Wrightsville Beach, NC Fishing Forecast-November 2022
So far, a pretty mild Fall, a few cooler days but overall mild. We really need some cool air to get the fall fishing really going. Especially the local Speckled trout bite, I have had a handful of nice trout during October but not the numbers I like to see. November is going to be special this year for local trout fishing, you better be ready; it is going to be good I believe.
In early to mid-November, I look for Speckled trout in the creeks and channels just off the ICW; anywhere water is moving with tide flow and bait. Speckled trout like current; weather its hard current in a main channel or light current up a creek. You need current flow to catch trout; rising and falling tide can be good for trout do not let the tide keep you from going trout fishing! Marsh grass lines, oyster rocks that run into a channel and drop-offs in channels are all good places to find Speckled trout in November. Almost any grass lines with oysters will hold some trout. Look for places where there is a slight current break and those trout will be close by. Later in November all the above places will still hold trout and the inlets will start to hold more trout as the month goes on.
One key point to trout fishing I have found is that most days Specks will bite, but what are they hitting that day? I have found that in November hard baits work well. This is when you need to know where to start; what lures to try? One of my favorites is the good’ole MirrOlure; it has been around a long time, and it is still catching lots of big trout. The series I prefer are the 17MR & 22MR (Catch 2000jr) suspending, 18MR, 51M and 52MR sinking baits. Colors; MirrOlure makes a lot of different colors but here are some of my go too colors around Southeast NC area waters. MirrOlure color codes: 11, 21, 26, 51, 704,706, CFPR, CH, EC, HP and Capt. Jot Custom color #1, #2 and #3 color in 17MR, #1 in 22MR & 52MR. Any local tackle shop can help you with these color codes or at MirrOlure.com. Fishing Depths to use these lures; 17MR & 22MR use these lures in two to six feet of water. 18MR, 51M & 52MR use these lures in four to fifth-teen plus feet of water with current. If your lure is hitting the bottom go to a shallower running lure.
If you have ever done any trout fishing at all you know that grub (soft plastic) lures work very well for Speckled trout too! Berkley Gulp three-inch shrimp pattern is one of my go-to lures. I prefer colors sugar spice glow, pearl white, chartreuse and I really like the new sangria color. I also really like the Berkley Powerbait Pro Twitchtail minnow in three-inch colors Chartreuse Ice, Pink Ice and pearl white. I rig all my trout grubs on 1/16oz, 1/8oz and 1/4oz jigs heads in colors red or gray; I prefer Berkley Fusion jig heads.
Do not count out live bait if you enjoy fishing with it. Try live smaller mullets, mud minnows and live shrimp. In shallow waters of two to five feet I like to float these live baits with a cork and a small treble hook (#6). In deeper waters of six to ten plus I rig them on light Carolina rigs with a small number two J-hook Eagle claw L42. Just wait until you feel that trout take off with the bait and lightly set the hook, remember trout have very soft mouths fast hooks sets but with light power work best!
Here is one of my best tips I can give you for Speckled trout fishing around the Southeast NC area in November. The water gets clear, sometimes very clear around here in November. I always use Fluorocarbon leaders for Speckled trout fishing; for artificial as well as live bait fishing! You will catch more trout using fluorocarbon leader; trust me! I use Berkley Pro Spec fluorocarbon leader material in twenty- and thirty-pound test. Give it a try; you will be happy you did!
The bigger Reds (Bulls) start to show up in the ocean on hard bottoms and around the inlets during September and run until later November; this year has been a good early fall Bull Red bite. You never know when you might hook one of these hard fighting fish. When I fish for bigger Reds, I use fresh cut or live menhaden and mullet. I use fish finder rigs with a TroKar TK5 AP 8/0 or 9/0 circle hook and eighty-pound Berkley Big game mono leaders. Do not forget to keep your drag tight when using circle hook so they will do their job. One tip I can give you when fishing for Bull Reds, is do not use to light of tackle for these bigger Reds. If you fight them to long, there is a chance you can tire them out too much and kill them. Try a med/heavy rod and a reel with at least thirty-pound mono or braid, this will help you get the fish in quicker; with a better chance of a good release. Check to see if the Redfish has a yellow tag in its back; there are a fair amount of tagged Big Reds out there.
If you like to catch Bluefish and False Albacore there are just about as many as you like around during November. Fishing around and just outside of the inlets you should be able to find them. Casting metal jigging spoons like BigNic Spanish Candy’s or diamond jigs is a no brainer for getting some Bluefish. Just look for the birds working and cast in that area. Watch those Blues teeth they do bite hard!
Tackle run down: PENN Battle III DX, Slammer IV or Authority Spinning reels sizes 2000, 2500 & 3000 for the Speckled trout. Rods Fenwick HMG Inshore series rods in 7’ & 7’6” med/light and medium action; line Spiderwire Ultra-cast in eight, ten and fifth-teen pound braid. Bull Reds PENN Fathom II 20LW and PENN Carnage III Jigging Rods 30 to 80 class with 30-pound Pro Spec chrome mono. Tackle Storage system I prefer is the Plano Guide series in 3700 and 3700XL Tackle Bags with Plano EDGE stowaway Boxes inside.
*Keep your eyes on my FaceBook page for I will be releasing the two dates of my inshore fishing schools later this month. I will have one school day on a March Saturday and one on an April Saturday. This school is limited to 32 anglers each date and it will sell out within two days of release date.
Thanks for reading, good luck fishing and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Capt. Jot Owens
www.captainjot.com
910-233-4139
