Speckled trout fishing at its peak in Atlantic Beach area

Surf fishing has been great with MirrOlures; specks also biting in inside waters

Courtesy Capt. Matt Lamb

Cindy Caudle of Hickory caught the 3-pound speckled trout fishign with Capt. Matt Lamb of Chasin' Tails Outdoors.

Even if you have not developed the feel for catching speckled trout, they are biting so well in the Atlantic Beach area you can still catch limits and release a bunch. It really is time to quit wishing and go fishing.

Capt. Matt Lamb of Chasin’ Tails Outdoors said fishermen are catching trout everywhere in the waters around Atlantic Beach and Morehead City, especially in the surf. Lamb said the past few weeks have seen exceptionally fishing.

“I’ve been talking to some of the old-timers, and they are saying this is the best trout fishing in the surf they can remember,” Lamb said. “The fish aren’t all large, but there are some nice ones. Most are about 17 to 19 inches, and they are biting hard.”

Lamb (252-240-3474) said almost all of the surf fishermen are catching most of their fish on MirrOlures, but the variety of styles and colors is amazing.  Some were doing well with the small MR series – the MR 17 that suspends and the MR 18 that runs deep. Many are also using the 52M and TT series that are usually considered the primary lures for the surf.

 

“What has been interesting is how the weather has affected the trout,” Lamb said. “Early last week, they were biting good, and then (they) slowed when the nice weather came in over the weekend. On Tuesday, they started biting again during the rain and picked up more with the wind on Wednesday and Thursday. If wind and rain are the keys, they should bite real well this weekend.”

 

Lamb said the trout were also biting real well in the inland marshes and creeks. One of his charters this week caught (and released) well over a hundred trout. One of the biggest keys to catching the inside trout is to find a spot where the current is moving bait past the fish. Live shrimp has been the best bait, with mullet minnows second; Gulp! shrimp in white and new penny colors have been the top-producing artificials.