THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 18, 1995 TAG: 9504180283
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
COLUMN: FISHING ON THE OUTER BANKS
SOURCE: Damon Tatem
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
Seasonal weather and fairly calm seas inshore helped provide good pier and surf fishing along sections of the Dare coast over the Easter weekend. Fishing was hampered along the northern beaches by cool water, although pier anglers did manage to catch some skates, toadfish, trout and a few sea mullet. On Hatteras Island, where water temperatures were in the lower 60s, piers reported good catches of sea mullet and toadfish.
Surf fishing from Corolla to Nags Head was slow, with skates, small blues and a handful of bottom fish beached. Some puppy drum and speckled trout catches were reported from ``the pond'' on the north side of Oregon Inlet. Fishermen on Hatteras Island landed trout, mullet, toadfish and a few puppy drum. Drum fishing at Cape Point was good Friday night, with 20 to 30 large fish taken. Action was slow Saturday night, but improved Sunday evening with about 18 fish beached.
Although seas were high Saturday in the Gulf Stream, yellowfin tuna fishing was great southeast of Oregon Inlet from the Loran numbers 40430 to 40630. Good catches of tuna weighing up to 80 pounds were taken again Sunday. Pirates Cove Marina reported one blue marlin released by a private boat Sunday. Off Hatteras, tuna and dolphin catches were fairly good over the weekend. A blue marlin was hooked, fought and released by the charter boat ``Realease'' on Saturday, and a spearfish was released by the charter boat ``Gambler.'' The head boat ``Miss Hatteras'' landed limits of bluefish and released 12 bluefin tuna while fishing over offshore wrecks south of Hatteras.
Drum fishing should get red hot at Cape Point as soon as the wind returns to a southwesterly direction. At the same time, good numbers of sea mullet should move into the Nags Head area from along the southern beaches. by CNB