THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9503300194
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Damon Tatem
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Surf fishing along the Outer Banks started showing some definite signs of improvement this past week after a fairly slow late February and early March.
The majority of the action was reported from the Hatteras Island area. Along the beach around Hatteras Inlet, fair quantities of small puppy drum were taken on cut bait. On the beach south of Cape Point, scattered gray and speckled trout, sea mullet and a few toadfish were landed.
Sharks and skates also appeared in catches from the same area. Late Sunday afternoon, a good run of nice-sized gray trout developed.
Most of the fish, weighing from two to almost six pounds, were taken on bucktails and green-firetail artificials. One of the largest trout reported, weighing 5 3/4 pounds, was beached by John Springer of Virginia Beach. Good catches were again reported on Monday and Tuesday.
Anglers from Rodanthe north to Corolla were not as fortunate as their counterparts on the southern end of the Dare coast. With water temperatures in the northern area below 50 degrees, action was limited to mainly dogfish and skates.
In addition, a few herring were reported landed.
Haul seiners operating along the northern beaches have caught some trout and small bottom fish during the past week. Commercial drop net catches several miles off the beach have consisted of medium gray trout, croakers and a few striped bass.
Some jumbo bluefish were reported taken by a drop netter fishing about two miles offshore in the Rodanthe area recently.
Big blues have also been landed by commercial fishermen around the 70-degree tower northeast of Oregon Inlet. Although some of these fish have been fairly well inshore, the outlook for a run along the beach remains questionable. The annual spring migration has failed to produce any substantial surf action for the past several years.
Blue water fishing southeast of Oregon Inlet has been fairly consistent over the past month. The main limitation has been weather conditions, which have dampened angler enthusiasm and reduced effort.
A number of anglers from Pirates Cove and Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, fishing south of ``The Point,'' found good concentrations of 15- to 35-pound yellowfin tuna.
Bluefin tuna fishing has been spectacular around wrecks south of Hatteras throughout most of the winter. The fishery has been mainly ``hook and release,'' with some boats accounting for more than 30 large fish a day. The tuna have ranged in size from 200 to 900 pounds.
Anglers with valid federal permits are allowed to keep one fish from 70 to 77 inches in length per vessel per day, or two fish from 57 to 70 inches in length per person per day. The maximum number of fish that an angler may possess in one day is two Atlantic bluefin tuna.
Most of the fish taken have been landed on unlimited class tackle with menhaden as bait. The majority of anglers have made a conscious effort to fight and release the fish quickly to reduce potential mortality. This fishery slowed considerably over the past weekend and will end soon.
With the arrival of warmer weather and rising water temperatures, fishing should improve quickly along the Dare coast. A channel bass run will probably develop at Cape Point on Hatteras Island in the very near future. Sea mullet and speckled trout action should improve along the island's south beach and gradually move north toward Rodanthe.
Along the northern beaches the dogfish (shark) population should thin out and be replaced with toad fish, small bottom fish and scattered gray trout. Offshore fishing, which has been pretty good throughout the winter, will improve with the return of dolphin, wahoo, and possibly a spring marlin or two. MEMO: Damon M. Tatem, 51, has replaced Ford Reid as the Coast's fishing
writer. Tatem has operated a tackle shop in Nags Head for 25 years, and
serves on a variety of state commissions concerned with fishing and the
coastal environment. Send comments and questions to her at P.O. Box 10,
Nags Head, N.C. 27959. by CNB