DATE: Sunday, October 26, 1997              TAG: 9710240272

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 23   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: HOW TO HOOK 'EM 

SOURCE: Damon Tatem 

                                            LENGTH:   92 lines

OFFSHORE ACTION SHOULD BE GOOD PIER FISHERS MAY LAND BLUES, TROUT AND DRUM

OFFSHORE ACTION should be good this week along the Dare coast, provided winds and seas remain moderate.

King mackerel in the 8- to 15-pound class should be fairly abundant southeast of Oregon Inlet in the Wimble Shoals area.

Most of the king mackerel should be taken on spoons or Sea Witches with strips pulled deep by planers. King mackerel occasionally will be taken near the surface, and catching a few large fish on live bait is a possibility.

King mackerel fishing also should be good off Hatteras, with excellent catches of medium-sized fish around the Avon Rocks and the Kinnakeet Rocks.

Substantial catches of sizeable fish also should be farther south, between the bad bottom and the wrecks. Most of the fish in the Hatteras area should be medium to large and probably will be taken on live bait.

Tuna fishing should be fairly good off Oregon Inlet near the point. Most yellowfin will be medium-sized, although a few big fish could be decked. Catches of occasional big-eye tuna are a possibility.

Some dolphin should appear in catches, along with a few wahoo.

Dolphin, yellowfin tuna and blackfin tuna should be landed off Hatteras in deep water. A sailfish or two could be hooked and released, but the billfish season is generally over for the year.

Pier fishing should be fairly good along the northern beaches this week. Anglers should land spot, pigfish and sand perch on bloodworms and shrimp if the water is murky.

Some good catches of sea mullet ranging in size from 1/2 pound to 1 1/2 pounds should be taken by pier anglers on the rising tide.

Small bluefish should be fairly abundant during periods of clear water early mornings and late afternoons. An occasional big bluefish could be landed as water temperatures drop.

A few black drum weighing as much as 15 pounds should be landed, along with plenty of small puppy drum. Most of the puppy drum probably will be under the 18-inch legal length limit.

Big drum could be caught from the ends of northern beach piers at any time. Kitty Hawk Pier reported a 35-pounder taken during the night of Oct. 16, and drum weighing 50 and 35 pounds were decked on Avalon Pier the same evening.

Speckled and gray trout should be landed early mornings on soft plastic lures if the water is fairly clear.

Most of the trout should be keepers. Gray trout weighing as much as 2 pounds and speckled trout weighing as much as 4 pounds should be taken.

Striped bass also should appear in pier catches but will probably be under the legal limit of 28 inches.

Substantial numbers of larger fish should begin to appear in the area by mid-November as they migrate south along the Mid-Atlantic coast.

Pier fishing on Hatteras Island should be good with spot, croaker, sand perch and sea mullet landed in good numbers when the water is dirty.

Black drum should be fairly abundant on Hatteras piers as should puppy drum. Big drums should be landed during periods of rough weather from the ends of Rodanthe and Avon piers. Action usually is excellent on these piers during November.

Pier anglers south of Oregon Inlet also should catch bluefish, speckled trout and gray trout regularly when the water is clear.

King mackerel are a possibility on Hatteras Island piers, but only if the water remains fairly warm. Rodanthe Pier has been the hot spot for king mackerel this year, with more than 75 decked.

Surf fishermen along the northern beaches should land fair numbers of small bottom fish and a few bluefish. Scattered stripers also should be taken, including a few larger than 28 inches.

Some speckled trout should be caught in sloughs along the beach. A fair amount of action already has been reported from trout holes north of Kitty Hawk Pier.

Anglers around Oregon Inlet should land scattered bottom fish, bluefish and a few striped bass.

Speckled trout should be taken in fair numbers from the Green Island Slough area and from the Off Island Channel behind Bodie Island Light. Fishermen on the Bonner Bridge catwalk should catch gray trout and tailor blues.

South of Oregon Inlet, bluefish, black drum, spot and puppy drum should be hauled from the surf regularly from Rodanthe to Buxton. Speckled trout should be taken from sloughs in the area, especially north of Rodanthe Pier.

Puppy drum, scattered bluefish and bottom fish should be beached at Cape Point. Big drum should be taken regularly at night.

Sea mullet, flounder and puppy drum should be caught by surf fishermen along the south beach, along with scattered trout.

Blues and trout should be taken at night in the Hatteras Inlet area. Bottom fish, bluefish, puppy drum and a few keeper flounder should be landed in the surf from Ramp 55 to Hatteras Inlet.

Drum fishing should continue to be good along the southern Dare coast throughout most of November. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW WILSON

Brian Bracey, 33, of Kill Devil Hills, hauls in a cast net in Oregon

Inlet on Tuesday. He was catching menhaden to be used as bait for

king mackerel.

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