Soft-plastic lures fished on jigheads are old standbys for specks. Since specks change the colors they prefer on a whim, it’s easier to carry dozens of different colors of soft-plastic tails and jigheads when compared with having boxes of hard-plastic lures along. There has probably been more of a revolution in soft-plastic speck trailers than any other type of saltwater lure. Every day, it seems, some manufacturer is coming up with a new color, lure style or new scent-impregnated bait that is tailor-made for the speck anglers.

Nevertheless, when all else fails, live shrimp or small baitfish are the ticket. A mud minnow fished on a float rig or a bottom rig where there’s hard structure is likely to invite a bite from a speck.

New River has been a hotspot for several seasons. But the Fort Macon and Cape Lookout rock jetties, the Wrightsville Beach Jetties, the piers lining Pamlico Sound, Bald Head Island, Lockwood’s Folly River, and many other speck hotspots are located throughout the state’s inshore waters. At Topsail Beach, anglers catch some mighty nice specks from the surf. The Yaupon and Ocean Crest piers, as well as the Southport City Pier, are also excellent places to catch specks.

SPANISH MACKEREL
Spanish swarm the inlets in summer and, when they’re in a feeding frenzy, will strike anything pulled or reeled fast. Tube lures rigged in multiples will land plenty of fish fast when trolled through schooling fish. Spoons are old standbys and they can be trolled behind planers or trolling sinkers to take them deep or on the surface using a surface commotion-maker called a “bird.”

Birds and planers are used when the fish are finicky, which tends to occur around midday. Spanish mackerel bite best at dawn and dusk and this fact is not lost on pier-anglers.

Pier-fishermen cast metal jerkbaits from the piers. They use light metal leaders to protect their lures against loss from the sharp teeth of Spanish mackerel.

Anglers spot jumping fish and cast to them. But sometimes birds diving on the baitfish Spanish mackerel drive to the top is the first thing that alerts anglers the fish are there.

The biggest Spanish mackerel are caught by anglers who use live baits. Menhaden and mullet are caught with cast nets and kept alive in livewells or bait buckets. Trophy mackerel school at the inlet bars or on nearshore hard bottoms and reefs.

The baitfish is hooked through the nose with a small treble hook and tossed over the side. If there’s a Spanish mackerel anywhere around, the helpless baitfish will disappear in a boil and the reel drag will start screaming. Anchoring over a reef and putting a live bait on the bottom for flounder and another one on top to attract a Spanish mackerel is a popular way of fishing.

GRAY TROUT
Gray trout might be caught anywhere there are speckled trout. However, they occur in their greatest numbers on nearshore ledges and artificial reefs, while specks live in the inlets, beaches and estuaries.

The most popular way of finding gray trout is to cruise above the bottom structure while watching the depthfinder screen. Sometimes gray trout schools are seen on the screen. However, just as often, they’re not seen. The angler is tipped off by the presence of baitfish schools.