THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 6, 1995 TAG: 9506060265
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
COLUMN: Fishing on the Outer Banks
SOURCE: Damon Tatem
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Blue water action off Hatteras Island was excellent over the weekend with 10 white marlin and a half-dozen blue marlin released by the charter fleet Saturday.
Some good catches of dolphin, scattered tuna and a few wahoo were reported.
Fishing was good Sunday, with 10 blue marlin and nine other billfish released. Included were three blue marlin and a white marlin by the Atlantic Blue, and three blue marlin by the Marlin Mania. The best action was on the back of ``The Rock Pile.''
The headboat, Miss Hatteras, reported an excellent catch of sea bass, red snapper, triggerfish, jacks and a few dolphin while fishing deep water wrecks off Hatteras Island Saturday.
Dolphin fishing was excellent southeast of Oregon Inlet at The Point Saturday and Sunday. Yellowfin tuna fishing was fairly good, with some 40- to 50-pounders landed. Several bluefin tuna in the 60- to 80-pound class also were taken. Blue marlin were released by the Phideaux and the Surfside. A number of white marlin and sailfish also were released.
Inshore trolling around Oregon Inlet was good, with Spanish mackerel plentiful. Some nice-sized cobia and king mackerel were landed in a little deeper water outside Oregon Inlet. Headboats around Oregon Inlet reported good catches of croaker and small flounder.
Pier anglers along the northern beaches caught small bottom fish, little blues, gray and speckled trout and Spanish mackerel. Most of the Spanish mackerel were taken on bucktails and jiggers just after first light and just before dark.
A number of cobia and king mackerel were seen by pier anglers, but the fish seemed reluctant to take a bait.
Several were landed Monday from Outer Banks Pier, including a 32-pound king by Ken La Barge of Knotts Island, North Carolina, a 17-pound king by Chris Hagan, a 36-pound cobia by Dan Arnold and a 25-pound jack by Alice Adams of Nags Head.
On Jennette's Pier, Sammy Thornton of Nags Head landed a 50-pound cobia, and a 28-pounder was taken by Mike Wells.
In addition, five medium-sized jacks were reported taken by anglers on Nags Head Pier.
Pier fishermen on Hatteras Island caught a few blues, small bottomfish and Spanish mackerel.
Rodanthe Pier reported a 11 1/4-pound Spanish mackerel landed by Rick Belton of Gatesville on a live threadfin herring Saturday.
Later in the day, kings weighing 20 and 38 pounds were decked. A 15-pound king was landed Monday on Frisco Pier by David Crangi of Buxton.
Surf fishing was fair from Corolla to Oregon Inlet. Small bottomfish made up the bulk of catches.
Along the Hatteras beach, surfcasters caught small bottom fish, flounder and blues. At Cape Point, anglers beached blues, Spanish mackerel and a few puppy drum.
The passage of a tropical low pressure system over the next couple of days should result in improved inshore fishing by week's end.
The water temperatures at the Army Corps of Engineers Pier in Duck was 68 degrees Monday. by CNB