THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, October 4, 1995             TAG: 9510040675
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
COLUMN: FISHING ON THE OUTER BANKS
SOURCE: DAMON TATEM
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   51 lines

TUESDAY PIER FISHING WAS A GAME OF ROULETTE

Pier fishing action along the northern beaches was brisk in some locations Tuesday and slow in others.

Kitty Hawk Pier reported good catches of medium spot throughout the day. Scattered spot, bluefish and pompano were landed on Avalon Pier, along with a few nice speckled trout that were taken on cut bait.

Some speckled trout and baby black drum were landed by anglers on Nags Head Pier during the morning, and spot were caught in the afternoon. Jennette's Pier reported slow fishing, with only a few bottom fish taken.

A good run of spot developed on Outer Banks Pier during the morning, and continued until noon. A few blues, spot, small black drum and a 7-pound black drum were decked later in the day.

Pier fishing slowed on Hatteras Island. Rodanthe Pier reported a few spot taken. Avon Pier anglers caught a few sea mullet and small drum. Fishermen on Frisco Pier landed a handful of bottom fish, pompano and bluefish.

Small bottom fish were landed Tuesday from deeper sloughs along the beach from Corolla to Oregon Inlet. Some speckled trout were taken in sloughs north and south of Nags Head Pier.

Surf fishermen caught a few puppy drum, bluefish and bottom fish around Oregon Inlet, and some puppy drum, small blues and bottom fish along the beach from Rodanthe to Buxton.

Some puppy drum were landed during the morning, and flounder during the day at Cape Point. Small bluefish were taken along the beach from Frisco to Hatteras Inlet.

Inshore trolling around Oregon Inlet produced bountiful quantities of tailor bluefish Tuesday morning.

Headboat fishing was good in the ocean off Oregon Inlet. Plenty of nice-sized croaker were landed, and lots of small gray trout were hooked and released.

Dolphin fishing was excellent northeast of Oregon Inlet. Some wahoo and a few tuna also were taken. Several billfish were released.

Charters out of Hatteras caught good numbers of dolphin and wahoo Tuesday. A few yellowfin tuna were landed. Several billfish were released, including a white marlin and a sailfish by the FinQuest.

Speckled trout fishing in the surf should improve as water temeratures drop and the water clears.

The water temperature at the Army Corps of Engineers Pier in Duck was 72.5 degrees Tuesday. by CNB