Ben Willis, aka “Core Sounder Ben” and teammate, Andrew, had a great day fishing the Neuse River Fisher of Men Tournament yesterday. They were just out of the money but are currently holding solid in the top 20. Keep your fingers crossed for our teams this tournament season!
“We never found the drum we needed , but we did find some decent trout in the last few hours before weigh in.” ~ Ben Willis
Above: Capt Ben (right) and Andrew (left) at the weigh in on Saturday during the NRFOM tourney.
As the water temps rise, you will notice that the drum/trout/flounder will be extremely tide dependent. With the warmer water temps, the bait will be pushed up into the creeks and back water tributaries, as well as up under shaded docks and other structures as the summer approaches. Top water is on fire in the early morning on the flats just outside of these creeks and fast moving, irratic swimming twitch baits (such as Bad Monkey’s 4” and 4.5” Topwater Walkers) are making a good showing as well. “Walking The Dog” is the method of choice among anglers this time of year when the water is still chilly but starting to warm up. Jig heads with paddle tails and “Slick” lures, with as little weight as possible, worked around mouths of smaller feeder creeks and points. Oyster beds are a top target area as well. Remember, if you see bait, the predators are not far.
Above: A nice bluefish caught by the crew in less than a foot of water while fishing the tourney.
As most know, Capt Ben is our inshore division team leader. He’s been in the shop honing his skills as a custom rod builder, specializing in inshore/light tackle rods. Go check his out his builds on Instagram/Facebook/Meta at “Core Sound Custom Rods.
Above: Capt. Ben’s personal custom build on a Rain Shadow blank with custom cork grip
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