DATE: Friday, September 5, 1997             TAG: 9709050643

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

COLUMN: Fishing on the Outer Banks

SOURCE: Damon Tatem

                                            LENGTH:   41 lines

HIGH WINDS AND ROUGH SEAS MAKE PIER FISHING TOUGH

Strong northeasterly winds and rough seas developed overnight Wednesday and kept action to a minimum on most piers Thursday.

Kitty Hawk Pier reported few fishermen and only a few small spot taken.

Some spot and Spanish mackerel were landed Wednesday afternoon on Avalon Pier, but rough seas and chilly winds halted fishing Thursday.

Anglers on Nags Head Pier hooked and lost a few stripers during the morning. No action was reported the rest of the day.

Few people fished from Jennette's Pier and Outer Banks Pier because of the weather, and no fish were reported taken.

South of Oregon Inlet, fishermen on Rodanthe Pier caught a handful of sea mullet. Fishing was difficult because of a strong tide.

Avon Pier reported little fishing activity because of rough seas.

A few anglers fishing from the end of Frisco Pier caught spot, croaker, small gray trout and a few bluefish steadily throughout the day.

Surf fishing along the northern beaches, around Oregon Inlet and from Rodanthe to Buxton was slow Thursday because of highseas and a strong tide.

Spot and croaker were landed in fair numbers along the beach south of Cape Point.

Some nice gray trout were beached Wednesday evening on shrimp in the Hatteras Inlet area.

Spot and sea mullet were taken in the surf from Ramp 55 to Hatteras Inlet Thursday. Some small puppy drum were landed from the beach on the south side of the inlet.

The Capt. Duke out of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center caught some tailor blues and Spanish mackerel while trolling in channels west of the Bonner Bridge on Thursday.

No Oregon Inlet or Hatteras charters fished offshore Thursday because of rough seas.

Weekend fishing should be good if winds subside and seas fall.

The water temperature was 73 degrees Thursday at the Army Corps of Engineers Pier in Duck, and 79 degrees at Frisco Pier on Hatteras Island.

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