,” he said.

Tides and currents play a pivotal role in locating and catching trout. The tides expose and flood shallow areas, but the tidal current only rises or lowers the the water depth along the deeper river channel. With this in mind, the tide will play a more important role in shallow spots than along the deep river channel.

Bateman prefers to fish the falling tide and concentrates on creek mouths and oyster points. In deeper water along the river channel and near the bridges, moving water seems to be the key, regardless if the water is high or low. Sometimes, Bateman finds schools of trout laid up in deep impressions in small creeks off the main channel where moving water is scarce.

Finding and locating trout may present subtle challenges, but bait and lure choices are quite clear. Trout love shrimp, and the estuaries are packed full of plump pink and brown shrimp. Live shrimp floated off the bottom undeniably are deadly. In addition to shrimp, finger mullet and small menhaden are highly-favored. Any of these baits immediately meet trouble when presented in trout territory. Kellum attaches his baits to floats and will suspend them from near the bottom all the way to within a couple of feet of the surface.

Any artificial lure resembling shrimp, finger mullet or menhaden is also ideal. Kellum prefers shrimp imitations in the fall. He likes the Berkeley Ghost Shrimp in natural color, dipped in chartreuse Berkeley Bio-Dip and other shrimp imitations, such as Betts’ Billy Bay Halo Shrimp or Storm’s Wildeye Shrimp in pink and chartreuse.

“The Bio-Dip gives the lure a brilliant chartreuse coloration that seems to get the attention of more trout,” he said.

Kellum ties his lures directly to his line and casts into shallow areas, allowing the current to sweep the lure into deep water. Trout pick up the lures just as they roll off the edge of the ledges into the deeper water.

Bateman’s all-time favorite trout lure in the fall is the Saltwater Assassin Phantom Paddle Tail in salt and pepper. “You can fish it fast or slow, and the tail just has incredible motion that really seems to trigger strikes,” he said.

Bateman will also use shrimp imitations, including DOA Shrimp in tea green and Berkeley’s Power Shrimp in white.

Hard baits are also making a comeback, with the Mirrolure MR 17 reigning supreme. The bait almost has a zero buoyancy, allowing it to endure an erratic stop-and-go retrieve that resembles a crippled baitfish.

“(It) has been a good bait the last couple of years for us because it is almost the exact shape and size as all the peanut pogies that are piled up within the area,” Bateman said.