THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 4, 1996 TAG: 9606040323
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
COLUMN: FISHING ON THE OUTER BANKS
SOURCE: DAMON TATEM
LENGTH: 79 lines
Pier fishing along the Dare Coast was good during the weekend.
Anglers on Kitty Hawk Pier caught plenty of spot, scattered sea mullet, small gray trout, bluefish and a few Spanish mackerel.
Good numbers of small bluefish were landed just after sunrise Saturday on Avalon Pier. Spot, mullet and scattered blues were taken later in the day. Plenty of skates, small gray trout, a few sea mullet, and small blues were decked Sunday.
Lots of small gray trout, small sea mullet, croaker and a few bluefish were caught from Nags Head Pier on Saturday. Quite a few sea mullet and other small bottom fish were taken Sunday. Several cobia were seen in the area, but none would take a hook.
Jennette's Pier reported a few small bottom fish, gray trout and triggerfish landed Saturday and Sunday.
Plenty of small spot were caught during the morning Saturday by fishermen on Outer Banks Pier. A few small gray trout, little bluefish and small bottom fish were landed Sunday.
On Hatteras Island, Rodanthe Pier fishermen caught some tailor bluefish Saturday, and scattered bottom fish Sunday morning. Several cobia were seen from the pier during the weekend.
Avon Pier reported fair numbers of small spot, sea mullet and pigfish landed all day Saturday. Rough seas kept action to a minimum Sunday.
A few bluefish and Spanish mackerel were taken on Frisco Pier very early Saturday morning. The largest Spanish mackerel weighed 5 1/4 pounds and was caught by Yalon Lee of Springfield, Va., on a jerk jigger.
A 67 1/2-pound cobia was landed by Keith Trewick of Virginia Beach later in the day on Frisco Pier. The big cobia hit a live bluefish. Sunday's action was slow, with only a small cobia landed on a lure, and a few small bottom fish taken.
Surf fishing along the beach from Corolla to Oregon Inlet was fair Saturday. Some small mullet and spot were landed on the incoming tide. Easterly winds and choppy seas hampered fishing Sunday.
A few speckled trout were taken in the Off Island Channel early Saturday morning. Some trout action also was reported from several areas on the south side of Oregon Inlet. A few sheepshead were caught by anglers fishing around the Bonner Bridge pilings.
Scattered spot, croaker, sea mullet, flounder and a few bluefish were beached by surfcasters from Rodanthe to Buxton during the weekend.
A few puppy drum were landed from the north side of Cape Point Saturday. A handful of mullet, flounder and small blues were taken along the south beach. Action Sunday was similar.
Flounder fishing was good in the surf from Ramp 55 to Hatteras Inlet Saturday and Sunday, but most of the fish were small.
Inshore trolling for bluefish was fair around Oregon Inlet during the weekend. Some good catches of keeper flounder were reported from Davis and Crab Sloughs. Headboats operating around Oregon Inlet caught small bottom fish and gray trout.
Striped bass were available in Croatan Sound near the Manns Harbor Bridge throughout the weekend. Some fish also were taken by anglers in Pamlico Sound well south of Manns Harbor.
The area south of an imaginary line between Roanoke Marshes Point and Eagle Nest Bay on Pea Island is open to recreational harvest. Anglers can possess three striped bass, 18 inches or larger, per person per day while fishing in these internal coastal waters.
Blue-water action was fair off Oregon Inlet Saturday. Charters averaged six to 10 yellowfin tuna, some of which were in the 60- to 80-pound class. A few dolphin also were landed.
Blue marlin were released by the Smoker and the Rebait, and a sailfish by the Billchaser. The best action was between the 40400 and 40570 Loran lines. Rough seas Sunday kept action slow, with only a few tuna and dolphin taken.
Some yellowfin tuna and fair numbers of dolphin were landed in the Gulf Stream off Hatteras Saturday. The Bullfrog scored a grand slam, releasing two sailfish, a white marlin and a blue marlin.
Hatteras charters reported slow fishing Sunday. A few dolphin were caught, a blue marlin was released by the Marlin Mania, a white marlin was released by the Nancy K. and another by the Fin Fantasy.
The water temperature was 64.5 degrees Monday at the Army Corps of Engineers Pier in Duck, and 68 degrees at Frisco Pier on Hatteras Island.
A shift in the wind to a more southerly direction should calm seas and improve surf fishing along the Outer Banks. by CNB