Capt. Reese Stecher has the stripers right where he wants them. “The water temperature and water quality is just about where we need it to be,” he said. “A group of clients from Fredericksburg caught these fish last Wednesday. They were nice, healthy keepers. Hopefully, by this coming week all the nasty Hurricane water will be gone and the stripers will be doing what they were doing this time the past couple of years.”
For a striper trip, call Reese Stecher at Beach Bum Fishing at 252-449-0232 or visit
Also at Nags Head, TW’s reports.
Surf Fishing: It was slow overall Monday. A few small scattered Drum were caught. Scott Minerva caught a nice one in Nags Head. The winds were ENE at 9 and the water is 64 degrees.
Pier Fishing: Avalon had Trout, Sea Mullet and 2 Red Drum.
Nags Head Pier anglers decked some Puppy Drum, Bluefish and an 18-inch Trout.
Jennette’s had Sea Mullet, Sand Perch, Specks, and Black Drum.
Outer Banks Pier reported Black Drum, Puppy Drum, Trout, and Gray Trout.
Inshore boats landed Puppy Drum, Stripers and Flounder. The Miss Oregon Inlet Headboat made their final trip for the season yesterday and caught Flounder, Mullet, Trout and Bluefish.
Offshore: Only one boat sailed Monday but was well rewarded for their efforts. They returned with 6 Blackfin, 3 Yellowfin and a Dolphin.
Virginia Saltwater
By Dr. Julie Ball
As the fall saltwater fishery scene shifts into high gear, anglers are looking inshore to provide most of the action. With the cooler weather, anglers are becoming more interested in speckled trout. Many fish are ranging from18- to 22-inches, with a few trout exceeding 24-inches. Lynnhaven, Rudee, and Little Creek Inlets are holding good numbers of specks, with many folks reporting easy limits. Both jigs and grubs are effective baits. The Eastern Shore seaside and Bayside inlets are giving up some specks. Plenty of puppy drum are also in these same areas, with a few fish over 20-inches. Both speckled trout and pups are also keeping surf anglers happy along the lower Bay shore lines, and from the wash along the ocean front.
Spot continue to provide sporadic action off Ocean View, Buckroe, near the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel, and the Lynnhaven River, but more predictable catches are coming from within Rudee Inlet. The folks at The Fishing Center report that some of these spot are big yellow bellies, with bloodworms the bait of choice.
Tautog action is taking off in lower Bay waters and on coastal structures and wrecks. Good numbers of keeper tog are coming from the CBBT proper, especially near the bases of the pilings and the tubes of the artificial islands. Fiddler crabs and clams are working best. This bite will accelerate as waters continue to cool. Sheepshead are also still hitting in these same areas.
Although mostly low key, flounder anglers fishing within the protected confines of the Lynnhaven River and Rudee Inlet are finding some keepers. Wreck flounder are also available on deeper structures when boats can reach them. Big black sea bass are also a good possibility, now in season through December.
Although the best of this run is over, surf anglers continue to pull some big red drum from the surf lines along the Eastern Shore down to the Wildlife Refuge. A few nice bulls are also still responding around the islands of the CBBT on cut bait, but these fish are on the move southward, where the North Carolina fall red drum surf fishing trend is going strong.
As water temperatures drop, the striped bass activity continues to rise. Although the bigger rockfish are still on their way, anglers are content with school fish in most lower Bay skinny water and inlet locations. Striper anglers are scoring with schoolies while casting top water lures around all of the lower Bay crossings. Surf anglers targeting rockfish under the Lesner Bridge are also finding a few keepers.
Some big amberjack are still available at the Southern Towers, but this trend is about over. A few boats have reported catches of nice grouper, golden tilefish, blue-line tilefish, and black-bellied rosefish.
Offshore, the action is slow, with weather the determining factor. Recent trips have resulted in nice-sized dolphin, some albacore, king mackerel and a few wahoo. Yellowfin and big eye tuna are also possibilities.
Hatteras Surf
On Sunday morning, Red Drum & Tackle reported two big drum caught at the Point along with some yearling size drum. Bluefish, sea mullet, skates, rays, and sharks were also reported. Sheepshead were being caught at the jetties that afternoon. Speckled trout and puppies were being caught on grubs on the north beaches.
On Monday, there were about 15 Yearlings caught. Slot-size Puppy Drum were caught in the afternoon on the Point. That evening, there were a few 30-inchers beached. Some Sea Mullet that were not quite citation were weighed on the Red Drum scales. One guy had a cooler full of nice Sea Mullet.
Hatteras Offshore
A few King Mackerel were caught offshore on Monday. Hatteras Harbor also reported that the inshore boats caught keeper Red Drum and Flounder.
Two offshore charters fished the Gulfstream. Though not as bountiful as Sunday, the boats returned with some King Mackerel and a few Dolphin. Anglers that stopped to bottom fish caught a few Triggerfish.