Swansboro

Give some more details...

Size of boat
What you'd like to fish for
Near shore/offshore
Ect.

Great people on this site, post up the extra info and you'll get plenty of help

I'm not familiar with that area or I'd be happy to assist

Sorry
Boat: MayCraft 1900
Size: 19'
Honestly I just want to catch a fish I have been trying for six months now with nothing. lol I think my wife is starting to rethink letting me spend anymore money on this hobby. Like I said i am extremely new.

That is a bay boat so you won't be able to get in the skinny water but with your motor up you should be able to pole or use your trolling motor in 12"-14" of water. The side creeks off the ferry channel going to Hammocks Beach, Cow Channel, West Channel, the formerly called African-American slur cut, Trout Creek, Schoolhouse Creek, Saunders Channel, Queens Creek up to the Bell Hole, the rocks in the White Oak....all are good places to fish

Also highly recommend that you pay for a one-day charter with Chris Sewell, Jeff Cronk, Rob Koraly, or Robert Hall

Have never fished Swansboro area, but SpeckHunter80 gave you the scoop on the good spots.
If I was limited to 4 lures for saltwater creeks, would use these;
1. 3"Gulp shrimp-use appropriate jighead for depth (and small popping cork at times. Just hop the Gulp across bottom,
2. Mirrorlure Top Pup -throw near bank and make a zig-zag retrieve back,
3. 4"Gulp paddletail type swimming minnow with appropriate jighead,
4. small finger mullet shade Chugbug- slow retrieve with occasionl pop (will also zig-zag , or, we say "walk" across surface).

These have produced for me from Manteo to Georgetown--and will produce stripers and bass in impoundments and coastal rivers also.

You could also trlr the boat over to Radio Island and bottom fish with bits of fresh shrimp or mullet minnows in the turning basin for grey trout and whiting.

I am really not an expert but this might get you started catching enough for some fresh fish frying.

plowhandle

Thanks a lot guys this was some help. At this moment Cant really afford to go on a charter, hopefully after my deployment I will though but untilthen I am going to be trying the tips and locations.

I realize that $300 is a big up front cost but how much is your fishing time worth and the gas you waste trying to figure out where to fish. You can split the cost with a buddy so it is only $150 each for a 4 hour charter. Or you can ride around and be fishblind for 2 months spending 60 hours not catching diddly burning 20 gallons in gas in your boat and 10 in your truck.

right you are. I actually ran out of gas last sunday. Not fun

Speckhunter80 is 100% correct regarding a 4-hr inside charter. You can learn more from a pro in 4 hrs than I learned in 10 yrs of trial and error. I wish many times that I had hired a charter back in the mid-70's when I first started inshore fishing. Like he said--split the cost. You will both enjoy it. Plowhandle