DATE: Sunday, October 5, 1997               TAG: 9710030285

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 23   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: HOW TO HOOK 'EM 

SOURCE: Damon Tatem 

                                            LENGTH:   99 lines

ANGLERS SHOULD LAND SPOT, SPECKLED TROUT

FALLING WATER temperatures along the North Atlantic coast should send a variety of fish our way on their seasonal migration south.

Spot should be plentiful for pier and surf fishermen, as most have moved out of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and into the ocean.

The best action will be on ocean piers when the wind is from the northeast and the water is dirty. Bloodworms are generally the best bait, and the best time is during the incoming tide.

Large croaker also should provide area fishermen with good, though sporadic, action.

Croaker fishing was exceptionally good north of us this past summer with unusually large fish taken throughout the Chesapeake Bay area.

Unfortunately, when these fish leave the Bay, most stay offshore in deeper water and out of the range of pier and surf fishermen.

Speckled trout should begin to show up in fair numbers along the northern beaches. Pier anglers should catch their share using soft plastic lures fairly close to the beach. Some trout also should be taken on bait.

Surf fishermen should land trout fairly regularly from deeper sloughs scattered along the beach on days when seas are moderate and the surf is fairly clear.

Anglers traditionally have had good luck in October north of Kitty Hawk Pier and Nags Head Pier, but beach structure varies from year to year, so fish could appear in sloughs almost anywhere.

Speckled trout also should be taken during periods of onshore winds from the flats and sloughs on the south side of Oregon Inlet and in the Duck Island area.

Another potential hot spot for early morning action is the Off Island Channel behind the Bodie Island Lighthouse.

Gray trout should be available in fair to good numbers for pier, surf and boat anglers all along the Outer Banks. These fish have reappeared in force along the East Coast after an absence of quite a few years.

They can be caught on lures or bait and often are mixed in with speckled trout. Good catches have been reported recently from the Oregon Inlet and Hatteras Inlet areas, both from the surf and by anglers fishing from boats.

Puppy drum fishing should be good along the beach this week if the water is a bit rough.

Although most of the puppy drum landed along the northern beaches probably will be under the 18-inch minimum and must be subsequently released, a few fish over 5 pounds will be taken.

Percentages of fish larger than 18 inches should be considerably better south of Oregon Inlet. Some large fish should be landed by anglers on Rodanthe and Avon piers.

Big fish also should be beached at Cape Point and in the surf around the Hatteras Inlet area. The best action usually is at night. Mullet and menhaden are the preferred baits.

Bluefish should appear in catches almost everywhere along the Dare coast this coming week. Sizes should range anywhere from 1 to 4 pounds.

There is a possibility that one or two much larger fish could be caught along the northern beaches, but that will depend on how quickly water temperatures drop along the coast north of us.

Bluefish will be taken primarily on lures if the water is clear. Jiggers and double bucktails provide the best results for pier anglers. Surf fishermen generally rely on Hopkins lures and Gator spoons.

Bluefish also can be caught readily in dirty water on cut bait. Fireballs usually are the best producers, but many anglers use bottom rigs with 1/0 to 4/0 hooks.

Steel snelled hooks are a must, providing protection against the bluefish's razor sharp teeth.

Flounder fishing should be fair this week along the northern beaches, with pier anglers catching a few keepers on live bait.

Surf fishermen and boaters around Oregon Inlet also should land scattered flounder over the minimum size limit and release plenty of small fish.

The minimum length for flounder in the Atlantic Ocean is 14 1/2 inches with a creel limit of 10. The minimum length for flounder in the sound is 13 inches with no bag limit.

Anglers in the Cape Point area should fare better than their northern beach counterparts, landing good numbers along both the north and south beaches.

Scattered Spanish mackerel catches are a possibility along the northern beaches and offshore of Oregon Inlet, but any good action as the season winds down will be along southern Dare County.

King mackerel fishing should be good a short distance off Oregon Inlet and also off Hatteras Inlet. Charters should easily catch their limit of three kings over 20 inches per person per day.

Most of the fish will be landed either on Sea Witches with strip bait attached or on Drone Spoons. Both are most effectively used when pulled deep behind planers or downriggers.

Lots of albacore should be taken by king mackerel fishermen, as these fish frequent the same areas in large numbers.

Tuna fishing around the point, southeast of Oregon Inlet, should begin to improve as offshore water temperatures begin to drop along the mid-Atlantic states.

Fish weighing more than 50 pounds should be seen more often as the fall yellowfin season arrives.

Scattered dolphin and wahoo should be taken by both Hatteras and Oregon Inlet fleets, but the majority of these fish will begin to migrate south soon.

Billfishing will continue to be slow as the season draws to a close. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DREW WILSON

Dean Kluttz of Salisbury, N.C., carries a red drum he caught at Cape

Point on Monday.

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