THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 24, 1996 TAG: 9609240287
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
COLUMN: FISHING ON THE OUTER BANKS
SOURCE: Damon Tatem
LENGTH: 68 lines
Pier fishing along the northern beaches was slow Saturday, but improved before the weekend ended.
Kitty Hawk Pier reported a few scattered spot landed Saturday. Fishing was slow Sunday morning, but got better during the afternoon with plenty of spot, some nice sea mullet and a few Spanish mackerel taken.
Avalon Pier anglers caught a few Spanish mackerel, small bluefish, spot and sea mullet off and on Saturday and Sunday.
Fishermen on Nags Head Pier landed a few spot, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, black drum and a couple of pompano Saturday and Sunday.
Fishing was slow on Jennette's Pier Saturday, but picked up Sunday with plenty of nice spot landed throughout the day.
A few small bottom fish, several Spanish mackerel and a 2-pound, 3-ounce pompano were taken Saturday on Outer Banks Pier. Action was slow Sunday.
South of Oregon Inlet, fishermen on Rodanthe Pier caught a few bluefish, Spanish mackerel, pompano, scattered sea mullet and a 19-pound albacore Saturday. Good catches of spot were reported Saturday night. Some spot, mullet, small blues and a handful of Spanish mackerel were taken Sunday.
Fishing was slow on Avon Pier, with only a few small bottom fish taken during the weekend.
Little action was reported from Frisco Pier either Saturday or Sunday.
Surf fishermen found spot fishing to be fairly good in deeper sloughs along the beach from Corolla to Oregon Inlet.
Some nice spot, sea mullet and a few pompano were beached in the surf on he north side of Oregon Inlet. Some large croaker were landed under the bridge on the north side and small bottom fish and a few trout were taken from the revetment and catwalk on the south side.
Scattered spot, croaker, sea mullet, small black drum and some pompano were landed by surf fishermen from Rodanthe to Buxton throughout the weekend.
Some puppy drum were taken Saturday morning at Cape Point. Pompano weighing more than 2 1/2 pounds were landed during the day along with a few flounder and small bluefish. Big croaker and small bluefish were caught at Cape Point Sunday.
Croaker and gray trout were taken in the Hatteras Inlet area Friday night. A few mullet, flounder and small pompano were landed along the beach from Frisco to Hatteras Inlet Saturday. Fishing in the area was slow Sunday.
Good king mackerel fishing was reported by charters a short distance off Oregon Inlet Saturday and Sunday. Most of the king mackerel weighed between 6 and 12 pounds and were taken on spoons. Quite a few albacore also were taken, but Spanish mackerel were scarce.
Good catches of flounder and gray trout were reported by private boaters drift fishing in Davis Slough Sunday.
Yellowfin tuna fishing off Oregon Inlet was fairly good Saturday. Although some fish were landed around the point, the best action was northeast of the inlet. A few billfish were released, including three white marlin by the Temptress and two white marlin by the Surfside.
Tuna action was good Sunday between the 40950 and the 41100 Loran lines. A number of white marlin were released in the area, including three by the First Crack. Some good dolphin fishing was reported south of the inlet.
Charters off Hatteras Saturday caught plenty of wahoo weighing as much as 50 pounds, some nice yellowfin tuna and good numbers of bailer dolphin. Sailfish were released by the Sea Creature, the Top Billing and the Release.
Wahoo fishing was excellent again Sunday, with as many as six fish taken per boat. Dolphin fishing was also good, and a few scattered tuna were taken. A sailfish was released by the Marlin Mania.
King mackerel fishing should improve for intermediate charter trips as water temperatures drop.
The water temperature was 72.5 degrees Monday at the Army Corps of Engineers Pier on Duck and 72 degrees at Frisco Pier on Hatteras Island. by CNB