DATE: Thursday, May 1, 1997                 TAG: 9705010500

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

COLUMN: FISHING ON THE OUTER BANKS 

SOURCE: Damon Tatem

                                            LENGTH:   44 lines

DARE PIER FISHING BENEFITS FROM IMPROVED CONDITIONS

Improved weather and water conditions along the Dare coast resulted in good fishing Wednesday on ocean piers.

Kitty Hawk Pier reported plenty of tailor bluefish landed on bucktails throughout the day. A few mullet and toadfish also were taken.

Lots of 1- to 1 1/2-pound blues, a few spot and scattered sea mullet were caught by fishermen on Avalon Pier.

Spot, sea mullet, tailor blues and some small gray trout were landed on Nags Head Pier. Mullet fishing was particularly good in the early afternoon.

Fishermen on Jennette's Pier decked spot, toadfish and a few mullet off and on during the day.

Bluefish, spot, mullet and a few small speckled trout were caught from Outer Banks Pier.

On Hatteras Island, Rodanthe Pier reported plenty of blues, some toadfish, spot and scattered sea mullet taken during the morning. Afternoon fishing was slow.

Good numbers of sea mullet, pigfish and spot were decked on Avon Pier throughout most of the day.

Frisco Pier reported slow fishing, with only a handful of pigfish and mullet taken.

Surf fishing improved along the northern beaches and around Oregon Inlet, with scattered small bottom fish and a few bluefish landed.

Surfcasters from Rodanthe to Buxton hauled in good catches of sea mullet on bloodworms.

Sea mullet were beached in good numbers on both sides of Cape Point, and quite a few flounder were taken in the hook.

Small bottom fish and small bluefish were beached by surf fishermen from Ramp 55 to Hatteras Inlet.

Charters off Oregon Inlet caught six to 12 yellowfin tuna per boat. A few wahoo, dolphin and king mackerel also were taken. A blue marlin was released by the Smoker.

Blue water action off Hatteras was fair, with scattered tuna, a few wahoo and a few dolphin taken. A sailfish was released by the Tom Cat.

The water temperature was 53.5 degrees Wednesday at the Army Corps of Engineers Pier in Duck, and 61 degrees at Frisco Pier on Hatteras Island.

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