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George's Outer Banks Fishing Pages (Are You Going To Fish Or Cut Bait?)

Outer Banks Fishing Tips

*Hotspot Detailed Listing*
Short Description	Summer Time Fishing
Tip	When Cape Hatteras, North Carolina is mentioned around serious surf fishermen, it is usually in connection with the massive spring and fall migrations of citation sized red drum and bluefish. From the middle of April to the middle of May, and from the middle of November to the middle of December there are few places which can rival the opportunities available at Cape Hatteras to hook up with one of these trophies from the beach. In the clashing sea currents that surround Cape Hatteras, huge schools of baitfish are driven onto the beach by wave after wave of hungry preditors leading to fishing action which sometimes borders on pure pandemonium. Accounts are legion of fifteen to twenty pound bluefish literally pushing sea trout onto the beach with thirty to seventy pound red drum following close behind and underneath the frenzied schools. But there is a third season to Hatteras' surf fishing which has received little respect from the serious surf fisherman; the summer fishing season. During the summer, fish caught in the surf at Cape Hatteras tend to be smaller than their spring and fall relatives. But this is countered by the fact that during the summer there is a greater variety of fish species to be caught from the beaches than during the spring or fall. Two secrets to enjoying summertime surf fishing at Cape Hatteras are understanding the influence that wind direction can have on the kinds of fish available, and gearing down for the summertime. Because of the wide differences in water currents and temperatures between the north and the south sides of the point at Cape Hatteras, and to avoid overgeneralizations, this article focuses on surf fishing opportunities to be found from the point at Cape Hatteras south to Hatteras Inlet. Summertime surf fishing at Hatteras is both predictable and at the same time can be full of interesting surprises. Schools of small snapper bluefish in the one- to four-pound range remain in residence close to North Carolina's slender Outer Banks from the middle of May through October. Also during the same period, good catches of croaker, spot and whiting are to be taken. At the same time, schools of feeding summer flounder occasionally move out of the sounds and inlets to feed close to the beaches. These are the predictable catches from the south beaches of Hatteras Island. But as Hatteras itself is continually changing and full of surprises, so is its summertime fishing. And these surprises are based primarily on wind direction. Wind direction is crucial to the temperature and clarity of the water close to shore. Whereas in the spring and fall the south beaches of Hatteras Island depend on a southerly breeze to blow warm water inshore from the Gulf Stream, the situation reverses itself in the summertime. During the summer months, when the wind blows from the northwest to northeast, the water close to shore on the south side of Cape Point is protected by the continuous man-made dunes which run the length of the Outer Banks. The water clears and warms, bringing close to shore such sub-tropical species as spanish and ciero mackerel, pompano and a variety of jacks. When the wind blows from the southeast to southwest, the water on the south side of Cape Point cools and clouds, bringing in spot, croaker, whiting and puppy drum. Spanish and ciero mackerel and jacks often run mixed with large schools of marauding bluefish; often just to the outside. It is to the surf fisherman's benefit to have gear which will cast a 1.5 to 2 ounce lure approximately 300 to 350 feet, in order to get past the bluefish. Favorite tackle for this kind of fishing includes an eight to nine foot light action rod with four guides to the tip, a reel that will hold 250 to 300 yards of eight to ten pound test line and a 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 ounce "Sting Silver" lure tied directly to the end of the line. Although both spanish mackerel and bluefish have teeth and are able to bite through such light line without hesitation, it is recommended that no metal leader or swivel be used as they detract from the action of the lure. Also spanish mackerel are known to shy away from rigs with metal leaders. Thus, line should be checked regularly between casts for nicks and abrasions. Pompano fishing is a different art altogether. Pompano feed on sand fleas found buried in the sand at the tide line. Best areas to fish for pompano are where there are considerable flat areas with an abundance of soft-shelled sand fleas. Pompano found close to the beaches of Hatteras generally range in size from 1/2 pound to 2 1/2 pounds. Recommended gear for this kind of fishing consists of a six to eight foot light action rod with a reel that will hold 150 to 250 yards of six pound test line. There are as many different opinions on the types of terminal tackle to use as there are people who fish for pompano regularly. One type of rig commonly used is a standard over-under double bottom rig with less than two ounces of lead. Another common type of rig consists of a sliding egg sinker fixed to the fishing line directly above a small barrel swivel. Terminal tackle consists of a ten pound test leader with a short shank gold-plated hook with one to three small red beads threaded just above the eye of the hook. Similar to fishing for sheepshead, it has been suggested that the best way to catch small, feisty pompano is to set the hook just before the fish bites. For this kind of fishing, it is essential that the water be clear in order for the pompano to see your offering. This requires a light breeze from the northwest to northeast and light surf conditions. When the wind turns out of the southeast to southwest, both the pompano and the spanish mackerel leave the shore to find deeper, cleaner water. When this happens, it is not at all uncommon to find small puppy drum moving out of the sounds and inlets and running close to the beach in sloughs recently vacated by more subtropical species. Favorite gear for this kind of fishing is a scaled down version of the "Hatteras heaver"; a nine to eleven foot medium action spinning rod with four guides to the tip. A reel spooled with 250 to 300 yards of twelve to fifteen pound test line is more than adequate to put your bait close to the shoals on which the puppy drum feed. Terminal Tackle consists of a fishfinder rig with a four to six ounce pyramid sinker attached above a number 2 barrel swivel. An eight to twelve inch length of sixty pound test leader attached to a 4/0 to 6/0 seawash hook completes the setup. Long casts are not as important as placement casts. The goal is to place the bait on the edge of a shoal or sandbar where the puppy drum can get to it. The same southerly breezes that blow in the puppy drum also bring in large schools of spot, croaker and whiting. Although there are many who scoff at the idea of sportfishing for such small fish, on the proper light tackle they can provide a good fight and are excellent table fare. Recommended tackle for this sport is the same as that recommended for pompano fishing. Terminal tackle consists of a double bottom rig with less than three ounces of lead for weight, and small pieces of bloodworm for bait attached to number 4 or number 6 short shanked hooks. When these small fish are running close to shore, it is not uncommon to get double hookups with regularity! But when I think of summertime surf fishing at Cape Hatteras, one vivid picture comes to mind. It is not from a single memory, but more from a composite of events of great regularity. It is a picture of arriving at Hatteras Inlet about an hour or two before sunset and watching large flocks of seagulls dipping and diving over the inlet as slowly large schools of bluefish work baitfish ever closer to the beach. It is a picture of surf fishermen standing poised by their 4X4s, light spinning rods in their hands with "Sting Silvers" gleaming in the lowering sun. It is a picture of that first cast into the blitzing blues and the jolt of the first strike, even from a small bluefish, and reeling it in to shore. It is a picture of metal lures flying through the air as fish after fish is brought to the beach. It is a picture of surprise as occasionally, out of the large school of snapper bluefish comes a spanish mackeral or a jack crevalle, or a blue runner. And then, as quickly as it all began, it's over as the sun sets over Pamlico Sound; just the end to another wonderful summer day of fishing at Cape Hatteras.