THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 15, 1996 TAG: 9608140482
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Bob Hutchinson
LENGTH: 30 lines
If any fish can pull the chain of veteran offshore anglers, it is the white marlin. Many consider them the toughest billfish pound-for-pound, even though they rarely exceed 80 pounds.
They're usually more difficult to hook than either blue marlin or sailfish and, once hooked, can stage spectacular, leaping battles.
They can be in water anywhere from 20 fathoms (120 feet) deep to more than 1,000 fathoms (6,000 feet), well beyond the Continental Shelf.
When the wind along the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina is easterly, especially northeasterly, in August and September, whites can show in impressive numbers near the Cigar seamount. The spot is southeast of Rudee Inlet and northeast of Oregon Inlet, accessible to boats from both ports.
Some veteran anglers are convinced that the easterlies blow the fish ashore from way out in the ocean, even east of the Gulf Stream.
Others are just as convinced that easterlies draw the fish from the depths where they have been, luring them to the surface with clear, oxygen-rich water.
Perhaps easterly winds do both: draw the fish inshore from the depths and call them to the surface with attractive water.
Regardless, if there's an easterly blowing between now and the end of September, get a new spin on Horace Greely and go east, not west. Chances are you'll find white marlin near the Cigar. by CNB