DATE: Friday, April 11, 1997                TAG: 9704110595

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

COLUMN: FISHING ON THE OUTER BANKS 

SOURCE: Damon Tatem

                                            LENGTH:   29 lines

NATURE HURLS A 1, 2, 3 JAB, AND THE FISH ARE WORRY-FREE

Falling water temperatures, chilly winds and a southerly running tide brought fishing to a standstill along the northern beaches Thursday.

Piers from Kitty Hawk to Nags Head reported only a handful of fishermen and no fish taken. Surf fishing also was slow from Corolla to Oregon Inlet.

Oregon Inlet Fishing Center and Pirates Cove Marina reported no charter boats fishing offshore Thursday.

South of Oregon Inlet, Rodanthe Pier reported no action. Anglers on Avon Pier caught a few sea mullet, a nice skate and a 3-foot shark Thursday afternoon. A few toadfish were landed on Frisco Pier.

About the only surf action reported on Hatteras Island was along the south beach, where several sea mullet and flounder were hauled in.

A few charter boats fished off Hatteras in deep water, but conditions weren't good and neither were the catches. Only a few yellowfin tuna were taken.

Rising temperatures, lighter winds and falling seas should result in improved fishing during the weekend. Good sea mullet fishing should resume in the Hatteras area and spread along the beach north of Oregon Inlet.

The water temperature dropped to 50 degrees Thursday at the Army Corps of Engineers Pier in Duck, and to 55 degrees at Frisco Pier on Hatteras Island.

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