DATE: Friday, November 21, 1997             TAG: 9711210664

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
COLUMN: Fishing on the Outer Banks 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Damon Tatem 

                                            LENGTH:   56 lines

PIERS REPORT WIDE VARIETY OF CATCHES

Pier fishing was fair along the northern beaches Thursday, with a variety of fish taken.

Kitty Hawk Pier reported fair numbers of keeper stripers landed Wednesday night. Fishing was slow Thursday, with a few small bluefish taken.

A half-dozen big blues were taken on Rat-L-Traps during the morning on Avalon Pier. Little action was reported in the afternoon.

Small bluefish were landed from Nags Head Pier in the morning. A few big blues were decked in the early afternoon, and some speckled trout were taken around sunset.

Anglers on Jennette's Pier caught 8- to 12-inch croaker sporadically throughout the day.

Outer Banks Pier also reported scattered croaker weighing as much as one pound, along with a few small spot and a few small blues.

South of Oregon Inlet, little action was reported from Rodanthe Pier.

Seven keeper stripers and some small bluefish were taken on Avon Pier.

Fishermen on Frisco Pier decked a few speckled trout during the morning and scattered sea mullet in the afternoon.

Scattered stripers were taken by surfcasters along the northern beaches. A good run of stripers and blues developed along the Nags Head beach during the day, with fish taken on bait, spoons and bucktails.

A 46 1/2-pound striped bass was beached Wednesday night from the north side of Oregon Inlet by Grover Sheldon of Keysville, Va. More stripers were landed around Oregon Inlet during the day Thursday.

A few speckled trout were landed north of Rodanthe Pier early Thursday morning. Small bluefish were taken by surfcasters along the beach from Rodanthe to Salvo, and bigger fish were beached from Salvo to Avon.

Scattered stripers were caught at Cape Point Wednesday night. Speckled trout were landed in the surf near the lighthouse Thursday morning.

Surf fishing was slow from Frisco to Hatteras Inlet, with a few small bluefish, throwback puppy drum and small flounder beached.

Stripers were taken by anglers trolling along the beach near the boiler south of Oregon Inlet Thursday morning. Good catches of big blues were reported outside the inlet during the day.

Blue water action was good off Oregon Inlet, with quite a few yellowfin tuna weighing between 20 and 60 pounds taken along with a few dolphin. A blue marlin with an estimated weight of 450 pounds was released by the Marlin Fever.

King mackerel weighing as much as 65 pounds were taken by Hatteras fishermen around the wrecks. Scattered yellowfin and blackfin tuna also appeared in Hatteras charter catches.

Yellowfin tuna action off Oregon Inlet and king mackerel fishing off Hatteras should be good this weekend providing winds and sea conditions remain moderate.

The water temperature was 53 degrees Thursday at the Army Corps of Engineers Pier in Duck, and 61 degrees at Frisco Pier on Hatteras Island.

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