Inshore Hatteras · Pamlico Sound
Speckled Trout
Cynoscion nebulosus · also called Spotted Seatrout, Specks
Cooler-water fish. The four-man limit days happen in spring and late fall.
Speckled trout are a cooler-water fish that show up strong in March, push through May, then return in October and stay biting through the first hard freeze. Pamlico Sound grass beds and creek mouths hold them tight.
Light tackle is the play. Soft plastic on a jighead, popping corks over the grass, live shrimp when we can get it. A keeper trout is 14 inches in North Carolina, and a four-man limit (each angler keeps four) is realistic on a good day.
These are the trips where customers ask to take the fish home cleaned. We oblige.
Repeat customer quote: "4 man limit of Speckled Trout and then went after Sheepshead."
When to book
Speckled Trout season at a glance.
Book a speckled trout trip
Target speckled trout with Captain Doug.
Half-day or full-day. Out of Teach's Lair, Hatteras NC. Call Doug to confirm peak-season dates.
More target species
