As I type this, after a month of fishing on the Roanoke River, it is hard to believe June is almost here. June is a great month on the inshore! Speckled trout and red drum are hitting on topwater, flounder have moved into the waterways and are moving into the flats, Spanish mackerel will start to move to the inshore side of the inlets along with the occasional cobia and croakers move out of the ocean and into the inshore waters.
For me, that makes this a special month!
For drum and speckled trout, I like using Top Dogs Jr. and Skitter Walks in the smaller sizes. On very still, calm days I prefer lures without a rattle and will go to a Zara Spook. I donât worry about color so much other than the general rule: dark days, dark colors and bright days, light colors.
For flounder at this time of year, I like smaller baits when using live baits. Mud minnows, very small porgies or mullets are great now. Bottom slide rigs work well in the deeper water and donât overlook using a popping cork in the shallows and marsh edges. Buck tails with strip a strip bait of flounder belly or bunker, worked slowly over the bottom will be a steady producer. In soft plastic, anything that is purple with a chartreuse tail will put some into the boat.
When I see the Spanish move in, I like using small âGotchasâ in white with a chartreuse head and gold bodies on bright sunny days and silver with fluorescent orange heads on cloudy over cast days. Work them with a constant snap, snap, snap so it has a quick side to side motion. Trolling also works well with 00 RBM Clark Spoons but be aware that you are not the only boat out there. Some people will not look kindly on you there when you have lines stretched out in tight quarters.
For cobia, look for a rip near the mouth on the inshore side. If you find one with a deep hole, fish there. I like to fish three down on a bottom slip rig and one or two on top, light-lining them in the current. My bait of choice is bunker and next is fresh croaker sliced into chunks.
When the croaker move in, any two-hook bottom rig will work with the lightest sinker you can get away with. Cut squid on #1 hooks will work well at this time of year. Look for creek mouths and oysters and you should find the croakers.
Even though the water is warming up, it can still be cold for extended periods, so please be safe out there and look out for the other person, as they may not be looking out for you.
Capt. Lee Parsons
910-540-2464