March 31

Easter usually brings the first signs of the spring season, the same rings true for spring fishing. Our water temps will gradually start to rise, fluctuating up and down slightly depending on our roller coaster air temps. The higher the temps rise, the more bait and activity we will start seeing, starting the chain that will bring in the species that will make spring Fishing fun!

Redfish - Red Drum are schooled up in the marshes behind our barrier islands (Bogue Banks, Bear Island, Brown’s Island) in large groups. The fish schooled up are usually willing to chow down as long as anglers can get set up on them properly and not put too much pressure on the fish. Zoom Super Flukes, Zman Paddlerz, and GULP! Jerk Shads have been the favorites of schooling fish. For non-scented baits it is always a must that you add some sort of bait scent to your lures. Pro-Cure Bait Scents in blue crab, shedder crab, and inshore saltwater are all favorites of the fish. A large number of anglers are finding large numbers of fish in mainland creeks in the area. Fish are connecting to Carolina rigs tipped with chunks of mullet and bait shrimp. When anglers are finding themselves on a slow bite, floating live mud minnows under slip corks add a little extra flare to tempt the fish.

Speckled Trout - Speckled trout are being caught around the oyster rocks in the white oak river. 17MR & 18MR Mirrolures are favorites of the Speckled bellies. They also can’t get enough of a Golden Bream Zoom Salty Super Fluke. If anglers are luck enough this time of year to find themselves on a warm warning with little wind, a chartreuse Heddon Super Spook JR might even deliver them a trophy topwater trout.

Flounder -  Every single day we move close to warmer weather, our inshore flounder Fishing gets just a little better. Anglers are currently reporting keeping sized grounder being caught in many of the same places that red drum are being caught, on most of the same baits. Our in house flounder gigging captain will begin making trips this week with a more area-derailed report of the fish to follow.

Black Drum - Black Drum are being caught in the same mainland creeks that anglers are catching Puppy Drum in. Bait shrimp bring sunk in bottom rigs and scaled down Carolina rigs is the beast sure fire bait for the striped fish.

Pogie’s Fishing Center in Historic Downtown Swansboro has all your live, frozen, artificial baits, as well as all the gear you will need to make this spring fishing season a memorable and successful one!

Capt. Matthew Littleton