Trout bite has been great in Swansboro area as waters cool

Soft-plastic baits fooling plenty of good-sized specks.

If you’re a saltwater fisherman, no month compares to October. Waters get cooler each day and put baitfish on the move, and all kinds of gamefish arrive to follow and eat them. Even better, gamefish that were juveniles during the spring and half-grown in summer are now big-shouldered, pot-bellied adults. A favorite October target is spotted seatrout, aka specks. And the magical water temperature, 71 degrees, has ignited the best trout bite of the year in the waters around Swansboro.

This past Monday, it took Capt. Robbie Hall of Hall ‘Em In Charters and one other fishermen in his boat only 30 minutes to put two four-fish limits of specks in the boat, and they all weighed between 2 ½ and 4 pounds.

Hall and a buddy, Tommy Jones, teammate up to fish a creek channel between two marsh islands, catching plenty of specks on a Zoom Smokin’ Shad Fluke and a 4-inch, pink D.O.A. shrimp.

Making the scene even more fun was Jones’ 18-month-old German shorthair pointer, Admiral, who was totally engrossed by trout fishing. Each time his master lifted a trout over the gunwale, Admiral froze in a lock-solid point.

 “I like October,” said Hall (910-330-6999). “Nearly everything’s chomping, especially the inshore specks. The kings (mackerel) finally turned on too, after six years, and people are catching them offshore.

“It’s just a good month all around.”