Neuse river NC 2/4/20:

[AndyS]

Took the 30 minute drive over to the Neuse river tailrace from Falls lake near Raleigh. Temps. yesterday were in the 70's and in the mid 60's this morning with slight overcast. Place looked fishy and had read some decent reports from this spot so gave it a shot. Water clarity wasn't great, had a heavy stain to it. Fished my black jig for a few hours and moved around a bit, nothing. Wondering if I should have switched to lighter colors. No one was fishing until I saw a fly guy setting up as I was getting ready to leave, he had a white streamer tied on. Even on the gin clear South Holston the guide recommended using lighter colors other than black. Anyway it seems the majority of the lakes around here are shallow and have clay/sand bottoms which makes the water grey. The discharge water had the strangest "lake" smell and there were also quite a few dead crappies, sucked through the discharge, I dunno. I'll definitely hit this spot again with Rapalas and shad darts ! Just down river a bit is a nice canoe launch area.
Closest trout river to me is the Smith in Virginia, about a 2 hr. drive.

[bigfishy]

That launch ramp is callin ur name!!!!what were the water temps???

[thmyorke1]

look at all that water 30 min away is good. hope the fish start biting for those jigs

[tautog]

Lots of small wild browns in the Smith.

[Billfish715]

Go west young man. Head to Cherokee Indian Reservation. Great trout fishing opportunities on streams much like some of the NJ streams. Nothing like the Raritan but more like the waters in northern NJ. A bit of a drive but you can make a day/night of it by staying at Harrah's on the reservation.

[AndyS]

I see the strangest posts coming from the Cherokee. First of all the permit situation is a mess, far more than what I care to figure out. The bag limits are a liberal 10 fish per person per day. Seems like people that can't catch a cold or their asses with two hands fish there because the holes are packed with trout. The Indians have hatcheries and stock ponds also that have a NO catch and release, almost like hatchery fishing. Thanks for the advice but may skip it and try the Smith and the Catawba.

[Lard Almighty]

The Eno River looks like it could be promising. Plenty of access, and most of it seems to have a rocky bottom. No trout, but there are largemouth and red-eye bass, and the usual assortment of panfish. Could be a closer option if you don't feel like driving 2+ hours to trout fish.