DATE: Thursday, November 6, 1997            TAG: 9711060496

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

COLUMN: FISHING ON THE OUTER BANKS 

SOURCE: Damon Tatem

                                            LENGTH:   43 lines

CATCHES FROM PIERS TAKE A TURN FOR THE BETTER

Pier fishing improved along the northern beaches Wednesday.

Kitty Hawk Pier reported quite a few small puppy drum, a few bluefish and an occasional sea mullet taken.

Some nice sea mullet weighing as much as 1 pound 9 ounces were taken on Avalon Pier. Lots of sand perch, a few small gray trout and scattered bluefish also were landed.

Some nice sea mullet, a few gray trout, tailor bluefish and nice speckled trout were caught from Nags Head Pier.

Jennette's Pier reported fairly slow fishing, with a few small blues and lots of skates landed.

Fishermen on Outer Banks Pier released some small flounder and puppy drum. A few small bluefish were taken.

South of Oregon Inlet, some nice sea mullet and 1 1/2- to 2-pound blues were landed by anglers on Rodanthe Pier.

Eleven big drum were decked by Avon Pier fishermen, along with fair numbers of sea mullet.

A 3-pound flounder, a few blowtoads, sea mullet, spot, bluefish, and plenty of skates were landed on Frisco Pier. A few small puppy drum were released.A few sea mullet, bluefish and an occasional puppy drum were taken by surfcasters along the northern beaches and around Oregon Inlet.

Small bluefish, some nice sea mullet and throwback puppy drum were landed in the surf from Rodanthe to Buxton. Sea mullet action was particularly good at ramps 34 and 38.

Two big drum, 10 nice puppy drum, fair numbers of sea mullet, some speckled trout and plenty of bluefish were caught at Cape Point.

Fishing was a bit slow along the beach from Ramp 55 to Hatteras Inlet, with only a few bluefish landed.

Blue water action was good off Oregon Inlet with limits of 50-pound class yellowfin tuna, a few dolphin and a couple of wahoo taken. The Sizzler released a white marlin.

Some citation-sized king mackerel were landed off Hatteras.

The water temperature was 65 degrees Wednesday at the Army Corps of Engineers Pier in Duck, and 68 degrees at Frisco Pier on Hatteras Island.

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