DATE: Thursday, November 27, 1997           TAG: 9711270698

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LANE DeGREGORY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NAGS HEAD                         LENGTH:   86 lines

ONE FISH, TWO FISH, A DAY FOR BLUEFISHMISSING FOR YEARS, BLUEFISH RETURN TO OUTER BANKS BY THE THOUSANDS TO DELIGHT OF NAGS HEAD ANGLERS

Thanksgiving's feeding frenzy hit a day early on the Outer Banks.

Thousands of big bluefish blitzed the beaches for about three hours Wednesday morning.

Anglers stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the surf along a three-mile stretch of seashore, snagging their fill of 12- to 20-pound fish.

Some said they had never seen so many big blues.

Schools of the coveted sports fish are back - after largely disappearing for more than a decade.

``This is the best year we've had for bluefish. We'll sit around the fire tonight drinking highballs and bragging about this,'' said Chuck Taylor, a 56-year-old Virginia Beach resident who was fishing on Nags Head Pier.

``It was exhilarating, to say the least,'' agreed angler Frank Hardy, 41.

Hardy had driven from Lynchburg, Va., to North Carolina's barrier islands hoping to land some bluefish. He hauled in four - each almost 4 feet long. He stacked them in a plastic wagon he pulled around the pier. ``These baby blues put up a great fight,'' he said, smiling.

Traditionally, Thanksgiving weekend is when big bluefish start showing up along the Outer Banks. Small schools sometimes appear during spring. But for the past few years, very few blues have made it to the beaches.

Biologists worry that the species may be in danger.

Watermen say it is a natural fish cycle.

Anglers are just thankful their favorite fighting fish are back.

``Seemed like every cast I made this morning, I got a big one,'' Todd Hamilton, 30, said after landing six 18-pound blues on a Nags Head beach. ``They were biting anything you put out there. I didn't even need to wear these waders - the fish were right there on the edge of the ocean.''

Hamilton and his wife, Cindy, have visited the Outer Banks for eight years. In 1992, they said, someone told them to come Thanksgiving week if they really wanted to find fish. This is the first year they have been in on a big blitz.

``It started about 8:30 a.m. up in Kill Devil Hills, near where we were staying,'' Hamilton said. ``We followed 'em all the way down the beach. I went in and woke up my wife, saying, `Honey, they're here. We got to go.' ''

Fat, healthy and hungry, the big bluefish chased hundreds of foot-long trout out of the water. The smaller fish floundered on the sand - and anglers scooped them up. Then the fishermen fought to land the biting blues hooked on their bending rods. Laws allow anglers to keep 10 bluefish a day of any size.

``The fish were really spread out. There were loads of people around. But everybody got a shot at 'em,'' Nags Head Pier manager Andy McCann said. ``It's real promising of things to come. We ought to have a great holiday weekend for fishing.

``These fish are bigger and there are more of them than we've had around here for years.''

Many of the fishermen planned to fillet and cook their catch as part of their Thanksgiving meals. Taylor said he soaks his bluefish in wine then adds potatoes, carrots and onions. ``Wrap it in tin foil and stick it on the grill,'' he said.

``But you have to eat bluefish slow,'' he advised. ``It tastes so good, it makes your tongue smack your brains clear on out of your head.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

FISHERMEN THANKFUL FOR BLITZ OF BLUES

Mac Crisler of Kill Devil Hills throws a bluefish back Wednesday.

Anglers stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the surf at Nags Head,

snagging their fill of 12- to 20-pound fish.

DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

Mac Crisler of Kill Devil Hills throws a bluefish back Wednesday.

Anglers stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the surf at Nags Head,

snagging their fill of 12- to 20-pound fish.

Photo

DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot

Anglers at Nags Head Wednesday had no problems catching bluefish,