Some anglers prefer hard lures, while others prefer soft lures. But the larger specks typically strike hard-plastic lures and live baits. Top live baits for specks include pinfish, croaker, shrimp and peeler crab.

Specks may bite one particular lure or color pattern of that lure on a certain day and at a certain hour. Then, suddenly, they change their minds. This leads successful speck anglers to have dozens of options in their tackle boxes before they begin fishing. Scent impregnated artificial lures are increasingly the go-to lure for many anglers because of their added attracting power of scent to vibration, profile and color. Scent impregnated artificial lures have revolutionized speck fishing more than anything else, other than the recent phenomenon of incredible abundance.

Specks are subject to winterkill because Pamlico Sound is the northern extent of their historic spawning range. While the biggest specks are often caught in winter, they are actually warmwater fish, with protracted spawn occurring all spring and summer. Yearling fish have the potential to spawn once they reach 10 inches in length and a big 5-pound speck is usually a 3-year-old female.

Several warm winters have led to the current fantastic speckled trout fishing and it will continue as long as the sounds don't receive an arctic cold snap that lingers for a couple of weeks.

Anglers are catching specks everywhere. Jetties are the top draw, attracting so many boats that anglers must get there early to have an anchoring spot. But anglers also catch them by trolling along channel edges and grass beds and casting float rigs to docks and piers. Popping cork rigs are very popular for fishing live baits and jigs. They are float rigs that have a short sliding section of wire or monofilament with a bead stop on the top and bottom of the slide.

When the line is pulled, the beads slap against the float, making a popping sound that supposedly imitates the flipping of a shrimp and attracting the fish to the bait, which jumps up and down as the line is pulled and released, an action that also imitates a live shrimp.

BLACK DRUM
With the red drum limit at one fish, anglers who want to take home something to eat increasingly target black drum. While the two species sometimes occur together, the black drum is much more structure oriented.

Juvenile black drum make the best eating, up to a size of 20 pounds or so. The adult fish, while still flavorful, can become coarse textured and have parasites that make them appear unappetizing. Juveniles have vertical stripes like sheepshead and spadefish, but the more robust appearance and lack of external teeth, as well as chin barbells, quickly sort out the black drum from the other "convict fish."

The best bait for juvenile black drum is fresh shrimp. Fished on a bottom rig, float rig or jighead, a shrimp cast to a dock or oyster bed can result in a strike. At times, black drum occur in big schools, presenting anglers the chance for possible large catches. Surf-fishing and pier-fishing with shrimp, squid and other natural baits can result in good catches of the juvenile fish. The fish also strike jigs, flies and lures that imitate baitfish and shrimp in the backwaters.