THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 7, 1995 TAG: 9511070378
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
COLUMN: Fishing on the Outer Banks
SOURCE: Damon Tatem
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Lower temperatures, along with a northerly shift in the wind, resulted in improved pier fishing along the Outer Banks during the latter part of the weekend.
Dirty water caused by strong winds Friday night kept pier action to a minimum Saturday morning. But winds fell and conditions improved as the day progressed. By afternoon, some fair catches were reported.
Cooler water brought medium-sized striped bass inshore along the northern beaches Sunday.
Anglers on Kitty Hawk Pier caught a few spot, sea mullet, croaker and black drum Saturday. A number of stripers were hooked and released Sunday. Some sea mullet and spot also were caught Sunday.
A few mullet and black drum were taken on Avalon Pier Saturday. A good run of 4- to 8-pound puppy drum developed along the surf line Sunday afternoon. Several stripers were released by anglers fishing for puppy drum.
Some nice sea mullet and tailor bluefish were landed from Nags Head Pier late Saturday. Several big croaker weighing almost 2 pounds were taken from the end of the pier. Quite a few medium-sized speckled trout and scattered sea mullet were landed Sunday. An 18.5-pound striper was released by Brad Bradley of Nags Head while he fished for trout.
Scattered bluefish were caught by fishermen on Jennette's Pier Saturday. Speckled trout weighing 2 to 3 pounds, and some sea mullet, were landed Sunday afternoon. A number of stripers were hooked but lost from the end of the pier Sunday morning. A 15-pounder was hooked and released by George Walin of Winston-Salem. The fish was taken on a bucktail.
Quite a few medium-sized spot, some sea mullet, croaker, small bluefish and skates were landed on Outer Banks Pier Saturday afternoon. Bluefish, nice-sized sea mullet and small speckled trout were landed throughout the day Sunday.
South of Oregon Inlet, Rodanthe Pier reported some big spot and medium-sized mullet taken Saturday. A few bluefish and puppy drum were caught Sunday morning. Fishing was slow Sunday afternoon.
Big sea mullet were landed throughout the day Saturday on Avon Pier. A few mullet, trout and a 35-pound jack crevalle were caught Sunday.
Anglers on Frisco Pier caught only a few small croaker Saturday, and sea mullet and a few puppy drum Sunday.
Surf fishing was slow from Corolla to Oregon Inlet Saturday. But improving conditions Sunday led to catches of bottom fish, tailor bluefish and a few puppy drum in the surf and around Oregon Inlet.
Good action was reported from the Daniels Bridge on the Nags Head/Manteo causeway. Fair numbers of speckled trout were taken, and school stripers were released both Saturday and Sunday.
Mullet and puppy drum fishing was good Sunday along the beach from Oregon Inlet to Buxton. Black drum and a few speckled trout also were taken.
Drum fishing was good Friday night at Cape Point. Quite a few big fish and lots of puppy drum were beached. Sea mullet and scattered puppy drum were taken during the day throughout the weekend.
Surf fishermen caught some black drum, small bluefish, mullet and puppy drum both days along the beach from Frisco to False Point.
Charter boats remained dockside Saturday because of gusty winds. A number of boats out of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center fished offshore Sunday, but caught only a few yellowfin tuna and king mackerel. The Hatteras fleet reported fair numbers of king mackerel and some yellowfin tuna decked Sunday. The best king mackerel action was late in the day.
The abrupt drop of water temperature during the weekend should help move more striped bass and some big bluefish into our waters.
The water temperature at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pier in Duck was 61.5 degrees Monday. by CNB