DATE: Sunday, May 11, 1997                  TAG: 9705090298

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 31   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: HOW TO HOOK 'EM 

SOURCE: Damon Tatem 

                                            LENGTH:   64 lines

LIVE BAIT SHOULD BRING MACKEREL AND COBIA CATCHES OFF HATTERAS

Some warm water species should begin to appear in anglers' catches along the Outer Banks this week.

On Hatteras Island, Spanish mackerel should be taken from Frisco Pier, provided the water is fairly clear and weather conditions are seasonal. King mackerel and cobia catches also are a good possibility for anglers using live bait. Bluefishing and bottom fishing also should be fairly good.

Pier anglers along the north side of Hatteras Island from Buxton to Oregon Inlet should catch a mixture of sea mullet, spot, pigfish, bluefish, small and medium gray trout and a few puppy drum. Pier fishermen in the area also might take a few Spanish mackerel.

Small gray trout and bluefish should provide daily action for pier fishermen from Oregon Inlet to Kitty Hawk if the water is clear. Most of these fish will be taken on bucktail rigs and jiggers. Early mornings and late afternoons usually are the most productive fishing times for these species.

Spot and sea mullet fishing on northern beach piers also should be good this week on the incoming tide. Bloodworms are the preferred bait for spot. And both bloodworms and shrimp score well on sea mullet.

If water temperatures along the northern beaches rise into the 60s before the week's end, a few Spanish mackerel could be landed by pier fishermen in that area.

Surf fishing along the northern beaches should improve with small bottom fish, blues and some small gray trout landed from deeper sloughs. A few nice speckled trout could be landed. But so far most have been small.

Anglers fishing the catwalk on the south end of the Oregon Inlet bridge should haul in small bottom fish, a few bluefish and a few trout. Trout action at night also is possible.

Mixed bottom fish, tailor blues and a few small drum should be taken by surfcasters from Rodanthe to Buxton.

Surf fishermen at Cape Point should catch large drum at night and puppy drum, sea mullet, tailor blues and possibly a few Spanish mackerel during the day. Keeper flounder should be taken regularly along the beach south of Cape Point.

Bluefish, mixed bottom fish and some trout should be hauled from the surf from Ramp 55 to Hatteras Inlet. Drum of all sizes should be beached by surf fishermen at False Point during the night. Spanish mackerel also probably will be taken in the inlet area.

Inshore trolling around Oregon Inlet should improve, with scattered bluefish and maybe a few Spanish mackerel taken. Headboats in the area should begin to catch small bottom fish and a few flounder in the sound, and sea bass and pigfish in the ocean outside the inlet.

Striped bass action should remain good in the Manns Harbor area. And bottom fishing for croaker and trout should begin in Croatan Sound.

Blue water action off Oregon Inlet should be fair to good for yellowfin tuna and dolphin. A few wahoo also should be taken. And a handful of billfish may be hooked and released. Big eye tuna catches also are possible.

Charters fishing off Hatteras should land good catches of tuna and some nice-sized dolphin. Billfishing should be on the upswing with fair numbers of fish released. Some wahoo and king mackerel also should be landed in the Hatteras area as summer approaches. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON

An angler casts into Oregon Inlet near the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge

last week.

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