THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 19, 1996 TAG: 9605160216
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 34 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Damon Tatem
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
A WIDE VARIETY of fish have been landed recently by pier fishermen along the Dare Coast.
Tailor bluefish, sea mullet, croaker, spot and speckled trout have been landed off and on from Kitty Hawk Pier. Quite a few gray trout, absent from area waters for several years, have made a reappearance. A good run developed May 13, lasting most of the morning.
Fishing also has been good on Avalon Pier. Gray trout weighing as much as 2 pounds were landed from the pier early May 8. Some sea mullet and bluefish also were taken. Good runs of bluefish were reported May 10 and 11 just after sunrise. Most of the bluefish were caught on double bucktail rigs.
Croaker, spot, sea mullet, tailor blues and small gray trout have been landed on Nags Head Pier off and on from May 9 through 14. The best bluefish and trout action has been in the early morning hours.
Fairly good catches of 1- to 2-pound bluefish have been reported from Outer Banks Pier. Some croaker, gray trout and sea mullet also have been taken sporadically. Good numbers of small spot and bluefish were landed from the pier during most of the day May 12.
South of Oregon Inlet, anglers on Rodanthe Pier caught some small blues, sea mullet, gray trout and toadfish May 10 and 11. A few 1 1/2-pound Spanish mackerel were taken, along with some small bluefish May 12 during the afternoon.
Avon Pier reported good bottom fishing May 8 but slow fishing the next several days. Fishing improved May 12, with a mixture of mullet, spot, croaker, gray trout and plenty of skates taken.
Frisco Pier reported the first Spanish mackerel of the season on May 10. The Spanish mackerel were taken on jiggers from 68-degree water.
A 23-pound king mackerel, also the first pier catch of its kind this year, was taken by Justin Curcia of Frisco on the same day. Pier anglers also have caught some bottom fish, small trout, a few blues and several puppy drum.
Although water temperatures have remained generally the same in the surf along the northern beaches, fishing has improved gradually. Some small bottom fish, a few bluefish and some gray trout have been hauled from the surf along the beach from Corolla to Oregon Inlet.
Some speckled trout were landed from the Off Island Channel behind Bodie Island Lighthouse May 10 early in the morning, but action in the area has been hit-or-miss recently.
Gray and speckled trout also were taken the following day from the south side of Oregon Inlet in the Green Island Slough area, but action was short-lived due to increasing southwest winds.
Anglers fishing from the catwalk and the revetment on the inlet's south side have caught small bottom fish, tailor blues and a few trout.
Surf fishermen from Oregon Inlet to Buxton have beached sea mullet, toadfish, small bluefish, croaker and an occasional puppy drum.
Fair numbers of big drum were caught from Cape Point during the night of May 10. Scattered drum of different sizes were landed May 11 and 12 during daylight hours. Fishing was slow at Cape Point May 13 and 14.
Some nice flounder have been taken, along with scattered sea mullet, along the beach south of the Cape.
Some good catches of big drum have been reported by night fishermen in the False Point area.
Small bluefish, sea mullet, scattered trout and flounder have been caught by surf fishermen from Ramp 55 to Hatteras Inlet.
Some Spanish mackerel weighing as much as 7 pounds have been taken by boaters trolling in Hatteras Inlet.
Fishing has been pretty good recently in Croatan Sound. Plenty of croaker and some 14- to 15-inch gray trout were landed by anglers using shrimp May 10. Striped bass are still plentiful in the area, but must be released.
Blue water fishing off Oregon Inlet has been fair. A few big yellowfin tuna have been reported, such as an 86-pounder taken May 11 aboard the Smoker. Most of the fish, however, have been small.
Dolphin fishing has been improving. A few limits of dolphin were taken May 10 and 11.
A blue marlin was released May 10 by the Hog Wild, and a sailfish was released by the Smoker May 12. Blue marlin were released May 13 by the Hooker and the Daredevil, and two sailfish by the First Crack.
Charters off Hatteras have landed fair numbers of yellowfin tuna, dolphin and wahoo recently. Yellowfin tuna action was pretty good near the Diamond Shoals Light Tower May 13.
Wahoo also were plentiful in the area. Blue marlin were released by the Release and the Good Times.
Blue marlin fishing should improve in the Gulf Stream by the end of the month. MEMO: Damon Tatem covers Outer Banks fishing for The Carolina Coast. Send
comments and questions to him at P.O. Box 10, Nags Head, N.C. 27959.
by CNB