Even with the waves of cold fronts, snow and ice storms that have swept across North Carolina during January and February, a few weather breaks have given anglers recent chances to catch fish.
Most of those opportunities occur at the central and southern coasts, where temperatures generally are a little milder than farther north and inland. One such place has been lower Neuse River’s feeder creeks near Oriental.
“We’ve been catching speckled trout in the creeks,” said Ray Massengill, a long-time guide for George Beckwith’s Guide Service (252.670.9767). “We’ve had a few breaks in the weather, and afternoons on those days are the best times to go in the creeks and look for specks.”
With sunlight warming the water, specks become active and will chase lures, he said.
“I also believe (speckled) trout are starting to move because of all the fresh water coming into the (Neuse) river,” Massengill said. “It’s been slow, but if you stick with it you can catch some fish.”
Best spots to find specks are creeks that have areas with mud bottoms. They warm quicker than other spots and hold heat longer during daylight hours with sunshine. Massengill said mid to late afternoon is the best time to fish as waters will warm and hold heat after several hours of sunshine.
“We hit several different spots that had warmed up on the mud flats in 5 to 6 feet of water the other day in Goose Creek, places with darker bottoms,” Massengill said. “We caught specks that weighed from 2 to 4 pounds and one that went 7 pounds.”
Massengill said he used MR17 MirrOlures in the electric chicken color and Gulp! soft-plastic lures in the new penny color.
Other lower Neuse River feeder creeks with speckled trout include Dawson, Hancock and Broad.
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