THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610180271
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: TIGHT LINES
SOURCE: Damon Tatem
LENGTH: 90 lines
FISHING IMPROVED along the Dare coast recently with the arrival of cooler weather.
Spot and croaker were landed fairly steadily Oct. 9 and 10 on Kitty Hawk Pier. Fishing slowed Oct. 11, but picked up Oct. 12 with spot, a few bluefish and some nice speckled trout landed. A few spot and speckled trout were taken Oct. 13, and sea mullet were caught regularly the following afternoon.
Fishing was slow on Avalon Pier Oct. 9 and 10, but some nice spot, pigfish, bluefish, black drum and croaker were landed Oct. 11 in the afternoon. Some nice speckled trout and scattered bluefish were taken on bucktails Oct. 12. Fishing was slow Oct. 13 and 14.
Spot fishing was good on Nags Head Pier Oct. 10, but was slow the next several days. A few tailor bluefish, sea mullet and spot were taken sporadically Oct. 14.
Jennette's Pier reported speckled trout weighing as much as 3 pounds were taken on cut bait Oct. 10. Scattered bottom fish, bluefish and black drum were landed. Some big spot were caught Oct. 11 and speckled trout weighing as much as 5 pounds, puppy drum and bluefish were decked.
A 5-pound, 11-ounce speckled trout was landed on cut bait Oct. 12 during the night by Daniel Coodfelter of Winston-Salem. A few bluefish and speckled trout were taken Oct. 12 and 14.
Fishermen on Outer Banks Pier caught nice spot Oct. 9-12, the largest weighing 17 ounces. Speckled trout were landed from the pier in fair numbers Oct. 11 and 12.
South of Oregon Inlet, anglers on Rodanthe Pier caught spot all day Oct. 9. Fishing was slow the following day, but improved Oct. 11, with plenty of small bottom fish, bluefish and some speckled trout landed.
A mixture of spot, croaker, black drum, trout and blues were taken steadily Oct. 12 in the afternoon. Fishing slowed after that.
Bottom fishing was good on Avon Pier Oct. 9, but slow Oct. 10. Lots of big spot were taken throughout the day Oct. 11. A few puppy drum and bottom fish were landed Oct. 12. Spot hit the pier in good numbers Oct. 13, but action died the next day.
Frisco Pier reported plenty of spot, some nice croaker, a few bluefish and puppy drum taken Oct. 10. Fishing was slow Oct. 11. Some big jacks and albacore were landed Oct. 12.
A few 3- to 5-pound speckled trout and lots of albacore were caught Oct. 13 early in the morning. Lots of small and medium sea mullet were landed Oct. 14 late in the day.
Surf fishermen have hauled fair numbers of speckled trout from deeper sloughs along the northern beaches recently. Good catches were reported from north of Jennette's Pier, from behind the Nags Head Inn and also from north of Kitty Hawk Pier. Mirrolures have been the big producer.
Quite a few tailor blues have been landed along the Nags Head beach and good numbers of small striped bass have been hooked and released.
Small bottom fish, tailor blues, gray trout and a few puppy drum have been landed from both the north and south sides of Oregon Inlet.
Speckled trout have been landed on artificial lures and cut bait from sloughs north of Rodanthe Pier. Surfcasters along the beach from Rodanthe to Buxton have taken small bottom fish, speckled trout, bluefish and a few puppy drum. A 35-pound drum was landed Oct. 9 south of Ramp 23.
Lots of puppy drum and a few large drum were beached at Cape Point Oct. 9 during the night. Medium-sized bluefish, small bottom fish and scattered puppy drum were landed Oct. 10.
Some nice drum were taken Oct. 11, along with a few bottom fish. Jacks and albacore were landed Oct. 12 and 13 early in the morning. Scattered speckled trout were landed in the surf east of the lighthouse Oct. 13 and 14.
Small blues, flounder, puppy drum and small bottom fish have been taken regularly by surfcasters from Frisco to Hatteras Inlet. Some nice 2-pound bluefish have been landed around Hatteras Inlet.
Yellowfin tuna action off Oregon Inlet has been good. Charters caught their limits of mixed-sized yellowfins Oct. 10 around the 40480 Loran line in 300 to 400 fathoms of water.
Action was good again the next day at the same location. Two sailfish were released by the First Crack on Oct. 12. Tuna fishing was good Oct. 13 and 14. A few wahoo, dolphin and king mackerel also were taken.
Charters off Hatteras caught an average of four big wahoo per boat Oct. 11. Some 40- to 50-pound yellowfin also were taken. Two sailfish were released by the Marlin Mania and one sailfish each was released by the Big Eye and the Lucy Chip.
Tuna fishing was good the following day, with yellowfin and blackfin taken. Plenty of king mackerel weighing 15 to 30 pounds were landed between Diamond Shoals Tower and the rockpile on Oct. 13. Fish were taken down deep on spoons pulled behind planers.
Fishing was good Oct. 14 with lots of dolphin, king mackerel, wahoo and a few yellowfin tuna landed. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Bud Kohler, 76, of Kill Devil Hills, is greeted by his dog Bo as the
fisherman brings a freshly caught speckled trout onto the beach near
Jeanaette's Pier in Nags Head. by CNB