Even when he’s targeting a really good bite on big red drum, guide Ricky Kellum always has his finger on the pulsed of the New River’s speckled trout, and October brings with it opportunities to catch them in New River Inlet.
Kellum said fishermen should key on tidal movement, being in position an hour before and after a tide change.
“If you don’t catch the tide right, it’s going to be tough; that water moves so fast,” said Kellum, who moves from the main channel of the inlet to the marsh edges and concentrates on the oyster beds there.
“I pull the boat right up on the marsh and get in a eddy where the tide is ripping on one side and calm on the other,” Kellum said, describing the tiny points and pockets that provide shelter for a boat. “In some places, the water drops to 12 feet or more right off the bank, and I fish the ledges there.”
Redfish can be found there, too, typically more shallow and cruising the marsh edge or milling around oysters that extend close to shore. These are usually slot fish, occasionally smaller, and can be taken with the same baits as trout.
“You can’t beat floating a live shrimp over the oysters for trout,” said Kellum, “but, you have to have a lot of them, because everything in the inlet loves shrimp. In the fall, when the pinfish thin out, it won’t be as bad.”
If you can’t find live shrimp with a cast net, there is still hope in artificials.
“You’ll have about a 30-minute standstill in between the tides; that’s when I like to throw a Storm shrimp,” Kellum said, describing an imitation shrimp with an internal weight that allows the bait to sink at a slower rate.
When the tide picks up, Kellum rigs a soft-plastic shrimp imitation on at least a 1/4-ounce jighead to get it down.
“Salty Bay Baits makes a shrimp that has legs, and in the current they shake. Pink is a good color,” said Kellum.
Be the first to comment