THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411230264
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Tight Lines
SOURCE: Ford Reid
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
I have no facts to back this up, but I have long thought that this is probably the heaviest fishing weekend of the year on the Outer Banks.
On Thanksgiving, the weather is generally decent, the weekend is long and deer hunting is not yet in full swing.
Add to that the autumnal opportunity to catch a really big fish and you get beaches filled with surf casters.
Besides, where better is there for an angler to be thankful than on the Outer Banks? If this is not a place for the fisherman to count his blessing, then I do not know where one could be.
But this year brings one great surprise. Who would have thought we'd be threatened by a hurricane less than a week before Thanksgiving?
Fortunately, Gordon - which had to be the most indecisive storm in history - finally headed in the one direction that hurricanes never head - south - and left us alone.
The blow that did hit here, and the damage that it caused, means that there will be a lot of debris on the beach and in the water for a few weeks.
Be careful, especially if you are wading into the ocean. A nail-studded piece of construction lumber under your foot can put an end to angling tranquility in a hurry.
Having a lot of company on the beach does have its advantages.
For one thing, you can save yourself a lot of driving or walking by just looking up and down the surf line at the hundreds of fishermen.
If you don't see any bent rods, you will know there is no hurry to get a bait in the water.
This is especially true at Oregon Inlet, Cape Point and other hot spots where there are likely to be fishermen every three feet or so for as far as the eye can see.
It can also be great entertainment.
Today, you ought to be able to observe every casting technique ever devised and a few that you would never have dreamed possible. You will see great casters, near greats, those who ought to take up golf and everything in between.
There is also the possibility of some spectacle that will stick forever in your memory.
A few years ago on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I was fishing between Oregon Inlet and Coquina Beach. It was solid fishermen between me and the inlet.
Things were slow, so everyone had baits in the water and rods in holders.
Then, a small school of big bluefish marauded south along the shore. These fish were swimming fast, grabbing a bite on the way.
My rod was snatched out of its holder and as I grabbed for it I looked down the beach to see one rod after another falling like dominoes.
People were tripping all over themselves to grab their rods and catch their fish. Most everybody caught one fish, and only one. A quick trip through and the school was gone.
But I'll bet no one who was there has ever forgotten it.
It is that kind of thing that makes anglers thankful for the Outer Banks. by CNB