THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508100242
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 46 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Tight Lines
SOURCE: Damon Tatem
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Blue water action in the Gulf Stream off the Dare coast has been good recently.
Dolphin catches have rebounded after a slow period. Small school fish have been abundant around grassy tide lines as close as 10 miles offshore. Some larger dolphin also have been reported, including fish weighing 35 and 58 pounds taken by the Dream Girl out of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center Aug. 5. Fair numbers of wahoo have been landed, but tuna have been very scarce.
Billfishing has been good, with most of the action well northeast of Oregon Inlet. Around 50 billfish were released by the Oregon Inlet fleet Aug. 1. Top boats were the Temptress with six white marlin releases and the Pelican with four white marlin and two sailfish releases. Marlin fishing slowed by Aug. 6, due to strong southwesterly winds. By Aug. 7, the winds had shifted to northeast and increased enough to keep the charter fleet at the dock for a couple of days.
Dolphin fishing off Hatteras has been excellent with plenty of bailers and gaffers taken. Quite a few wahoo in the 20- to 30-pound class were landed below the rock pile on Aug. 1 and 2. Billfishing has been fairly good in the area. A good showing of fish was reported south of the rock pile around the 950 Loran line on Aug. 5.
Inshore trolling around Oregon Inlet has been spotty. Limits of Spanish mackerel were landed on Clark Spoons on Aug. 2, but fishing became slow on subsequent days. A few drum have been taken on flats west of the Oregon Inlet bridge. Some also have been caught in the ocean. Anglers aboard the Sinbad landed a limit of medium-sized fish outside the inlet Aug. 4.
Speckled trout fishing has been fairly good in sloughs in the sound south of Oregon Inlet. Action also has been excellent in holes on the west side of Duck Island. A popping cork followed by a twister or live shrimp has been the best bait.
Headboats operating in the Oregon Inlet area have been catching lots of croaker, both in sound channels and in the ocean in areas with a rough bottom. Some catches of triggerfish and nice sea bass have been taken from offshore wrecks.
Surf fishing from Corolla to Oregon Inlet has been typical of this time of year. Fair numbers of croaker, spot and a few mullet have been beached.
A mixture of small bottom fish have been landed along the beach from Rodanthe to Buxton. At Cape Point, a few Spanish mackerel, tailor blues and bottom fish have been beached. Some puppy drum have been taken at night. Lots of croaker, some keeper gray trout and scattered mullet have been landed by surf fishermen from Frisco to Hatteras Inlet.
Pier fishing along the northern beaches has been fair.
Anglers on Kitty Hawk Pier have caught primarily small bottom fish. Some spot, croaker and small bluefish have been landed on Avalon Pier.
Small croaker and flounder have been landed daily on Outer Banks Pier. A 2 1/4-pound sea bass was taken from the pier Aug. 6.
On Hatteras Island, piers have reported small bottom fish, bluefish and a few trout landed over the weekend. Rough seas slowed most action in the area on Monday. Several nice puppy drum, a fish that prefers rough surf conditions, were taken from Rodanthe Pier late Monday afternoon.
Fishing along the beach should improve as seas subside. by CNB