Fishing on the Outer Banks
By DAMON TATEM
by DAMON tatem
correspondent
Pier fishing has been generally good along the Outer Banks the past few days .
Avalon Pier anglers caught good numbers of bluefish, a few gray trout, scattered sea mullets and some spot Tuesday. A few bluefish, some sea mullets, quite a few spot, speckled trout and one Spanish mackerel were landed Wednesday. A small cobia was released.
A few small bottom fish, snapper bluefish and throwback speckled trout were decked Tuesday morning on Nags Head Pier. Fishing improved in the afternoon with quite a few small sea mullets, bluefish, croaker and trout taken. A 32-pound angel shark also was reeled in.
Some 2-pound bluefish were caught early Wednesday morning, and small spot and croaker were landed later in the morning. Good numbers of sea mullets, scattered spot, bluefish, gray trout and a 191/2 puppy drum were decked in the afternoon.
Outer Banks Pier reported a few sand perch, sea mullets, small spot and small croaker taken Tuesday. Several keeper puppy drum were caught Wednesday morning along with small bluefish, sea mullets and croaker. Afternoon fishing was slow.
South of Oregon Inlet, a few bluefish were landed and several cobia were spotted Tuesday on Rodanthe Pier .
Fishing improved Wednesday with scattered bluefish, sea mullets and a few speckled trout taken. A 34-inch cobia and a 6-foot shark also were decked. Quite a few small cobia were seen.
Avon Pier anglers caught small croaker, sand perch and sea mullets Tuesday. Several keeper flounder, three Spanish mackerel, scattered small bluefish and some mullets were landed Wednesday.
Fishing was slow Tuesday on Frisco Pier. A few big bluefish, scattered sea mullets and one citation pompano were decked Wednesday.
If today’s forecast of light easterly winds proves accurate, pier catches along the northern beaches should include small bottom fish, bluefish, some speckled trout and some nice-size cobia.
Hatteras pier anglers should reel in some spot, sea mullets, flounder, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and an occasional cobia.
Anglers fishing from the Melvin Daniels Jr. Bridge on the Nags Head/Roanoke Island causeway caught speckled trout early Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Spot were landed from the bridge during the day.
Surf-casters in the Corolla area beached a few bluefish, sea mullets, skates and flounder Tuesday. Quite a few sea mullets were taken in the area Wednesday.
Skates and a few bottom fish were caught in the surf from Duck to Oregon Inlet Tuesday and Wednesday. Some black drum also were landed from the north side of Oregon Inlet near the bridge Wednesday.
Surf-casters along the Rodanthe/Salvo beaches reeled in a few bluefish, sea mullets and sharks Tuesday. Lots of tailor bluefish and a few puppy drum were taken in the area Wednesday.
Some nice-size sea mullets, large pompano, flounder and bluefish were caught along the Avon beach Tuesday. Fishing was slow in the area Wednesday.
Spanish mackerel, mixed-sized bluefish and puppy drum were landed in the Cape Point surf Tuesday. Some citation sea mullets were beached near Ramp 43 Wednesday, and some Spanish mackerel were taken along the north and south shores of Cape Point.
Surf-casters caught some nice-size sea mullets and big pompano Tuesday along the Frisco beach. A few pompano, sea mullets and scattered bluefish were landed in the area Wednesday.
Lots of small bluefish and a few pompano were taken in the Hatteras Inlet surf off and on Tuesday. Mixed-size bluefish and scattered pompano kept anglers busy in the area Wednesday.
If winds are light from the east today as forecast, surf-casters should catch a few snapper bluefish and small bottom fish along the northern beaches.
Hatteras surf anglers should land some nice-size sea mullets, bluefish, pompano and a few keeper flounder. A cobia could be reeled in at any time by a lucky angler along the south beach or in the Cape Point area.
Inshore boaters in the Oregon Inlet area decked bluefish, Spanish mackerel, bonito, speckled trout and cobia Tuesday.
Lots of cobia were taken Wednesday, including six weighing as much as 63 pounds aboard the Fish-N-Fool. Spanish mackerel, bluefish and flounder also were taken in the inlet area, and tilefish and king mackerel were caught in deeper water outside the inlet.
Blue-water anglers off Oregon Inlet landed a mixture of dolphin, 40- to 60-pound yellowfin tuna and king mackerel Tuesday. Big eye tuna weighing 84 and 92 pounds were decked by the Drop-N-Back and an 80-pounder was taken by the High Return. The Country Girl released a sailfish.
Good numbers of tuna and gaffer dolphin were caught in the Gulf Stream off Oregon Inlet Wednesday along with some king mackerel.
Hatteras Inlet boat anglers landed lots of Spanish mackerel, a few bluefish and some cobia Tuesday .Lots of big drum were released. Spanish mackerel, gray trout, speckled trout and blues were decked Wednesday. Plenty of big cobia were taken in the ocean just outside the inlet.
Hatteras offshore anglers caught good numbers of dolphin and yellowfin tuna Tuesday, along with a few wahoo. Billfish releases included one sailfish each by the Big Eye, the Bite Me and the Release.
Dolphin fishing was great off Hatteras on Wednesday. Good numbers of yellowfin tuna also appeared in catches along with a few wahoo. Billfish releases included three sailfish by the Reliance, a blue marlin by the Release and a sailfish by the Bite Me.
If winds are light from the east as forecast, cobia, bluefish and Spanish mackerel fishing should be good today off Oregon Inlet and Hatteras Inlet.
Blue-water anglers off Oregon Inlet should land lots of yellowfin tuna, some dolphin and a few big eye tuna. A few billfish should be released.
Hatteras offshore anglers should deck lots of mixed-size dolphin, scattered yellowfin tuna and some nice-size wahoo. Billfish action should be good.
The water temperature Wednesday was 66 degrees at Avalon, Nags Head and Outer Banks piers, 72 degrees at Rodanthe Pier, 74 degrees at Avon Pier and 73 degrees at Frisco Pier.
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