DATE: Sunday, June 1, 1997                  TAG: 9705290178

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 42   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: HOW TO HOOK `EM 

SOURCE: Damon Tatem 

                                            LENGTH:   95 lines

OFFSHORE BILLFISHING WILL HEAT UP THIS WEEK

Billfishing off Hatteras should reach its early summer peak during the next few weeks.

Charters trolling the area south of the rockpile should hook and release good numbers of blue marlin, white marlin and some sailfish.

Hatteras' offshore fleet also will get good catches of gaffer dolphin and fair numbers of wahoo. Scattered yellowfin tuna also should appear in catches, some weighing as much as 80 or 90 pounds.

Inshore trolling along Hatteras beaches and around Hatteras Inlet should be good, with parties landing plenty of nice Spanish mackerel and small bluefish.

Live bait fishermen should catch some cobia in Hatteras Inlet and sight casters should be rewarded with nice-size drum.

The headboat Miss Hatteras should land a variety of snappers on day trips to deep water south of Hatteras.

Blue water action off oregon inlet should be pretty good this week, with marlin catches leading the list. If billfish action is good off Hatteras, some Oregon Inlet charter captains will run the extra distance south to participate in the fishing. There's a good possibility that the marlin fishing will move north from south of the rockpile to the area around the 280 rocks in a fairly short period of time.

In addition to marlin, the Oregon Inlet charter fleet will catch mixed sizes of dolphin, scattered wahoo and fair numbers of yellowfin tuna. The best of this action should be around the point.

Inshore trolling should be good around Oregon Inlet, with Spanish mackerel and small bluefish taken. Cobia catches also are a good possibility in areas a short distance offshore of the inlet, and offshore along the beach both north and south of the inlet on tidelines.

Charters fishing outside the inlet should catch some large drum. And boaters sight casting along shoal edges west of the Oregon Inlet bridge in Pamlico Sound will be treated to the same.

Headboats in the Oregon Inlet area should catch small bottom fish, gray trout and tailor blues. If northeast winds clear the water in the inlet, flounder fishing also should be good.

Headboats fishing in the ocean off Oregon Inlet should catch a mixture of sea bass, mullet, triggerfish, pigfish and gray trout.

Pier fishing along the northern beaches should be pretty good this week, with plenty of small bottom fish available for anglers using bloodworms and fresh shrimp.

Fishermen should take plenty of bluefish from the ends of ocean piers during early mornings and late afternoons. Double bucktail rigs and jiggers will be the most productive lures. Most of the blues should weigh between 1/2 and 2 pounds.

Spanish mackerel also should be taken, mixed in with the bluefish.

Gray trout, some weighing well over 2 pounds, should be available on a regular basis for area pier anglers. Although some gray trout will be taken during the day, the best action should be after dark.

Pier anglers also should land fair numbers of small speckled trout. Pier anglers fishing inshore near the surf line early in the mornings should get some nice-sized speckled. Soft plastic lures will be the best bet.

Pier fishing on hatteras island should be fairly good, with spot, sea mullet, croaker, small blues and gray trout providing the majority of the action.

Spanish mackerel should be plentiful on Hatteras Island piers, particularly on the south end of the island. Sunrise and sunset runs should happen daily. Some of the Spanish mackerel taken will weigh as much as 6 pounds.

Pier anglers also should snag a few king mackerel and cobia, provided the water is warm and clear. Most of these large fish will be taken on live menhaden or bluefish from the ends of ocean piers.

Surf fishing along the northern beaches should be fair this week, with small bottom fish, gray trout and small blues taken from deeper sloughs. Action should be better early in the morning and late in the afternoon on the incoming tide.

Surfcasters on the north side of Oregon Inlet should haul in scattered bottom fish and bluefish. Anglers on the Bonner Bridge catwalk should catch plenty of gray trout. The best action will be after dark.

Boat fishermen on the inlet's south side should report some good trout catches. And anglers should get fair to good numbers of flounder in that area when winds are from the northeast and the water is clear.

Surfcasters from oregon inlet to buxton should beach scattered spot, croaker, sea mullet, flounder, gray trout, bluefish and Spanish mackerel this week. A few pompano also could be taken.

Tailor blues, Spanish mackerel and small bottom fish should be snagged off and on at Cape Point. A few drum probably will be landed at night when the wind is from the southwest. But this action generally wanes as summer arrives.

Flounder and small bottom fish should be traken fairly regularly along the beach south of Cape Point.

Bottom fish, blues and some Spanish mackerel should be hauled from the surf from Ramp 55 to Hatteras Inlet.

Surf fishermen around Hatteras Inlet should get good numbers of small blues, Spanish mackerel, flounder and gray trout. A few drum also could be caught in the area at night. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON

Anglers bottom fish on the southern rail of the Avalon Pier in Kill

Devil Hills on Tuesday.

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