DATE: Sunday, April 27, 1997                TAG: 9704250270

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 19   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: HOW TO HOOK 'EM 

                                            LENGTH:   61 lines

MULLET TROUT ARE TOP-ANGLING TARGETS ALONG DARE COAST

Sea mullet fishing should be outstanding along the Dare coast this week, particularly in the Hatteras area.

Pier anglers along the northern beaches should catch good numbers of sea mullet on incoming tides daily. Good catches also should be taken at night, especially if the water is exceptionally clear.

Some good runs of mixed-sized gray trout also should be expected by northern beach pier anglers.

Fair numbers of small spot, croaker, sand perch and an occasional bluefish probably will appear in catches. Most of the bluefish will be landed on jiggers or double bucktail rigs if the water is fairly clear, and cut bait and fireball rigs if it's dirty.

Puppy drum and black drum also are a possibility for pier anglers along the northern beach strand.

Piers south of Oregon Inlet should see excellent runs of sea mullet, with some weighing almost 2 pounds. Good numbers of spot, pigfish and croaker also should be landed.

Gray trout catches should be fairly good this week. Scattered bluefish and an occasional puppy drum also will be taken. Pompano should make an appearance, provided inshore water temperatures are in the upper 60s.

Surf fishing should improve from Corolla to Oregon Inlet, with spot, small croaker, scattered sea mullet and tailor bluefish beached from deeper sloughs.

Small bottom fish, bluefish and gray trout should be landed around Oregon Inlet. Catches of scattered speckled trout are a possibility in the Green Island Slough area on the south side of Oregon Inlet during periods of easterly wind.

Sea mullet fishing should be outstanding along the beach from Rodanthe to Buxton. Anglers in the area also should land spot, croaker, tailor bluefish and a few puppy drum fairly regularly.

Big drum and an occasional big bluefish should be landed almost every night at Cape Point. Drum fishing is usually good at Cape Point when the wind direction is southwest. Anglers fishing from boats along the shoals just off Cape Point also should catch drum.

Sea mullet and flounder fishing should be good along the beach south of Cape Point.

Sea mullet, puppy drum, bluefish, croaker and spot will be hauled from the surf from Ramp 55 to Hatteras Inlet regularly. Surfcasters fishing the False Point area should land a few large and medium-sized drum.

Inshore trolling around Oregon Inlet should begin with small bluefish taken.

Blue water action should be good off Oregon Inlet, with limits of yellowfin tuna, scattered dolphin, a few wahoo and some king mackerel landed. A few billfish releases are a good possibility. Most of the action will be near the point.

Good numbers of tuna and dolphin should be taken by charter boats off Hatteras. Plenty of wahoo also should appear in catches. A variety of billfish including white marlin, blue marlin, sailfish and spearfish will be released. ILLUSTRATION: Staff Photo by DREW C. WILSON

Darek Cox, 32, of Sprinfield, Va., jigs for bluefish off the Nags

Head Fishing Pier on Wednesday. Good runs of gray trout should be

expected by pier fishermen this weekend.

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