Pamlico County Fishing and Hunting Report

Old Drum and Slot Drum are Everywhere….

September 3, 2014 By Keith Smith

We are in peak season for the old drum spawn in the Neuse River and the Pamlico Sound. Fisherman using poppin’ corks and bottom fishing are cruising the waters of the Neuse from below New Bern to Brant Island Shoal in the Sound. One of your biggest decisions is do you go right or left as you leave the Oriental harbor and enter the Neuse. One thing that is for certain is that Oriental is in the center of the action. Whether you catch a 50” trophy fish or a keeper slot size puppy drum (18”-27”), you should catch something. This boy was not a trophy but he will sure be good blackened.

don’t let the big one get away…

Capt. Bobby Brewer

www.baldheadedbobby.com

It is Old Drum Time….part three and last

August 29, 2014 By Keith Smith

We use two methods to catch old drum; bottom fishing and subsurface fishing. For bottom fishing we use the Owen Lupton rig. The Owen Lupton rig consists of a no. 8-10 circle hook with a 5” 50# leader and a 3oz.-4oz. egg sinker. Bait the hook with mullet or menhaden steaks for the best results. Ideally you will have multiple rods and spread your baits at various depths on the ledges and drops. Make sure that you check your bait every 10 minutes as we have a lot of bait stealers in the water. For subsurface fishing we use popping corks. The popping cork makes sounds like bait fish breaking the water and attracts the old drum. The rig consists of a popping cork with about 2’ of 50# leader attached to a no. 5-7 weighted hook. Attach your favorite grub or paddletail to the hook and head for the drops. When you find bait on the surface, cast and stop popping. Good luck catching that trophy fish and……

Don’t let the big one get away….

Capt. Bobby Brewer

www.baldheadedbobby.com

It is Old Drum Time….part two

August 29, 2014 By Keith Smith

When they arrive, old drum cruise the ledges and drops in search of food. This is where charts come in handy. NOAA Chart 11552 shows the Neuse River from New Bern, past Oriental to Orchard Creek. Chart 11548 shows the Neuse from Oriental to the Pamlico Sound. If you are going to be successful old drum fishing, you will need both charts. I keep both charts in my boat, not only for navigational purposes in case my gps goes out, but to find ledges for fishing. A popular spot for old drum fishing is Garbacon Shoal. Follow the southeast heading out of the Oriental channel and you will cross the river and run into it. Note on the chart the depth of 7’-8’ on the shoal and 16’-17’ beside the shoal. The quick drop in depth indicates a ledge in the water. Scan the charts for other locations like this. Locate these and you will locate the fish. Part three will review how to catch the fish now that you have found them.

Don’t let the big one get away….

Capt. Bobby Brewer

www.baldheadedbobby.com

It is Old Drum Time….part one

August 8, 2014 By Keith Smith

The Neuse River and the Pamlico Sound are breeding grounds for giant old red drum in August and September. Although some old drum stay around all year, early August is migration time for the fish to arrive from the ocean for spawning. That makes mid-August thru September prime catching times. The slot size for red drum is 18”-27” with a daily limit of one. The giant old red drums during this spawning time are 40”-60” and far exceed the slot limit. They are truly trophy fish. Because they are the spawning stock for the 1-3 year old puppy drums that stay around the area year round, we have to take care of them. Catch and release is strictly enforced. We use three main tactics to catch old drum…but you will have to wait for part two to understand them. In the meantime, purchase a chart of the local waters and I will tell you where to look.

Don’t let the big one get away….

Capt. Bobby Brewer

www.baldheadedbobby.com

Honey, I will be late for dinner….

July 21, 2014 By Keith Smith

I went fishing Saturday with the reigning Oriental Tarpon Tournament winner, Henry Frazer, and we took a beating. It was not a good day for tarpon fishing with winds out of the NE 15-20 but I had chores to do on Sunday, so Saturday was it. After 4 hrs. of getting beat up in the boat, we decided lunch at M&M’s was a better option. Sunday was chore day and wouldn’t you know it, the water was grease flat. I knew some of my buddies were going to catch some tarpon and I felt kinda bummed about it. By the afternoon my chores were done and when I stepped out of the shower from cleaning up, I noticed that I had missed a call from one of the local guides, Capt. Greg Voliva of Four Seasons Guide Service. I called him back and he said he was going to run to the Sound and look for tarpon and asked if I wanted to go. Well my wife was walking the dog and the lasagna for dinner was in the oven….of course I wanted to go. The note sums it up. I stepped onto Greg’s boat at 6pm. and stepped back out onto my dock at 9pm. In between we got hit by two tarpons. We did not get a hook set on the first one. On the second one I heard Greg yell “…there it is” and he headed to the rod on the starboard stern only to stop abruptly. The tarpon was in the air heading toward the stern of the boat. A smart man does not run toward a 100+ pound tarpon, five feet in the air, gills flared, heading straight at him. The tarpon missed the boat and the slight delay made us miss the hook set. Hey, that’s tarpon fishing. Oh yeah, I will be having left over lasagna for lunch today.

Don’t let the big one get away….

Capt. Bobby Brewer

www.baldheadedbobby

A fist full of fish….and free parking by Captain Bobby Brewer

July 8, 2014 By Keith Smith

Over the July 4^th holiday, Oriental was alive with visitors from several states attending our Croaker Fest celebration. For a small city with limited public parking, finding a prime parking spot was challenging if you didn’t know where to look. I found one just fine. I had no valet service. I had no parking attendants. All I had were shorelines, flounders, puppy drum and speckled trout. Instead of eating fried dough and cotton candy, I went on a kayak fishing trip up the river and into several creeks. The Neuse River flows downriver from southwest to northeast as it passes by Oriental. If you pay attention to the wind and head in the correct direction, it will push you…albeit some paddling required. On Sunday the light northeast wind provided much of my push as I started several creeks away from Oriental and fished my way upriver to the past Oriental. My reward was a fist full of fish….and free parking.

…don’t let the big one get away

Capt. Bobby Brewer