THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605020569
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
COLUMN: Fishing on the Outer Banks
SOURCE: Damon Tatem
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Fishing was good on ocean piers along the northern beaches Wednesday.
Kitty Hawk Pier reported plenty of gray trout weighing as much as 3 1/2 pounds taken on bucktails during the morning. Sea mullet fishing also was good. Scattered mullet were caught during the afternoon.
Small spot, 3/4- to 1-pound mullet, bluefish and a few gray trout were taken during the day on Avalon Pier.
On Nags Head Pier, sea mullet and croaker were landed early in the day, and a few sea mullet were taken in the afternoon.
Outer Banks Pier reported sea mullet weighing as much as 1 1/4 pounds landed during the morning. A few sand perch, small spot and a couple of croaker also were decked. Sea mullet fishing continued fairly good during the afternoon.
South of Oregon Inlet, anglers on Rodanthe Pier caught a mixture of mullet, spot, croaker, small bluefish, gray trout and several puppy drum.
Avon Pier anglers landed spot, croaker, gray trout and a few sea mullet in the morning. Spot, lots of pinfish and a few mullet were taken later in the day.
Frisco Pier reported a slow morning, with only a few small gray trout and mullet landed. Sea mullet fishing improved in the afternoon.
Surfcasters along the northern beaches landed a few small bottom fish, tailor blues and an occasional gray trout.
Sea mullet fishing was good along the beach from Oregon Inlet to Buxton Wednesday. A few croaker, gray trout, bluefish, puppy drum and small spot also were landed.
Some puppy drum and a few large drum were taken Tuesday night at Cape Point. Scattered puppy drum were beached during the day Wednesday. Some big sea mullet were taken along the beach south of Cape Point.
Scattered bottom fish were landed by surfcasters from Frisco to Hatteras Inlet.
Charter boats fishing out of Oregon Inlet landed fair catches of yellowfin tuna Wednesday. Action was centered near ``the point,'' southeast of Oregon Inlet.
Yellowfin tuna fishing was fairly good off Hatteras, with fish weighing between 20 and 70 pounds taken. A few dolphin also were landed. Most of the action was southeast of Diamond Shoals Light Tower. Spearfish were released by the Eagle and the Gambler, and a blue marlin was released by the Chaser.
The water temperature was 52 degrees Wednesday at the Army Corps of Engineers Pier in Duck, and 68 degrees at Frisco Pier on Hatteras Island.
Clearing water should produce some good early morning gray trout and bluefish action on northern beach piers. by CNB