APRIL
CRYSTAL COAST INSHORE FISHING REPORT
April is the month that kicks off the fishing season. April is the month where cold nights give way to warm evenings and North winds switch to the South. As we get into the month of April, the water temps begin to rise out of the high 40’s and low 50’s to the high 50’s and low 60’s. The extreme spring low tides start to rise.
The fish of the month will be Speckled Trout. April is one of the best months of the year to land that trophy speck. The best areas to catch these fish will be in the extreme backwaters of the tidal rivers and creeks throughout the Crystal Coast. You will find these fish in the Neuse, New, and White Oak Rivers. Along with the rivers, specks can be found in the creeks off of Highway 24 like Broad, Gales, and Queens Creek. For the fish in the rivers and creeks, I start out by using a soft plastic bait and jig head combo. The jig head I typically use is a 1/8 oz. unpainted jig head by Strike King. As for the soft plastic bait, it is really hard not to go with Berkley Gulp. The jerk shad, pogy, swimming mullet, or shrimp will all work. The colors I use are the pearl, smelt, or smoke. Other good soft plastics to use are the Strike King Glass minnow or Zulu jerk bait. I typically use a slow retrieve with short snaps of the rod tip. Along with soft plastics, I use the Mirrodine by MirrOlure. This bait closely resembles a small pogey, which can be found this time of year in the backwaters. The Catch 2000, Strike King Wild Shiners, and any other suspending hard bait will work on spring time trophy Speckled Trout.
Another type of fish that you will be able to find in Bogue Sound and the marshes behind Emerald Isle, Bear, and Browns Island is the Schoolie Speckled Trout. I typically look for submerged oyster beds with drop-offs. I slowly work some of the many creeks winding through the marshes. All of these creeks will have deep holes in the bends. I quietly drift into the bends making long casts with gulps and MirrOlures. You can usually expect trout ranging from 1-4 lbs. A bonus fish you can expect to catch while fishing the tidal rivers and creeks are Striped Bass. Most of these fish will be on the smaller side ranging from 1-5 lbs. Striper will strike any of the baits you will be using for the Speckled Trout.
Speckled Trout are not the only fish getting active due to the warming water temps. Red drum will start to filter in from the inlets and inhabit their spring and early summer haunts. Unlike the winter months, you will find Redfish a little more scattered this time of year. Although it will not be uncommon to find a school of 50 or more fish, most schools will be around a dozen. You can start looking for these Reds in the marshes and flats behind Emerald Isle, Bear, and Browns Island. These fish will be a lot more aggressive than they were a month ago. I still use the soft plastic and jig head combo but my favorite bait for Redfish is the Redfish Magic by Strike King. This spinner bait is similar to the Beetle Spin. It allows you to cover a lot of water, which is the way to find these spring redfish. By the end of April, you can expect these fish to start exploding on topwater baits. My go to topwater bait is the TopDawg in the 808 color by MirrOlure.
Flounder will also start to show up in the month of April. You can pick up the occasional flounder while fishing for specks and reds. By the end of the month, you will start to catch a good number of fish on the near shore artificial reefs and live bottoms. You can usually pick these fish off by using 1.5 to 2.5 oz. buck tail jigs tipped will squid strips, soft plastics, and live mud minnows. Along with the flounder, you will catch the occasional keeper Sea Bass. April anglers can also expect to have some awesome catches of Bluefish as they come in on the southerly winds. The size range of these fish are typically 0-2 lbs. but they will attack your bait. These fish can be caught on just about anything such as Sting Silvers, Maria jigs, Gotcha plugs, etc.
All baits mentioned can be found at The Reel Outdoors located on Emerald Isle. You can find an online link to the Reel Outdoors by visiting Hall’em In Charters on the web at
www.hallemincharters.com and clicking on supporters!
Captain Robert Hall
Hall’em In Charters, Inc.
Website:
www.hallemincharters.comEmail: hallemincharters@yahoo.com
(910)330-6999
